A Conversation for Talking Point: Is It All In The Mind?

It's not always imagination!

Post 1

FordsTowel

The original premise is demonstrably (but not proveably) wrong. Sometimes apparitions are not products of a mind that is just stressed or influenced by suggestion.

Sure, there are far-fetched stories, and nobody has caught physical proof of the existence of paranormal activity (physical proof being the oxymoron).

The first problem is defining ghost. If we use the exclusive definition that ghosts are what remain (sans body) after a person dies, at least temporarily, it's unproveable either way.

I will offer a story that I know to be true (you'll have to take my word for that, so it won't do you any good, really).

At the funeral of a friend's parent, another attendee who I brought with me from out of town approached the bereaved daughter/friend. After condolences were given, and a discussion about the nice church service, and the daughter describing the cancer that made them choose a closed-casket ceremony, my companion asked the daughter about the woman sitting on the side in one of the chairs, that she seemed to smile through the entire thing.

The daughter reacted with confusion, saying that she hadn't seen anyone there. The companion described the woman, down to her hat and shoes.

The daughter visibly blanched and stammered: You've just described the outfit that my Mom is being buried in.

My companion mentioned how odd it seemed for her to be wearing the sunglasses in the church. The daughter pressed for a description of the sunglasses. My companion gave her the description, and the daughter said that they had been brand new, and that the mother had not even had a chance to wear them out of the house, so they had decided to put them on her after she was in the casket.

Was it truly a ghost? Did my companion pick up a psychic projection from the daughter or the assembly? Was it a complete fabrication of my companion's mind?

I don't know about the first two, but I highly doubt the statistically unlikelihood of the third.

or
smiley - towel


It's not always imagination!

Post 2

The H2G2 Editors

Excellent story, and rather spooky. Food for thought indeed. One thing though; the example we chose wasn't meant to poo-poo the existence of ghosts; rather, it was just to demonstrate that sometimes seeds get planted in the mind, and that's one's imagination can play havoc with the nerves. It didn't have to be a 'ghost story', we could have used many other different examples.


It's not always imagination!

Post 3

FordsTowel

True, true. smiley - ok

I did forget to give my actual answers to the talking points in all that. Here they are now:

* Are you prone to gloomy thoughts or unnecessary worry? Do you let your mind run away with you? Do you have any counter-thoughts to get you back on track?
- Not prone to the gloomy thoughs, but I do sometimes choose to let my mind run away with me. Where else does it have to go? smiley - smiley Still, even then, it's not hard to reel back in. All I need to see is a newsboy shouting the midday paper, and a No. 73 bus going past, and whatever odd ideas might come into a man’s head go right out the window.

* If you're naturally not a worrier, a happy-go-lucky sort of person, could you perhaps give the rest of us, the unhappy-go-unlucky sort, a few pointers? Do you have any techniques to keep you in a positive frame of mind?
- First, it all boils down to the eventualities of life. We know that despite our best efforts, we aren't going to live forever; and nothing much that we can accomplish, or screw up, will be remembered in any way other than, perhaps, a poorly written, inaccurate account produced to line someone else's pockets.
- Second, there are very few real 'problems' in life. If nobody's life is in danger, what you really have is an inconvenience. And, if your 'problem' can be solved by writing a big enough check, what you really have is an expense.

* Sportsmen practise a lot of visualisation. They picture the ball going into the hole, smashing the back of the net, winning the tournament, before they've even changed into their kit. So can we think ourselves in to a better, 'winning' position, no matter what field we work or operate in?
- Positive thinking can at least put you in a better frame of mind for succeeding than becoming obsessed visualising failure. I do tend to accept assignments with a 'Yes I can do that', and then figure out how I'm going to do it. It then just becomes a serious of thinking, researching, planning, trying, testing, and re-thinking until I get it done.

* In your experience, does exercise keep the monkey mind at bay?
- It beats wishful thinking or obsessing, but I'm not one for confusing things like using exercise to distract the mind. I exercise by doing things that need to be done, or because I've planned to exercise. The mind stuff I leave between my ears.

* Do you think if you start worrying about worrying too much you might end up worrying even more. A bit like digging a large hole for yourself. Is it better not to analyse things at all and just do more things?
- Yes, there is such a thing as a depression spiral, but it's normally brought about as a result of self-obsession. People who think more outwardly seem less likely to engage in the self-pitying downward track.

* Is the person that you think you are - the version of you that you hold in your head - the person that everyone else thinks you are? Are they one and the same?
- Most decidedly not! I suspect that the person I think myself to be would scare a lot of people. Most folks I know tend to think much better of me.

* Is it really all in the mind?
- Yes, but only because everything is in the mind. All of our perceptions, memories, experiences, and everything we sense is processed by the mind. Without it, even the sense of existence would be impossible. We live 100% of our lives above our shoulders and between our ears. Perhaps knowing that is part of the secret?!smiley - doh

smiley - towel


It's not always imagination!

Post 4

The H2G2 Editors

As ever, a well thought out, excellent response, Fords smiley - ok


It's not always imagination!

Post 5

FordsTowel

smiley - blush Thanks!

smiley - towel


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