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Could the "Ghost state" resemble sleep?


Kevin Daly

Skilled Investigator
OK folks,
Wild speculation time (because that's what I do):

If we allow the possibility that the self persists in a meaningful way after death (and I know that even among those who believe in ghosts that is not a given, but this is spec) there must be a transition of some kind between our experience as fully-paid up members of the physical universe and the unimaginable "What Comes Next".
Dying has been compared with falling asleep - but what if that's more than a metaphor (and I'd argue in favour of our consciousness being a kind of sleep in any case)?
If some individuals fail (at least initially) to make the transition to the afterlife version of consciousness, could their condition be similar to a kind of dreaming, with little control over their actions and little understanding of their situation?
The idea that ghosts don't know they're dead (when you'd think they'd notice something odd about their situation, assuming some ability to reason remains) would then be analogous to the state of a dreamer who doesn't know they are dreaming (I don't know about the rest of you but when I realise I'm dreaming, I wake up).
That would be fairly consistent with many accounts of hauntings.
 
I recall a medium allegedly channeling someone who said that our reality is like a dream to those who have passed on.
 
I don't know, it is wildly speculative, as you say. I don't think we can do anything else other than speculate though.
 
This is what many spiritual traditions of the east claim. That is why they say to practice awareness at all times, so you can be aware of the state you are in instead of just taking it for granted. Many of these traditions say every state except full God-realization or enlightenment is just a dream of one kind or another, which is why the process of reaching these higher states is sometimes referred to as waking up. Now what is enlightenment? Don't ask me!!:confused:
 
For a long while I've considered the dream-state possibility as far as consciousness and it's survival after death. Blend that with (lucent) dreaming and this would, indeed, explain quite a few accounts from experiencers of ghosts and spirits. Most of what the dream-state hypothesis addresses has to do with 'intelligent' haunting phenomena where there is seemingly conscious interaction with a haunting entity. Residual hauntings appear to fall under a different triggering mechanism, such as geological, climatological, or situational factors.

My 2 cents.

J.
 
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