Ouija Boards......What do we think?

[regulo]

Been following the ghosts and the paranormal thread with interest, so I thought we'd like a heated debate about this!

When I was about 17, (long, long time ago), I was persuaded to take part in consulting an ouija board. This took place at a flat converted from an Edwardian terraced house, which one of my friends had recently moved to with his new bride. She wanted nothing to do with it, and left us to it. One of our number had done this before, and took on the role of questioner. Immediately, he'd asked if any spirits were present, the glass shot to "Yes", and the 5 of us doing it s**t ourselves. When we'd calmed down, we continued, asking questions, and getting replies. When asked "When did you die" we got 5J as the answer, over and over, on asking "Do you mean January", the glass shot to Yes. We then decided that we would check whether our host was pushing the glass around by asking him to sit out. We then asked "What is the colour of the wallpaper in the bedroom". The glass stopped, as though someone had gone to have a look, and came back to spell out, not only the colour, but the pattern of the wallpaper. None of us at the table had ever been in that room. The glass then spelt "Tired" twice, and stopped dead. I have an open mind as to what might have happened that night, but I never want to try the ouija again. What do you think, AB'ers?

[naomi24]

...cont

// “... I have to believe it...”

No you don't. You can actually think for yourself. Your mother wasn't telling lies. She was mistaken.//

Birdie, please don't patronise me by telling me I can think for myself. It's an insult. I always think for myself - as is clearly borne out by my continual disputes on these pages. As for my mother, she was an intelligent, rational lady who was under no illusions. The message she received was not complex, but simple, definite and clear and she wasn't mistaken, so, yes - I do have to believe it.

[naomi24]

Birdie, your disbelief in an afterlife doesn't offend me at all. Although I have no idea how it works, I think our energy survives death simply because energy can't be destroyed, but I don't believe for one moment in the sort of afterlife that most people seem to believe in. I'm pretty sure I'll never be knocking on the pearly gates, or the firey ones, and I won't end up sitting on a cloud playing a harp either! :o)

Thank you for the apology - of course there are no hard feelings. This is just debate. :o)

[chakka35]

birdie, I am grateful to you for saving me a lot of time by saying those things which I would have said.

naomi, no-one, as birdie says, is suggesting any lying or bad faith by anyone - well, in your case anyway. But, as I have bored you with before, none of us can, after the event, have any ability to judge how people might have been mistaken or tricked or whatever. The whole thing may be absolutely valid and therefore astonishing, but we outsiders just can't tell.

You must surely concede that there have been many cases where good, honest, truthful people have reported phenomena in good faith only for a perfectly rational explanation to come along later.

[naomi24]

I agree absolutely, Chakka, of course I do - and of course 'outsiders' as you put it, can't tell - in which case the logical thing to do is not to form a definite judgement and say that it's all nonsense, but simply to concede that you don't know - because you don't.

[Backdrifter]

@naomi24 - "I want answers - and in my opinion, since this is something that is yet to be explained, so should science"

Why? (Not meant in a combative way, I just don't get why "science" should).

Also, what do you mean by 'energy' when you said you think our energy continues after death? I hear people referring to energy a lot, but I rarely know what they mean.

[morn]

I tried the ouija board in my teens; and now would not have it in the house. Most forms of fortune telling are relatively harmless, but not this one. There's something very wrong - even evil - about it. It undoubtedly works, but in my experience tells the truth only when you are still sceptical about it - when you start to believe in it, it tells horrible things

[Quinlad]

I totally accept the sincerity of everyone posting on this thread, but surely there's a contradiction between naomi saying:

"There's one example I know of that cannot possibly be explained no matter which way you look at it,"

And:

"the logical thing to do is not to form a definite judgement."

[naomi24]

^^ Where's the contradiction?

[Ankou]

well you seemed to have formed a definite judgement there.

[naomi24]

Where?

[JimT]

Just looking at the last exchange, I'm guessing Quinlad means that "There's one example I know of that cannot possibly be explained no matter which way you look at it" is a definite judgement, i.e. "cannot possibly be explained" is a clear definitive statement that it CANNOT be explained, which is at odds with saying "the logical thing to do is not to form a definite judgement." But I'm sure Quinlad will correct me if I'm wrong, as will Ankou.

[naomi24]

These are two statements have been linked together and have been taken out of context. There is no contradiction. There is no doubt that currently some of these events cannot be explained. That is not a judgement - it is a fact. However, those who, despite having no experience of such occurrences, insist they don't happen at all aren't speaking factually - they are making a definite - and unfounded -judgement.

[naomi24]

sorry, ignore the first 'are'.

[Backdrifter]

No, it is a judgement.