Apologies if this is old hat, but the thought cropped up yesterday and I hadn't really seen it on the forums.
I was reading Lyall Watson's "Beyond Supernature" (had a childhood nostalga for reading the first one in the 1970s, so I got hold of the the 'new' 1985 updated version) and was reading the bit on out of body experiences and how common they seemed to be. In some cases he had anecdotes where the out-of-body experience an person was going through was indeed observed (from the book):
As Lyall Watson develops further could the out-of-body experience provide the basic mechanism for ghost sightings? The example above is extreme but got me thinking. He states up to 1 in 10 people claim to have an out-of-body experience and that 40% of those have done so more than once. The detachment is said to take place in states of relaxation on the verge of sleep (aaah, then that could be something else, but soldiering on....)
At least one basic common and garden theory theme of ghosts seems to be that ghosts are the deceased trapped or visiting in our 'plane' from some 'spirit world'. Now as far as I am aware there has been no reasonable evidence of life after death nor where spirit worlds could exist in relation to ours, and this has been in my eyes a problematic issue. (although I'm always open to evidence and of course recognise that we are rather limited crude creatures when it comes to our awareness to reality )
Now in the age-old method of replacing one theory with little or no evidence with another questionable hypothesis, could ghosts be living people having out of body experiences? This could explain*:
* in the style of Erik von Daniken - no stats, facts and sweeping generalisations.
This is just a quick stab at this - but I'm not claiming that this is a definitive warts and all theory, just a possible source of ghost sightings. Has anyone else developed this further in the past?
I was reading Lyall Watson's "Beyond Supernature" (had a childhood nostalga for reading the first one in the 1970s, so I got hold of the the 'new' 1985 updated version) and was reading the bit on out of body experiences and how common they seemed to be. In some cases he had anecdotes where the out-of-body experience an person was going through was indeed observed (from the book):
A little after 2.00am on the morning of Jan 27th, 1957, Martha Johnson saw herself travelling from Plains, Illinios, to visit her home 926 miles away in northern Minnesota. She found her mother in the kitchen and-
after I entered, I leaned up against the dish cupboard with folded arms. I looked at my mother who was bending over something white and doing something with her hands. She did not appear to see me at first, but she finally looked up. I had sort of pleased feeling, and left.
Martha's mother wrote to her daughter the following day to say:
It would have been about two after two, your time. I was pressing a blouse here in the Kitchen. I looked up and there you were at the cupboard just standing smiling at me. I started to speak to you and you were gone. I forgot for a moment where I was. I think the dogs saw you too. They got so excited.
As Lyall Watson develops further could the out-of-body experience provide the basic mechanism for ghost sightings? The example above is extreme but got me thinking. He states up to 1 in 10 people claim to have an out-of-body experience and that 40% of those have done so more than once. The detachment is said to take place in states of relaxation on the verge of sleep (aaah, then that could be something else, but soldiering on....)
At least one basic common and garden theory theme of ghosts seems to be that ghosts are the deceased trapped or visiting in our 'plane' from some 'spirit world'. Now as far as I am aware there has been no reasonable evidence of life after death nor where spirit worlds could exist in relation to ours, and this has been in my eyes a problematic issue. (although I'm always open to evidence and of course recognise that we are rather limited crude creatures when it comes to our awareness to reality )
Now in the age-old method of replacing one theory with little or no evidence with another questionable hypothesis, could ghosts be living people having out of body experiences? This could explain*:
- Why ghosts are more prevalent at night - as you are more likely to have people in the state to transmit themselves
- The 'dream-like' quality of some hauntings i.e. ghosts ignoring their surroundings or bizarre behaviour. Possibly also if the transmitter is in an irrational state any emotions can be overpowering - those that get visits from the night hag spring to mind. Could fear and terror be actually generated by the sender and this 'infects' the reciever.
- Why few ghosts of animals - how many of us dream of being a cat or dog (ok maybe occasionally I'm sure). Also why ghosts fade i.e. where are the ghosts of the Neandertals? Well very few of us will have such images at hand - but we will be thinking about everyday areas of life instead: A memory of a hotel etc...
* in the style of Erik von Daniken - no stats, facts and sweeping generalisations.
This is just a quick stab at this - but I'm not claiming that this is a definitive warts and all theory, just a possible source of ghost sightings. Has anyone else developed this further in the past?