This post deals with the paranormal, just so you know before reading it

[Misanthropical]

MystyGlyttyr I'm hoping to major in abnormal psychiatry. I, too have been curious about what makes people tick. I know I will not have all the answers I'm looking for about the human mind. It's like two brothers, who were raised the same way by the same mother, one went into law enforcement and the other became a gang banger. Things like that fascinate me.

Ok, more of my ghostie stories: Mr. Mis had gone to bed by the time this happened, so he didn't see it. Anywho, I'm laying on the love seat when I see and hear a black blob hit the wall by my desk HARD and fall onto the floor. I slowly go over to my computer desk and look under it, since that is where I had seen it but there is nothing. Damn shadow type things scare the bejesus out of me.

My big guy nearly fell backwards down the stairs because his backpack was full of text books. My big guy said he felt a hand on his back steady him so he didn't fall. So, a big thank you to Ethan. Stuff happens around here all the time to make sure we don't hurt our self too badly around here. I'm the one who mostly hurts herself. Mr. Mis says he should have never bought me a knife set All the times I have hurt myself it has never been serious.

[ShadowTiger]

Firstly: Interesting video regarding a "fairy" sighting. Just putting it out there for anyone interested.

Believe me, I've been dealing with internal conflicts regarding the subject of Otherkin for plenty of years now. For the longest time, I've been under the impression that I'm some sort of feline Therian after much introspection. It's the easiest explanation for personal quirks, having never had a cat or been all that interested in having one. If anything, my general fondness for cats originates from any traces of feline Therianthropy. Otherwise, logically speaking, I would be more fond of dogs for being more interactive and friendly with people. I wouldn't have an "in" to appreciate cats were it not for a recent unconditional love for animals and this personal study of my own "condition." If I had a bias, I would have unearthed that to add to the equation. I don't like lying to myself, which hides information.

So that's one possible response I could give, MystyGlyttyr. I know that Dragon Wings over there can tell you of other experiences, potentially, and share experiences of knowing quite a few other Otherkin and Therians who have had far more intense experiences.

• Phantom limbs. (Particularly phantom wings or a tail, which can't possibly match anything human.)
• Vivid memories of past lives.
• Having more knowledge of the quantity of past lives that one has had. (These past two bullets are related, though more scatterishly.)
• Unexplainable fondness for a place. It's not a very heavy point like the first two points, but if you've been a whale before, ... ... etc etc...

Keep in mind of course that in order to understand the concept, we must be aware of the conceptual framework under which we must work. We must understand what the soul is and what it does. If we don't know, or aren't too sure, then any work that we do isn't valid. Refer to my past post for the names of authors who have written books on the subject (The most reliable ones I am currently aware of. :-/ ) of what happens to the soul between lives, and what the soul is. Once we know that, we can figure out how "Otherkin" happens, for lack of a better description of the event. We have to know if animal souls are equal to human souls, or if there is simply "a" soul that inhabits either.

Keep in mind, our experience here is NOT "I am a body with a soul" or even "I am a soul with a body." What we are, is: "I am a soul experiencing human life in terms of a body." That's the most accurate explanation I can figure for the moment. Our soul is our personality, but is still our consciousness. Our body has all of the chemical reactions that our souls don't, but our souls can still inject the cause for a chemical reaction into our body, although I do feel that love and fear transcend these chemical reactions and just take place in the same setting as the rest of our emotions. (After all, we were a part of God once, and God is unconditional love. Thus, so should we be. Love. Lack of love is fear, out of being disconnected from God. Plenty of types of love and fear.)


A useful analogy:

I like to think of our souls like mech pilots. Our bodies are giant Mechs. Any pilot has the training to go into a mech, though certain pilots choose their Mech based on their own personality and preference. A Mech goes into battle, is controlled by their pilot, does its own thing that the pilot controls and prefers it to do, and if it gets destroyed, the pilot gets ejected, goes back to the mess hall, has a few laughs with his/her comrades, shares experiences, and gets to pilot a new mech. It's what we do until we get promoted to admiral or whatever by being a badass pilot. (This is what actually happens, by the way, in terms of this analogy. After learning as much as we can, and getting closer to the source, we don't have to pilot a mech anymore. We can teach or build for a while.)

So in terms of Otherkin, our Mech is the same as the rest of them, but perhaps our pilot itself is just a different kind of pilot. If you get a pilot from Rigel IV, you're probably going to get some scaly dude who piloted mechs with plasma arc cannons rather than vulcan miniguns. So that Rigelian pilot will keep using tactics involving a plasma arc cannon rather than the slightly longer range vulcan minigun, rather than the rest of the mechs he's battling along-side.

Something like that. :P

[Amusement Gal]

ShadowTiger: That's a very interesting philosophy.

Does anyone here have a take on déjà vu? I'm getting it way too often to feel sane (not that I'd want to be! ). I swear I've been in the same loop at least four times over. And usually each time it's slightly different. I know some people claim it's your mind playing tricks on you, but when you get them with a variation each time, it makes it more real feeling for me. It's driving me crazy, but all I've ever been told is, "That means you're going the right path.", which doesn't really help too much. I swear, one day I'm going to see if I have a past life. The déjà vu didn't bother me too much in the first two loops, but with it going up to four (and counting, with my luck), I'm going bonkers.

I hope that I don't come off as a, "Spiritual Disease of the Week", type of person. I just don't have anyone else to talk to in real life over this stuff, so it all just sort of bursts out. My nickname from my boyfriend is "The Witch". >.o Which is cute...until I'm implied that it's all in my head, or that I'm clinging to anything Supernatural to feel 'special'. They don't outright mock me, but it's hard finding someone in the SOUTH, of all places, to talk of that stuff. I know one woman, and she only works in a shop two days out of a week.

[ShadowTiger]

I hope that I don't come off as a, "Spiritual Disease of the Week", type of person. I just don't have anyone else to talk to in real life over this stuff, so it all just sort of bursts out.

It's all good. ^_^ If the downside of discussing it publicly is that you get skeptics and trolls, then the upside is that it attracts people who are either open minded, interested, or going through much of the same stuff. Sounds like a good risk to take, if you ask me.

Déjà vu is also something that I think a lot about. I get it maybe once a month or so, though it's been happening the most where I work, oddly enough, and usually in one particular aisle. O.o' (The doorknobs / picture hangers aisle.) I never quite know what to make of it when I do get it. I usually attribute it to either imagining or rehearsing a possible scenario beforehand, (Most people sing in the shower. I rehearse potential situations.) I would actually initially say that yes, it is all in our heads, due to a number of misfiring or crossed electrical signals, but you never know. Could be a signal from our higher selves or guardian and whatnot. Not that we'd really have a particularly verifiable way of knowing. o.o

Also, the only reason past lives interest me, is to find out what I did wrong in them so I won't make that mistake again. Generally though, we do that ourselves between lives, according to the major past-life hypnotherapists out there. We either pick a life that's easy to give us a break, like a "life vacation" or we go into a life/body/path that gives us an opportunity to correct our past mistakes. So yeah, it doesn't really matter to me what I was in a past life, as long as I'm making progress toward some important lesson I was supposed to learn. That carries over into all next lives, of course. :]

[firecat88]

For the longest time, I've been under the impression that I'm some sort of feline Therian after much introspection. It's the easiest explanation for personal quirks, having never had a cat or been all that interested in having one. If anything, my general fondness for cats originates from any traces of feline Therianthropy.

• Unexplainable fondness for a place. It's not a very heavy point like the first two points, but if you've been a whale before, ... ... etc etc...

It's kinda funny that you mention both of these. For as long as I can remember, I've always had an affinity towards cats. My sister and I even make jokes about how I was a cat in another life, but sometimes I wonder if it could be true or not. Also, it's been pointed out to me by other people that I have very feline tendencies.

Also, I've always been obsessed with Ireland, ever since I was a kid. I've never been there and I'm pretty sure I have zero ancestral ties to it (Dad's ancestry is Norwegian, Mom's is Spanish), but I'm fascinated by it for some reason. The history, the music, the mythology...I can't think of any reason why I should be so interested in the place, but I am.

[Amusement Gal]

I only get Déjà vu over some situations. And they all involve conversations with people, and specific objects. In fact, that's the only reason I remember them most of the time. And every time it happens, I feel like it's been a couple of months before. I'm a cashier though, so it might just well be a similar situation compared to another guest? It still bugs me though! The other theory that some people come up with is that you remember a prophetic dream about it that you forgot after you had it. Like, if you had it as a kid, forgot, and remembered right after the moment. I wouldn't be surprised about THAT, either, considering my mother has had several dreams of impossible scenarios coming true about a month or so later.

I dunno. I can't focus on other problems until I fix myself! All I can still do is meditate and cleanse, but I feel that once I get over this depression and stress funk, I'll do better at it. One time I could lucid dream on command, but being scared at the prospect of Astral Projection, I pretty much shut it down unconsciously. Which is a shame, because lucid dreaming is pretty fun.

[dalesys]

... obsessed with Ireland, ever since I was a kid. I've never been there and I'm pretty sure I have zero ancestral ties to it (Dad's ancestry is Norwegian, Mom's is Spanish)...

A good share of the Viking plunder was Irish wenches.

Irish folklore has it they came from Spain.

Until the sassenachs completed their conquest of Ireland, there was a great deal of commerce with Spain.

A few thoughts.

[dragon_wings]

Also, I've always been obsessed with Ireland, ever since I was a kid. I've never been there and I'm pretty sure I have zero ancestral ties to it (Dad's ancestry is Norwegian, Mom's is Spanish), but I'm fascinated by it for some reason. The history, the music, the mythology...I can't think of any reason why I should be so interested in the place, but I am.

I don't know that I've always been obsessed with Ireland but definitely in recent years my interest has increased a lot. I wondered if first that didn't mean I was fae or elven (considering folklore of the area). I too, don't know why I'm so interested in Ireland either *ponders*

I'm fairly sure I have a Therian side. I'm just not sure what it is yet. (I do have a short list of possibilities.) Mainly I'm DragonKin (hence the username). And that revelation was a shock (I originally discounted the possibility I could be a dragon cause it was too cool/regal/something to be what I am).

[ShadowTiger]

It's kinda funny that you mention both of these. For as long as I can remember, I've always had an affinity towards cats. My sister and I even make jokes about how I was a cat in another life, but sometimes I wonder if it could be true or not. Also, it's been pointed out to me by other people that I have very feline tendencies.

I know a few people that have the same attributes. You can take one look at these people and think "Cat." Not because they bear some resemblance to them, no... it's for reasons beyond explanation.

Also, I've always been obsessed with Ireland, ever since I was a kid. I've never been there and I'm pretty sure I have zero ancestral ties to it (Dad's ancestry is Norwegian, Mom's is Spanish), but I'm fascinated by it for some reason. The history, the music, the mythology...I can't think of any reason why I should be so interested in the place, but I am.

I know what you mean. Ancient Egypt has the same fascination to me, and I have no idea why. I know they worshiped cats there, but I doubt that has anything to do with it. O.o

One time I could lucid dream on command, but being scared at the prospect of Astral Projection, I pretty much shut it down unconsciously. Which is a shame, because lucid dreaming is pretty fun.

Yeah. I've never (that I'm aware) had the pleasure of projecting, but I've read plenty of books on them, and I haven't heard of anyone having any dangerous experiences in it that they didn't bring upon themselves by being rude to any entities out there.

I'm fairly sure I have a Therian side. I'm just not sure what it is yet. (I do have a short list of possibilities.) Mainly I'm DragonKin (hence the username). And that revelation was a shock (I originally discounted the possibility I could be a dragon cause it was too cool/regal/something to be what I am).

I am consistently under the impression that many of the creatures of folklore, such as Dragons, Unicorns, pixies, dryads, etc, do exist, though the where and when escapes us. Heck, if people can be Otherkin and Therians, and can access past lives, then who would be a better source of information than someone who has at one point been a Dragon or Pixie? I'm pretty sure that Starseeds exist, so why not anything else? The stuff that souls are made of is pretty much consistent across the board. It just happens to be that Earth has always been an extraordinarily interesting place to visit, so people generally opt to stay here, for the most part, and those who aren't so common are thought of as the proverbial odd man out.

[Amusement Gal]

Yeah. I've never (that I'm aware) had the pleasure of projecting, but I've read plenty of books on them, and I haven't heard of anyone having any dangerous experiences in it that they didn't bring upon themselves by being rude to any entities out there.

I have a very active imagination. Now, I don't expect sunshine and rainbows with the concept of you leaving your physical body, but I just don't have enough confidence in myself to get out of a (potential) spirit ass-whooping. The one woman I talk to a lot, she's done it multiple times, said there's things trying to cut your string, lead you into the wrong places...and I'm a freaking scaredy cat. It's the main reason that I have a strong grounding stone with me. I usually use a combination of Tiger Eye and Hematite. The Tiger Eye to push anything away, and the Hematite for extra grounding. It's like a mental security blanket to me I guess.

[Merriweather]

Just found this thread, wow, some very interesting stories & points of view. Since I read 9 pages or so at once, this is gonna be long

For the record, I'm a skeptical believer. On personal experiences (and I've had quite a few), if I can come up with what could possibly be a "normal" explanation, then I don't consider it as paranormal. So I've probably dismissed real experiences on the side of caution.

Also, as a child, there is house that I don't remember anything happening in, but I still, to this day get nightmares of that house. I thought of going to a hypnotist to find out why that house scares me

As a child, we moved. A LOT. At least 20 hourse by the time I was 18. After age 3, I can remember at least a few rooms in each, some I could draw you a floor plan and describe each room. Except one. I have a photo of the front, and can remember my 11th birthday party in the yard. But I can't recall a single memory inside the house. Odd enough. But just a year or two ago my sister and I were talking about childhood homes, and I mentioned this to her - found out she has a mental block about that house as well (and she's 4 years older, so would have been 15). On a recent trip out of state, I had a chance to drive thru that town. I was determined to figure out a way ask the current resident to let me look around (without having the police called to report a nut at their door ). That block is now a car park

In my teens I sometimes had flashes of things just before they happened. Not often & I don't think anything major, but odd all the same.

I still do now and then, but really had them when I was a teen, mostly I would dream something, and it would happen. Had one dream that was of a very unexpected and rather awkward situation, I was able to handle it quite well when it happened by simply repeating exactly what I had said in my dream. Had several instances of dreaming of something happening to old friends after I'd moved, then getting letters telling me it had happened (or was going to). I've always heard that dreaming of a wedding means an impending death, and dreaming of a death means a wedding. For several years, it was true every single time I dreamed of one or the other (luckily, I dreamed of far more deaths than weddings).

We also seem to have extra pets . We only had the two so cat number three was worrisome.

We seem to have acquired a third cat ourselves (the other two are flesh & blood). They constantly watch things not seen, chase things not there - but they're cats, and according to my daughter (who has several of her own) a bit weird anyway One night I was leaving my sewing room, about to shut the door, had one cat accounted for and was making sure the other had also left the room. Caught a glimpse of dark fur running from the room past me, began to shut the door - and saw the cat was still in the room, sort of cowering beneath a table. Then another night, I was sitting at the computer, hubby was in bed, and felt the pressure of a little paw on my thigh - one of the cats wanting attention. Only, I looked down, to see which one it was, and it was neither, absolutely nothing there. And looking around, saw both cats in places they could not possibly have gotten into since I felt the touch.

My husband's mom bought the house new, so we know it's not that. I wouldn't be surprised if it's one of his kitties. He had one, Amber, who was his kitty mommy. It doesn't worry me much, but as I said, no counting animals. Heh.

Could be associated with the land, not the house, especially as it's an animal. Also, sometimes things are associated with objects - buy an antique rocker and get a little old lady to sit in it, I don't believe it's very common, but have heard some convincing stories.

[QUOTE=Misanthropical;1003887]
I have a rule that applies to the living and the spirits. There is not touching me without my express written consent unless I'm married to you or gave birth to you.

Touches are one of the freakiest experiences. In addition to the kitty paw (which didn't really bother me, actually) I've had one other touching incident. We were at the ruins of an old monestary in England, and I was about to take a photo. This was just before digital, so no screen, I was concentrating on looking thru the viewfinder, and as I snapped the photo, something shoved my elbow. Hubby & daughter, who's photo I was taking, so they were looking right at me, assured me no one had been within 20 feet of me at the time (I still have the slightly blurry photo of them, too).

Vivid memories of past lives.

Unexplainable fondness for a place.

Thanks for the info, I have to admit to never having heard of Otherkins, very interesting. I can't relate to all of it, but those last two - definitely.

I've always had a love of Great Britain, I can remember reading books about life there as far back as 10 years old, and being fascinated by it. I was lucky enough to finally get there in my late 30's. We lived there 8 1/2 years (half in Wales, half in England). I wish I could have stayed forever (hubby was US military, we had no choice but to come back). I have never felt so very comfortable in my life. I've moved around all my life, and that was the only place I truly felt "at home" and have been homesick for ever since. We of course traveled eveywhere we could, but even in 8 years there are tons we never got to, especially as we had hubby's work, daughter's school, social events, etc. I have always had the feeling, both then and since, that if I traveled around Britain long enough, eventually I would find a place I recognized, I always expected one day to know in advance what was around the next corner, or in the next room of a house. Never happened, always a general familiarity but never that exact recognition, but I still believe it would happen eventually if I was there still.

As for actually remembering past lives, I've a feeling some of my vivid dreams may be memories, but no proof. However, my granddaughter, for a year or so around age 3 to 4, talked often about "the before times" as she called them. She was very matter of fact, could not understand why we didn't remember them like she did. She talked of her parents, my husband and I having been there, but we all lived in different houses than we do now. It was very much the way a 3 or 4 year old might talk after a move, only none of us had moved in her lifetime. She also, when mentioning us all individually as having been there, stateed to one or two of us "you were there, but you were a boy, not a girl" or vice versa (can't recall who was who now). We asked quesitons now and then in spite of her "don't you remember?", tried to be as nonchalant as she was about it, and within a year or so she bagan to mention it less and less, and seemed to forget it. It was very intriqueing, but it really did give me chills a bit. I really regret not getting her on tape.

ShadowTiger:

Does anyone here have a take on déjà vu? I'm getting it way too often to feel sane (not that I'd want to be! ).

I get it often, though not as often as years ago. During my teens & younger years, it was a constant thing. I even recall a few instances they were so strong. One was as a teen, at a pool party - the whole day was one long deja vu, even to knowing what a lot of people were going to say before they said it. And it wasn't just remembering something similar, because I'd never been to a pool party before, it wasn't familar looking surrounding cause it was held at a country club, and trust me, I'd never in my life been to anything even remotely resembling a country club before

I can even remember what must have been my very first experience of deja vu. I was six years old, we were living in Florida, and out for a drive. I looked across a lake and saw a large building (it was a hospital, my mom said). I looked at that, and I knew I'd been there. I also knew I hadn't been there. Even at age six, I realized that wasn't something "normal", to know both of those things as an absolute fact at once, so I never said a word to my parents or anyone. But I still remember how sure I felt, and how weird.


On the original subject of ghosts, I've never seen a full apperition (well, maybe, but it possible there could have been an explanation, so I dont' qutie count that one) but have heard things, smelt things, felt (as in touch) things, and have sensed emotions and so forth. There's one house in England I will never set foot into again because of what I felt there. I know there's a soldier buried at Gettysburg that is simply sad because he's in an unknown grave, so no one can remember his name. I've had several minor (compared to a lot of people) experiences in a lot of places (but won't go into detail or this is gonna become a book ). I've also lived in two or three places where we weren't alone, including the house we have now (in addition to the cat, there have been enough assorted sounds and various smells, and lots of little indications).

My mother, her mother, my father, and his father all have told of at least one or two personal experiences, though none of them would actually admit to believing in ghosts or the paranormal. My sister has ahd a few experiences, though not as many as I have. My brother - well, I'm not sure about his grasp on reality in other ways, so have to take his stories with a grain of salt

[ShadowTiger]

I have a very active imagination. Now, I don't expect sunshine and rainbows with the concept of you leaving your physical body, but I just don't have enough confidence in myself to get out of a (potential) spirit ass-whooping. The one woman I talk to a lot, she's done it multiple times, said there's things trying to cut your string, lead you into the wrong places...and I'm a freaking scaredy cat. It's the main reason that I have a strong grounding stone with me. I usually use a combination of Tiger Eye and Hematite. The Tiger Eye to push anything away, and the Hematite for extra grounding. It's like a mental security blanket to me I guess.

I can show you Robert Bruce's book "Astral Dynamics" if you want. (Here's a website associated with him.) I read the book a year or so ago, and the good news is that it's not your soul that leaves your body; it's just a copy of your consciousness that is generated to go explore. I've never, ever heard of anyone ever experiencing an entity that tries to cut their cord, much less anyone actually getting their cord cut. Even if you did, it's a copy, not your actual soul. Your actual soul is nice and safe. We all do have guardians, after all. Every one of us. (Some have more than others.)

[Amusement Gal]

I can show you Robert Bruce's book "Astral Dynamics" if you want. (Here's a website associated with him.) I read the book a year or so ago, and the good news is that it's not your soul that leaves your body; it's just a copy of your consciousness that is generated to go explore. I've never, ever heard of anyone ever experiencing an entity that tries to cut their cord, much less anyone actually getting their cord cut. Even if you did, it's a copy, not your actual soul. Your actual soul is nice and safe. We all do have guardians, after all. Every one of us. (Some have more than others.)

Somehow in my brain, I like to think that I don't deserve or have one. >.o Inferiority issues for the win! I'm also stubborn and feel silly asking for help, so I'm also afraid I shot myself in the foot and there's nothing there anymore. I always fear that since I'm not overly 'religious', that there's really nothing out there to protect me. Like I said, I need to sort out my brain before worrying about other stuff. I'd like to give a huge 'THANK YOU' to my parents.

[Bronzebow]

I could read a thread like this for days and never get bored with it. Now, I do tend to lean towards the skeptical side I guess, but my family and I have experienced some things that really make you question.

Some women in the family seem to be able to sense current or future events in their dreams. One of my late great, great aunts knew about when one of my distant cousins was killed in a boating accident. She also knew about when my mother discovered she had lymphoma (thankfully fully in regression) the day before she got her test results back. It's not talked about a lot in the family, but it's interesting hearing the 'kids' in my grandfather's generation of the family speak of her as if she were sort of like a family mystic (or at least, from the few that even talk about this).

My mother has also had dreams where she's seen things in real time. In one of them, she even seemed to share a dream with me where we shared a conversation about things going on in my life. When I talked to her much later on, she remembered being in the same car ride with me when we held a conversation about my life events.

The closest I've come to 'witnessing' events was this one room in a house I'd rented in college. The lights were usually off and I had to pass it to get to my bedroom. More than once, I swore I'd seen someone in the bedroom from the corner of my eye, like an outline. Gave me the chills a few times. The owner got wide-eyed and told me about the shadow person she believed visited that room often. Having someone else see what she thought she saw sent her into a bit of a tizzy; she hung a cross on the doorway and spread some salt on the floor inside. One way or another, I never saw anything through the corner of my eye again.

There was another instance after my maternal grandfather passed away. A month after, my brother was going in for back surgery using a doctor that my grandfather had found. We were all heading towards the room where he was being moved to post-recovery. As myself, my aunt and my mom walked in, the door handle to the bathroom jiggled. All three of us saw and heard it. I opened the door and found the lights on in an empty room. We all thought it was grandpa.

For weeks after that, I would walk into the kitchen to find cabinet doors open that shouldn't have been, or creaking doors. Poppie was a bit of a trickster in life.

[protege]

For weeks after that, I would walk into the kitchen to find cabinet doors open that shouldn't have been, or creaking doors. Poppie was a bit of a trickster in life.

Yours too? Mine wasn't so much a trickster...but he was a smartass. Tends to run in the family, it seems Grandpa was well-like by everyone. I don't recall anyone ever saying something bad about him. As the oldest grandchild, I was at his house constantly, so I got to know him the best.

Anyway, I do know that the cat (Kitty) could apparently tell when he was around. It would be very quiet at night, and I'd have the sleeping cat on my lap, in the recliner. All of a sudden, Kitty would wake up, and start looking all over the room. Kitty would freak out for a few minutes before going back to sleep. Whether my granddad's ghost was trying to pet him, I have no idea. Years before Kitty arrived at the farm, they had another cat...which usually wasn't let inside.