Research suggests 'ghosts' could be all in the mind..

Ecthalion wrote:

Zenchi wrote: Stating the progress made in this field is negligible I think is really cutting short how far we have come to understanding ourselves. That's of course not to say there's nothing left to discover in the field of neuroscience, but negligible?[/color]

Yes we do understand a great deal more than we used to but there is a huge amount we do not know. It's like understanding a tyre and a boot compared to understanding a whole car - petrol tank, electronics, engine, suspension and all.

Yes, there's quite a bit we "don't know," but calling man's progress negligible? Again I ask the question, compared to what?

Psychology, psychiatry and brain surgery suggest we know how to do a little more than just change a tyre...

Zenchi wrote: Yes, there's quite a bit we "don't know," but calling man's progress negligible? Again I ask the question, compared to what?

Compared to the whole picture.

2tzb wrote: Psychology, psychiatry and brain surgery suggest we know how to do a little more than just change a tyre...

I disagree. We know so little in the grand scheme of things, but I will leave it there.

Ecthalion wrote:

Zenchi wrote: Yes, there's quite a bit we "don't know," but calling man's progress negligible? Again I ask the question, compared to what?

Compared to the whole picture.

That's very vague and generalized, and does not help to prove your point of view. Are you a psychologist, a neurosurgeon? If you have no significant experience in regards to specific fields of the human brain, then it is personal opinion, and you're entitled to it...

Zenchi wrote: That's very vague and generalized, and does not help to prove your point of view. Are you a psychologist, a neurosurgeon? If you have no significant experience in regards to specific fields of the human brain, then it is personal opinion, and you're entitled to it...

It may well be 'vague and generalised'. It is not intended to 'prove' my point of view. I am merely sharing my opinion. I am neither a psychologist nor a neurosurgeon but I do know that consciousness is a long way from being understood, as are dreams and NDEs.

Yes we know a lot, but there is much more that we do not. Of course this is only my opinion. Maybe we know 90% of all there is to know, but I doubt it.

is it a malfunction of the brain, or a function of the brain that we just don't have enough data on yet?

The movie "Lucy" was quite thought provoking!

Ecthalion wrote: Maybe we are here for some greater reason. Maybe we are aspects of the 'divine' and, so as not to totally forget our true nature, we are given 'clues', such as sunsets, rainbows, dreams and the like which arouse 'spiritual' feelings. These are the 'benefits' of which I speak.

I personally do not ascribe any divine purpose to the universe. I believe that things happen simply because that is the way things are. Does a tree need a "purpose" behind why it's leaves fall in autumn? Do waves need a "purpose" behind why they lap on shores?

Why are you focusing on the divine? One can ask the same question: "Maybe we are aspects of the 'manifest evil of the universe' and, so as not to totally forget our true nature, we are given 'clues', such as pain, terror, disease and the like which arouse 'spiritual' feelings'."

When one focuses on the positive one can just as easily focus on the negative:

Tao Te Ching 2 wrote: When people see some things as beautiful,
other things become ugly.
When people see some things as good,
other things become bad.

Being and non-being create each other.
Difficult and easy support each other.
Long and short define each other.
High and low depend on each other.
Before and after follow each other.

Therefore the Master
acts without doing anything
and teaches without saying anything.
Things arise and she lets them come;
things disappear and she lets them go.
She has but doesn't possess, acts but doesn't expect.
When her work is done, she forgets it.
That is why it lasts forever.

Akkarin wrote: Why are you focusing on the divine? One can ask the same question: "Maybe we are aspects of the 'manifest evil of the universe' and, so as not to totally forget our true nature, we are given 'clues', such as pain, terror, disease and the like which arouse 'spiritual' feelings'."

A good point. It's just a 'sense' I have. I see the physical nature of the universe as 'negative' but the spiritual as 'positive'. The two are necessary aspects of the same thing.

None of this is set in stone. It's all a mystery to me which I cannot understand (despite years of trying) and my views change often. I try to stay open minded (but often fail!).

In regards of the OP, as much as I would love to see a ghost, I've never experienced anything but my own imagination trying to scare dickens out of me... I acknowledge the theoretical possibility and potential energetic mechanisms, but beyond hyper-imagination, I've not seen anything to convince me...

In regards of Humanity progressing, we have not a shred of evidence that "man's humanity to man" is any better than in Plato's day or before...

We have some awesome Tech which hugely benefits a small percentage of the earth's population... But that doesn't mean humanity has progressed.

There is lots of evidence that our ancient forbears practiced brain surgery, that isn't a gauge I would use. Our medicines and vaccines do give us a leg up, but the way in which we distribute their benefits, still argues against improvements in our "Humanity"...

There clearly isn't much evolutionary benefit to "improving" humanity, so we'll just have to break the mold and boot-strap it ourselves...

One thousand years ago the Golden age of the Islamic civilization flamed out and bequeathed its spark to the European "Enlightenment" commencing some 400 years ago... We're still the same nasty brawling brats.

Just my 2 centavos.

Apologies to Edan for continuing the derail of your OP... :dry:

Of course ghosts are all in our mind, everything is. Everything we know starts in our minds.