Why is it so difficult to capture proof of ghostly/spirit contact? The fleeting shadow seen out of the corner of the eye, the anthropomorphic shape, semi-transparent or otherwise, seen only for a second and disappearing before your very eyes... these are but a few of the common claims by paranormal witnesses. If spirits do try to communicate with us, can part of that elusiveness be attributed to their bodily consciousness transforming intact to the spirit world upon bodily death? Why do they seem to have the same difficulties completing contact with us as we seem to have in our attempts to contact them? If consciousness does exist outside of ourselves, then to what degree?
You don't have to be a neuroscientist to have the general understanding that our brains work in conjunction with our bodies, receiving and interpreting stimuli from physical touch, temperature, eyesight, hearing, etc. In the process of deciphering various incoming stimuli, our brain makes choices. So what happens when our physical body is no longer linked with our consciousness? What do we take with us to the afterlife and what abilities do we newly acquire, if any? In our present corporeal existence on earth, we exercise the inarguable trait of free will. It makes possible both happiness and misfortune. The Creator has chosen to create a world where both good and evil can flourish, rather than one where neither can exist. How do we explain negative behavior of alleged spirits? Does a person's psychiatric, neurological, or neurodevelopmental disorders transfer with their consciousness to the afterlife as well? Based on the popular "you take your personality with you" hypothesis, it appears likely, as there sure seem to be reports of a lot of nasty spirits ready and willing to give ghost hunters and people in general, a hard time. On the flip side, it appears very few "nice" spirits avail themselves to contact in our physical realm, but there may be hypothetical reasons for that. Researchers from Tokyo University of Science (TUS) have recently been able to understand the hidden biochemical mechanisms involved in the selective suppression of fearful memories, which is called fear extinction. Professor Akiyoshi Saitoh, lead author of the study, and Professor at Tokyo University of Science (TUS) muses, “Drugs that treat fear-related diseases like anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder must be able to help extinguish fear." Without those certain drugs, tragic events like wars, famines, earthquakes, and accidents create fearful memories in our brains. These memories continue to haunt us even after the actual event has passed." Would they continue to haunt us in the spirit world?
Is the brain simply a physical engine for our bodies, incorporating our "mind?" Scientific research gives us hints that our consciousness has adaptive abilities that cannot be explained by the physical involvement of the brain. One such example is a recent peer reviewed research paper published by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. "We conclude that some regions of the right dorsal occipital stream do not require visual experience to develop a specialization for the processing of spatial information and to be functionally integrated in a preexisting brain network dedicated to this ability." Another published paper by The National Center for Biotechnology Information states this conclusion from research: "in the absence of visual input, a build-up of spontaneous fluctuations in early visual cortex may activate the visual hierarchy, thereby triggering the experience of vision." Of particular and amazing interest in that statement is "the experience of vision."
Dr. Olivier Collignon of the University of Montreal's Saint-Justine Hospital Research Centre states, "the brain should be more considered as a function-oriented machine rather than a pure sensory machine."
We see instances where certain brain chemicals play a role in life satisfaction, such as the release of oxytocin, et. al. which is linked to empathetic behavior. A bigger question then becomes, "what happens to our base consciousness as we die and we allegedly move on without the aid of chemical influence in conjunction with our brains? Without common human character flaws of selfishness, materialism, etc., does evolution of the spirit boil down to just two things, good character vs bad?
Has it ever crossed your mind (excuse the pun), that there exists the possibility of truth in a saying that you most likely have heard... our physical existence here on earth IS OUR HELL. Does it then become a point of spirituality? My Cajun Medicine Man friend, Omolkhua has told me the condition of our heart is carried through to the afterlife existence, and that our world and the world of the unseen exist together, not separate from one another. "If your heart is dark, you will become a dark being upon death. This is a choice that has made you blind. The light of the world is extinguished. All you know is the darkness. You wander blindly. You know no place to be. When you become a tormented soul, and over time you change, becoming this deranged, disfigured entity. Those we call the Wenagiis, dark ones."
Most NDEs are reported as positive. Once again, Omolkhua has shared this description of good people that have passed... "a being of light who will not stand by and let these dark entities influence the living, especially relatives, loved ones, in a negative way. They will stand in their path. We believe that they are there as warriors protecting us against those who we do not see. If for no reason at all, the thought of a family member comes to mind unexpectedly, we believe that they are visiting, by your side, letting you know they are there. We believe those beings are not random. My grandfather used to say to me, "there is no difference between the living and the dead." Being young, I quietly disagreed at that time to myself, kept quiet and would listen. He would say, "they never leave your side." They will be there if you ask for them."
"We Indians live in a world of symbols and images where the spiritual and commonplace are one... We try to understand them not with the head but with the heart." - John Fire Lame Deer
Methods of communication with the spirit world have been pursued by the indigenous of North America for countless centuries. I spoke with Omolkhua about the role musical ceremonies play as they relate to the spirit world, as well as his opinion on negative spirits. He had previously reminded me that the hardest part about exploring native medicine is the concept how it does not fit the mold of western thinking.
It might be interesting to note this from Lisa M.P. Munoz of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society who says, "a fundamental question, often overlooked, is what makes the brain treat music and speech signals differently, and why do humans need two distinct auditory signals.” If music is an integral part of our consciousness, the indigenous seem to have been using this technique of prayer/spirit contact for ages. "When the "crier" sings, we hear it with our ears. When he or she starts singing, the voice or the prayer resonates like your voice would be in a cavern. It's amplified. When the singing begins, the sound resonates and is deafening in the unseen world because now we are using the medicine that the Great Spirit had granted us, the gift of prayer."
"When the drum hits, many have said it is the heartbeat of Mother Earth. When the drumstick hits the drum and makes a sound, imagine the vibrations going dimensionally. Everything is considered circular, but in a spherical kind of way that includes the dimension of time. The lead singer's voice may sound like just yelling, but those ARE words! The songs are specific to each nation how they pray. It is an invitation to the ancestors to partake of the ceremony. Each of the accompanying dances is spiritual. The ladies wear what is called the "jingle dress." When people were ill, the sounds each bell made resonated in a healing, soothing manner. During depressing times and/or events, the jingle dress is in a way, medicine. So the sound of the drum, jingle dress and singer all resonate to the unseen. Again, it is not just 3-dimensional, but 4-dimensional... it goes through time, past and future.
"The journey to the Spirit World is a long one, my friend. But when you die, that doesn't mean that this is the end." - "Buddy Red Bow, Lakota" Accompanying this quote: "The Elders tell us of the other dimension, the Spirit World. Our spirit in our bodies does not die, it only looks that way to our eyes and our brains. Some of our ceremonies allow us to see into the Spirit World. Death is only part of a process of life. It shows the transition into the Spirit World."
Of interest concerning music is the description of neurosurgeon Dr. Eben Alexander's coma and his NDE as "having passed through a kind of musical pathway." His medical case report details the extent of damage to his neocortex such that "there was no place in my brain to construct any kind of dream or hallucination or confabulation." You can find out more about his NDE experience here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8_kcRQaRhug).
Understanding the relationship between music and language “can help us explore the fundamental questions of human cognition, such as why humans need both music and speech, and how humans communicate and interact with each other via these forms,” says Chang Andrew Chang of New York University, who has been playing violin since he was 8-years old, and is excited to see the progress that has been made in music cognition studies just in the last decade. “When I started my PhD in 2013, only a few labs in the world were focusing on music,” he says. “But now there are many excellent junior and even well-established senior researchers from other fields, such as speech, around the globe starting to get involved or even devoted to music cognitive neuroscience research.”
If our brains do indeed differentiate between music and speech, the indigenous tried and true method illustrates an intriguing path of attempted contact not commonly partaken by paranormal investigators & researchers, an attempt at a method of communication for a consciousness that survives bodily death and also involves cultural involvement rather than with unproven, random electronic devices together with an unneeded "investigation."
- MoonJoey