“Why this blog title?”

I know they exist. A presumptive statement for the uninitiated or the non-believer. I have been asked, “Why this blog title?” A declaration to convince? A device to gain attention? No…it is not these. If it were a tactical reach it would soon ring untrue under the scrutiny of a frequent blog. Like the various dimensions of reality, the meaning may appear to be one thing and another…at the same time.

Much of the exploration of the paranormal over the last century has been preoccupied with seeking credibility, to compete with the empirical model of science. The empirical model is adversarial. A supposition is made, ceaseless experiments are conducted to support and verify… and then critics work to disprove. If the final evidence is found to ‘survive’ this process, then proof is agreed upon. And so the parallel course of ghost investigations has been to scientifically ‘prove’ their existence. It began over 130 years ago with the earliest photography, in which attempts were made to catch images of ghosts. In 1920 Thomas Edison announced he was working on a device that would record voices of the dead. He never succeeded. Over the years motion film cameras and video cameras have been positioned to capture moving ghosts. Sometimes they have succeeded. Today an entire industry has sprung up around ghost investigations. Ghost meters that read electromagnetic waves and temperature fluctuations, special film and digital image recorders and audio recorders to record electronic voice phenomenon are all now accepted as ‘research instruments’, much the same way that microscopes and telescopes are accepted as scientific tools. All of this points toward the unavoidable conclusion that ghost enthusiasts want proof…maybe to convince non-believers…or maybe as a way to reassure themselves that their pursuit is not folly. Maybe proof would put them in touch with something eternal…a way to conquer the great mystery of death. Certainly there is value in doing what can be done to give ghost hunting, as well as all paranormal research, solid credibility. I have been involved in ghost investigations and will continue to do so…and I will take whatever evidence that I may find. And it would give me pleasure to see others fulfilled by a proven answer. I certainly believe that science and technology will continue to seek answers to our greatest mysteries. And, science and the paranormal will one day nearly merge in a seamless way, in which great insights will be revealed.

But for me, proof, in the empirically derived way is unnecessary. I have seen a ghost. In addition, I have been made aware of people who have passed into the next dimension but who’s consciousness continues. But even with this knowledge, my reason for the statement “I know they exist” is to free this blog from proof as a limited ceiling in which we can fly no higher. I will address science and technology, discuss it and explore it’s meaning in relationship to ghosts. But the blog begins with the premise that ghosts exist…that the phenomenon exists and survives in it’s own right…that an exploration of all the subtle meaning and all of the profound implications is as meaningful as proof. If there is no proof, does it mean that the phenomenon does not exist…that there are no ghosts? Or could it mean that our technology has not yet evolved to measure ghosts, who for the most part, may not even exist in this dimension. Tools from this dimension to measure evidence from the next dimension? Here in this blog we will embrace the security of certainty, but not be limited by it and pursue the inspiration of the mysterious.