As a health psychologist I became fascinated with people’s holistic need for the spiritual aspects of life and how if those needs were unmet people did not heal from disease. The spiritual seems to be of paramount importance to health. I became intrigued by the fact that the need when met could come to the person in any form, Christianity, Muslim, Islam or Buddhist to name a few of the mainstreams of spiritual believe systems. It is also apparent that the New Age form of spirituality fills the need for a knowledge of something outside of and greater than the self.
I have mentioned the ‘normal’ paths to spirituality but what of the curious or the obsessed that ardently pursue the paranormal, metaphysics, psychic realms and anything not explained by and also shied away from by the mainstream faiths and dogmas? Can the ‘unusual’ fill the need for knowledge of something greater than the self?
Similarities of All Systems
So what is the common ground that all forms of beliefs obviously possess? The assurance of something beyond what we see, hear, feel, touch, and smell in this human experience. All faiths indicate we have a 6th sense or one that detects the intangible. We need to know there is life after death because death is imminent and the prospect makes most people so uncomfortable that they do not want to think about it.
However, if there is an existence beyond death then comfort is provided a dying individual and the mortal in each of us. We need to know that we do not cease to exist upon stepping through death’s door. If we can validate the existence of something; ghosts, phantoms, angels, apparitions and so forth then we can rest assured that we too may continue on in the next cosmic plane we might discover when we die.
Oftentimes our interest is pursued as a way of seeking validation in order that this existence may be assisted by helpful terrestrial beings and thus we feel less helpless. This is why we pray. We need help from someone or something that is greater than ourselves and not helpless to alter our present situation, Yet, I believe the roots are deeper in our psyche than we acknowledge.
It is a deep seated and innate need to find some sort of system of faith in order that one is whole…or living holistically. Man has sought the spirit realm since the beginning of time as we can measure it. We cannot address the mind and body without addressing the spirit if we hope to feel whole or be healthy. So, we innately pursue something to believe in.
For Example: We Will Kill and Die for Our Faith
Our spiritual construct or belief system is so paramount in our need for righteousness that we will go to war and kill those who do not believe as we do. The Middle East for example is a hot bed of holy wars…all fought to prove the sanctity and “chosen one’s” aspects of the region’s faith. Muslims hate Christians and Christians see Muslims as deluded and misled in their belief system. Christians have long slaughtered those of other faiths and we still do today. Christians feel compelled to save the world by converting it to the “right” faith, i.e. Christianity. Ironically, Muslims feel and believe the same way.
Faith in other words is a great and powerful motivator and can be a deadly tool that is exploited as justifiable cause for many apostasies man creates and inflicts upon others. “God wills it”, we cry! I wonder how we know that God wills it and if he/she does then what kind of god is that? Curiously, who would follow that system in earnestness and trust of a loving higher being? So, I having lived many different types of faiths and belief systems can see the appeal of the paranormal for it lacks the judgment and self-righteousness attached to many mainstream beliefs.
The Neutrality of the Paranormal
Seeing and believing in ghosts promotes the basis and foundation of life after death as one believes ghosts or apparitions are proof of an afterlife. It also satisfies the need to believe that one will live on without the restrictions attached of the sinful state and the ensuing punishment or reward system that can create ego problems for the self-proclaimed righteous and shame for the so called sinner. The belief in and the pursuit of the paranormal is in this respect neutral. It does not inflict a system of dogmatic rules and do’s and don’ts and it does not deceive followers with respect to one’s paranormal belief system is ‘right’ and all others are wrong. The paranormal-ist, for lack of a better name, is like a neutral country that says, “Leave me out of your wars and disputes. I just want to be spiritual.”
Paranormal Defined
By definition the word paranormal implies that the scientific explanation of the world around us is the ‘normal’ part of the word and ‘para’ makes up the above, beyond, beside, contrary, or against part of the meaning. Mainstream faiths fit this definition yet are more acceptable, possibly because of the larger number of proponents or adherents to religious systems and possibly because of its century’s long list of believers. Consider that many opponents of the paranormal postulate that Christ was real because the ‘Bible says it’s so’ and yet they have little if any proven scientific data to support their beliefs. Thus, by definition, religions are normally, paranormal.
Who Cares?
The Committee Skeptical Inquiry has 50,000 journal publication subscribers…people in general are interested in the paranormal as are scientists and scholars.
What Do People Believe?
A 2001 Gallup Poll ( wikipedia, 2001) found that the general public embraced the following:
• 54% of people believed in psychic/spiritual healing,
• 42% believed in haunted houses,
• 41% believed in satanic possession,
• 36% in telepathy,
• 25% in reincarnation, and
• 15% in channeling.
A survey by Jeffrey S. Levin, associate professor at Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk found that over 2/3 of the U.S. population reported having at least one mystical experience. My guess is that many among the ranks of these believers would rely upon something greater than the self to promote healing their body. In other words, they would pray for healing and believe it was possible to be healed. And some scientific evidence points to the fact that those who have faith heal faster than those who do not.
So What?
Getting back to my original point, the spiritual side of our being needs to be acknowledged and nurtured regardless of the path we choose to walk in the pursuit of knowledge and understanding the unexplained and inexplicable, i.e. the supernatural. I would be hard pressed to say one system is better than another…I am stating that if any of the systems promotes greater psychological and physical health then it should be acceptable and promoted.
Oh, just so you know, I believe in ghosts, angels, E.T’s, gods and even demons. I also believe in Christ, Buddha, and all historical prophets. I have not found any evidence to disprove them. I relish the wonder of the vast expanse of universes and the unexplained that I can explore. This objective consciousness of the limitlessness of other dimensions keeps me intrigued and seeking more wholeness. It is a great feeling to be AWE-struck by some new discovery or idea.
Paranormal Inquiry Research
Do you believe in the paranormal? It would be interesting to hear some opinions