Extra Sensory Perception (ESP) is more popularly known as the sixth sense because it enables the possessor of this power the ability to sense things and events that are not perceptible to the regular five senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Since this ability is outside normal range, it is also accepted as being independent of time and thus enables the witnessing of unknown events from the past and prediction of the future. ESP was first subjected to close scrutiny in 1882, the year in which the Society for Psychical Research was founded. Once the journals of this society became published, similar observations were reported from other parts of the world.
The initial studies of ESP were not really experimental in nature and hence their results are often disputed. Most of these studies concerned themselves with spontaneous events that might have had simpler explanations. Several of the people that were studied in these experiments claimed to be psychics and such though there was no way of actually establishing that detail. They were accepted on the basis of their claims. The whole "experiment" was more like a courtroom brawl with the researcher behaving like prosecuting attorneys who were questioning the accused. The witness who handled this examination the best was deemed creditable.
Though the number of people who claim to have ESP is very small, the truth is that nearly all human beings have episodes when their minds function at a heightened efficiency and make leaps in reason that are often termed as intuition or hunch. Everyone is aware today that human beings do not use their brains to its full potential. We are always working on a fraction of what our brains are actually capable of. Whatever the psychological and physiological reasons for this, it remains a fact that it is possible for the brain to have occasional leaps in efficiency.
There are certain chemicals that can increase the input-output rate of the human brain though they cannot be used on a daily basis because the extra work heats up the brain like an engine working faster than it can be cooled through conventional means. The natural cooling mechanism of our brain can only do so much. This has been a frequent topic in science fiction with many kinds of "coolants" being used to keep the brain cool while making it work at a much fast pace to achieve ESP like powers. Similarly, some concepts deal with ignoring the body and consuming only such things as are required by the brain for optimal functioning.
The stomach is the biggest competitor of the brain in terms of energy requirements. During digestion, the brain gets sluggish and operates at a much lower efficiency because the stomach increases its energy consumption to complete the task of digestion. What few people know is that the stomach also has neurons, the same things that make the brain "think". Perhaps this is the origin of the term gut instinct.
Death is a very controversial topic the moment you begin to ask if there is anything after the physical self is no longer working. Science does not permit the notion of ghosts, stating that despite numerous claims there is no evidence that conclusive proves their existence. People who believe in the soul or spirit claim that it is quite likely that some spirits get stuck in a go-between situation that is neither here nor there and all this is bolstered by the endless accounts of haunting and strange pictures and phenomenon that keep some people quite serious about ghosts.
The most basic feeling of ghosts is the sensation that people often perceive that they are no longer alone. Occasionally, people also report that this not quite lack of company is seen as an apparition.
There are two theories here. One suggests that the human mind if quite capable of fooling itself into seeing things. The other suggests that the human mind is powerful enough to glimpse into the other world. This mental aspect gets more complicated through scientific demonstrations that clear show that people who have gone through severe trauma, especially involving death or prolonged suffering, will often suffer from delusions that will make them see the dead. In many cases, the witness to these apparitions will keep seeing reruns of the same tragedy every time they cross the place where it occurred. Theologists have coined a phrase for this and it is "energy of history".
In 1911, Dr. Sharon Gill and Dr. Dave Oester formed the International Society of Ghost Hunters with a view to finding evidence of ghosts. Since then the society has published many accounts of reported haunting.
Those who believe in ghosts say that these are spirits who are unable to leave our world due to several reasons like unfulfilled desires, unexpected death, or simply a deep attachment with some other humans. Such spirits roam around us as ghosts. This is supportive of people who have been claiming to communicate with the dead loved ones and most religions in existence today include the concept of an immortal soul that is supposed to leave our bodies after physical death and that provides plenty of scope for the presence of ghosts.
While there is no scientific evidence of any kind of existence post-death, this has not prevented the constant emergence of haunting tales across all cultures in the world. A haunting typically takes place in old homes or places where death was traumatic.
A simple way of defining a ghost would be the spirit of a human being that continues to dwell on this planet after the body is dead. Interestingly, this notion is common throughout the world regardless of religious and cultural differences. Another common aspect is the belief that these spirits are lost and probably unaware that their bodies are dead so they stay close to what was familiar to them in their lifetimes.
Ghosts do not have any physical bodies and so they are often foggy or misty shapes, or even translucent. They are felt through their actions rather than physical presence.
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