Understanding the Paranormal
by Donna Thomson
When you hear the word paranormal it probably brings to mind episodes of the X-Files or movies with aliens and green sludge. Thanks to creative movie-producers there is a perception that the paranormal is something to fear and certainly not something we want to encounter. A few movies have however portrayed the spirit world in a more positive light though, such as Ghost.
Paranormal is actually a word used to refer to things that science cannot (at this time) explain, which can be anything from abilities like telekinesis and clairvoyance to sightings of UFOs and spirit-related happenings. At one time science believed the world to be flat. When you consider how complex our world is it's quite feasible that there are many things yet to be provable by science yet exist as part of the universe we live in.
We tend to fear what we don't know, so in this article we will cover some of the things considered paranormal so that you can increase your understanding and reduce any fears you might have about the "unknown". They are in alphabetical order.
Alien - Human beings live on Earth so aliens are considered to be beings from other planets or locations in the universe. They are unknown or different to us and therefore 'alien'. This does not mean scary, aggressive or green-eyed, simply not humans living on earth. Some people claim to have had encounters with aliens and at this time there is no proof either way to determine the truth of these encounters, yet it would be naive to assume that we are the only living beings in the universe because we exist on but one small planet within a universe that we don't even know the full vastness of.
Extraterrestrial - According to the American Heritage Dictionary, extraterrestrial is "Originating, located, or occurring outside Earth or its atmosphere: intelligent extraterrestrial life." While the term can be used to also refer to microscopic living organisms on other planets or meteorites it tends to refer mostly to "intelligent" life such as beings from other planets. It's interesting to note that most scientists believe that extraterrestrial life exists and there are ongoing efforts to find such life.
Ghost - A ghost is the spirit or soul of a deceased person or animal. Many people have had some sort of encounter or experience where they've seen or sensed a loved one or other spirit presence. Some people have the ability to see, hear or otherwise sense spirit and for many it's a normal part of the life and death experience to expect that our spirit carries on after our body dies. A ghost is not often seen as a physical presence but rather as a subtle airy presence (an apparition) usually seen with the mind's eye rather than with the physical eyes. The peripheral vision is also more susceptible to seeing energy such as spirits, that's why it's so common to see something out of the corner of your eye but when you turn to look directly at the object or flash of light it disappears.
Haunted - A location or object can be haunted, which essentially means it's where one or more spirits hang around. There are many reasons why a spirit will remain in a particular location or with an object. The article 'Why do we end up with spirits around us?" provides a lot of information about this topic. What is important to know is that spirits are rarely 'haunting' a place with the goal to scare the inhabitants away. This is just another popular science-fiction theme to create great scary movies!
Poltergeist - this term refers to a spirit that manifests itself by moving or influencing objects. While a normal spirit presence might go unnoticed by the average person, it's a bit hard to ignore items that get moved with no explanation or lights and other items that flicker or become active without any other explanation. Of course it's important to check possible electrical causes or interference by other people who have access to your home before assuming you have poltergeist activity. The most likely reason for a spirit to undertake such activity is to try and communicate with you. Again, unlike the movies, this is usually not so dramatic and may be a loved one giving you a sign that he or she is around. Otherwise it may be a spirit who needs help to cross over. Just like in the physical world there can be mischievous people in spirit who are indeed trying to make you fearful but remember that they are just people who have passed away rather than fearful movie-like "ghosts". If you feel you may have a spirit presence in your home, whether or not things are moving around or behaving strangely, please read the article "Recognizing Spirit Presences" which will help you identify the signs and get help to remove the spirit if necessary.
Psychic Abilities (precognition, clairvoyance, telepathy, ESP, etc.) - Intuitive abilities cannot as yet be explained scientifically but just as people feel their emotions, smell, see, touch and use their other senses, so too can they be aware of other energy. Thoughts travel just as radio waves travel and those who are more sensitive to the energy around the can pick up on information that carries images, thoughts, feelings and more. Such information can be from past, current or future situations regarding themselves or others. The majority of people use their intuition (psychic abilities) without even realising it but some have learned to harness it and can provide intuitive services for other people. For more information see the article "About Psychic Ability".
UFO - Unidentified Flying Objects have been witnessed in our skies for hundreds if not thousands of years. They are generally flying discs that hover or move quickly and seem to defy aerodynamics and physical laws as we know them. As we've had to experience UFOs from a distance the questions remain of what they are and who might be behind them. UFOs are extraterrestrial objects that many believe to carry alien life forms. The level of technology suggests highly intelligent beings are responsible for the UFOs seen by people on Earth.
As you can see, the world of the paranormal refers to things that a lot of people have experienced first hand but remain scientifically unverifiable. Due to the way science-fiction has portrayed things like ghosts, haunted houses and aliens, people are quite wary of things that in 10 or 20 years could be part of the rest of our scientific knowledge about our universe.