whenever people say that things are just coincidence i often ask myself, "yeah but the chances of that particular coincidence are smaller than the chances of something being 'otherwordly"", you know?

Otherworldly?

ok whatever. it doesn't have to be from another world. what i mean are forces that are here that we can't see.

Like the Flying Spaghetti Monster?

Although, you can see him.

yep. the flying spaghetti monster works. i don't know if it's spaghetti'd or monsterish, since unseeen would be the key word here. but forces at work is what i believe.

If we are goign with unseen, i blame swamp gas.

yeah yeah yeah, that too. now you KNOW you believe there are things out there that we can't see that are working among us, mr. loxo. i know you do!

I am still contemplating the possibilities.

fair enough! ;-)

I been exorcising some pesky orbs with a can of pledge and a feather duster.

i believe most orbs are dust, etc. but i'm not convinced that ALL orbs are easily tackled with pledge and a feather duster.

umbrellas can be handy, as well as a can of raid.

and MAYBE MAYBE some spirits sneak in there too. just sayin'.

MAYBE ill get hit by a blimp on my way home. lol

Hindenburg II headed over Atlanta around 6pm!!!

it would not surprise me. I was almost hit by a blimp in Nashville.

that was bob's big boy

No, it was a blimp... trust me on this one. There are no Bob's Big Boys down here.. only Shoneys, and they got rid of the fat kid some time ago.

could have been me. in any case, i think if spirits come a'callin', they go wherever they want however they want.

LOL could have been you..? not likely. Spirits normally come a callin at my place in the form of chardonnay.

yes i'm spherically rotund. have you honestly never had an encounter with a real spirit? we've got to send some over to you!

Ah. Um.. a real spirit? I thought my bathroom was haunted by the evil spirit of a spicy beef burrito.. but it normally manifested itself as a free roaming vapor, rather than an orb.

evil spirit to be sure. no, a real one. lots of people have encounters. and they are not nuts. i tend to believe they don't haunt bathrooms, but then what do i really know?

LOL sure they haunt bathrooms.. i cant tell ya how many stories i have heard about toilets that flush on their own.. seriously.

i've heard alot of those stories too. but i never tend to think those are spirits. i mean if i were a spirit, i wouldn't go around flushing toilets! of course anything is possible. i guess everyone has the criteria for what is a REAL spirit story. i have pretty rigorous standards, but i've heard alot of stories that far surpass my criteria.

If its not a spirit, what else would it be? lol

the random flush of a toilet! however lights that never flicker going nuts on certain subjects....things like that. they are not random happenings. i mean of course they are sometimes, but they are also NOT sometimes.

i have to say.. i have NEVER seen or heard a toilet randomly flush. LOL Blame the swamp gas.

well i have had at least 3 friends who have told me they have had their toilets randomly flush after someone in their family has passed away. and it could easily be a spirit. i just always wondered why they would DO that!

Perhaps that was not a random flush then.. like.. when a bell rings, an angel is born.. but when a toilet flushes, a family member passes away? like.. you are being flushed away into the afterlife!

oh that's horrendous!!!! aggg! but i do kind of like every time a toilet flushes and angel gets their wings!!! kind of changes the whole thing around, right?

Muahahaha!!!

Okay, the science - water is a known conductor of electricity and electricity or electromagnetic fields are commonly linked to the paranormal. On a personal note, I have had too many paranormal experiences to count one of which was sitting in a bath tub of water, alone, just minding my own business when the cold water knob slowly turned, on its own. Having become accustomed to such taunts I simply said, "Do you mind? I'm having a private moment here." And it turned off, on its own.

really, diane???? that's wild!!!! loxo is big on being a skeptic , but that's ok with me. i respect all points of view on this. he needs alot of evidence. and i admit, so do I. however. i have seen alot of evidence over and over again. i think the knob responding to what i said would have had my attention. i have had lightbulbs respond to what i'm talking about. not once or twice but many times. and it's been witnessed by other people who weren't sure about what i was saying. but then they were here and said WHAT IS GOING ON? they noticed it happened when we talked about a certain person. i have no way to know what it means, but it had to do with electricity. still does!

I completely understand the skeptic point of view and respect it greatly, too. And I, like you, have had witnesses to cetain things. I find it amuzing how quickly the doubters turn believers when they experience unexplainable phenomenon. Their first reaction seems to be, "Wow, that's just creepy." Then they stop visiting you so often.

i don't usually find it creepy, do you? to me, strange as this may seem, it seems kind of normal. maybe i just haven't had creepy stuff. i know one woman whose husband used to always pump the brake light three times on the car when he would drive in at night to say "i love you". he died, and shortly after that the woman's dining room light would go on and off and on and off and on and off three times at dinnertime several times. three times. i find that to be just too obvious to be a coincidence.

I agree. And no, I don't find it creepy, most of the time, because I've been exposed to it since I was a child. And I've only had a couple of 'visitors' that were somewhat melevolent. Funny you should mention three. I've found that to be a significant number.

you know what fascinates me, diane? how many people DON"T believe in anything they can't see. there is so much that was unseen a hundred years ago that we CAN see now. why is it so weird to think there are forces in the universe that we can't see? i don't understand why this is such a stretch for people.

FEAR

I have a dear friend who will be 90 years old soon and he talks about the first person in town to get a 'horseless carriage' when he was growing up and how the old folks just swore that if you went 30 miles an hour it would kill you.

hhaha! how about germs? we only recently knew they existed. nobody could see them before. they thought plagues and such were the devil. what would prehistoric man think of electricity?

Just as we cannot SEE the wind, we do see its' effects.....forces, good and bad do exist for me.....and you also?

i tend to think they are for the good. at least i hope there aren't bad spirits around.

This is certainly not meant in any way to start an agument, nor is meant to discredit people's personal experiences.. however, i have to point out that electricity and electromagnetic fields have been linked to paranormal activity, there is not even any proof that 'paranormal activity' exists.. where is the scientific evidence that electromagnetic fields are linked to paranormal activity? There is none.. Paranormal investigators often talk in a language that would suggest there is some kind of proof of any of their theories or ideas, but... there really is none at all. I want to believe.. i am VERY MUCH open to the posibilities, but i need more proof than a bunch of pictures and videos (most of which are easily explainable).. believers will believe no matter what evidence you can show them to prove otherwise. and YES, if i had proof, i would turn to believe in a heartbeat. :D

Thank you for your comment, Loxo. And I truly mean that. I suspect the heretics who believed the world was round and NOT the center of the universe worked harder to prove their point of view. As long as there is someone who requires tangible, undisputable proof of the paranormal, there will be someone pushing the boundries of science to provide it. I hope it happens in our lifetime.

Well, like i said.. i will concede that there are things in this world that we do not understand.. and i am very much open to possibilities. I jsut want something more than a picture of orbs! lol I will 'debate' with people on what they believe, however i will certainly NOT ridicule anyone for it..

And that's what makes these discussions, any discussion, worthy of participation; honoring each others position. And I find it exciting that there are things in this world we don't understand. It would be a terribly boring place if we had all the answers.

You got that right!

you are such well behaved debating wifflers! i love it!