Speaking to the dead?

[hedgehog]

I'm working my way through the series "Rescue Me". I find it a devastatingly accurate portrayal of the damage alcohol abuse can do in an Irish family. I mean, I know these people.

But, on a possibly lighter note, I have this question. One of the ongoing themes in the series is that Tommy Gavin is visited by various dead people he was involved with. This is accepted as true by Gavin's family.

I myself had an encounter with a dead cousin. Other family members have seen the dead. I'm not talking about seances, I'm talking about people being contacted out of the blue so to speak. Is this an Irish thing, a human thing, or is my family nuts? (please note, all of these questions could be answered in the affirmative.)

[CBHagman]

1. I know a few people who report similar experiences.

Two dear friends of mine (not married to each other, for what it's worth) have had multiple experiences with what they regard as contact from a loved one. I don't have any reason to doubt the veracity of what they say. It's just that the same thing hasn't happened to me (Maybe it would scare me to death if it did?).

As for it being an Irish thing, I recall reading that the Irish actor Gabriel Byrne had agreed with several friends that if one of them died, he'd get back to the others about the afterlife, and so far, Byrne, at least, had had no word from deceased friends. Make of that what you will.

Maybe they just won't talk to some of us? (I'm not being snide, I'm serious.)

[whathehell]

2. Interesting discusssion....I've heard that the "afterlife" or whatever we can call it,

is not actually another "place" but another dimension.

Going with this theory, it is, I've heard, very hard for the deceased

to "manifest" themselves again in the corporeal world.

P.S. Also of Irish descent and had ancestors (great aunt, great uncle) who spoke of seeing ghosts. I believe in them.

[IrishAyes]

8. My Buddhist friends

think that older souls are more likely to be favored. It may have nothing to do with you personally but rather where you are in the life cycle.

[CBHagman]

3. Maybe it is an Irish thing after all.

Yesterday I heard another account, quite matter-of-fact though second-hand, of an Irish person receiving a visit from the dead. I have no reason to doubt the person who told me the story, either.

[hedgehog]

4. I read a wild ass speculation that the Irish,

especially those from the West, have a higher ratio of Neanderthal genes, and that's why we see things others don't!

[IrishAyes]

9. It might not have anything to do with that

But I did see a PBS special about Neanderthals and learned how much mankind has benefited from their gene pool contribution. These scientists didn't believe Neanderthals were killed off but rather absorbed by Cro Magnons.

[CountAllVotes]

5. well I've seen/spoken to the dead

And the person was my late father who was Irish as all hell. I thought he'd never die! Maybe he didn't? He technically died in 1996, or so it seems.

He came to visit me while I was in the hospital when I almost died in 2009 and checked up on me and asked me to assure him that I had no money invested in "That Damned Wall Street" as he called it. I told him, no, I have nothing invested in Wall Street. He said, "Thank God for that!". The next day the economy began to crash (this was in 2008).

Believe what you like but I know what I believe and that is that yes, the dead can come and visit you if they care to.

[IrishAyes]

10. It might be reserved for times of special need, too.

Experiences as vivid as yours don't seem to be casual everyday matters like the unseen friendly presence I've mentioned.

[Xipe Totec]

6. Your OP inspired my OP. nt

[IrishAyes]

7. Not strange at all

... when you consider the ancient Celts' affinity for the supernatural, which might go along with our high incidence of red hair. We ARE a pretty special people, y'know. Seeing the dead when they visit may not be normal to many cultures, but it is to us.

In California I once knew a family who'd occupied the same farmhouse for over 200 years. The current lady of the house invited me over to keep her company because the rest of the family had left on some extended errand. When I first walked in her front door, I said I thought she'd told me she was alone. A little nervously she said again that she was - except for me; why? I said the house just feels full of people.

She broke out in a relieved grin and said she was so glad to hear that because most of her family thought she was a little 'teched' the way she always felt the unseen presence of departed relatives in that house. I told her the unseen ones were friendly enough, even to a stranger. She said it was only her own sanity and respect from her living family that had concerned her.

I think this is easily distinguishable from schizophrenia in many ways. First, even if you receive a direct message, it's highly unlikely to be auditory. You just 'know'. Secondly, occasions tend to be intermittent and associated with a particular location. Thirdly, although visuals can be involved, most often you just feel a gentle presence.

My house is 100 years old and built around an 1847 log cabin. I've never felt alone here. Recently a neighbor who grew up in the area told me it had been a slave cabin, which I found records to verify, and that many people who'd tried to live here had been extremely uneasy and uncomfortable. I've been pretty happy with the house even though it'll take me another 10 years to consider the rehab finished.

People can make of that what they will.