Do Ghosts Exist and Have People Experienced Them? - Spiritual Living 101

Many people are suspicious of the idea that ghosts and spirits roam the physical plane, while other believe it with every fiber of their being. Do they really exist, and do they actually affect people?

I've always been a bit on the fence about the idea that spiritual beings remain on the physical plane and interact with or interfere with the lives of the living. The reason that I'm not completely on one side or the other is because I have had experiences that I can't find any rational explanation for.

I once lived in an apartment in eastern Pennsylvania, and experienced some very disturbing occurrences. During that time, I truly felt that their was something malevolent in that home. It started off with my radio turning on in the middle of the night. It would just come on blasting at random hours for no apparent reason. I'd turn it off, but it would come back on. I made sure to turn down the volume, turn off the power, even change the station, but it would always come back on at the same volume on the same station.

During this time I also got the distinct impression that someone was there. You know how you can feel when someone gets into bed next to you? I would feel that in the night, but when I turned to look, no one was there, and the bedding was undisturbed. My cats actually took to sleeping with me at that time, one on either side as if protecting me. At one point I awoke, startled and in pain, feeling as if I had been violated. After that the presence never returned.

More recently I was living in a very old home and things had an odd way of breaking when no one was near them. Plastic containers would fly off the top of the fridge when we were all In the living room, doors would open with no one near them, and once a glass that was in the middle of a table crashed to the floor and broke with no one in the room. We could find no explanation for these occurrences.

I had other experiences as a child that led me to believe my great grandmother's house was haunted. Yet somehow I have always remained somewhat skeptical on the idea of ghosts or spirits interacting on the physical plane. I suppose it's my mentality that if we can't prove it, how can it be real, even though there are things many of us believe in that we have no proof of.

Some people have extreme faith in the existence of earth-bound spirits. A friend of mine collects mirrors which she believes have the trapped souls of those long dead. Part of me wants to laugh at the idea, and yet in my own home I frequently cover or avoid mirrors, especially ones that are quite old. No matter how much I try to rationalize, there is still some part that thinks it's possible.

Some people go even further, as evidenced by the rash of ghost hunting and paranormal shows on television. People have been looking for concrete proof for a long time. Some say they have it, while most find ways to debunk and ghost caught on tape or video. Perhaps if they are real, they fear being documented, or perhaps they're simply not real. I have to wonder if we'll ever really know.