Interesting thread:

[lildreamer316]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x628356

[Sanity Claws]

1. The responses are not so interesting

A lot of rudeness, self-justification, lack of openness to new ideas

[Habibi]

3. Yeah.

I quit reading after the first 6 responses. Geez.

[Habibi]

4. I've never had a "visit" myself.

Of course, a visit would probably scare the hell outta me, so it's just as well. :-)

[Lucinda]

5. I never was. You are just sort of in the moment when it happens.

For some reason I REALLY don't want to "see" them though. I think that is just a door I am uncomfortable opening.

I saw the ghost of a lady years ago in a mirror when I was managing a hotel. It is the only time I have seen anything other than a mist... every other encounter has been physical or environmental (sound, touch, smell especially) The woman I saw was just walking in frot of the mirror (between myself and the mirror) and there was no way I could have seen a reflection of anyone else; I was in a windowless room that opened into a front desk area of the hotel.I don't think she was aware of my presence at all. I wasn't scared then either.

[MorningGlow]

6. That is so true

I've had encounters with lots of ghosts (several houses I've lived in have had, er, prior residents hanging around), and I've never been afraid. I expected to, mind. And on occasion after the fact I've freaked out, recalling the event. But DURING? Nah. It just...is.

Lucinda, I can't see them either--just what they do (turn lights on and off, break glasses, etc.) and with some I could feel them watching me when my back was turned, or I'd see a shadow walking by out of the corner of my eye.

Of course, there was that one time one of them said hello--WOW! :wow:

[Lucinda]

7. Yep! "It just... is." - is the perfect way to put it. It felt absolutely ok and normal.

I was poked once in the shoulder once and they said "hey!" - even that didn't freak me out. I was in the bedroom of a great older place we were renting a few years back when it happened. I was by myself and didn't think to mention it to Bill when he came home. A few weeks later, Bill's young son was staying with us. The guest room was in another building so he slept in our room with us. When I woke up the next morning he told me someone had poked him in the shoulder and said "hey!" and woke him up. He wasn't freaked out either. It felt like someone who was surprised to find us in "their" house.

When he was really young he used to talk about a place we drove by occasionally (here in eastern Tennessee) where he used to be a farmer. He was born in Florida.

It's cool to hear about someone who interacts and doesn't see them too. It's hard to explain to people who don't experience it. It's soo clear that it's happening and not really something that could be a mind trick.

[Lucinda]

2. I have had "visits" from both humans and animals who have passed.

I wasn't under any stress, intoxicated, or in any other way expecting to hear from them, yet it happened.
I firmly believe in life after this, so I don't really grieve too much when someone passes. Especially if they were quite ill. So I don't have any need, psychologically, to conjure up such an experience. I pretty much figure they are fine once they have passed. And I have had that belief since I was a toddler, but that's another story. LOL

They weren't any visual experiences with any of them, however, it was a strong vocal and physical presence. I "Know" I could have seen my mother physically if I wished. I didn't.

The first time it happened - that I actually knew what was happening - it was my BF's mother. I wasn't close to her, she lived in another state, yet she passed through after her passing and thanked me for taking care of her son. It literally was a cool breeze in a warm house and spoken words, and then she was gone. When her husband passed several years later, I never saw, heard, or felt his presence. We had become very close, but I'm sure he made hasty tracks to rejoin his wife. He had missed her a lot.

It's not the same each time it happens. But it is very clear. It's not imagination or anything else causing it. In my case, I think the people (and cat lol) that have come, came to me because they wanted to see me.

[rosesaylavee]

8. Geez ... swell responses there.

Not.

I have experienced knowing when someone had passed twice - both not related and not direct knowledge of the moment. One was a celebrity that I followed pretty closely since I was a kid. When he passed in my thirties, my husband called on his way home from work and just said, have you heard the news. I knew of course the celeb was old but had no idea he was sick, hadn't read anything about him in a long time - but said omg, its ___ isn't it.

Another time, had a favorite author I had enjoyed a lot. Read her books and felt that her writing had a major influence on my thinking and world view. One week, I just decided I needed to tell her that. I needed to find her address or her phone number and just tell her what her writing had meant to me and my life. Called her city, her publisher, ATT information (well before the Internets btw)... nothing. Found out much later that that was her final week.

So, yes, no doubt there are connections even between people who have never met.