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Question about my grandmother and her "ability"

Started by zustri, February 03, 2018, 10:32:27 PM

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zustri

Ok, so I don't know if this is really an "ability", but my grandmother prides herself on having this sort of ESP where she can apparently detect the death of a person while it is taking place. I was skeptical of it, and I asked her a bit about it. She told me that at least 50 times in her life, she has had this sensation or feeling when someone dies. It has come to her in the form of dreams where she will have a dream about a person and being with them in heaven or some form of afterlife, and then she will wake up, and find out at the time of her dream that the person really did die. She has also had what I assume are hypnogogic hallucinations where she will see a person's face in what she assumes is in the form of a ghost, and then see the devil's face, and then later find out the person died. One of the weirdest examples is the time that her cousin died. She had a dream of him coming to her and saying that he had drowned. The next day, she found out that he did in fact drown. She has had these dreams with religious imagery ex: sometimes she claims Jesus tells her these messages, sometimes it's family, seeing devils, angels, etc.

I guess my question is, put aside the fact that these claims sound too good to be true, let's say if she could prove it, would that constitute proof of souls of the passed on communicating with her? Or, could there be another explanation for it that doesn't require a supernatural component? Perhaps our brains have a method of picking this stuff up that we are not aware of, and her brain interprets the info in a certain way which causes her to dream with a religious background? Or could it be a combination of an active mind, (constantly thinking of people close to her and worrying about them) so sometimes when she has these sensations they are true? Maybe with this she counts the hits, ignores the misses?

Being an Orthodox Christian, I would like nothing more than for this to be true, but I am asking for an atheist perspective here, which is why I am posting it to an atheist community. I have asked many Orthodox Christians and received their opinions, now I want yours. My grandfather says that he has also seen my grandmother get these hits a lot, and he is very surprised by it, but he himself says he doesn't think it points to the supernatural, even though he admits he cannot explain it. I guess I'm just curious. I don't want you guys to just dismiss it as "lying" or "fake", I mean, you can think it is a lie or fake, but I am asking kind of for fun, let's just assume for a second that this ability were as true as I am claiming, what would you say? Would you then suddenly believe in afterlife and a spiritual realm, or would you still say "I don't know, but I can't conclude it is really anything supernatural"?

hermes2015

"Eventually everything connects - people, ideas, objects. The quality of the connections is the key to quality per se."
― Charles Eames

Magdalena

 :hooked:


Quote from: zustri on February 03, 2018, 10:32:27 PM
She has also had what I assume are hypnogogic hallucinations where she will see a person's face in what she assumes is in the form of a ghost, and then see the devil's face, and then later find out the person died.
...





Quote from: zustri on February 03, 2018, 10:32:27 PM
...I am asking kind of for fun, let's just assume for a second that this ability were as true as I am claiming, what would you say?
Oh, I've heard of this..."Trump's alternative facts." "let's just assume for a second that this is true, and then believe it." OK.


Quote from: zustri on February 03, 2018, 10:32:27 PM
Would you then suddenly believe in afterlife and a spiritual realm...
Under the spell of alternative facts, ANYTHING and EVERYTHING is possible.

I have superpowers too. But I don't like to brag about it.  :reading:


"I've had several "spiritual" or numinous experiences over the years, but never felt that they were the product of anything but the workings of my own mind in reaction to the universe." ~Recusant

Dave

Tomorrow is precious, don't ruin it by fouling up today.
Passed Monday 10th Dec 2018 age 74

Recusant

I don't know, but I can't conclude it is really anything supernatural.
"Religion is fundamentally opposed to everything I hold in veneration — courage, clear thinking, honesty, fairness, and above all, love of the truth."
— H. L. Mencken


Sandra Craft

Doesn't everybody's grandmother have prophetic dreams?  Doesn't this seem kind of suspiciously convenient?  Like some kind of cultural pattern?
Sandy

  

"Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet."  Sarah Louise Delany

OldGit

OK, let's pick five of Granny's friends and shoot them at irregular intervals.  Let Granny keep score. :)

Essie Mae

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on February 04, 2018, 07:04:58 AM
Doesn't everybody's grandmother have prophetic dreams?  Doesn't this seem kind of suspiciously convenient?  Like some kind of cultural pattern?

As somebody's granny I can say that I have never had a prophetic dream.
Hell is empty and all the devils are here. Wm Shakespeare


Dragonia

Zustri, you asked us to assume for a second that it's true. And you want to know,
QuoteI guess my question is, put aside the fact that these claims sound too good to be true, let's say if she could prove it, would that constitute proof of souls of the passed on communicating with her? Or, could there be another explanation for it that doesn't require a supernatural component? Perhaps our brains have a method of picking this stuff up that we are not aware of, and her brain interprets the info in a certain way which causes her to dream with a religious background? Or could it be a combination of an active mind, (constantly thinking of people close to her and worrying about them) so sometimes when she has these sensations they are true? Maybe with this she counts the hits, ignores the misses?
I don't mean to be condescending or rude, or to brush off your genuine curiosity, but your questions seem backwards. It's pointless to try to name what we think the explanation might be, while pretending that it's been proven.
When it's *actually* proven that someone has this ability, only then could we try to figure out what the explanation might be.
Until then, my thoughts on the matter would be probably insulting, unintentionally. I think there are sort of "reverse memories" where you believe something, like the fact that you have this talent, and then you hear of someone dying in the morning and you "remember" a dream that you had last night.
That's just one tiny little explanation, but our minds are powerful enough to deceive even ourselves, especially when we have a strong belief about something.
Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. ~ Plato (?)

Sandra Craft

Quote from: Essie Mae on February 04, 2018, 11:21:11 AM
Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on February 04, 2018, 07:04:58 AM
Doesn't everybody's grandmother have prophetic dreams?  Doesn't this seem kind of suspiciously convenient?  Like some kind of cultural pattern?

As somebody's granny I can say that I have never had a prophetic dream.

Altho of granny age, I've never had one either but my grannies always claimed to have them, and as I remember so did many of my friends grannies.  Maybe a generational thing?
Sandy

  

"Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet."  Sarah Louise Delany

Essie Mae

Maybe, although both my grannies were no-nonsense North London types who wouldn't have held with such things. Sharp on the outside but with hearts of gold. They weren't at all religious either.
Hell is empty and all the devils are here. Wm Shakespeare


Sandra Craft

Quote from: Essie Mae on February 04, 2018, 10:53:49 PM
Maybe, although both my grannies were no-nonsense North London types who wouldn't have held with such things. Sharp on the outside but with hearts of gold. They weren't at all religious either.

I suspect it's religiosity that's the working nut here: both my grannies were deeply and conservatively religious, and so were all my friends grannies.
Sandy

  

"Life is short, and it is up to you to make it sweet."  Sarah Louise Delany

Davin

My mother says that she is so sick that she won't last six months. She's been doing that for about two decades. But if she keeps it up, she's going to be right eventually because of the simple fact that no one lives forever. I suppose that is a kind of "ability."
Always question all authorities because the authority you don't question is the most dangerous... except me, never question me.

Icarus

Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on February 04, 2018, 10:38:54 PM
Quote from: Essie Mae on February 04, 2018, 11:21:11 AM
Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on February 04, 2018, 07:04:58 AM
Doesn't everybody's grandmother have prophetic dreams?  Doesn't this seem kind of suspiciously convenient?  Like some kind of cultural pattern?

As somebody's granny I can say that I have never had a prophetic dream.

Altho of granny age, I've never had one either but my grannies always claimed to have them, and as I remember so did many of my friends grannies.  Maybe a generational thing?


I'm with Dragonia.  As sweet and nourishing as so many grannies are, quite a few of them are full of prune juice.

Dave

Quote from: Icarus on February 06, 2018, 01:17:06 AM
Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on February 04, 2018, 10:38:54 PM
Quote from: Essie Mae on February 04, 2018, 11:21:11 AM
Quote from: BooksCatsEtc on February 04, 2018, 07:04:58 AM
Doesn't everybody's grandmother have prophetic dreams?  Doesn't this seem kind of suspiciously convenient?  Like some kind of cultural pattern?

As somebody's granny I can say that I have never had a prophetic dream.

Altho of granny age, I've never had one either but my grannies always claimed to have them, and as I remember so did many of my friends grannies.  Maybe a generational thing?


I'm with Dragonia.  As sweet and nourishing as so many grannies are, quite a few of them are full of prune juice.

I have met a couple of the bitterest lemons.
Tomorrow is precious, don't ruin it by fouling up today.
Passed Monday 10th Dec 2018 age 74