Are you a skeptic or a believer?

[Summer Wine]

Anyone on here ever had a "fringe" moment? Did you just push it away and explain it that it must  have been a trick of the light or you just "imagined" it?

I am 99.9% BELIEVER. It's freeing, it's wonderful, it's returning to my childhood where magical lands were just beyond the bend. Who is the loser? In my world all things are possible. In the skeptic's world hardly anything is. I can imagine anything. The .0001% of skeptic in me is because of the fact that the world hates believers and I have to wear a fake mask in that world or they would lock me away.

How very sad.

http://www.realitysandwich.com/state_belief_state_being

Every semester back when I taught at Penn State, I conducted a rather unusual activity in my classroom. I asked my class – approximately 45 students representing a broad cross-section of the student body – to bring in a story that "doesn't fit into scientific reality." I told them it could be anything-a ghost story, something with alternative medicine, a UFO sighting, a dream that came true, an experience with a fortune teller or ouija board. . . anything. "If you've never had such an experience," I would say, "ask your friends and relatives." The justification I give them beforehand is that by considering what our culture categorizes as "unscientific," we will shed light on what the adjective "scientific" means as well.

Anyone brave enough to talk about their "fringe" moment?

[Badger]

When I lived in Virginia I had a pet ghost.  I lived in a big house on a lake in the heart of civil war battle fields, near tobacco and cotton fields.  My office was in the back of the house in a really pretty bedroom no one wanted to sleep in because it just gave them the creeps, so it became a guest bedroom and my office.  My cat refused to go in there, which was odd since she followed me every where.  Things would fall randomly, and I swear I'd hear someone sit on the bed (creaky bed springs) but no one was ever in the room with me.  So, I'd tell it to behave and not make a mess.  I never felt any fear. It got to the point where I would talk to it while working on my deadlines.  On bad nights when my ex and I would have a terrible fight, I'd crawl into the guest bed and tell the ghost to please leave me alone while I cried.  I like to think that he did.

Same house, different story.  I shared that home with a man who battled internal demons (my nice way of saying he had issues).  Long story short it got to a point where I had to leave for my sanity and my children's safety (they didn't need that kind of role modeling).  I loved the lake we lived near, loved the deer and turtles and everything about that area, but I just had to go.  On our last night there my daughter and I walked down to the dock to say goodbye to our lake.  It was amazing.  The place was lit up with fireflies.  It felt like they twinkled our path. In all my years I had never, ever seen so many fireflies in one place (and when we looked across the lake it was dark). My daughter was young and convinced that they were sad to see us leave, so they all came out to say good bye to us.  It was magically wonderful, and something neither of us will ever forget.

A week later, I came to the house during the day without my children.  The man was supposed to be at work, but he was there.  He knew I was coming to pick up some things.  I kid you not when I pulled into our driveway, that big, beautiful house looked like a scene in a haunted house movie.  There were so many big, black June bugs circling the house like bats circle a cave.  I'm not lying there were hundreds of them. 

As soon as I entered the house it felt wrong.  Everything about it was dark and cold.  The man sat by his piano and played his music ignoring me for the most part.  When we did speak he seemed so cold and evil, not the man who once claimed to be my soul mate.  I could not get out of there quick enough, and I haven't been back since.

There was also a problem with large ants and roaches.  I'd find roach carcasses under our bed and throughout the house while I was packing, but decided it wasn't my problem since I was moving.  That house was immaculate and other than the typical lake bugs getting into the house every now and then, we never had problems.  Years earlier before I moved in with the man I had a disturbing dream that included me getting chased by a big, black winged devil and attacked by roach/ant thingies.

I don't know what it all means other than I feared the human man in that house far more than any of the bugs or ghosts.  I'm grateful that my daughter and I were blessed by the fireflies, and I'd like to think the scary bugs were just reminding me that my life was not meant to be lived there.  I moved 2,300 miles away, and I'll never set foot on that soil again.  But, I do have to admit I sometimes wonder about that ghost.  What was his (or her) story?  And just maybe he (sorry I just don't think it was a she) totally messed with the man after I left.  Maybe the ghost called in the June Bugs.  That man wasn't my children's father, so I had no need to ever call him and find out.  But, my imagination tells me, the ghost effed with the man (it makes me feel better).

And now I live in a place with a pool instead of a lake, but there's lots of sunshine and few bugs (although lately for the first time we're having a massive tick problem).  Our current house is bright and cheery and full of laughs and fun.  While my kids have had nightmares, and my drama-queen son swears he's seen a ghost in his room (um, I think it was an excuse to get into my bed), I don't think we have any invisible guests.  I do love it, though, when the hummingbirds greet us in the morning.  Alas, no fireflies.

And that's my fringe story.  Thanks for prompting me to write it.  It's been a long, long time since I've thought of that home and its story, and remembered to treasure the home I have now.

p.s. I realize science could explain everything that happened, but I prefer to keep the magic in it.

[fwbal16]

Badger,

Very well written reflection

I have a 'fringe' moment most days as I lay in twilite, just at the edge of sleep and the restlessness of awakeness.  This morning I heard 'i am tired of you' 'i want to experience someone else for a change' 'why am i locked into such a finite situation'.

Just a fringe benefit of sleep I guess.

[Badger]

ew, was that you talking to yourself, or another soul thinking out loud?  Twilight is normally such a more interesting place to be than in broad daylight, no?

[Benjamin]

Fwbal 16, a brilliant and well respected  psychiatrist (?),  named Tolle,  once told himself that  "I am sick and tired of you"  . . . ! ! . . . .   and he realized that there was more than one of him  . . . .  he was a conscious human,  and a conscious soul ...... or conscious and subconscious  ........  wrote book about it.  Twilight,  morning,  any time,  Know Thyself is a growing experience.

My "fringe" . .  I lived in a haunted house in Philadelphia,  senior year in college.   More than one ghost,  more than one experience,  "cold spot" in pantry off kitchen.  Many almost sightings  (fat white haired man in undershirt and boxer shorts),  many things moved,  but three experiences stand out:

First was when I couldn't get up out of bed.  Something was holding me down by my shoulders,  and was blocking all light (eyes opened in the morning,  and everything completely black  ....  normal was light from all those ceiling to floor windows with points at the top,   and small built in benches at bottom  ....  very old house).  I kept struggling to move,  and then I decided that,  well,  it didn't hurt, so I just relaxed.  I relaxed, stopped fighting, and immediately saw the windows and sat up.   

Second was between me and my friend who lived upstairs.   We were studying for the same exam and she called me,  so I went upstairs with the book and we talked some.  When I went downstairs I realized that I had left my book upstairs so I went back.  No book,  not anywhere.  Her home was long hallway leading to kitchen,  and bedroom to the left and living room to the right.  Neither of us ever went into her bedroom.  I stayed upstairs to study with her.   Next day she tells me that the book was on her pillow,  and she gave it to me.   

Last was the most amazing .... I had no idea ghosts could do that !!   My friend had left her gloves (winter-time) at her boyfriends house.   I bumped into him before she did and he gave me her gloves to give to her.   When I got home I saw Carrie half way up the stairs going toward her apartment,  and I told her that Gary had given me her gloves.  She radiated joy,  I remember thinking about how very happy she is ...... she came down,  I went up,  we never touched but I held out the gloves and she took them,  happy - laughing - thanking me ..... and that was it  ......  until she came downstairs later and told me that Gary told her that he had given me her gloves.  I swore I gave them to her  ..  she swore otherwise  ..  we both searched.   No gloves, not anywhere.  When leaving at the end of the school year,  Carrie found her gloves,  one folded over the other neatly,  on her kitchen table (furnished apts.).   

More,  but way too personal and spiritual happened to me when I  "died"  afew years later when I was 25.   I never speak of it,  but as a hypnotherapist I also help other people discover their lives between incarnations on earth.  It's called LBL,  Life Between Lives sessions.   

So,  I believe everything,  I really do,  100%.   But SW,  I never speak of it,  people do think you're crazy.  Lucky I learned to keep my mouth shut in my youth.               
 

[Summer Wine]

Amazing, thought provoking posts.

[fwbal16]

ew, was that you talking to yourself, or another soul thinking out loud?  Twilight is normally such a more interesting place to be than in broad daylight, no?

COnsidering the fact and not fiction of there being other beings present in an in and out flux, which has been my reality solidly for the past 3 to 4 years, I would say 'no' I was not talking to myself.  The voice was a woman, that I am sure of. 

twilite as i like to spell it, is a place of necessity for me.  A place I go when the sensicle world has run out and my barings are not working properly. 

If we held the world in our hand and halved it down the middle, setting all type A's on one side and type B's on the other, where would you go?

This kind of thinking leads me down a path toward ruin, since depending on the day, time, location, atmospheric pressure, catalytic fumes, and social climate I might need both halves to make a whole.

The spacing of . is an interesting thought.   I am not there yet.  I am so glad Summer is still here, aren't you?  I have put pressure  and recieved it now for some tim.e.


most delightful to read more posts and more names contributing

[Summer Wine]

most delightful to read more posts and more names contributing

it is so delightful! I came on here one morning and saw all the new posts and it was wonderful.

[Summer Wine]

Badger, that story was just so awesome. The fireflies part, now whenever you are feeling blue or sad you can always remember that. What a wonderful gift of love that was. Amazing.

One of my fringe moments involves how people come into your life and out of it. And it taught me a lesson to never take anyone or anything for granted.

I work for a small municipality of about 14,000 people and the entire city hall is less than 100 people. I started out in the police department and found out quickly that I was definitely not meant to be in that department. But I made friends with so many people and to this day the ones that are still there are some of my best friends. One of these friends was a Viet Nam vet who looked like an ad for a body builder. He was hispanic, dark, handsome and strong as a bull. I have discovered that men who are powerful and could break you like a twig are very comfortable with themselves and have no need to play power games. This man was a dear friend and he loved life. He became an undercover cop and I saw him only rarely. He got loaned out to a big anti gang force. I ride a motorcycle and so did John, which helped us to connect as friends even more. One day I came to work and found everyone in tears. John had been on vacation and had gone to Sturgis which is a motorcycle mecca that everyone has to do at least once in their life. John had lost control of the bike and was killed. I was devastated. He left a small daughter that all of us pledged to take care of. We all donate money to a trust fund for her and hope to see her graduate from college.

Time passed and I lost contact with John's wife and I never knew where he was buried. But so many times I would run across little things, like a phone message on my phone from John that I didn't even know was there. A message that he left right before he died. Just him saying hello and telling me he was going to Sturgis and he would see me when he got back. That message just showed up one day out of nowhere. Whenever things like this happened I felt the person was nearby and thinking of me.

Years passed and another motorcycle friend passed away. He had no family except for his motorcycle friends. He was another veteran and a member of the Golden Parachute, which is a big hero thing I guess. His name was Dobbs, and he worked for the electric company. He died from cancer, being exposed to electric I guess is now found to contribute to this. We (his friends) buried him in the new Lincoln Memorial Veteran's Cemetary here in Illinois. It is very nice and beautiful. We dedicate one day a year to go to his grave and place roses on it. The graves are just markers about a foot apart from each other and the cemetary is filling up fast. Last year on our annual run for Dobbs rembrance it was near Father's Day. On the grave next to Dobb's was a bouquet of flowers and a hand written card. Why I decided to read it, I'll never know - "Dear Daddy, Mommy and I miss you so much. We are doing fine and good. I know you are in heaven with the angels. I promise to do good and will go to school and make you proud. I got all A's this year. I will always love you.

When I moved the bouquet to read the name on the marker, my heart felt it would burst. It was John's grave, my two friends were buried right next to each other. And John's little girl had written the note.

Tears and sobs poured out of me, and my husband ran over to me. When I showed him the marker he sobbed too.

When we stood up again and looked up there were two hawks right above us circling and circling.

The next day when I woke up and took my dogs outside to go potty, two hawks were sitting in my tree. There have never been hawks in my neighborhood before.

And I know they are my friends.

[Summer Wine]

Just had to pop in for a quick moment - on my way to work and running late as usual. Popped outside to run some bread crumbs to the birds, and this beautiful fluffy white feather just floated right by my face and on up and into the air and over my house to who knows where.

Now the thing that always amazes me is the timing, I walk out exactly when this feather is at my eye level and it is a thing of beauty and grace.

Did the universe send it just to me as a gift. Ohhh I love to think so.

I read a quote somewhere that the universe if filled with grace, and wonder and beauty, and the very least that we can do is appreciate it.

So sad that so few of us can speak of these type of things to each other. Why is that?

[fwbal16]

Very nice 


ever since you posted a few days back, maybe a week now there has been a wolf spider hanging around. 

A few months back my dad shared with me that as he was cleaning out the skimmer in his pool he found a wolf spider with about 100 babies inside.  Well, last friday I went to close my dishwasher and what did I find?  A wolf spider with babies on it's back.  Carefully I placed it outside.  I even had to save two babies that had fallen off the back of momma.  The next morning, the door bell rang and there were 2 nieghbor kids at the door asking to play with my kids.  As we spoke I was prompted to tell them of the spider.  They came inside and we saw that one of my cats was chasing something.  He had his head forced under a chair and was intently staring and swatting his paw.  We looked or I looked to see what it was and there was a male wolf spider scampering out from the chair.  I gathered him up in a blanket and placed him outside  as well.  He stayed lestled in a squared of stepping area of our deck out back for most of the day. The children kept checking on him.  I photographed the guy as to keep a log, because I do this with small living creatures, pretty anal huh?LOL

This morning after posting and reading your posts, I went out to sit in the sun and there is the male spider on the door sill.  He is spending some time inside and around another's web.  I thought the other spider was dead, since it was upside down and curled up in a ball.  Yet, I do believe this other spider is in some kind of submissive position as to speak to the male wolf spider that there is no danger.  I blew on both as I do whenever I have resident spiders and especially if there are resident eggs. 


Does this quantifiy as 'fringe'?  IT does at least show my belief in you and your immense power to manifest in all sorts of form dear reader.  Bella Cosa Dreams 


Not sure if anyone remembers Magikman, he said he lived in Indiana.  He always wrote of feeling kindred with the wolf, guess he is still around somewhere on this wonder full web of life

[mabUS]

That's funny. I blow on all the little creatures too. and breathe in their essence.
Lately on my nightly walks, I've found myself compelled to play with the trees on my path.

there is this one tree that has these fat billowing boughs, covered in a leaf reminiscent of a ficus, & making what looks like a man bracing himself to get up from what looks like a comfy arm chair. I walked up to it's face & looked into the space where you would look for eye's, & found a swirling vortex of light in the deep end of the spectrum. way down into the purples & further, with hints of magenta. I tried to get my friend who was walking with me this one time, to get close & look into it's eyes. and she would not get near the tree. the tree freaked her out, & she wished to leave as soon as possible.
I should take my camera up there one night to get this thing before it grows away.
And it's really close to my last house too. with the view of my hills just beside it.

I better go. I have some work to do now.

cheers,

$$$$$ 

[Badger]

I love all of these posts.  I don't know if these are gifts for us, or if we're just lucky enough to be in the right frame of mind at the right time --- which, in its own way, is a gift.

As for the trees, I love walking under a tree with low branches.  When walking to and from the gym I try to plan my exhale right as I'm by a tree since I know it helps feed them.  It's a little game I play with just the trees and me, but I like it.  Oh, and I sooooo love sitting under my lemon tree in March when its blossoms are open.   I just take in its smell, and then before walking back into my house I walk past the Jasmin blossoms to inhale them as well. I sooooo love the smell of March.

As for those wolf spiders, I give them their space and leave them alone, but I do not get close enough to blow.  I realize they have their own beauty, but sorry they still give me the heebie jeebies.  Oh and another thing I've discovered while living in a dry place is that leaves curl up before rain.  My family and I are now as in tune with water as our plants because we feel/smell the rain right about the same time the leaves begin to turn up.  It's kind of cool, actually.

And, thanks, for giving us all a chance to talk about these things --- ew, another gift.

[Summer Wine]

I am so happy to see your name on here again Mabus. And Badger it is always a pleasure. And yes it is a gift and it's free for our taking at any time.

I like your spider story fwb16, I remember reading an old, old story that spiders were actually princes that have been cursed with an evil spell, and that if we recognize this and not turn away in fear we break that evil spell. JK Rowling must have read this old story too -

http://www.half-bloodprince.org/snape_spider.php

[Summer Wine]

I dreamed last night of seagulls. They are everywhere around the Chicago area. My husband told me that when he was a child there were none. Something to do with opening the St. Lawrence seaway and they followed it here. But now their habitats are Wendy's and McDonald's. Isn't that strange how they have adapted. There is a message there to learn.

I usually take my girl dogs out every morning. One morning several years ago it was spring and the birds were migrating. I looked up in the sky to the most wonderful flight of some sort of long legged birds. Something inside of me swelled with happiness and joy. I was buzzing with the wonder and joy that I just happened to walk outside and just happened to look up and see this wonderful beauty that is there, and so many days I never even bother to look up. Always wrapped up in worry, worry that this bill is due or all the chores that have to be done and on and on. But this morning was a change that overcame and has never left me. I bonded with my world and it filled me with joy. At that moment a flock of noisy seagulls flew over and one stayed right where I was. He flapped his wings through the air like he was treading water. Then I noticed he was holding something and he threw it to me. He threw me a donut. He had been visiting the local Dunkin Donut shop and right then and there as I was thanking the world for all it's wonder and beauty he threw me a gift.

I will never forget that magic is all around me. I only have to open my eyes and look.