Have you ever had a real experience you consider to be supernatural?

[Janx]

What I've always wondered is what ghosts are supposed to be made of. Clearly it's something that is subject to gravity, since the Earth travels at about 370 km/sec through space and ghosts apparently stay right where they are relative to the planet.

I'm sure there's some kind of relative positioning going on. Or just like how the light from my flashlight doesn't fly off spinwardly but hits the wall.

 

[JEB]

Is The Forum Getting More Antagonistic?

I've been lurking here for... a year? Two now? And I enjoy looking at people's thoughts on all kinds of TTRPG stuff. I enjoy the "what piece of art made you love X" threads, I enjoy the breaking down of game mastering styles, I enjoy having a place to check for RPG news. But I feel like I'm...

www.enworld.org

 

[jdrakeh]

Yes, several, but many illegal drugs and days of sleep deprivation were involved in addition to various magical practices. Hard to tell where the naughty word started. Still, I don't use any of that stuff anymore (and haven't for 18 years come this Halloween).

 

[Hex08]

When I was younger I had what I considered, at the time, to be supernatural or paranormal experiences. I was good friends with some kids who thought their house was haunted and the whole family generally believed in all kinds of supernatural phenomenon and as a child it was easy to get sucked in. Couple that with things I experienced on my own I certainly believed. As I have gotten older I found much of what I experienced had rational explanations. Now I don't believe in anything supernatural. Just because I can't explain something doesn't mean there is a paranormal reason for it happening and since I am not an expert in everything I don't assume I should always know why something happens. If I can't explain it there is a fair chance there is an expert who can and if there isn't yet an explanation it just means we haven't yet found it yet.

There are some great books that are helpful in understanding why people believe some of the things we do:
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan
Why People Believe Weird Things by Michael Shermer
The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe by Steven Novella

 

[Maxperson]

I have.

Normally I'm a rational skeptic, scientifically inclined person. I'm agnostic in that I believe that the actual origin to existence is almost certainly beyond human comprehension as we are now, so I believe that things we cannot explain likely do exist.

All that background established, I have had experiences I do believe had supernatural elements. One involved an experience I had while alone that I believe was a carefully aimed signal from a relative who had died recently. Another one involced several people, one a relative of mine, doing things over a few hours that were unusual to a notable degree and while seemingly unrelated all seemed to be perfectly timed to lead me to being exactly where and when I was needed to possibly save a woman's life.

Both experiences left me with the impression something had happened that had no rational explanation. I'm not easily convinced of the supernatural, but I believe they happened nonetheless.

Have you ever had an experience you believe to be supernatural? I'm kind of curious if other people who generally use analytical thought, which gamers often do, have experiences they can't rationally analyze.

Years ago I lived in an apartment with room mates. I came home and nobody was there. I looked in every room, including the bedrooms and bathrooms, because I needed to talk to one of them. Realizing that I was alone, I sat down at my computer with my door open. My desk was right next to the door out of the room, so I always had a clear view down the hallway to all of the bedrooms and the bathroom.

About a half hour after I sat down I heard water running in the bathroom. When I went in, the bathtub faucet was on at full force when it hadn't been when I checked. Just in case I had missed someone coming in, I searched the apartment again and I was alone. I turned off the faucet and sat down again. It was about 3 hours before anyone came home. There's no explanation I have for how that faucet was not only turned on, but all the way as far it could go.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Is The Forum Getting More Antagonistic?

I've been lurking here for... a year? Two now? And I enjoy looking at people's thoughts on all kinds of TTRPG stuff. I enjoy the "what piece of art made you love X" threads, I enjoy the breaking down of game mastering styles, I enjoy having a place to check for RPG news. But I feel like I'm...

www.enworld.org

Mod Note:

And this is helpful/funny/germane how?

 

[Argyle King]

I'm not sure that I would say I have experienced "supernatural" events, but I have experienced a handful of things which I cannot fully explain.

For example, I've had several experiences in which I was able to smell when people were near death. Despite other people in the same room saying they didn't perceive anything, I could smell that death was near. My assumption is that my sense of smell is sensitive to something associated with how/why those particular people were dying, but I don't know how, why, or what.
(I don't know if this is related, but sometimes I can also smell when a person is bleeding.)

 

[Maxperson]

I'm not sure that I would say I have experienced "supernatural" events, but I have experienced a handful of things which I cannot fully explain.

For example, I've had several experiences in which I was able to smell when people were near death. Despite other people in the same room saying they didn't perceive anything, I could smell that death was near. My assumption is that my sense of smell is sensitive to something associated with how/why those particular people were dying, but I don't know how, why, or what.
(I don't know if this is related, but sometimes I can also smell when a person is bleeding.)

Let's drill down on this a bit and see if we can solve the puzzle.

Do you burn when you go out into sunlight?

Does the smell of garlic make you sick?

Do you go around, rather than over running water?

 

[Janx]

Let's drill down on this a bit and see if we can solve the puzzle.

Do you burn when you go out into sunlight?

Does the smell of garlic make you sick?

Do you go around, rather than over running water?

I see where this interview is going.

 

[ART!]

I'd like to add an observation, based on experience from both sides of this sort of conversation. I'm not even really comfortable reducing it to two "sides", but it'll do for now, I hope.

I'm not attacking or accusing anyone of anything, and I haven't read the whole thread, but because of my experiences I just want to add a word of caution.

Offers to dissuade others of their spiritual beliefs are fraught with pitfalls, for both parties. The would-be dissuader might just be (consciously or unconsciously) better at making arguments that seem rational, or they might just be more forceful, or less inclined to yield ground, than the "believer". Such attempts can even become gaslighting and abusive. So, even with the best intentions (and it's hard to know if one's intentions are actually best, or instead self-serving) these attempts can be harmful to the target of the dissuasion.

As noted, attempts to dissaude others of their beliefs can also be very self-serving, a way for the dissuader to stroke their ego and feel smarter-than or better-than the target.

I am in no way arguing that "believers" are less forceful, more gullible, more easily intimidated, etc. than non-believers. Nor am I arguing that they are less rational. If that sounds nonsensical, well, that's part of what I'm cautioning against.

Myself, I was raised in a tradition that embraced religious faith and reason, and I would feel just as silly saying I hadn't experienced anything "supernatural" as I would saying I haven't experienced anything rational.