The Afterlife, Ghosts, Spirits, Demons, Exorcisms, And More!

I was just curious to see some of the great minds of Dreamviews and their perceptions on the afterlife, ghosts, spirits, demons, etc. I myself have never had any encounters with such things but I know several people who have claimed to have seen, talked, and touched those from the other world. My grandmother has seen several ghosts and she claims to have had a conversation with one. My old world religions teacher (ex-priest) would perform exorcisms and has claimed that it is definitely something that isn't taken lightly. Both are very reliable sources to me and I wouldn't take them to be jokes in such a situation.

There are so many people that claim to have experienced this phenomenon. Some people even say they have the power to talk to those who have passed from our world. So I leave you with this, have any of you personally experienced such a thing? Do you believe in any of it?

I've never experienced any paranormal activities (although I did see a video of an exorcism... it looked more abusive than wonderful and magical, and I don't think that in itself counts because I didn't see anything out of the ordinary, other than someone having a seizure).
I do not believe in ghosts, demons, the afterlife, spirits, etc., probably because I'm an atheist.

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Originally Posted by kookyinc

I've never experienced any paranormal activities (although I did see a video of an exorcism... it looked more abusive than wonderful and magical, and I don't think that in itself counts because I didn't see anything out of the ordinary, other than someone having a seizure).
I do not believe in ghosts, demons, the afterlife, spirits, etc., probably because I'm an atheist.

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I too would consider myself to be an Atheist yet I do have a belief in some of these things.

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Originally Posted by juvenilepunk

I too would consider myself to be an Atheist yet I do have a belief in some of these things.

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The two aren't mutually exclusive; many Buddhists are atheists, but they still believe in an afterlife. I should have been more specific in my post, sorry (I'm just glad you caught that mistake and not, say, Philosopher8659 lol ;)).

I believe that there is possibly a life after this one, but I can neither prove nor disprove it of course. I've never had any personal experiences. I know a few people that claim they have had experiences with the deceased. However, I don't believe them, solely due to lack of evidence. Having said this I am open to the idea and possibility of there being an afterlife, ghosts, spirits, demons, etc. I will not wholly believe any of this until I have tangible proof though.

Also, to add on to this I am also Atheist.

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Originally Posted by buzz170

I believe that there is possibly a life after this one, but I can neither prove nor disprove it of course. I've never had any personal experiences. I know a few people that claim they have had experiences with the deceased. However, I don't believe them, solely due to lack of evidence. Having said this I am open to the idea and possibility of there being an afterlife, ghosts, spirits, demons, etc. I will not wholly believe any of this until I have tangible proof though.

Also, to add on to this I am also Atheist.

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I would agree with you, I too am the type of person who needs solid evidence before I can believe it. However, considering the large percentage of people who have experienced one of these phenomenons in their lifetime it makes you start to think that it could possibly exist.

You seem mostly concerned with ghosts, and I'd have to say that every 'true' ghost story I've heard came from people who weren't very credible even as far as the color of the sky, and seemed to relish how special they were for having the story to tell. As for heavens, hells and reincarnation, they are realities, but usually when we think of them we just project our confusion, about what we are and what's going on here, infinitely outward. Learn to see where you are right now, and you'll know where you go when you die.

Isn't this world enough for you?

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Originally Posted by Taosaur

You seem mostly concerned with ghosts, and I'd have to say that every 'true' ghost story I've heard came from people who weren't very credible even as far as the color of the sky, and seemed to relish how special they were for having the story to tell. As for heavens, hells and reincarnation, they are realities, but usually when we think of them we just project our confusion, about what we are and what's going on here, infinitely outward. Learn to see where you are right now, and you'll know where you go when you die.

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I believe in the possibility of an afterlife, but as I have no reason for why this is other than that someone else told me about it and it sounds nice I don't hold any particular belief that such a place exists. What is it that makes you believe these places exist? When I look at where I am right now I can't see how I'll be anywhere after I die other than existing in other forms, as in my children(if I have any) or as in ideas as influence in the minds of other people.

I was an atheist until i did have a personal experience in waking life which i dont really wanna bring up here but id be more than glad to share if you wanna shoot me a PM. At this point i do not believe in religion since it is something created by man to confuse people, however i strongly believe in good and evil, God and the Devil.

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Originally Posted by youngjedi

I was an atheist until i did have a personal experience in waking life which i dont really wanna bring up here but id be more than glad to share if you wanna shoot me a PM. At this point i do not believe in religion since it is something created by man to confuse people, however i strongly believe in good and evil, God and the Devil.

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Humans are susceptible to delusion and hallucination.

How do you know what you experienced was not a hallucination of some sort?

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Originally Posted by stonedape

I believe in the possibility of an afterlife, but as I have no reason for why this is other than that someone else told me about it and it sounds nice I don't hold any particular belief that such a place exists. What is it that makes you believe these places exist? When I look at where I am right now I can't see how I'll be anywhere after I die other than existing in other forms, as in my children(if I have any) or as in ideas as influence in the minds of other people.

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It's not that I believe that "such a place" exists so much that I believe that this place we are exists, and its qualities vary widely based on the form of consciousness encountering it. A man approaching a river sees flowing water, a deva sees nectar, and a demon sees blood, but it is the same river. I believe in Hell for the same reason I believe in Scranton, PA; I've been to the outskirts, it wasn't pleasant, and while, like all things, it passed, it seemed eternal at the time. Whatever form our consciousness takes, it leaves us blind to much of the rest of existence which is also right here, right now.

In practice, it makes absolutely no difference whether Heaven and Hell are metaphorical descriptions of our present state or literal places we will be reborn when these bodies dissolve. There is no difference between saying one and saying the other. It's an excess of attachment to the forms of this world that makes that distinction seem meaningful.

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Originally Posted by BLUELINE976

Humans are susceptible to delusion and hallucination.

How do you know what you experienced was not a hallucination of some sort?

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It was witnessed by five others as well, and no we were not on phsycedelics.

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Originally Posted by youngjedi

It was witnessed by five others as well, and no we were not on phsycedelics.

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Well what was this experience of yours?

I thought I saw a ghost when I was younger. In fact I saw it multiple times. However I was only a little kid at the time, and it happened at night. I can't rule out the possibility of a false awakening in which I saw the ghost. I would of sworn I was awake every time I saw it, but I didn't know as much about dreaming back then as I do now. So even though it seemed like a credible experience I am going to discount it for the more likely situation, that I was dreaming.

I really don't believe in ghosts and stuff. So much of the stuff is explainable, and there is still no solid proof. People don't really get ghosts on tape and stuff, and there is no reason for why they shouldn't be able to. I believe most ghosts are just the natural human ability to pick patterns out of random shapes. That is why so often its a shadow or strange light. People see stuff like that, and their mind forms that random shape, that may be human like into a ghost. When in reality its just a random shape. Same for voice recordings of ghosts and stuff, and people seeing Jesus face in dirt and stuff.

As for an afterlife, I do believe in one. Theoretically if time is infinite everything that has occurred will eventually occur again. This includes atoms coming together to form your brain. In fact, given enough time, there is a chance of every particle in your body reforming as it is, at this exact moment. Even if this takes an infinitely long time, it doesn't matter. So worse case scenario if you wait an infinitely long time, you should eventually be reborn.

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Originally Posted by Abra

Isn't this world enough for you?

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Nope.

Afterlife(Heaven and Hell) - Yes
Demons - Yes
Exorcism - Yes
Ghosts - I simply believe demons are ghosts.
Spirits - I believe that everyone has a spirit but not that they can visit, haunt or roam the earth.