If you are one who believes in the paranormal, it goes along with the territory acknowledging that our consciousness survives bodily death. This claim alone leads to endless argument and discussion as to the possibility of spirit world contact. Pertaining to the search for proof of the paranormal, let us, for the moment, disregard the popular electronic devices that IMO manufacture their own "evidence," and instead of assuming the paranormal exists, explore reasons it could exist, not from our side, but from the spirit side.
There are several main areas of contention that contribute to an endless, ongoing debate.
1 - The human brain: our brain cells communicate with each other through electrochemical processes connecting to one another through synapses, the tiny gaps between brain cells. This is the basis for stored memories. Our memories are retained or strengthened when neurons continually stimulate each other making the connection stronger. When these same neurons cease to communicate on a regular basis the stored memories weaken over time and sometimes stop communicating altogether.
Now, take that information and apply it to a person who has passed and who is now an alleged ghost. Where is the memory retention of their former bodily lives, family, friends, events, emotions and even the basic familiarity with their homes and surroundings while alive, including the details of their own bodily deaths? If these memories were retained as one becomes a ghost, what real purpose did our brains ever serve? The contradiction is powerful. What about people who die with diseases of the brain like Alzheimer's, which causes memory loss. Does such a ghost no longer remember their corporeal associations due to various types of neurodegenerative damage?
Playing devil's advocate to propose a counter argument in favor of consciousness surviving bodily death (you see, I'm not a total skeptic!), neuroscience testing results of patients with hemisphere damage to their brains indicate that both hemispheres of the brain communicate with one another through the "corpus callosum." For example, when there is damage to the hemisphere that controls sight, a person cannot see or can no longer accurately communicate what is in the line of sight. It is treated as having not been realized because of the lack of communication between the hemispheres. This is just one hypothesis that could explain why paranormal investigators hear sounds from other locations in a building or see a fleeting shadow person. The ghost knows you are there, but they have as much difficulty finding you as you have attempting to find them!
2 - Time is not linear: Some scientists contend that time is an illusion while some like quantum physicists describe time as "everything happening simultaneously." This conclusion however is considered false as it disregards the 2nd law of thermodynamics, arguably the most important of physics laws. My indigenous friend has at times told me that to the spirit world, time has no meaning. Connotating that all time has already occurred and we are just physically experiencing it in a linear fashion from our point of birth, does give rise to an important argument that is unfathomable to understand.
If we, now as spirits have access to all time, does that mean our consciousness resides simultaneously in both the corporeal and spirit realms? As spirits, are we observing ourselves in the timeline of our corporeal existence? It's kind of like the philosophical paradox of the chicken and egg. I feel this is an important detail in the "is the paranormal real" argument. If simultaneous consciousness does exist, does this explain a proposed hypothesis of the existence of cosmic laws that are immutable and preventing such things as doorways/portals to be allowed to exist in the first place, or any type of transgression between the spirit world and ours, including sound or any other physical manifestation scenarios. One could inject the negative proof fallacy here as a counter argument, however in the world of science, wormholes can be likened to alleged paranormal portals. Both classical physics and quantum physics teach unequivocally that Cosmic laws actually preclude the possibility of existence of wormholes/portals, in effect protecting the universe from violation of its fundamental laws.
3 - When do we as humans become conscious? Is it while in the womb or after birth? #2 above argues against either of these claims. One has to wonder though, if consciousness is affected in association with our corporeal existence, why that is so? If we as ghosts already exist outside of the timeline being experienced when we are born, why the need to reformat our hard drives (brains)? What purpose does that serve in existing in our bodily lives when we already exist outside of our bodily lives? As a ghost, I can imagine becoming quite bored and frustrated (ghosts with emotions???!!!!) at watching ourselves experience both pleasant and unpleasant things while alive, and already knowing the outcome. It's like a movie spoiler becoming known before watching the movie.
4 - What's the use of spirit contact? Let's say that somehow, someway an intelligent communication is accomplished with the spirit world. What does that change? Believing in the paranormal, didn't you already believe in life after death? Do you feel better knowing the end to the movie before you watch it? Ask yourself exactly what kind of information would you want revealed to you from the spirit world side, especially if it would be only bits and pieces? Do you really want to know? I am often amused to watch a TV ghost show and the slightest sound captured or heard is immediately considered to be positively from a former corporeal presence at that location, usually based on cognitive bias or simply an urgent need to show some kind of "evidence." Even so, why would someone be happy with a voice from the spirit realm saying something like "hello" or "I see you" or a single word like "murder" heard from either a audio recorder or ghost box type device. What have you accomplished in establishing fruitful communication? Why haven't you altered your methodology of investigation to expand on your perceived contact?
Conclusion: What we know for certain is that we don't know anything for certain. If I am going to hypothesize further, perhaps the only real connection we have with the spirit world is a glimpse from our tiny perspective, of the immensity of the physical universe before our eyes, and it's total, non-explored, unknowing and infinite vastness and contents thereof. Is that the one peek at what we get to see and explore as spirits that we are hindered from doing in our earthly lives. Is that the future that we can visualize, but not see, left as a tease but promise by the Creator of what is to come, and accompanying message to all of us to "relax, enjoy the journey, it's not how you start but how you finish!"
- MoonJoey