MANY PEOPLE fervently believe in angels and in the reality of protective guardian angels who watch over them. Skeptics dismiss the idea as mere folklore and fantasy. Time and again, however, amazing stories are told of personal experiences with mysterious beings who appear seemingly out of nowhere at pivotal moments to lend comfort, provide physical assistance and even save lives. They often disappear just as mysteriously. Are these beings truly of the angelic realm? Whoever – or whatever – they are, you’ll have a hard time convincing the authors of the following true stories that they are not real. Angel in the Back Seat
I was driving home one morning on a snow-covered highway that had been closed by the highway department due to a huge snow storm. I was very tired and fighting sleep every mile I drove. Finally, I could stay awake no longer... and I drifted off to sleep while driving. I had just nodded off when a large hand reached up between the seats and grabbed me by the right shoulder and gave me a vigorous shaking that very quickly woke me up. I quickly turned to see who had hidden himself in the back. Imagine my surprise when I turned the overhead light on and saw only an empty back seat! I began driving again when once again I became sleepy... and yes, it happened again, only this time I heard an audible voice from the back seat shout while shaking me, “WAKE UP!” That did it! I was now totally WIDE AWAKE and I remained that way all the way to where I lived. I told my family what happened and we came to the conclusion that my guardian angel, who was riding with me, decided to keep me awake until I made it home safely. – Roger Wheat
Angel Flew Interference
It was 2:30 a.m. and a frigid February blizzard was in progress in Ohio. I was still wired, just having completed my musical performance in a night club near the military base, so decided to do the drive now. I cranked up the radio and merrily set off for home. I became aware that I was the only car moving on the interstate. Others were pulled off the road buried under a couple of feet of snow. I was plowing through deep fresh snow as if it weren't there. I finally became aware that I had never turned on my windshield wipers. I'm barreling along at 75 mph and there was not a speck of snow on my windshield! This snow was sticking to everything and everybody else, why not me? I continued driving at that speed for the entire trip on the interstate... without turning on my wipers! No snow accumulated on the car until I approached the exit ramp. When I made that exit I was inundated with the heavy wet stuff and my wipers could not work fast enough to keep the windshield clear. I drove the rest of the way home at about 20 mph. I was highly amused and extremely grateful when a mental image appeared showing me my guardian angel flying interference for me throughout the entire trip. Thanks for keeping me safe. – Pat Pfeffer
Angel's Message
It was a dull, winter afternoon. I was met by a sudden urge to get up and have a drink. I walked over to the sink in a sort of trance and turned the tap. Instead of water, a white mist erupted from the tap and filled the kitchen. The mist was sucked into the cupboard under the stairs, and I was forced to drag my feet along and open the door. What I found almost made me have a heart attack: a man, cramped into the small space between the vacuum cleaner and the boiler tank, walked out and greeted me. "Hi," he said. He was dressed rather formally. I watched as he sat himself down. "Please sit," he told me. "I have come from heaven, and I have come with a message: Your mother in Spain is ill and requires medicine she cannot get. You are to go there and deliver it to her in person, then tell her Howard sends his love." Howard was my father; he had passed away only weeks before. When I asked the man who he was, he simply got up and walked upstairs. I left for Spain the day after. Sure enough, when I got there, my mother was in bed and had a large lump on her throat. She hadn't left the house since the day before and couldn't move. I delivered the angel's message and she nodded, "I know," she said with a sly smile. – Shaun T.
Answered Prayer I was married to a Vietnamese girl and living in Saigon. However, I lost my job in February 1972 and had been able to live off my savings. By 1974 I found myself in a terrible dilemma: broke with no job... and my wife was pregnant. The most important thing I wanted to do was to get my pregnant wife and myself back to the USA, but I had no money. In a book I read about Edgar Cayce, it said that praying was like asking the question, and meditating was like awaiting the answer. So I did this for weeks. One morning while I was meditating, a lady appeared in front of me with long, blonde, flowing hair and dressed in a long, old-style robe or gown. Her body was enveloped in the most beautiful golden light. She asked me simply, "Are you sure this was what you want to do?" My response was, "Yes." Then she vanished. It could not have been more than a week and I received a considerable amount of money from a couple of friends. In fact, over $2,500. I decided I would first go to the USA then send for my wife, who, by the way, gave birth to my son on the day I left for the US. When I arrived in the USA, I found that money didn't go very far and soon I was broke again. This time my brother, Dennis, made arrangements for me to borrow the money from him so I could get my wife and son to the USA. I just know the "Master" came through when I really needed Him and I'll never forget it. Now I hope I can somehow help someone else who is in need. – Jack Woosley
Saved from Drowning
When I was eight or nine, I went to this daycare called the JCC. It was June or July. We were swimming so I hopped in the pool. I don't exactly remember what we were playing, but it had to do with diving under water and trying to attack people (playing). Someone grabbed my feet, and when I went under to see who it was, a whole bunch of people made a wall on top of me and I couldn't get up. I remember blacking out. Then I saw a figure in the water dragging me up. Hands reached out and grabbed me, and then I was out of the water on the side of the pool. Everyone was freaking out when they saw that I wasn't breathing. When I was able to talk, they said that I had just floated up out of the water with my hands out. They said I climbed out of the pool and lay down. I have no idea what happened and nobody does either, just that before I lay down someone who looked like me but older walked by. I was confused because no one in my family except my grandma looked like me, and she had died the year before. My grandma knew what was happening... and saved me. – by Shadowgurl
Angel's Surgery Advice
I was hit by a car when I was six years old in 1984. I had a cracked skull, among many other broken bones, and my entire face was split open. During the emergency surgery, my father was in the waiting room praying for my recovery. He told me that during his prayer he received a message from "a being" that his son was in grave danger because the person operating on him was an intern who had forgotten to stitch the facial nerves back together where the face was cut. The being told my father to enter the operating room immediately and tell the intern that he forgot about the facial nerves. So my father did exactly that. For some reason, nobody stopped him from walking into the operating room. But when he did, he told the surgeon about the nerves and asked him if he was an intern. The surgeon admitted that we was an intern and that he forgot to stitch the nerves back together, which were now dying by the minute because they were severed. The hospital helicoptered in an experienced neuro-surgeon who had to undo the stitches done by the intern, and then stitch back the remaining nerves that were alive. He wasn't able to save some of the nerves that operate my right eyebrow, but other than that, my face works fine. Had my father not received the message, and did not act on it, the entire right side of my face would have been paralyzed for life. –Omar
Guardian Angel Protector
I think I was about six when this happened. I was sleeping when I felt myself urinating in my bed, which is pretty common for young children. I woke up immediately. Usually I would go into my parents' bedroom and wake them up to inform them of my accident. Then they would help me clean it up and get me settled back into a clean, dry bed. This night was different. Something told me to get out of bed and strip my sheets off of my bed, put them in the laundry room, clean myself up, and put clean pajamas on. I then went back into my room and got my sleeping bag out of my closet. I unrolled it and snuggled down into it. Before I even began to close my eyes, I noticed someone standing in my bedroom door. She was a beautiful lady with flowing black hair. She wore a white robe that went down to the floor. She stood there staring at me. SHE WAS REAL! I simply whispered to her, "Hi." She then brought her left pointer finger up to her mouth and gave me the "Shhhhh" sign. The next morning, my mom found me sleeping on the floor and asked me why. I told her about my accident and she was delighted to discover that I had taken care of it all by myself. She asked me what gave me the idea to get out my sleeping bag. I simply replied, "The lady told me to." This, of course, puzzled my mom and I explained the lady in my doorway to her. She smiled and told me that she must have been my guardian angel and was protecting me that night. Since that night, I have been a strong believer in my guardian angel, who has protected me many times since then. – Mitchel
Angel at the Accident It was the evening of Sunday, January 21, 2001 around 6:40 p.m. I was on the way from Winn-Dixie, where I was working, heading home. I was turning left at a yellow light, confidently thinking that the truck 25-35 feet away was going to come to a stop. WRONG! The truck hit the passenger side of my little 1989 Hundai at 40 to 50 mph. I remember the truck hitting my vehicle in slow motion. I was awakened by the touch of a presence upon my face, by a lady with red hair. Being that she was on the passenger side (which was struck by the truck) looking into the vehicle, I knew that she didn't reach in and touch me, but it was like a spiritual connection. She said, "You've just been in an accident. Everything is okay. The ambulance is on the way." I never noticed her leave the side of my car. It was like a minute or less after our conversation that the police and ambulance were pulling up. There was only one witness. He claimed he saw everything, being that he was behind me. I told everyone about the lady with red hair, and they say there was only one witness to see the accident, which was the man. My mom says it was my guardian angel. If I would have died that day, I probably would be headed for Hell, but thanks for God's grace. He saved me and gave me another chance. I'm 22 now. I've been becoming closer and closer to Him ever since. – Kendall
Winter Storm Angel
Winter storm in Nebraska, and I was returning from a business trip. I was about 15 miles outside of Omaha when my rental car ran out of gas. Snowing like crazy, road under construction, heavy traffic, lousy visibility, late afternoon and getting darker by the minute. Very dangerous place to be outside a car looking for help. Car sputtering and chugging, I spotted an off-ramp to a county road that crossed I-80. I swerved off so I'd be out of the traffic. As I coasted off, I saw a pickup truck parked on the off-ramp. My car stopped about 50 feet behind it. I saw the driver door of the pickup open and a woman stepped out. I immediately got out, hoping she'd have a phone so I could call for help. As I got closer, I saw she was taking something out of the back of her truck. When I got close enough, I saw it was a five-gallon gas can. She talked to me, but I don't recall her words, other than she said she had spare gas and I was welcome to the can of gas. I carried the can and she followed me back to my rental. We talked while I poured gas, but I don't remember any of the conversation. When I was done, I walked back to her truck, can in hand. I put it back in her truck, thanked her profusely. Somehow, it never occurred to me to offer her any money for the gas. She got in her truck and drove up the off ramp.
I hustled back to my car, ground the starter until it finally cranked up. I immediately drove up the hill, following in her tire tracks. I hoped to catch her and repay her. As I reached the top of the small hill where the road crossed over the interstate, the tire tracks just disappeared! They weren't blown away, not covered with snow... they just stopped. I had followed her up the hill not more than a minute or so after she drove off. There were no tracks going down the other side, which was the on-ramp back to I-80. No left turn or right turn tracks at the cross point of the road crossing the highway. No tracks at all. She just disappeared. She AND the truck.
I just sat there for a long time. I was just too stunned to think. I started to reconstruct the events and realized I didn't have any recollection of what she looked like. Or how she was dressed, color of her hair, sound of her voice. It was like even THAT had also disappeared, but from my memory. I remembered a truck with a shell, but then couldn't remember the color, the make, anything at all about her or the truck.
I've told a few people about this incident over the years, but even with the retellings, it still gives me shivers every time I think about it. I have no lucid or believable explanation for what happened. I'm not the hysterical type, of that I'm sure. Up to then, I did not believe in "angels." I do now. I know I have one. I KNOW I have one! – David
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
All About the Djinn
IN THE WESTERN WORLD we have grown up with the concept of demons and devils – the evil beings of the spirit world, according to traditional Christian beliefs. Other religions around the world have their spirit beings, too, of course. In Islam, the djinn are a race of spirit beings that can be good or evil. (Djinn, or jinn, is the origin of the more familiar word "genie" in English.) As we learned in the recent article "Exorcism is Islam," Muslims believe that evil djinn can sometimes possess human beings, as some Christians believe demons can possess people.
But what are the djinn? Our Muslim contact, who we identify only as M.M., and who provided the video of the exorcism, answers questions about these spirit beings.
Q: How were the djinn created?
A: Verses of the Koran and the Hadiths show unambiguously that the djinns were created of fire without smoke. According to Ibn ' Abbas, the expression "without smoke" means "end of the flame." Other scientists think that this expression means the purest of fires. What's important to know, quite simply, is that that the djinn were created of fire and therefore have a constitution completely different from ours.
The djinn were created before man. While the djinn were made of fire, man was made of clay and angels created of light.
In this way, the djinn are invisible. So if they are invisible how do we know they exist? Many things exist that our eyes do not see, but their effects are perceptible, such as the air and electrical current.
Also, this word was reported by Allah himself, and Allah does not lie.
Q: Where do the djinn live?
A: The djinn prefer to live in places not inhabited by man, such as deserts and wastelands. Some among them live in the dirty places (dustbins) and others live among man. The djinn live in these dirty places in order to eat the remainders of foods thrown away by people. Also, certain djinn live in cemeteries and ruins.
: Can djinn change form and appearance?
A: The djinn have the capacity to take many forms and to change appearance. According to the Imam Ibn Taymiya, they can take a human or animal, form such as a cow, a scorpion, a snake, a bird.... The black dog is the devil of the dogs and the djinn often appear in this form. They can also appear in the form of a black cat.
When a djinn takes a human or animal form, it obeys the physical laws of this form; for example, it will be possible to see it or to kill it with a gunshot or to wound it with a knife. For this reason, djinn remain in these forms for only a short time because they are vulnerable. In fact, they benefit from their invisibility to frighten people.
Q: Are djinn both male and female?
A: Yes, there are males and females among the djinn. According to the Koran, the djinn have the capacity to procreate and can have offspring.
Q: Are djinn responsible for their acts?
A: Just like humans, the djinn are responsible for their acts. Indeed, Allah will take the day of the last Judgement to them.
According to the Imam Ibn Taymiya, the djinn observe obligations in relation to their specific nature. Being different from the human beings, their duties are inevitably different, too.
They have religious beliefs, too. Like human beings, they can be Christian, Jewish, non-believers or Moslems. The Moslems among them are just like the Moslems among men; some are pious, others are evil.
Q: Are djinn afraid of humans?
A: The djinn and men feared each other mutually, but the djinn were able to instil fear more intensely than men. The djinns are more fearful beings by nature, but they can also feel such human emotions as anger or sadness. In fact, the djinn benefit from these states, being better able to cause fear in the heart of man. Like bad dogs, when they sense your fear, they will attack.
For more information, see the Wikipedia article on Genie.
IN THE WESTERN WORLD we have grown up with the concept of demons and devils – the evil beings of the spirit world, according to traditional Christian beliefs. Other religions around the world have their spirit beings, too, of course. In Islam, the djinn are a race of spirit beings that can be good or evil. (Djinn, or jinn, is the origin of the more familiar word "genie" in English.) As we learned in the recent article "Exorcism is Islam," Muslims believe that evil djinn can sometimes possess human beings, as some Christians believe demons can possess people.
But what are the djinn? Our Muslim contact, who we identify only as M.M., and who provided the video of the exorcism, answers questions about these spirit beings.
Q: How were the djinn created?
A: Verses of the Koran and the Hadiths show unambiguously that the djinns were created of fire without smoke. According to Ibn ' Abbas, the expression "without smoke" means "end of the flame." Other scientists think that this expression means the purest of fires. What's important to know, quite simply, is that that the djinn were created of fire and therefore have a constitution completely different from ours.
The djinn were created before man. While the djinn were made of fire, man was made of clay and angels created of light.
In this way, the djinn are invisible. So if they are invisible how do we know they exist? Many things exist that our eyes do not see, but their effects are perceptible, such as the air and electrical current.
Also, this word was reported by Allah himself, and Allah does not lie.
Q: Where do the djinn live?
A: The djinn prefer to live in places not inhabited by man, such as deserts and wastelands. Some among them live in the dirty places (dustbins) and others live among man. The djinn live in these dirty places in order to eat the remainders of foods thrown away by people. Also, certain djinn live in cemeteries and ruins.
: Can djinn change form and appearance?
A: The djinn have the capacity to take many forms and to change appearance. According to the Imam Ibn Taymiya, they can take a human or animal, form such as a cow, a scorpion, a snake, a bird.... The black dog is the devil of the dogs and the djinn often appear in this form. They can also appear in the form of a black cat.
When a djinn takes a human or animal form, it obeys the physical laws of this form; for example, it will be possible to see it or to kill it with a gunshot or to wound it with a knife. For this reason, djinn remain in these forms for only a short time because they are vulnerable. In fact, they benefit from their invisibility to frighten people.
Q: Are djinn both male and female?
A: Yes, there are males and females among the djinn. According to the Koran, the djinn have the capacity to procreate and can have offspring.
Q: Are djinn responsible for their acts?
A: Just like humans, the djinn are responsible for their acts. Indeed, Allah will take the day of the last Judgement to them.
According to the Imam Ibn Taymiya, the djinn observe obligations in relation to their specific nature. Being different from the human beings, their duties are inevitably different, too.
They have religious beliefs, too. Like human beings, they can be Christian, Jewish, non-believers or Moslems. The Moslems among them are just like the Moslems among men; some are pious, others are evil.
Q: Are djinn afraid of humans?
A: The djinn and men feared each other mutually, but the djinn were able to instil fear more intensely than men. The djinns are more fearful beings by nature, but they can also feel such human emotions as anger or sadness. In fact, the djinn benefit from these states, being better able to cause fear in the heart of man. Like bad dogs, when they sense your fear, they will attack.
For more information, see the Wikipedia article on Genie.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Historical background of ghost
The belief in ghosts as souls of the departed may be closely related to the ancient concept of animism, which attributed souls to everything in nature, including human beings, animals, plants, rocks, etc.[10] The idea was revived in the 20th century by Martin Heidegger under the new name Sein, as in his famous work Sein und Zeit (Being and Time).[citation needed]
Nineteenth-century anthropologist James Frazer stated in his classic work, The Golden Bough, that souls were seen as the creature within that animated the body:
"If a man lives and moves, it can only be because he has a little man or animal inside, who moves him. The animal inside the animal, the man inside the man, is the soul. And as the activity of an animal or man is explained by the presence of the soul, so the repose of sleep or death is explained by its absence; sleep or trance being the temporary, death being the permanent absence of the soul... "[11]
Although the human soul was sometimes symbolically or literally depicted in ancient cultures as a bird or other animal, it was widely held that the soul was an exact reproduction of the body in every feature, even down to clothing the person wore. This is depicted in artwork from various ancient cultures, including such works as the Egyptian Book of the Dead, which shows deceased people in the afterlife appearing much as they did before death, including the style of dress.
Another widespread belief concerning ghosts is that they were composed of a misty, airy, or subtle material. Anthropologists speculate that this may also stem from early beliefs that ghosts were the person within the person, most noticeable in ancient cultures as a person's breath, which upon exhaling in colder climates appears visibly as a white mist.[10] This belief may have also fostered the metaphorical meaning of "breath" in certain languages, such as the Latin spiritus and the Greek pneuma, which by analogy became extended to mean the soul. In the Bible, God is depicted as animating Adam with a breath.
In many cultures malignant, restless, ghosts are distinguished from the more benign spirits which are the subject of Ancestor worship.[12] Although the evidence for ghosts is largely anecdotal, the belief in ghosts throughout history has remained widespread and persistent.
Ghost stories date back to ancient times, and can be found in many different cultures. The Chinese philosopher, Mo Tzu (470-391 BC), is quoted as having said:
"The way to find out whether anything exists or not is to depend on the testimony of the ears and eyes of the multitude. If some have heard it or some have seen it then we have to say it exists. If no one has heard it and no one has seen it then we have to say it does not exist. So, then, why not go to some village or some district and inquire? If from antiquity to the present, and since the beginning of man, there are men who have seen the bodies of ghosts and spirits and heard their voices, how can we say that they do not exist? If none have heard them and none have seen them, then how can we say they do? But those who deny the existence of the spirits say: "Many in the world have heard and seen something of ghosts and spirits. Since they vary in testimony, who are to be accepted as really having heard and seen them?" Mo Tzu said: As we are to rely on what many have jointly seen and what many have jointly heard, the case of Tu Po is to be accepted."[13] (note: King Hsuan (827-783 BC) executed his minister, Tu Po, on false charges even after being warned that Tu Po's ghost would seek revenge. Three years later, according to historical chronicles, Tu Po's ghost shot and killed Hsuan with a bow and arrow before an assembly of feudal lords.)
Many other Eastern religious traditions also subscribe to the concept of ghosts. The Hindu Garuda Purana has detailed information about ghosts.[14]
The Hebrew Torah and the Bible contain few references to ghosts, associating spiritism with forbidden occult activities cf. Deuteronomy 18:11. The most notable reference is in the First Book of Samuel (I Samuel 28:7-19 KJV), in which a disguised King Saul has the Witch of Endor summon the spirit of Samuel. In the New Testament, Jesus has to persuade the Disciples that he is not a ghost following the resurrection, Matthew 24. In a similar vein, Jesus' followers at first believe him to be a ghost when they see him walking on water.
A celebrated account of a haunted house, from the ancient classical world, is given by Pliny the Younger (c. (50 AD).[15] Pliny describes, in a letter to a friend, how Athenodoros Cananites (c. 74 BC – 7 AD), a Stoic philosopher, decided to rent a large house in Athens, to investigate widespread rumors that it was haunted. Athenodoros staked out at the house that night, and, sure enough, a disheveled, aged spectre, bound at feet and hands with rattling chains, eventually appeared. The spirit then beckoned for Athenodoros to follow him; Athenodoros complied, but the ghost soon vanished. The philosopher marked the spot where the old man had disappeared, and, on the next day, advised the magistrates to dig there. The man's shackled bones were reportedly uncovered three years later. After a proper burial, the hauntings ceased.[16]
From the medieval period an apparition of a ghost is recorded from 1211, at the time of the Albigensian Crusade[17]. Gervase of Tilbury, Marshal of Arles, wrote that the image of Guilhem, a boy recently murdered in the forest, appeared in his cousin's home in Beaucaire, near Avignon, France. This series of "visits" lasted all of the summer. Through his cousin, who spoke for him, the boy allegedly held conversations with anyone who wished, until the local priest requested to speak to the boy directly, leading to an extended disquisition on theology. The boy narrated the trauma of death and the unhappiness of his fellow souls in Purgatory, and reported that God was most pleased with the ongoing Crusade against the Cathar heretics, launched three years earlier. The time of the Albigensian Crusade in southern France was marked by intense and prolonged warfare, this constant bloodshed and dislocation of populations being the context for these reported visits by the murdered boy.
Many other stories from the Middle Ages and the Romantic era rely on the macabre and the fantastic, and ghosts are a major theme in literature from those eras. The Child ballad Sweet William's Ghost recounts the story of a ghost returning to beg a woman to free him from his promise to marry her, as he obviously cannot being dead; her refusal would mean his damnation. This reflects a popular British belief that the dead would haunt their lovers if they took up with a new love without some formal release.[18] The Unquiet Grave expresses a belief even more widespread, found in various locations over Europe: ghosts can stem from the excessive grief of the living, whose mourning interferes with the dead's peaceful rest.[19] In many folktales from around the world, the hero arranges for the burial of a dead man. Soon after, he gains a companion who aids him and, in the end, the hero's companion reveals that he is in fact the dead man.[20] Instances of this include the Italian fairy tale Fair Brow and the Swedish The Bird 'Grip'.
In many traditional accounts, ghosts were often thought to be deceased people looking for vengeance, or imprisoned on earth for bad things they did during life. The appearance of a ghost has often been regarded as an omen or portent of death. Seeing one's own ghostly double or "fetch" is a related omen of death.[21]
In 1848 the Fox sisters of Hydesfield in New York State claimed to have communication with the disembodied spirits of the dead and launched the Spiritualist movement, which claimed many adherents in the nineteenth century.[22] The claims of spiritualists and others as to the reality of ghosts were investigated by the Society for Psychical Research, founded in London in 1882. The Society set up a Committee on Haunted Houses and a Literary Committee which looked at the literature on the subject.[23] Apparitions of the recently deceased, at the moment of their death, to their friends and relations, were very commonly reported.[24][25] One celebrated example was the strange appearance of Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon, walking through the drawing room of his family home in Eaton Square, London, looking straight ahead, without exchanging a word to anyone, in front of several guests at a party being given by his wife on 22 June 1893 whilst he was supposed to be in a ship of the Mediterranean Squadron, manoeuvering of the coast of Syria. Subsequently it was reported that he had gone down with his ship, the HMS Victoria, that very same night, after it had collided with the HMS Camperdown following an unexplained and bizarre order to turn the ship in the direction of the other vessel.[26] Such crisis apparitions have received serious study by parapsychologists with various explanations given to account for them, including telepathy, as well as the traditional view that they represent disembodied spirits.[27][28]
Nineteenth-century anthropologist James Frazer stated in his classic work, The Golden Bough, that souls were seen as the creature within that animated the body:
"If a man lives and moves, it can only be because he has a little man or animal inside, who moves him. The animal inside the animal, the man inside the man, is the soul. And as the activity of an animal or man is explained by the presence of the soul, so the repose of sleep or death is explained by its absence; sleep or trance being the temporary, death being the permanent absence of the soul... "[11]
Although the human soul was sometimes symbolically or literally depicted in ancient cultures as a bird or other animal, it was widely held that the soul was an exact reproduction of the body in every feature, even down to clothing the person wore. This is depicted in artwork from various ancient cultures, including such works as the Egyptian Book of the Dead, which shows deceased people in the afterlife appearing much as they did before death, including the style of dress.
Another widespread belief concerning ghosts is that they were composed of a misty, airy, or subtle material. Anthropologists speculate that this may also stem from early beliefs that ghosts were the person within the person, most noticeable in ancient cultures as a person's breath, which upon exhaling in colder climates appears visibly as a white mist.[10] This belief may have also fostered the metaphorical meaning of "breath" in certain languages, such as the Latin spiritus and the Greek pneuma, which by analogy became extended to mean the soul. In the Bible, God is depicted as animating Adam with a breath.
In many cultures malignant, restless, ghosts are distinguished from the more benign spirits which are the subject of Ancestor worship.[12] Although the evidence for ghosts is largely anecdotal, the belief in ghosts throughout history has remained widespread and persistent.
Ghost stories date back to ancient times, and can be found in many different cultures. The Chinese philosopher, Mo Tzu (470-391 BC), is quoted as having said:
"The way to find out whether anything exists or not is to depend on the testimony of the ears and eyes of the multitude. If some have heard it or some have seen it then we have to say it exists. If no one has heard it and no one has seen it then we have to say it does not exist. So, then, why not go to some village or some district and inquire? If from antiquity to the present, and since the beginning of man, there are men who have seen the bodies of ghosts and spirits and heard their voices, how can we say that they do not exist? If none have heard them and none have seen them, then how can we say they do? But those who deny the existence of the spirits say: "Many in the world have heard and seen something of ghosts and spirits. Since they vary in testimony, who are to be accepted as really having heard and seen them?" Mo Tzu said: As we are to rely on what many have jointly seen and what many have jointly heard, the case of Tu Po is to be accepted."[13] (note: King Hsuan (827-783 BC) executed his minister, Tu Po, on false charges even after being warned that Tu Po's ghost would seek revenge. Three years later, according to historical chronicles, Tu Po's ghost shot and killed Hsuan with a bow and arrow before an assembly of feudal lords.)
Many other Eastern religious traditions also subscribe to the concept of ghosts. The Hindu Garuda Purana has detailed information about ghosts.[14]
The Hebrew Torah and the Bible contain few references to ghosts, associating spiritism with forbidden occult activities cf. Deuteronomy 18:11. The most notable reference is in the First Book of Samuel (I Samuel 28:7-19 KJV), in which a disguised King Saul has the Witch of Endor summon the spirit of Samuel. In the New Testament, Jesus has to persuade the Disciples that he is not a ghost following the resurrection, Matthew 24. In a similar vein, Jesus' followers at first believe him to be a ghost when they see him walking on water.
A celebrated account of a haunted house, from the ancient classical world, is given by Pliny the Younger (c. (50 AD).[15] Pliny describes, in a letter to a friend, how Athenodoros Cananites (c. 74 BC – 7 AD), a Stoic philosopher, decided to rent a large house in Athens, to investigate widespread rumors that it was haunted. Athenodoros staked out at the house that night, and, sure enough, a disheveled, aged spectre, bound at feet and hands with rattling chains, eventually appeared. The spirit then beckoned for Athenodoros to follow him; Athenodoros complied, but the ghost soon vanished. The philosopher marked the spot where the old man had disappeared, and, on the next day, advised the magistrates to dig there. The man's shackled bones were reportedly uncovered three years later. After a proper burial, the hauntings ceased.[16]
From the medieval period an apparition of a ghost is recorded from 1211, at the time of the Albigensian Crusade[17]. Gervase of Tilbury, Marshal of Arles, wrote that the image of Guilhem, a boy recently murdered in the forest, appeared in his cousin's home in Beaucaire, near Avignon, France. This series of "visits" lasted all of the summer. Through his cousin, who spoke for him, the boy allegedly held conversations with anyone who wished, until the local priest requested to speak to the boy directly, leading to an extended disquisition on theology. The boy narrated the trauma of death and the unhappiness of his fellow souls in Purgatory, and reported that God was most pleased with the ongoing Crusade against the Cathar heretics, launched three years earlier. The time of the Albigensian Crusade in southern France was marked by intense and prolonged warfare, this constant bloodshed and dislocation of populations being the context for these reported visits by the murdered boy.
Many other stories from the Middle Ages and the Romantic era rely on the macabre and the fantastic, and ghosts are a major theme in literature from those eras. The Child ballad Sweet William's Ghost recounts the story of a ghost returning to beg a woman to free him from his promise to marry her, as he obviously cannot being dead; her refusal would mean his damnation. This reflects a popular British belief that the dead would haunt their lovers if they took up with a new love without some formal release.[18] The Unquiet Grave expresses a belief even more widespread, found in various locations over Europe: ghosts can stem from the excessive grief of the living, whose mourning interferes with the dead's peaceful rest.[19] In many folktales from around the world, the hero arranges for the burial of a dead man. Soon after, he gains a companion who aids him and, in the end, the hero's companion reveals that he is in fact the dead man.[20] Instances of this include the Italian fairy tale Fair Brow and the Swedish The Bird 'Grip'.
In many traditional accounts, ghosts were often thought to be deceased people looking for vengeance, or imprisoned on earth for bad things they did during life. The appearance of a ghost has often been regarded as an omen or portent of death. Seeing one's own ghostly double or "fetch" is a related omen of death.[21]
In 1848 the Fox sisters of Hydesfield in New York State claimed to have communication with the disembodied spirits of the dead and launched the Spiritualist movement, which claimed many adherents in the nineteenth century.[22] The claims of spiritualists and others as to the reality of ghosts were investigated by the Society for Psychical Research, founded in London in 1882. The Society set up a Committee on Haunted Houses and a Literary Committee which looked at the literature on the subject.[23] Apparitions of the recently deceased, at the moment of their death, to their friends and relations, were very commonly reported.[24][25] One celebrated example was the strange appearance of Vice-Admiral Sir George Tryon, walking through the drawing room of his family home in Eaton Square, London, looking straight ahead, without exchanging a word to anyone, in front of several guests at a party being given by his wife on 22 June 1893 whilst he was supposed to be in a ship of the Mediterranean Squadron, manoeuvering of the coast of Syria. Subsequently it was reported that he had gone down with his ship, the HMS Victoria, that very same night, after it had collided with the HMS Camperdown following an unexplained and bizarre order to turn the ship in the direction of the other vessel.[26] Such crisis apparitions have received serious study by parapsychologists with various explanations given to account for them, including telepathy, as well as the traditional view that they represent disembodied spirits.[27][28]
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Christ the Redeemer Statue Struck by Lightning
An amazing photograph was taken during a thunderstorm capturing Rio de Janeiro’s world-famous statue of Christ the Redeemer being struck by lightning.
The statue stands 39.6 metres (130 feet) tall, weighs 700 tons, and is located at the peak of the 700-m (2296-foot) Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park overlooking the city. A symbol of Christianity, the statue has become an icon of Rio and Brazil. As of 2007, Christ the Redeemer, was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
Was this a omen from God warning us of the trouble ahead or just a really cool looking act of Mother Nature? Let there be
Science dictates that everything and anything can be explained with logic. And the ones that can not, should be labelled as the "unexplained", insufficient proof, or simply "Beyond Imagination." The existence of the entities goes back through the passage of time. Ancient beliefs recognized the existence of some "supernatural being," but the lack of proof resulted in an unjustifiable misnomer (evil) linked to them for centuries. Ignorant manifestations in the early years led to the belief that only bad spirits linger into this world because the door to heaven will never be open for them. Not true!
The spirits (pure thought, entities) mentioned above, existed in a parallel dimension, in different levels and layers. Their encounters with the living for so long is a phenomenon by itself, but it was misconstrued negatively. The negative manifestation of the media towards their existence created a lasting separation in the understanding of this phenomenon. Their spirits linger to the location where they died and will stay there for millennia until it is their time to go into the next state of mind. They do however, venture to relatives and friends from time to time.
Entities may take many forms (See our What Do You See? section). They may make themselves visible, but only for 14 seconds. They are not allowed to remain visible longer than 14 seconds. Entities (whether they are in "heaven" or not) are able to move freely from their dimension, to our dimension and back.
They may be guardian angels, individuals, or two or more in groups. Do all entities enter into the dimension of life-after-death?... Yes. As mentioned earlier, there are many levels and layer upon layer within the dimension of life-after-death. (See Life After Death). The next question should be... what do the entities do? Do they go to heaven (as we call it)? The answer to the second question is... No, not all of the entities go directly to heaven after death. Those that have completed or accomplished their goals or purpose (in physical life), go to heaven. (SeeHeaven). Those that had their lives abruptly taken from them could and most do, remain attached to the locale at the time of their death.
Since there are no bad entities, this venture to the unknown can be very refreshing to the mind. A lot of gifted people can see, hear, feel and or talk to them. However, a very selected one and the only one who can, Release them from the present state to the final state of Nirvana or what is commonly called "Heaven". This individual is the only "living portal" between the "two states" since the beginning of time.
We, of the Otherplane, had been dealing with entities since 1997 and through this effort, we have learned a lot about its way of doing things and also learned the misconceptions of people in different cultures (the way they behave as they explored the world of the paranormal). There are other familiar names given to the spirits, however, within the otherplane's domain we identify them all as "Entity/s". Each culture will behave differently in every aspect of the unexpected and as we progress in technology and mental prowess, our belief on the paranormal are still unchanged throughout the millennia.
These entities were the remnants of the human life that once were and then promulgated into different perceptions through time across the continents. It became a folklore, a legend and a foundation of future manifestations that have confused the issue of reality and the beyond. Our experience with the entity/s came as we discovered that it was possible to correspond with them at any time, and as we continued to evolve with them, we learned more and more as the readers relate their own experience to us. From there, we identified specific information about the entities.
As humans pass on, the entity/s practically have to learn things just like we do. We have to rely on tangible things, for them it's a new experience and that they have to learn these things. Some will take longer than others and some will not bother to learn certain things (unless need to). Others will progress to a point that we might even think that they're God, but they are not. It's like when the Spaniards conquered the Incas, they could've been all killed by the local inhabitants but the Incas thought that they were "Gods" and that became their downfall.
Entities will also maintain some of the emotional traits like a living humans, although not magnified like we have, it's really there. When provoked, that emotion will normally happen without a major physical impact. However, the media will exaggerate this to a point that such informations will be embedded into people's minds and thus will progress into another horrifying level of paranormal encounters. The entities can only do so much within their abilities, oftenly misinterpreted by us.
The entities are always in control of the situation prior to, during and after contact. Reasons for this could be anything. This could be some of the reasons: Moving into their environment; modification and or alteration of a domain; attracted by the aura emanated by the human; or plainly a coincidence between the two. These anomalies related to us by the readers dictates that we are not really alone. We normally look at our environment in a tunnelized way and never thought of the microns/microbes of things that we step on daily, nor we look at the depth of the outerspace, and for a few microseconds ask ourselves, "Where could the end be". What if we, as a whole, are the microbes in the bigger scale of things! With that in mind, can we really see and feel everything? What if the remnants of life can be visible in a very specific wavelength. A spectrum that can be acquired and or learned later on in time. This handicap also apply to the entities because they cannot really see us like they used to when they're still alive. They remember the emanation of that person and they rely heavily on that signature. That's why when they want to make contact, it will only be that person that will feel drawn to. The entity will syncronize with that particular persons wavelength but since our own emanation is not stable at all, the entity will only have a few seconds for visually appearing to the person but the person feeling that something is present will be longer. As the entity becomes familiar with the person, then the encounter will be easy for the entity and (could be) traumatic for the human. The entity will rely heavily on that emanation (Aura) and that will dictate the number of encounters. At times, the human, as they learn the ways of the entity or by accident, can take pictures by aiming and shooting strictly on feelings and a good percentage will be reflected in the picture.
Some of the common names used are: Spirit or Spirit Guide, Ghost, Apparition, Demon or Devil, Angel or Guardian Angel.
Paranormal names used are: Globule, Ectoplasm and Entity.
Note: You can view these individual pics in our What Do You See? pages
As the entity/s learn more, then the humans will experience more and more of these encounters and most will be magnified as representation of the evil side and the entities don't have a chance to explain themselves. The good side are still here preaching how awful the evil side are, not knowing that those that they claim to be evil, used to go to the same church that they attended. The biggest manifestation by humans are that they claimed that the entities can see each other they cannot, they can sense one another. There's some sort of phenomenon in that realm that prevents them from materializing and seeing each other in that domain. So when people claim that the whole generation of family is waiting and or happy, it's simply not true. They are alone by themselves but they have the ability to stay dormant for a long period of time and wake up inside a condo that wasn't there hundred of years ago. That's when problem start. The "heaven" that all the religions praised about are only an emotional level that these entities reach maybe right after death or thousands of years later. The "light" represent the threshold of life, an umbilical cord that dictates the future of that individual. That microsecond of things to replay selective scenes in the process. They see the past in "fast forward play" and then return to the body sometimes a changed person. Yes, the feeling is heavenly because the emotional burden is no longer there, a free floating thought not really digested yet of the new body, and then the reality will shortly set in.
The biggest misconception of information is that entity/s can take over/inhabit the body of a living human. That belief spread throughout the world and in time, the movies and T.V.'s played on that belief and bombarded us with the wrong information. Then the future generations will never have a choice of learning the truth... that it's not true. Our mind in itself is a very formidable tool. We can be talented and paranormally gifted. These gifts might not be recognized while still living and/or probably suppressed by the upbringing, or just not enough information to trigger it. Then this person will (pass on) and this gift becomes normal to the entity or very easy to learn. If a"Placebo", at times, works wonders in a sick person, why not a direct thought injection from an entity to a live human! Mentally disturbed, highly unbalance, emotionally distressed and or manifesting with something else could cause all these claims of being "possessed" to come into play. Our mind can be our friend and also our foe, when engaging into the paranormal realm.
The spirits (pure thought, entities) mentioned above, existed in a parallel dimension, in different levels and layers. Their encounters with the living for so long is a phenomenon by itself, but it was misconstrued negatively. The negative manifestation of the media towards their existence created a lasting separation in the understanding of this phenomenon. Their spirits linger to the location where they died and will stay there for millennia until it is their time to go into the next state of mind. They do however, venture to relatives and friends from time to time.
Entities may take many forms (See our What Do You See? section). They may make themselves visible, but only for 14 seconds. They are not allowed to remain visible longer than 14 seconds. Entities (whether they are in "heaven" or not) are able to move freely from their dimension, to our dimension and back.
They may be guardian angels, individuals, or two or more in groups. Do all entities enter into the dimension of life-after-death?... Yes. As mentioned earlier, there are many levels and layer upon layer within the dimension of life-after-death. (See Life After Death). The next question should be... what do the entities do? Do they go to heaven (as we call it)? The answer to the second question is... No, not all of the entities go directly to heaven after death. Those that have completed or accomplished their goals or purpose (in physical life), go to heaven. (SeeHeaven). Those that had their lives abruptly taken from them could and most do, remain attached to the locale at the time of their death.
Since there are no bad entities, this venture to the unknown can be very refreshing to the mind. A lot of gifted people can see, hear, feel and or talk to them. However, a very selected one and the only one who can, Release them from the present state to the final state of Nirvana or what is commonly called "Heaven". This individual is the only "living portal" between the "two states" since the beginning of time.
We, of the Otherplane, had been dealing with entities since 1997 and through this effort, we have learned a lot about its way of doing things and also learned the misconceptions of people in different cultures (the way they behave as they explored the world of the paranormal). There are other familiar names given to the spirits, however, within the otherplane's domain we identify them all as "Entity/s". Each culture will behave differently in every aspect of the unexpected and as we progress in technology and mental prowess, our belief on the paranormal are still unchanged throughout the millennia.
These entities were the remnants of the human life that once were and then promulgated into different perceptions through time across the continents. It became a folklore, a legend and a foundation of future manifestations that have confused the issue of reality and the beyond. Our experience with the entity/s came as we discovered that it was possible to correspond with them at any time, and as we continued to evolve with them, we learned more and more as the readers relate their own experience to us. From there, we identified specific information about the entities.
As humans pass on, the entity/s practically have to learn things just like we do. We have to rely on tangible things, for them it's a new experience and that they have to learn these things. Some will take longer than others and some will not bother to learn certain things (unless need to). Others will progress to a point that we might even think that they're God, but they are not. It's like when the Spaniards conquered the Incas, they could've been all killed by the local inhabitants but the Incas thought that they were "Gods" and that became their downfall.
Entities will also maintain some of the emotional traits like a living humans, although not magnified like we have, it's really there. When provoked, that emotion will normally happen without a major physical impact. However, the media will exaggerate this to a point that such informations will be embedded into people's minds and thus will progress into another horrifying level of paranormal encounters. The entities can only do so much within their abilities, oftenly misinterpreted by us.
The entities are always in control of the situation prior to, during and after contact. Reasons for this could be anything. This could be some of the reasons: Moving into their environment; modification and or alteration of a domain; attracted by the aura emanated by the human; or plainly a coincidence between the two. These anomalies related to us by the readers dictates that we are not really alone. We normally look at our environment in a tunnelized way and never thought of the microns/microbes of things that we step on daily, nor we look at the depth of the outerspace, and for a few microseconds ask ourselves, "Where could the end be". What if we, as a whole, are the microbes in the bigger scale of things! With that in mind, can we really see and feel everything? What if the remnants of life can be visible in a very specific wavelength. A spectrum that can be acquired and or learned later on in time. This handicap also apply to the entities because they cannot really see us like they used to when they're still alive. They remember the emanation of that person and they rely heavily on that signature. That's why when they want to make contact, it will only be that person that will feel drawn to. The entity will syncronize with that particular persons wavelength but since our own emanation is not stable at all, the entity will only have a few seconds for visually appearing to the person but the person feeling that something is present will be longer. As the entity becomes familiar with the person, then the encounter will be easy for the entity and (could be) traumatic for the human. The entity will rely heavily on that emanation (Aura) and that will dictate the number of encounters. At times, the human, as they learn the ways of the entity or by accident, can take pictures by aiming and shooting strictly on feelings and a good percentage will be reflected in the picture.
Some of the common names used are: Spirit or Spirit Guide, Ghost, Apparition, Demon or Devil, Angel or Guardian Angel.
Paranormal names used are: Globule, Ectoplasm and Entity.
Note: You can view these individual pics in our What Do You See? pages
As the entity/s learn more, then the humans will experience more and more of these encounters and most will be magnified as representation of the evil side and the entities don't have a chance to explain themselves. The good side are still here preaching how awful the evil side are, not knowing that those that they claim to be evil, used to go to the same church that they attended. The biggest manifestation by humans are that they claimed that the entities can see each other they cannot, they can sense one another. There's some sort of phenomenon in that realm that prevents them from materializing and seeing each other in that domain. So when people claim that the whole generation of family is waiting and or happy, it's simply not true. They are alone by themselves but they have the ability to stay dormant for a long period of time and wake up inside a condo that wasn't there hundred of years ago. That's when problem start. The "heaven" that all the religions praised about are only an emotional level that these entities reach maybe right after death or thousands of years later. The "light" represent the threshold of life, an umbilical cord that dictates the future of that individual. That microsecond of things to replay selective scenes in the process. They see the past in "fast forward play" and then return to the body sometimes a changed person. Yes, the feeling is heavenly because the emotional burden is no longer there, a free floating thought not really digested yet of the new body, and then the reality will shortly set in.
The biggest misconception of information is that entity/s can take over/inhabit the body of a living human. That belief spread throughout the world and in time, the movies and T.V.'s played on that belief and bombarded us with the wrong information. Then the future generations will never have a choice of learning the truth... that it's not true. Our mind in itself is a very formidable tool. We can be talented and paranormally gifted. These gifts might not be recognized while still living and/or probably suppressed by the upbringing, or just not enough information to trigger it. Then this person will (pass on) and this gift becomes normal to the entity or very easy to learn. If a"Placebo", at times, works wonders in a sick person, why not a direct thought injection from an entity to a live human! Mentally disturbed, highly unbalance, emotionally distressed and or manifesting with something else could cause all these claims of being "possessed" to come into play. Our mind can be our friend and also our foe, when engaging into the paranormal realm.
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