Guest Posted October 6, 2010 Share Posted October 6, 2010 Some of you may remember I had to put my first dog down in December of last year. Since Ive been back from the cruise ship I have seen her out of the corner of my eye quite a lot, and thought I heard her collar a few times. However, the other night I was in the den (which was her room) and I heard her shake her collar and had an overwhelming feeling of her presence. She was there. I turned around and spoke to her, asked her if she was all right and told her I miss her. I didnt feel weird at all doing this, even though I believe existence stops at brain death. She was there with me. Then I noticed the fluorescent lamp in the back of the room was buzzing. I dont know enough about electricity to know if the buzz was accompanied by a stray electro-magnetic field, but I have read that said fields have been shown to induce "Spooky" feelings of "a presence in the room" and such. I turned the lamp off and the feeling quickly dissipated, but idk how much of that was a placebo or not. Either that or it was the bowl of high grade pot I had smoked about 30 minutes before hand! Still, this is the first time I ever experienced this kind of thing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overcame Faith Posted October 6, 2010 Share Posted October 6, 2010 I am sure you miss your friend very much. If the feeling you experienced gives you comfort, then go with it. No other explanation is needed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertBob Posted October 6, 2010 Share Posted October 6, 2010 Then I noticed the fluorescent lamp in the back of the room was buzzing. I dont know enough about electricity to know if the buzz was accompanied by a stray electro-magnetic field, but I have read that said fields have been shown to induce "Spooky" feelings of "a presence in the room" and such. I turned the lamp off and the feeling quickly dissipated, but idk how much of that was a placebo or not. Yes, buzzing fluorescents generally have an unstable magnetic field around them. Even stable fluorescents have, I believe, a stronger EMF field around them than incandescents. An incandescent light is simply a heated filament that glows, but fluorescents are all about electrically excited gases. My GF's son is a confirmed atheist but is still fond of "reality" shows like Ghost Hunters for their entertainment value. As a result I have seen more episodes of that show and a couple of related ones that I'd care to admit. I notice that they make a big deal in all their pseudo-scientific measurements about detecting electromagnetic fields (EMF) and fluctuations within them. Their interpretation is that spirits draw from such energy sources to manifest themselves in this reality. Maybe this folk wisdom and your experience are tied -- let me elaborate. I also know way more than I care to about another topic, Environmental Illness (EI) of which a subset can be electrical sensitivity. Our nervous system is an electrical grid -- that is why EEG and EKG readouts can be picked up off your toes almost as well as over the cranium or heart. The buildup of certain substances in your body can "short out" this system to an extent, causing various miserable symptoms, and make you more electroconductive in general. The symptoms range from the subtle to the gross ... so yes I can believe that someone with mild electrosensitivity combined with the right frame of mind and a particularly "dirty" EMF environment such as is particularly associated with faulty fluorescent light ballasts, could trigger certain feelings and experiences. Having lost many close family members plus being a hospice volunteer I also am well acquainted with grief and loss experiences and dynamics, and I can tell you that experiences like this are very common in people who are grieving both humans and pets -- regardless of their belief system. So -- while I am open to the possibility that this points to some kind of afterlife, I'm also aware that there are completely naturalistic explanations for it. So, take your pick -- the EMF field allowed your dog to "connect" with you from beyond, or it simply surfaced the emotions and feelings of connection that you had with your dog in life. As "Overcame Faith" suggested, you need to take comfort however you can get it at a time like this, and you don't have to fully understand or explain it and you certainly don't have to justify it to anyone. This much his certain: your friend lives on in your memory and you need to process what this little being meant to you and carry that memory forward in life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
par4dcourse Posted October 6, 2010 Share Posted October 6, 2010 Either that or it was the bowl of high grade pot I had smoked about 30 minutes before hand! Still, this is the first time I ever experienced this kind of thing... I had the feeling I couldn't get off the couch. My great aunt Matilda pressing me down? Nah, Good smoke, no spooks involved. Just sayin'......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunaticheathen Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 I'm so sorry you had to put down your dog. Losing a loved pet is terrible. I still get teary over my dog dying, and he died from just being old, and it was almost 2 years ago. Spirit visitations are iffy to "prove", but I don't think that's important here. And on this one, I could go either way. Of course, I'm the crazy chick who put her dead dog's picture on her ancestor altar. Right after that, I dreamed about him too. Wherever your friend ended up (or just ended), I'm sure she loves you. That's what's important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Marty Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 Desertbob, thanks for the electrical lesson! I work in professional audio so I am aware of things like EVPs and other such nonsense, and even with thousands of hours of recording at all hours and in many locations, I have never recorded a spirit. One thing I never connected until I read your post is that ghost hunters actually search out electro-magnetic fields. I feel kinda stupid now for never seeing they are actually putting the cart before the horse!! I have also read that subsonic sound, as in under 20Hz, can induce chills and feelings of being watched. I find the subject of Ghost Hunting or paranormal activity to be intriguing, but not in the way most people do. I am sure there has to be some environmental action messing with the nervous system of the person experiencing it, and we are just now starting to uncover just how things might interfere. I dont believe in an afterlife, which is what made this experience so odd for me. I know that I feel Zoe's presence because she lived here for 14.5 years. She is ingrained in my psyche when Im in this house. But the truly odd thing is that fluorescent lamp has not buzzed one bit since that night... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertBob Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 One thing I never connected until I read your post is that ghost hunters actually search out electro-magnetic fields. I feel kinda stupid now for never seeing they are actually putting the cart before the horse!! Sure, they noted on one show that a huge power substation was right next the the building they were investigating -- taking it as a power source for spirits rather than a cause of the willies. They also look for sudden temperature changes. I have often thought that if I took the trouble to buy a digital thermometer and take random readings most anywhere that in at least some places there would be sudden spot temperature changes. Again, they see it as a symptom of spirits rather than a cause of chills and further psychological setup [shrug]. The other thing of course is no one seems to be controlling for whether these changes are artifacts of the sensing equipment and the microcontroller that runs it. Are they seeing real fluctuations or just "settling in" from conflicting feedback loops? As for the EVPs, I would be rich if I had a nickel for every time they play back some random hyper-amplified noise and impose a subtitle on it and I can't for the life of me figure out how they derive some word or phrase from what I'm hearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RankStranger Posted October 7, 2010 Share Posted October 7, 2010 Ok, now I think I understand why I never see ghosts or anything even remotely supernatural. Having grown up in a house less than 100 yards from some high-voltage power lines (coming directly from TVA dam), I've developed a tolerance for electrical fields... and hence ghosts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Marty Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 They also look for sudden temperature changes. I have often thought that if I took the trouble to buy a digital thermometer and take random readings most anywhere that in at least some places there would be sudden spot temperature changes. Again, they see it as a symptom of spirits rather than a cause of chills and further psychological setup [shrug]. The other thing of course is no one seems to be controlling for whether these changes are artifacts of the sensing equipment and the microcontroller that runs it. Are they seeing real fluctuations or just "settling in" from conflicting feedback loops? As for the EVPs, I would be rich if I had a nickel for every time they play back some random hyper-amplified noise and impose a subtitle on it and I can't for the life of me figure out how they derive some word or phrase from what I'm hearing. We had a discussion here years ago about EVPs. Someone posted an official EVP website that suggested to use the cheapest audio recorders, set to the slowest (i.e. noisiest) recording settings, and one suggestion is to even put the recorder in a shoebox! All they are doing is creating a high noise floor so their brian can "hear" things that they will interpret as a spirit. IMO, if you are going to record spirits from the netherworld, you should be recording with the highest fidelity possible and try to eliminate each and every distortion that could be introduced by the electronics chain. Instead, they like to do the exact opposite. I tried to find the discussion, but I couldn't...I've posted quite a bit since I joined. I actually had fun reading some of my old, old posts... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DesertBob Posted October 11, 2010 Share Posted October 11, 2010 We had a discussion here years ago about EVPs. Someone posted an official EVP website that suggested to use the cheapest audio recorders, set to the slowest (i.e. noisiest) recording settings, and one suggestion is to even put the recorder in a shoebox! All they are doing is creating a high noise floor so their brian can "hear" things that they will interpret as a spirit. Not surprising. I think that putting ghost hunters on reality TV introduces another dynamic as well ... and this is the pressure to produce impressive-looking material week after week. Human nature, ego, and financial pressure would all conspire to stir the pot and gradually corrupt even sincere and well meaning, honest "hunters" into doctoring things in post production. Indeed, post production may be partly or entirely out of their hands -- who knows what the network adds in there to protect their bottom line? Put another way, the tension between the demands of entertainment and investigative integrity are very great. Indeed, doctoring things here and there can be easily rationalized as meeting the demands of entertainment, especially if post production people are somewhat separate, giving the "hunters" the ability to adopt a "don't ask, don't tell" policy about "enhancements" they might notice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Marty Posted October 13, 2010 Share Posted October 13, 2010 Hey, I finally found that link! I must have been hungover the other day... http://www.ex-christian.net/index.php?/topic/19547-the-ghosts-we-think-we-see/page__p__318427__hl__evps__fromsearch__1#entry318427 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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