First of all, what is a spirit? It seems to be the topic of some debate and varying opinion, but for the purposes of this post I will use the over-simplified definition that a spirit is the essence of one’s being, which has consciousness, and can transcend physical death. I will include in my definition things such as souls, ghosts, angels, demons, and any other non-physical entity which has a consciousness.
So, do Spirits exist, and if so, are we spirits? I have always seen two distinct possibilities:
- We are spirits (or “souls”) and we “inhabit” our human bodies. Our spirit will live on after death.
- We are walking/talking “biological computers”. Consciousness and thought are nothing more than side-effects of complex organic chemistry. When you die you cease to exist.
The more times I considered option #2, the more ridiculous it seemed. I mean, I really don’t FEEL like a biological computer. Do you? Have you ever had a day-dream? What about a mental image? Or just internal thoughts in your mind? Can these all be explained by simply the action of neurons communicating across synapses in your brain?
And even though some (maybe even a lot) of how our bodies and brains function can be explained in a scientific or medical way, what “drives” it? What “made” you decide to read this blog post? You made a conscious decision. We all have feelings, we all have thoughts. We all make choices every day about what we will do, and where we will go. There is a “continuity” to our existence and to our thought processes that I don’t think can be explained medically (in fact it hasn’t been). If we are not spirits, then our consciousness is basically an illusion. It sure don’t feel like an illusion to me!
Proof of Spirits?
Okay, so if we suppose that spirits may exist, where’s the proof? Seeing is believing, right? According to the Pew Research Center, in 2009 18% of Americans believe that they have seen or been in the presence of a ghost, and 29% have felt that they were in touch with someone who has died. Also according to the Pew Research Center, 75% of Americans consider themselves to be spiritual, including religious and non-religious beliefs. That seems like an awful lot of people who have been completely fooled.
What is the explanation for all this? A quick search on Google gives interesting results (I Googled “how many people have seen spirits”). There are many websites that claim to have solved the “real” reasons why people believe to have encountered ghosts or spirits. The “science behind ghosts”, some claim. The reasons range from hallucination, to stress, to sleep paralysis. One claimed “faulty activity in the brain”. Some ask the question, “Why do so many people still believe in spirits?”, and imply that since there is no “scientific” evidence, they are all clearly mistaken. A lot of these websites sound very matter-of-fact and very authoritative; there is not even the slightest chance that spirits could exist. Maybe the question should be “Why are so many people closed minded about the existence of spirits?”.
Can Science Explain Everything?
I consider myself a scientist, and I have a Bachelor of Applied Science degree to prove it. I have always been fascinated with science. But there are some problems with science. Science basically says that if you can’t see it, hear it, touch it, taste it, or measure it in some way, then it doesn’t exist. Science is 100% concerned with physical reality. If spirits exist, then they may not exist in our physical Universe. They may exist in another “realm”, or perhaps “parallel Universe”, or whatever you want to call it. This would make them very hard to measure.
Our thoughts, emotions, memories, mental images, and so on, can science “measure” those? Can a doctor take one of your thoughts out of your mind and hold it in his hand, and then look at it under a microscope?
The Invisible Universe
In University I learned about gravitational fields. I learned about electric fields. I learned about magnetic fields. Do you know what all these energy fields have in common? They’re all invisible.
We know gravity exists, we can feel what it does to us, and we can see what it does to other objects. The Earth revolves around the Sun because of gravity. The Moon revolves around the Earth because of gravity. When you drop something it falls because of gravity.
But have you ever “seen” a gravitational field? No, nobody has. What about an electric field? Nope, invisible. Has anyone ever shown you a picture of Radio waves? Uh uh. Yet they exist. How do we know this? Because we can measure their effects. We have developed instruments that can detect them.
Your compass proves that magnetic fields exist. Your smart phone proves that radio waves exist. Your bathroom scale proves that gravity exists. If science can accept the existence of all these invisible forces, why can’t it seem to accept the existence of spirits? Maybe they just haven’t come up with an instrument to detect them.
The Uncertainty of Science
There’s another problem with science. Science keeps changing. Here are just a couple of examples:
When I was in college over 25 years ago, I was taught the “oscillating Universe” theory. This was the mainstream theory about the Universe at the time, and it proposed that the Universe had a “Big Bang” to start, which caused expansion, and that eventually all the matter in the Universe would be drawn back to the center because of gravity (a “Big Crunch”), and there would be another Big Bang, and the process would start again, and repeat forever and ever.
Now, 25 years later, they apparently got that wrong. Now they think that the Universe will expand forever, and that there is some mysterious Dark matter and Dark energy which apparently makes up 95% of the Universe, and will somehow counter the effects of gravity.
One more example is “Quantum Entanglement”. I won’t try to explain it in detail, mostly because I don’t really get it. You most likely have access to Google so you can research if you want to. But basically speaking, Quantum Entanglement is a phenomenon where two “entangled” particles can somehow affect each other instantaneously over very large distances. Scientists are still trying to figure out how it works.
Getting the picture yet? To put it bluntly, Science don’t know sh*t! Yes, I’m exaggerating.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not knocking science (well, maybe a little). Science has taught us an awful lot about how out physical Universe works and it still fascinates me. Many of the things we commonly enjoy today (like the internet, for instance, or whatever device you’re using to read this) exist partly because of science. I’m just trying to point out that science doesn’t know everything. Like the saying goes, “You don’t know what you don’t know”. I mean if science already knows everything there is to know, why is there such a thing as scientific research?
Conclusion
I know that spirits exist because I have experienced them. And I know other people who have experienced them as well. If you have never encountered a spirit then any stories I share with you are not likely going to convince you. If you need “evidence”, then I’m afraid I have none. But if you’re reading this (which you clearly are), then you are at least looking for answers, which is a great place to start. And when it comes right down to it, if there are no spirits then that would ruin the whole point of my blog site!
Spiritual Journey 