Active, like all the time?
Or would once in a while do?
They’re not the most cooperative communicants, you know!
First, I fell on this:
and I laughed.
Then, I read this:
and fell off my chair.
Did it kill you? Can we talk to you now?
rippingtons_fan- if any SMDB people actually had any experiences, the prevailing tone of mockery would probably deter them from sharing.
I haven’t & I think attempting communication is dangerous. That said, my Grandmom was very much into attending spiritist seances. She never went after I was born, but when my Dad & Mom were younger, they went with her to Camp Chesterfield in central Indiana. Dad told me that he didn’t believe in it but he couldn’t explain the apparitions of dead relatives he saw or some of the family info the mediums revealed.
Grandmom had an OLD Ouija board that my brother & I played with as children, with no results. We keep it around only because of its age but neither one of us would try it. I’ve heard enough Bad-Ouija tales from friends to risk it.
Just do a search on “spirit” and/or “ghost” – you will find that this is the case. We do not tolerate speculation on the paranormal in SDMB without ridicule, belittlement and derision. Also search on “Randi,” “ESP,” or any related terms.
It’ll open your eyes!
[Hijack] Communication with the dead is done by many people throughout the world.
If by “communication with the dead” one means talking to the dead, then there are many, many people who do this. At one time, traditional Japanese households would have a kami-dana (Shinto shrine) and/or a Butsu-dan (Buddhist shrine) along with an ancestral shrine with tablets. One would talk to the dead through the ancestral shrine, informing them of what is going on in one’s life. Afro-genous religious traditions - at least Santeria/Lukumi - have ancestral areas where one talks to one’s ancestors (or at least are supposed to on a regular basis) along with making offerings of water, rum, candles, flowers, and cigars. In Kemetic Orthodoxy - a revival of the ancient Egyptian religion - one is supposed to install an ancestral altar and communicate with one’s ancestors on a regular basis. All of these traditions also believe that one’s ancestors can have an impact in one’s life through spiritual or supernatural means.
Of course, another activity that may fall into the above category is the popular calling out to saints - all of whom are dead - prevalent amongst Catholics, Orthodox Christians, some Jews, and some Muslims.
If by “communication with the dead” one means a two-way interaction, then there are a number of religious traditions where this happens, especially in Afro-genous religious traditions such as Santeria/Lukumi, Vodun, Candomble, Palo, etc. This may take place in the setting of a seance (misa espiritual, in the parlance of Santeria) or during a possession. Many people of these religious traditions have very strong experiences with the reality of such events.
So, there are lots of people who communicate with the dead in a religious setting. [/Hijack]
WRS
I’m a Christian that fully believes in life after death and I do not believe it’s possible to communicate with the dead. ESP or other extrasensory “telepathic” abilities are completely unproven to me, so I don’t believe in them (but I don’t believe it’s impossible they could exist.)
What bothers me is when people close their minds. Especially on a forum where many people buy into some of the most hairbrained government conspiracy theories I’ve ever seen, but ridicule “paranormal” theories.
I think we should fully disprove people who are engaging in charlatanism(guys like John Edwards.) But this tone of mocking/derision that seems to go with any sort of belief contrary to that which is already known is sad, it’s by thinking outside the box we advance as a people.
Thank you for stating this. I personally appreciated it.
WRS - Maferefun egun!
{Glendower}
I can call spirits from the vasty deep.
{Hotspur}
Why, so can I, or so can any man;
But will they come when you do call for them?
William Shakespeare, King Henry IV, Part I, I.iii.53
What do you mean, “At one time”??! They do it now, all the time. My mother in law is a case in point. Whenever we go to her house she goes to the Butsudan and bangs on the bell and yells (because she was hard of hearing!) “HEY GREAT GRANNY!!! H/B and kiddies are here!” The first serving of rice is always put on the altar, and the first serving of sake is put on the Kami dana (most households have both.) It is a source of alarm for her that we have neither and have no intention of having them. Ick!
We bought a house off a widow recently. There is space for a Butsudan but we keep the computer there! In the winter when we put the stove on the walls warm up and the incense begins to seep out of the paper that surrounded her Butsudan. My husband tends to look up and say “She’s moved - go and look in Minami Machi!”
Hello Hokkaido Brit… I’m a Hokkaido American. You’ve turned off email so I thought I’d say hello here, apologies to everyone else for the hijack.
Is there any proof that the dead are replying?
People have been claiming to communicate with the dead for centuries, usually via a religious or psychic connection.
However I know of no evidence that anyone has succeeded - do you?
Martin,
I’m an atheist (who also doesn’t believe it’s possible to communicate with the dead).
I’ve run a test of remote viewing on this board (obviously there are limitations to using the SDMB for this), and the remote viewer was eventually persuaded to reconsider his claim.
There is no scientific evidence for any God, any paranormal ability or for communicating to the dead.
I don’t know if you consider this statement to be derisive, but it’s not intended to be so.
I certainly don’t have a closed mind - I’m happy to consider anything as long as there’s supporting evidence.
I am puzzled by your statement that many people here buy into Government conspiracies. When a thread on e.g. Area 51 is posted, the overwhelming response is to demand supporting evidence (which sadly never materialises).
tippity tappity tippity tappity tap tap tap PHWEEEEE PHWEEEE PHWEEE tap
tap tap tap tippity tap tappity tappity tappity PHWEEE
No answer. Hm.
Hello!
Kind of creepy to know that if we go out there’s another Doper about! Do you live near Sapporo?
Actually there’s lots of evidence out there that *something * other-than-‘normal’ is going on. Detailed information has been presented, but it’s always “debunked,” i.e., shown to be possible to have been faked, mistaken or misinterpreted, and is therefore rejected. Most of it is subjective, but some of it has been objective but does not stand up to replicability. Therefore it is not given validity.
We accept lots of things (or at least give them consideration) without scientific evidence as long as they meet certain criteria (modern physics string theory, wave theory, etc.), but when people try to validate occurances or experiences that have a long history, but which are associated with fraudulant or delusional occurances as well as valid ‘unexplainable events,’ we tend to disbelieve until we either experience it for ourselves or it is scientifically replicable. Or it turns into religion.
I wish I were so lucky. I’m closer to Wakkanai. Drop me a mail if you like.
My Uncle claims that after he circles his kitchen table, counter-clockwise for several hours, the dead approach him and they converse. They bring smells with them when they come. He tells me that he frequently converses with my Father and when he does, he smells fresh fish. Hey guys, I know about schizophrenia, better than I care to. When I hear voices, I accept that they are not real, so it doesn’t count. They’re all full of shit anyway, the voices, that is. Well my Uncle too. 
“Reality, what a concept!!!” R.Williams
I don’t understand the reasoning in your first paragraph. If the evidence is always debunked, and is therefore not valid, why do you think anything is ‘going on’?
Science certainly uses hypotheses, but the point is that they lead to predictions which can be tested. Proving the existence of gravity; getting into orbit; establishing the Internet - these follow well-established scientific methods.
I have corresponded with the British Society of Dowsers. I asked if I could be taught to dowse. A leading dowser replied that not only could he teach me to find water, pipes and oil underground, but that I would be able to find missing persons by holding a pendulum above a map. Naturally there would be a charge for his services.
I asked if he could demonstrate his ability. Sadly, no. If he was tested, his ability always failed. This was because it was a God-given ability, and he could not use it to ‘show off’.
There is a long history of ‘dowsing’ claims. No dowser has ever passed a test. What conclusion do you draw from this?!
My career appears to be dead and people communicate with me all the time.