3 replies to this topic

[Jeff Belanger]

Dear Ghostvillagers,

Where did October go? I swear I just left it right here and now I can’t find it anywhere! Hopefully you have some memory of the month because I don’t. It was a whirlwind. I had more lectures this past month than ever before. I’ve been in a bunch of different states, and got to hang out with thousands of you. Thank you for that!

November is a time of Thanksgiving and a time for family here in the United States. I know I’m looking forward to seeing mine and taking a couple of days off. Family also got me thinking about the concept of “crisis apparitions.” Last month I did an interview with CNN.com on this subject. Interviews have a way of forcing you to explore subjects more thoroughly -- so what exactly are crisis apparitions?

The logical side of me understands that in traumatic times, it’s obvious we would envision people we love coming to our side -- maybe we’d even create that hallucination for ourselves. If I were hurt and dying in some field somewhere, seeing my long-deceased grandfather coming to my aid would bring me great comfort. But this is only one side of the equation. What about those people who have a kind of precognitive experience with an apparition. Meaning you’re healthy and going about your daily routine when you see the apparition of a family member or friend who you know (or at least think) is alive and well? You might even talk with that person, and then later learn that they had died before your conversation.

I’ve heard many a military version of this encounter as well. The story typically goes that a group of soldiers are resting in some building when an officer walks in and tells them they need to move down the road immediately. The soldiers comply just before an explosion destroys the building they were in. When they search for the officer who shuffled them out, they learn he died the day before.

The power of the human spirit has always amazed me. It can cure diseases, create amazing works of art, it can stir great numbers of people into action, and it can cause destruction. I accept the fact that this same human spirit could project itself in its final moments if that’s what we willed it to do. This month we’re going to jump into the theme of crisis apparitions a little deeper in our message board of the month.

Supernaturally yours,

Jeff Belanger
Mayor of Ghostvillage.com
Twitter: @THEJeffBelanger

[DougA]

Jeff Belanger, on Nov 17 2011, 01:08 PM, said:

Dear Ghostvillagers,

Where did October go? I swear I just left it right here and now I can’t find it anywhere! Hopefully you have some memory of the month because I don’t. It was a whirlwind. I had more lectures this past month than ever before. I’ve been in a bunch of different states, and got to hang out with thousands of you. Thank you for that!

November is a time of Thanksgiving and a time for family here in the United States. I know I’m looking forward to seeing mine and taking a couple of days off. Family also got me thinking about the concept of “crisis apparitions.” Last month I did an interview with CNN.com on this subject. Interviews have a way of forcing you to explore subjects more thoroughly -- so what exactly are crisis apparitions?

The logical side of me understands that in traumatic times, it’s obvious we would envision people we love coming to our side -- maybe we’d even create that hallucination for ourselves. If I were hurt and dying in some field somewhere, seeing my long-deceased grandfather coming to my aid would bring me great comfort. But this is only one side of the equation. What about those people who have a kind of precognitive experience with an apparition. Meaning you’re healthy and going about your daily routine when you see the apparition of a family member or friend who you know (or at least think) is alive and well? You might even talk with that person, and then later learn that they had died before your conversation.

I’ve heard many a military version of this encounter as well. The story typically goes that a group of soldiers are resting in some building when an officer walks in and tells them they need to move down the road immediately. The soldiers comply just before an explosion destroys the building they were in. When they search for the officer who shuffled them out, they learn he died the day before.

The power of the human spirit has always amazed me. It can cure diseases, create amazing works of art, it can stir great numbers of people into action, and it can cause destruction. I accept the fact that this same human spirit could project itself in its final moments if that’s what we willed it to do. This month we’re going to jump into the theme of crisis apparitions a little deeper in our message board of the month.

Supernaturally yours,

Jeff Belanger
Mayor of Ghostvillage.com
Twitter: @THEJeffBelanger

[Cryscat]

I've had at least one of these, way back when I was just short of my 5th birthday. It was my grandpa on my dad's side

[LycanGhost]

I had an experience like this. My paternal granddad popped in just after we moved into our current house when I was home alone. I saw him from about... The shoulders up as I was headed through the kitchen to the bathroom. He'd been dying from.... Shoot, I wanna say advanced colorectal cancer, and just stopped by to let us know he wasn't suffering anymore.