There are countless reports of alleged paranormal experiences. One thing that binds them all together is a broad consensus or belief of the immediate perceived observation without ever having contemplated the possibilities that made that experience possible in the first place. By this I mean, it is already accepted by "believers" that spirits exist without ever going deeper into analyzing the substance of that belief.
"Contextual variables guide the interpretation of ambiguous stimuli." This quote is from an outstanding article put forward by "www.skeptic.org." An expected-to-be haunted location can be conducive to a subjective paranormal experience, made possible by the extraordinary capabilities of the human brain, the extent of which is less known about than what resides in earth's deepest oceans.
If one is to consider the possibility a discarnate entity intruding into our earthly plane of existence, can one conclude that they possess their consciousness having carried it forth from their prior earthly existence? How else could it be hypothesized that spirit intelligence exists? While it is currently not possible to produce a testable theory concerning this, it seems important to talk about known facts related to neurological research that enable a discussion that can, depending on your point of view, either subtract from or add weight to the hypothesis. Explanations such as magnification of PK effects, physiological and psychological reasons or just plain beliefs based on negative proof fallacy should be disregarded in such a discussion. The numerous ghost detection devices that are so popular today should also be disregarded along with their associated methodologies of use (Singapore Theory, Estes Method, Stone Tape Theory, etc.). These at best provide a quasi-interface with the "spirit world" and are not backed by control period testing where these techniques are both used and not used.
Neurological studies indicate our working memory starts to decline as soon as our late 20's. The following is accepted as fact: "So how does the brain store memories and retrieve them? The human brain reshapes itself with each new memory. This happens through the actions of synapses, or the tiny gaps between brain cells. Brain cells, or neurons, communicate with each other through an elegant electrochemical system. A change in the electrical charge of one cell triggers the release of chemicals called neurotransmitters across synapses. The neurotransmitters are then taken up by the neuron on the other side of the gap, where they trigger electrical changes in that cell." Also, this: "Human memories are stored in several brain regions. Emotion is an important component of memory-making. The brain releases higher concentrations of certain neurotransmitters in high-emotion scenarios. It's hard to observe memory formation and processing in a working brain. Synapses are tiny and numerous (there are around a trillion in an adult human’s brain), and it's hard to do imaging beyond the brain surface." (livescience.com)
These facts imply that a physical brain in conjunction with certain electrochemical events is necessary to the retention of memories. So where does the intelligence of the spirit reside and how did it take that with them upon bodily death? Does the bodyless spirit also retain its emotional traits? Can they remember their former earthly associations, or does consciousness without memory persist? Is it meant that way in order to be able to enjoy the rewards of an afterlife, free from not only the attachments associated with memory, but also the many human character flaws including personality conflicts, jealousy, prejudice, selfishness, greed, et. al. Former earthly associations are a prevailing belief in the paranormal community, that these conscious spirits are more comfortable in surroundings they were familiar with when alive, along with familiar physical (trigger) objects. But, eyewitness accounts have the commonality of spirit contact akin to talking to a machine... devoid of emotion and with a seeming intention of avoidance rather than intended contact (i.e., shadow person).
There is another way to look at all of this. We who still remain on this earthly plane are so arrogant to presume that we can even begin to figure out a way to penetrate the boundary with the "unseen," as indigenous cultures are known to refer to the afterlife. For the indigenous of North America, there is nothing scary about connecting with Spirit or with deceased ancestors. The very fact that we call connecting with spirit ‘supernatural’ is telling. We make it into something that is unnatural, when spirit is who we are. We are meant to embrace the physical and spiritual worlds equally, not fear them.
Because this boundary can only be presumed through hypothesis, popular paranormal claims are made to get around that lack of knowledge through descriptions such as "portals" or doorways that are still vague and devoid of actual descriptive content or proof. What is the substance of this boundary and how is it penetrated? Seemingly the answer to that question lies only within the spirit world, allowing the spirit to come and go but never for corporeal beings (us) to do the same. Instead, methodologies are invented to sling-shot right past that bit of info and claim contact with such things as ghost hunting equipment and above-mentioned methodologies.
As humans, we limit ourselves to thinking in a three-dimensional mindset and tend to think about the universe in intuitive terms sometimes without much forethought or research. Yet, from the following quote of astrophysicist Ethan Siegel, this doesn't mean there aren't possibilities of future applied discovery that could change our view of not only this world we live in, but provide substantive evidence of the paranormal, if only in the smallest degree: "One of the properties of theoretical physics, and it’s up to you whether it’s a flaw or a feature, is that you can never completely rule out an idea that modifies your laws: you can only constrain it. Such an effect may exist, but if it does, it’s below our observational and experimental detection thresholds, or it has occurred somewhere in our Universe that’s presently outside of our light-cone, and therefore cannot (yet) be seen by us. This is part of why you must never treat physics — and I say this as a theoretical physicist — as a purely theoretical science. Our knowledge of the Universe is informed by experiment and observation. Every time we push those frontiers into previously unexplored territory, we come to understand our reality a little bit better."
To take Mr. Siegel's quote a step further, I would presume that we are not going to get there by using the current popular ghost technologies. If our brains could produce YouTube videos, they would garner more followers than any video following known today.
SUMMARY: IMHO, there are cosmic laws beyond the physical that cannot be broken. These have been accepted by the indigenous of North America for countless generations as having been set by the Creator. Not only do they restrict violation in our earthly realm but do so as well in the spirit world or world of the "unseen." Observing the universe that surrounds us even from an untrained eye, it isn't a stretch of the imagination (or common sense for that matter), to note the vastness of the universe, the great, unattainable distances between galaxies, the distance between worlds within each, the seemingly quiet that gives no evidence of other "life," etc.... all of these such facts are easily ignored as part of the laws that cannot broken. The Creator knows the weakness of "man" and has taken the step to ensure man cannot screw this one up, even if he tried.
We are given tools for observing the world about us that we seldom take advantage of, best described in the Native American Proverb that states: "Listen to the wind, it talks. Listen to the silence, it speaks. Listen to your heart, it knows."
- MoonJoey