Comments (21)

Dead people do not come back to talk to us.Where do they come back from....they are dead...they do not exist any longer. As a famous person once said..."A fool is born every minute".How true.

I just read Christy’s interview with Nydia Pichardo who believes she can see and speak with the dead. I had never heard of Santerian belief and so looked it up.
Santeria is defined as: “An African-based religion similar to voodoo, originating in Cuba and Brazil, which combines the worship of traditional Yoruban deities with the worship of Roman Catholic saints.”
Most people who believe themselves to be mediums were taught as a child in church that humans have an ‘immortal soul,’ words NOT found in the Bible anywhere. Instead God himself states: “the soul that sinneth, it shall die." (Ezekiel 18:20 ) Is there anyone who does not sin?
Just what is a soul? Genesis 2:7 tells us God created the first man from “the dust,” the elements in the earth, and that after breathing the breath of life into the body he had formed, “the man became a living soul.” Just as a person who becomes a journalist, IS a journalist, Adam did not have, nor was he given a soul, he was himself a soul.
Although Catholics are taught humans have an immortal soul the New Catholic Encyclopedia admits: The soul in the OT [Old Testament] means not a part of man, but the whole man—man as a living being. Similarly, in the NT [New Testament] it signifies human life: the life of an individual, conscious subject."—1967, Vol. XIII, p. 467
The Bible was originally written in Hebrew and Greek. The Hebrew word for soul, nephesh, means breather. In the Scriptures nephesh applies to all breathing creatures, bird, bug, fish, animal or human. The Greek equivalent is psykhe.
University of South Carolina Religious Studies Professor James Tabor in his book, What the Bible says about Death, Afterlife, and the Future explains: "The ancient Hebrews had no idea of an immortal soul living a full and vital life beyond death, nor of any resurrection or return from death. Human beings, like the beasts of the field, are made of "dust of the earth," and at death they return to that dust (Gen. 2:7; 3:19). The Hebrew word nephesh, traditionally translated "living soul" but more properly understood as "living creature," is the same word used for all breathing creatures and refers to nothing immortal.”
You might find it of interest to read the scriptures which tell us the soul can be circumcised, bought, taxed, eat meat, killed by a man with a sword, strangled, faint, get out of prison, be fat, has blood, eats and drinks, survives a flood, and drowns. (Genesis 17:14; Leviticus 22:1; Numbers 31:28; Deuteronomy 12:20; Joshua 11:11; Job 7:15; Psalm 107:5; 142:7; Proverbs 11:25; Jeremiah 2:34; Luke 12:19; 1Peter 3:20; Revelation 16:3) All of these refer to something physical not spiritual.
There would have been no reason for God to implant within humans something that would never die because we were created to live forever in perfect health and happiness. This first human living soul was told he would die only if he broke God’s one law.—Genesis 2:17
The historical account says he chose to rebel against God’s only law and was sentenced to death. (Genesis 3:1-6) What did God say would happen to him when he died? He told him his life would be hard, “till thou RETURN unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” (Genesis 3:19) Where was Adam before his creation? He simply did not exist. At death he would return to the same state of lifeless non-existence by his return to the dust he was created from. There was no mention of further punishment after death or of an afterlife in the spirit realm.
Of the dead, God thru Solomon reveals: “All go unto one place; all are of the dust, and all turn to dust again.” Isn’t this the same as what God told Adam? He also informs us of the condition of the dead: "the living know that they shall die, but the dead know not any thing.... Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished.” (Ecclesiastes 3:20; 9:5-6) Is there anything left over after death with intelligence? Psalm 146:4 says that when a person dies, “His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.”
If the dead return to the dust, are unconscious, without feelings or ability to think, can they see or speak to the living or can the living see or speak to them? The scriptural facts prove that ghosts are really only the demon angels of Satan who assume the persona of a dead person in their attempt to keep people from believing what is written in the Bible about the condition of the dead.
The Bible does not teach us that God created us with the purpose of having us grow old, sicken and die. It is the only book that explains what happens at death, why people die, and what God is going to do to bring an end to death and all its causes. Please let me know if you would like more information from the Bible on this or any subject that interests you. Write to joy2teach1@yahoo.com

"Always, research anyone offering to communicate with spirits. Make sure that they are who they say they are. Check and re-check them out so you won't fall prey to their underhanded ways."

Absolutely. My advice to anyone seeking such services, is to treat the providers like you would a potential auto mechanic. (People tend to be skeptical in the *wrong way,* it's all about 'Is This Real' instead of 'Is This Good Service.' And that's how the charlatans getcha.)

If you brought in your car to be fixed, you'd a) expect it to be fixed, and b) if someone kept finding more and more expensive problems that didn't exist before, you'd go somewhere else, wouldn't you? Don't do to your spiritual life what you wouldn't do to your car under similar circumstances. :)

That's not to say one should necessarily expect 'instant gratification,' but the people who really abuse this stuff are the ones who soak up fortunes with bad practice.

Just like mechanics, the folks who do good work are going to have good reputations in the community, (And as a result may not advertise) ...and good work not only *works,* but in general *stays done.* (There's no accounting for humans reverting to bad habits when these are a factor, of course.)

For another metaphor: A good dentist is trying to put herself out of business. :)

There is a say that goes "When the student is ready the teacher will come."

I too used to say that these people are nuts until I was touched and felt the energies of the spirits. I would not say this is a gift becuase it sound as ordinary people are excluded. One day if it's deemed necesary you too will have a spiritual experience that will turn your whole veiw 180 degrees around. Perhaps some will have to wiat for their death to experience the fact wwe continue beyond this life span. At that moment it might be you who tries to then make contact to a loved one still living.

Blessing

Just like Mrs. Pichardo, I experienced this feeling at a very early age in Habana, Cuba. My mom used to say that I had an imaginary friend (most children do at a certain age everywhere in the world) But at 7 y.o. who was I to argue that it was anything else? As I grew older the imaginary friend(s)became much more visible and more visited more often but then as now they are just spirits who are searching for mediums to pray for them and guide them towards the light. Both my parents are now deceased and I speak to them once in a while but as far as other spirits, I live and deal with on a daily basis. I am now 56 years of age and the spirits have been part of my life since I can remember. So, yes its not only possible but a reality that spirits come to communicate with folks such a Mrs. Pichardo & many others such as myself who have been blessed with this gift. A gift which is meant to guide, advice us as well as friends, family or a "perfect stranger."

Unfortunately, as in every religious denomination, there exists those folks who use this medium to extract $$$ from unsuspecting honest folks. That is why, I am taking this opportunity through this venue to warn people to the realities that there are alot of "fake" spiritualists who prey on unsuspecting everyday folks who work very hard for their money. Always, research anyone offering to communicate with spirits. Make sure that they are who they say they are. Check and re-check them out so you won't fall prey to their underhanded ways.

Just like Mrs. Pichardo, I experienced this feeling at a very early age in Habana, Cuba. My mom used to say that I had an imaginary friend (most children do at a certain age everywhere in the world) But at 7 y.o. who was I to argue that it was anything else? As I grew older the imaginary friend(s)became much more visible and more visited more often but then as now they are just spirits who are searching for mediums to pray for them and guide them towards the light. Both my parents are now deceased and I speak to them once in a while but as far as other spirits, I live and deal with on a daily basis. I am now 56 years of age and the spirits have been part of my life since I can remember. So, yes its not only possible but a reality that spirits come to communicate with folks such a Mrs. Pichardo & many others such as myself who have been blessed with this gift. A gift which is meant to guide, advice us as well as friends, family or a "perfect stranger."

Unfortunately, as in every religious denomination, there exists those folks who use this medium to extract $$$ from unsuspecting honest folks. That is why, I am taking this opportunity through this venue to warn people to the realities that there are alot of "fake" spiritualists who prey on unsuspecting everyday folks who work very hard for their money. Always, research anyone offering to communicate with spirits. Make sure that they are who they say they are. Check and re-check them out so you won't fall prey to their underhanded ways.

" William:

It is so difficult to accept that typically, the most negative comments about other faiths come from people that believe that a spirit descended, ravaged a young middle-eastern woman, impregnated her, and from their union was born the "son" of God! "

Oh, be fair, William, they believe she was *asked* by an angel. (Whether or not she would have felt she had the right to say no is another matter)

The word you're looking for is 'ravished,' anyway, I'm pretty sure.

Well, Dave, some have long held that one can interact with spirits ...with the proper tools for *that.*

I find that, too often, both people who want to believe and want to disbelieve in spirits can have trouble examining this part of human experience because they *believe* it's unreasonable.

Gods know I've encountered plenty of people who see one supernatural thing and decide 'Everything 'supernatural' I've ever heard must be objectively-true!'

While I believe in principle that science could study some things about 'the supernatural,' ...we just don't have the tools or methodology to do it in the manner people keep trying: it's like trying to find bacteria in a sterile lab, for instance, or staring at a single atom of thorium and hoping it repeatably sheds alpha particles for you.

Not actually in a big hurry for science to figure that out, personally. :)

In the meantime, we're subjective creatures, in large measure, and the question isn't so much 'I need to prove this,' as 'How well can I deal with it.'

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof. OK. I won't make those kinds of claims scientifically. I certainly won't say that some religious book is more objectively-true than what we *can* study. Spirits tell me there's bad water somewhere, I don't run up and shake rattles at the EPA, I enlist some college kids to *test* it. I don't need to make extraordinary claims about how I found it, it's found. There you go. :)

It's like dowsers.... who cares how it works, in a way: the important part is 'Did you save a few grand on test wells.' :)

Delusions and charlatanry certainly happen... A lot. If you respect science and reason, you don't make unsupportable scientific or pseudo-scientific claims.

It doesn't mean people don't experience these things... And in some ways, I think the old ways deal better with them. Often it seems that science and book-religion make competing promises to make certain often-uncomfortable human experiences *go away,* rather than help us get *through* them.

And all it does is populate our minds with nagging fears and 'delusions.' It seems to me that half the job of dealing with matters spiritual is talking people who've just had their world shaken out of the fears that having such a human experience must by definition mean something to do with either damnation or insanity. Folks raised as Biblical literalists or those who have an 'If it's called supernatural, I stake my sense of self on that I disbelieve in it' attitude are always the ones who have the hardest time when something undeniably unexplainable happens in their world.

Complicated piece of equipment, the human brain. Takes some care and maintenance, particularly in a world that has stuff we can't always see in it.

From a religious point of view, inasmuch as it's distinct the shamanistic one, everything is alive with what we call 'spirit.' The world's alive, the universe is alive, and all of it conscious in some way... Peering into a microscope and seeing evolution in progress doesn't rock my religious world, ...gene-splicing the wheat, while unwise in my book, at least in letting corporations do it for profit, ... doesn't mean I don't see the grain-God there, say.

Religion and spirituality and science and reason should *not* contradict each other. Some religions have set themselves up as arbiters of scientific reality, and we're right to resent that.

In fact, in some ways, both certain atheisms and certain religions share this one presumption: "Belief is vital to get factually-right."

It doesn't mean that we aren't given a deeper world of experience.

Charlatans and authoritarians both will attempt to use any touch of that experience to try and solidify or enforce control, over a possibility they're taught to find frightening. Perhaps with a grain of the 'rightfully so' in terms of human history, ...but the real question, I think, is if we can permit ourselves to productively know and to productively dream, both.

Culturally, I think the West both longs for this and greets it with great anxiety, whichever side of a certain fence someone decides to come down on.

I think Nature makes us both subjective and reasoning creatures, and perhaps only asks the question: 'Can you do this *well?*'

It is so difficult to accept that typically, the most negative comments about other faiths come from people that believe that a spirit descended, ravaged a young middle-eastern woman, impregnated her, and from their union was born the "son" of God!

In a country that was founded on the very principles of freedom of thought and (primarily) in the search for freedom of religion, this type of arrogant, ethnocentric ignorance is unacceptable.

"Can you see the virus, bacteria, the wind and others. They move, but you cant see."

Actually, yes, you can see all of the above, given proper tools. Just because you can't see something with your naked eyes, doesn't mean it's unobservable and must be taken on "faith." Faith only works as a constructive force with rationality and a drive to KNOW backing it. Otherwise, it is just self- or mass-delusion, depending on whether you're talking about paranormal spirituality or religion, respectively.

I have to say that I was not sure about this issue of talking to the dead just a few short weeks ago. But, two weeks ago, a friend/mentor passed away and I felt a strong inclination, even though I had not really been in touch with the person in the past three years, to talk with him. My husband, who is very sensitive got a clear channel of this man and it has been it has been sooooooooooooo much fun talking to him. Not only have we rekindled this great friendship but he is givning me tremendous business advice, as he was an extremely successful lawyer and businessman. In addition, I am learning about my own intuitive skills and abilities. Both this friend who has passed and my husband are helping me to realize that we truly are all one consciousness and the differences between "here" and "there" are more of a matter of perception. This experience has totally dissolved away all fear I have ever had about death and has encouraged me that I can be in touch with anyone who passess over. The relationship does not have to pass with the person's transition to another dimension, which is really all that it is. I am immensly grateful for this experience and am realizing the full magnitude of loving energy and all its possibilities - as well as improving my business!!

I have to say that I was not sure about this issue of talking to the dead just a few short weeks ago. But, two weeks ago, a friend/mentor passed away and I felt a strong inclination, even though I had not really been in touch with the person in the past three years, to talk with him. My husband, who is very sensitive got a clear channel of this man and it has been it has been sooooooooooooo much fun talking to him. Not only have we rekindled this great friendship but he is givning me tremendous business advice, as he was an extremely successful lawyer and businessman. In addition, I am learning about my own intuitive skills and abilities. Both this friend who has passed and my husband are helping me to realize that we truly are all one consciousness and the differences between "here" and "there" are more of a matter of perception. This experience has totally dissolved away all fear I have ever had about death and has encouraged me that I can be in touch with anyone who passess over. The relationship does not have to pass with the person's transition to another dimension, which is really all that it is. I am immensly grateful for this experience and am realizing the full magnitude of loving energy and all its possibilities - as well as improving my business!!

Duff:

Nail... on the head ...

One need only read the comments here to realize that religion truly is the only socially acceptable form of insanity.

My mother talked to the soul. I see ghost when i was 5 years old. I see dwarfs, 2 inches tall, but i see them thru the shadow only. If there is shadow, there is object. In my dreams when I was a teen, ive seen same places where i saw in my dreams.Many times, some whispers in my ears, very clear voice and they became true.

The Bible and the Quran, speaks about spirits and other things that we cant see. Can you see the virus, bacteria, the wind and others. They move, but you cant see.

Think and apply logic. Spirits and the unseen are true on my view.

Another example of "Sally Quinn gone wild!"

When is the esteemed publisher going to figure out that his wife is a wack job, and pull the plug on this foolishness? THIS is a major metropolitan newspaper??-

"Some of these scholars thing that entire chapters of the bible were available for "download" from travelling minstrals. Perhaps idiot sauvents (sp) contain such capacities to date ?"

As a point of interest, there are many indications that we all are born with astounding capacities to memorize, but in fact written *literacy* competes for the same resources in our brains: people in non-writing societies can often memorize vast amounts of information: feats that we would have difficulty with today in our very written-word-based society.

The notion there is that savants are actually getting a refund of sorts in this area, cause they were unable to develop the competing written literacy.

But the upshot of it is that in a less word-dependent society such as the Europe of the past, there were certainly bards and minstrels and seanachie who could recite tracts of great length verbatim: this is in fact where epic poetry came from: people *learned that by heart.*

I've tried to duplicate a shade of the feats of memory of my ancestors, by memorizing poems of some length, ...and it's like, seriously, nothing doing. I have to practice pretty hard to recite my *own* poetry, (mostly by remembering writing it,) and sometimes even favorite popular songs I hear all the time can be hard to get fully right.

And I'm considered pretty exceptional with the written word and understanding abstractions, and all the things that test out to a ridiculous IQ.
I really do tend to buy the idea that this may come at the expense of memorization skills.

Maybe our word-based technical society is just a bit overloaded in this regard.

I think even in religion and politics, people really count on people *not remembering what they said last week.* They call it 'spin,' (Or 'straight talk,' ) but much of our society and media are built around people *not remembering ten years ago, or twenty.*

We're used to everything being right there in front of us. And when someone changes the picture, we often fall for it, I think.

Maybe that's why the idea of falling back on a written sacred book is so appealing, even if people forget what the same people were saying it told them to do, last year.

As for ancestral memories, well, I'm a Pagan, and I always was, 'touched,' if you will. I tend to observe the 'Book religion' people are often inordinately disturbed by, as well as *attached to* notions of death and ghosts and the afterlife *because* their books don't really account for these experiences: their general reaction is to freak out while their brains work overtime trying to define things comfortably.

Quite often, even, when confronted with the supernatural, so to speak, ...recite a bunch of words until the perception goes away, then wonder why the same places have had the same recurring manifestations for centuries.

Kind of like your modern 'ghostbusters' are either trying to drive away something they don't understand with words, or to get scientifically-repeatable measurements, instead of dealing on the spirits' terms and human ones.

(My opinion is, if this was repeatably-chartable, it wouldn't be considered supernatural, and if saying some words stopped distressing manifestations, the job'd have been done long since. :) )

Now, not to say further uncanniness doesn't occur, but a lot of people who propose to be 'channeling spirits,' are simply not bringing any information to the table they didn't already have in their brains to begin with. (People who channel 'alien ascended masters' and the like clearly have no idea of the lifespans of the prominently-named stars that tend to be way off the main sequence, for instance, ...some of them have an uncanny sense of what's going on in the world, and even some 'wisdom' they wouldn't otherwise voice, but the literal information is often just whatever was rattling around in their minds. )

Not to say information doesn't come, Mark, I've seen scads of things that give my, "Darn it, Mamma, I wanted to be a rationalist!" head lots of nights of entertainment, but you mustn't leap to the conclusion that because certain people could apparently do things we can't in the past, necessarily means anything like their memorization skills can only be explained by text-downloads from the Gods.

We couldn't build a Great Pyramid now, just off the cuff. Doesn't mean aliens musta done it. :)

Am told by the professionals studying ancient languages that most information was carried by orators with tremendous memorization abilities. Some of these scholars thing that entire chapters of the bible were available for "download" from travelling minstrals. Perhaps idiot sauvents (sp) contain such capacities to date ?

As the phonecian system for written language made the world smaller for commerce without conquest, written language became adapted. Now direct communication with "spirits" became less necessary. Fact is most of us can get a direct spiritual connection with our founding fathers through the Constitution of the United States today.

I never try to discount the "gifts" of the "touched" as prophecy has been recorded for along time now. And the bible talks about cures from "diver's" diseases, voices or strange tongues reported from oxygen deprevation from way back and then attributed to certain people as being "possessed". Modern science has terms to diagnosis and treat some of these illnesses. Some remain untreated like anti-social behavior disorder still terrorizes our society on a weekly basis.

Bottom-line to me is that it is not a strech (sp) of the imagination to contact our heritages directly. The risk is false prophets or those orator's who echo the desires of man's ego out of check and balance. Sometimes the "gifted" will tell you what you want to hear and not what you need to hear. It's a matter of truth to me.

...All this can be yours for the low, low price of $19.95...

Talking to the dead is easy. The hard part is getting them to reply...

Ok. Yes, people believe and do this, they exists. Did you have something to say about it, miss, or were you just opening the floor for pious panic? :)

Guess I'll just insert a psychic safety tip: people who 'horse' or 'get ridden' in this manner are generally intended to do so within a context of certain cultural practices, rituals, boundaries, and safeguards.

European Victorian spiritualism had a certain amount of 'pull my finger' about it, as regarded the spirit world, lots of sorta crank-calling party lines, as I've been known to joke.

Much like the popular Ouija boards folks like me get blamed for Milton Bradley making by the gazillion. I say, "If you can handle that, you don't need it." :)

The Santeria way is not my way, not that my way doesn't involve a lot of respect for the Orishas, and a number of their kids and employees I've had occasion to respect. Not that there aren't a lot of folks involved I don't exactly consider above criticism on a few practical counts...

Guess I'm asking, ..Your point? :)