The Sixth Sense or nonsense?

[Anthiena]

There probably isn't a citizen of a first world country who hasn't heard of it through movies and the like. Kinesis. Telepathy/Empathy. Mediumship. Seership. (Sp?) ...and if it is real, where does it come from? I won't even guess how it works....

...personally, I believe. Why is that, you ask? Because I myself am a minor Empath and have had dreams that have come true. Does that make me psychic? Does it make everyone so? Not really.

According to several family members of mine, both honest and dishonest, the gift is passed down through the female line. Nobody knows why. I just have it slightly stronger than most of my family. If you go by a few theories, it could be possibly enhanced by my Autism.

The bad thing about the "sixth sense" is that it's almost impossible to prove.... but having met a few others, I know I'm not crazy or deluded.

In my experience, my "gift" is only good for two things:

#1: Having a very wierd window into the future. How far ahead my dreams take place depends. My first one happened a week later, my last ones took almost a year to happen. Not all my dreams are prophetic, though usually I can tell the difference, though I don't know how... I just know.

#2: Blending into a group more easily. My empathy works in such a way that I take on a little of the personality of the person I'm around.; especially if they are strong-willed. I can't help it. It's really wierd. It's an on and off thing, but it works. I am usually a loner with strong ethics but when I'm around certain people, I become totally different.

This is my experience. What you believe is up to you.... but I am curious as to how many of you believe or not and why.

[Dead & Grateful]

This morning I woke up and said to myself, "I think I'll have a doughnut for breakfast", and I'll be damned if I didn't eat a doughnut that same morning.


But seriously, I can't remember his name, but there was a scientist who proposed the hardcore existence of something like premonitions as a hidden trait in all humans, based on statistics of the number of passengers on a plane/train/ etc. that had a successful trip compared to the number of passengers of one that crashed. In most cases the number of people was smaller on the terminated transportation, and in most cases of the lack of passengers, it was because something interrupted the person's trip, such as an illness or a headache, and they cancelled or rescheduled. He believed that all humans at one point in our history had a minor psychic power, and that we lost it because we adapted to a point that we didn't need it anymore, sort of like how ancient amphibians eventually lost gills after adapting to living on land.

Think of it what you will.

[Evangel]

*William Shatner immpresonation* The human mind is a complex thing, its limits have yet to be discovered. Those who claim to havr supernatural powers have either been shunned by humanity and shut out of socielty or have been called "crazy" and locked away in an asylum where then you become a nut. There is a fine line between insanity and genius, and those who HAVE claimed they have supernatural powers are on the right side of that line, genius. But, since the American imagination has been destroyed by television and fast food, no one will believe.

What is locked in the human mind will not be discovered in my lifetime, hundreds of years even. But, I bid those who believe and will seek out to unlock these powers for all af mankind, good luck.

[Yuki-onna]

Why shoor. There's bunches we don't know about our own minds. Is the remaining 90% of our brains really just focusing on keeping the body going?

I don't think of premonitions as some magical power, but I do believe in them. There's so much crap going on...compare it to animals "knowing" an earthquake is coming; they're able to sense electromagnetic waves or some really complicated scientific name for those kinds of things.

I think humans can pick up these kinds of things as well. I wonder if animals have the same experiences or can comprehend these kinds of things, but I'll stick to humans for now.

Empathy isn't a magical thing either. It's some kind of bodily function a person has, they translate body language into their own feelings. I also think there must be some kind of heightened smell perception in empaths. In any case I think it's a mix of genetics, and being an open minded and sympathetic person.

All of us have been taught to focus on the future, but keep our minds in the here and now. We set ourselves firmly in time, pretending we can see it like a map that confines us strictly in it's borders.

Perhaps if we opened up more, we'd discover more about ourselves. I think there's more...I've had dreams come true and had uncanny intuitions, I bet everyone has...

[Dead & Grateful]

About the 90% argument, that's false. I looked into it one time and it turned out it's just a misread wording that "psychics" use to their advantages. As it turns out, it's not that 90% of the brain is unoccupied or unknown to science, it's just that some sections of our brain do not function at the same time to avoid an "overload", which is where the "missing" 90% of the brain comes in. At this point in science every part of the brain is known to have at least one basic function or purpose.

[Yuki-onna]

O RLY? I've never really thought much on that statement...I translated it as "us" using it for things like...I dunno...thought and things...which makes no sense whatsoever...why the hell did I think that?

I'M THTUPID.

I'd breach this topic further, but I'm getting distracted by Micheal Jackson.

[Anthiena]

Aw, jeez. I know very well that the "we don't use 90% of our brains " statement is far from true. I also believe that it has something to do with genetics, but I believe that focusing your mind in meditation, prayer or rituals allows you to percieve things in different ways.
Why "Empathy" is the word I use is because I have a form of Autism that makes facial recognition and body language extremely hard to interpret.

[Dead & Grateful]

Why "Empathy" is the word I use is because I have a form of Autism that makes facial recognition and body language extremely hard to interpret.

If it makes you feel any better, I find it hard to tell when chicks are hitting on me.

On the subject of "predicting the future", I like to call it psychological persuasion. If you predict minor or vague events that will happen in someone's future, and they're convinced, they'll eventually associate something in their life with the prediction to make a connection.

Example: Seer A predicts that Customer B will "have a minor conflict with a stranger, but will then discover that he (Customer B) is the object of a secret admirer".

Later that week, Customer B orders a pizza and, being the prick he is, tries to pay with a $50. The delivery dude tells him, "sorry, but I can't break that", so Customer B rummages in his secret stash for some smaller bills. The next day he notices a girl staring at him and, remembering the words of Seer A, asks her out. As it turns out, the girl was staring at a mustard stain he had on his shirt, but she's not the kind to turn down a free drink, so she agrees.

Nothing was really "predicted" in this situation, it was just that Customer B had a minor influence on himself and the others around him based on what he believed would happen.

[Yuki-onna]

On the subject of "predicting the future", I like to call it psychological persuasion. If you predict minor or vague events that will happen in someone's future, and they're convinced, they'll eventually associate something in their life with the prediction to make a connection.

Exactly. Like horoscopes; they brabble about things in daily life that could happen the anyone at any time. I read somewhere many people who believe in these kind of...general...predictions, will enthusiastically embrace anything that comes true, yet ignore anything that doesn't - as some kind of strange comfort.

It's a pretty big gray area. Some kind of guidance, maybe - but I have to agree with D&G.

What about very precise predictions? Like that tv show, Medium; based on people who 'pick up' exact details of murders hundreds of miles away. Is it all phoney? Does anyone have personal experiences with this kind?

[DemonicVincent]

the blessing and curse of science is it'll eventually explain everything, but until it does, we're still stuck w/ at least a little magic in our lives. like i play w/ tarot cards, summon the spirits of dead dragons to do my bidding, attack hell, get possessed by demons, and all that other witchy nonsense. it's entertaining at least, u know? much better than sitting on my a55 in front of the tv wondering what the hell happened.
anyway, i actually scare ppl w/ my thpethial powerth, i can predict a great many things w/ my wiccan toys, and if i'm not around ppl long enough to absorb parts of their personalities, i freak out and promptly have yet another prophetic dream of how i die. it's like i depend on my empathy alone to give me a personality, though it also f*cks me up majorly if i fall in w/ crack addicts or psychopaths. also, my death dreams (i call them 'stupid dreams' b/c they annoy me so) tend to be extremely violent and painful.
about the only explanation science can give us for this is that time bends around a bit once ur conciousness moves to a higher plane of existence and gives u glimpses of a possible future. tarot cards just give ur hands something to play w/ while ur mind floats off to lala land. either that or i'm clinically insane.

[Anthiena]

The Shrinks would call it minor schizophrenia.

[DemonicVincent]

LOL yeah, that's me. voices don't talk to me, but i do see strange sh1t.

[Bunny]

I am not incredibly too clear on what your first post says, DemonicVincent, but your second one is clear enough for me to issue a valid warning. One liners are strictly against the forum rules and the rules of Intelligent Discussion. Your post also branches out into a SPAM-like environment. The same goes for you, NightmareSlayer. Expand on your posts; Use the Private Message system if you have something so short to say about the subject at hand.

In addition, Mariko: Your post doesn't do much of anything for the conversation at hand either. You are questioning yourself and then just.. rambling about something completely different. As such, you'll be warned as well.

As always, if you wish to dispute any of these warnings contact Chez Daja, Myself, or one of the Super Moderators. Do not respond to this post at all.

[Morik the Rogue]

Every so often I'll have an instance of foreknowledge. I have a dream where I'll suddenly see an odd image that just seems out of place. I'll forget about and then a week or two later, sometimes longer, that image will line up with a moment of my life. It's kind of hard to explain, it's like I see a snapshot of the future and don't usually realize it until I reach that moment in time. It's never shown me anything important, and it only happens every now and then.

I wouldn't call it a power as I seem to have no control over it. To my knowledge, I've never manifested any other sixth sensish abilities. Sixth sensish...try saying that three times fast.

It's just an odd quirk, and I've never been sure what to make of it. It's interesting to know that there are others with similar...quirks.

[Kyo-san]

Well, my grandmother is a Tarot card psychic, and I've heard that she's very good, even though I've never gotten a reading from her. She has loads of customers, all of which follow her devoutly, like a religion or something...

I don't know if it's phony or not, but you have to take that into consideration...

[DemonicVincent]

there's actually a huge law in wicca against taking money for ur services, it's tantamount to whoring out ur powers to complete strangers. u generally lose ur powers at a very bad moment if u persist in ur psychic prostitution.

i can see what u guys are saying about how all these predictions are so vague, but the only way to reach large numbers of ppl easily in all thier different situations is to make it vague. also, there's the one "i should've known that would happen" syndrome that ppl get, particularly after a catastrophe like 9/11. it really does come down to whether u believe it or not, there's no concrete method to prove it that'll convince everyone. sorta like there's no concrete way to prove god exists. if u believe in it, great, use it to ur advantage and avoid frauds like 'madam' cleo. if not, fine, it's ur choice.

i personally find it entirely too much fun to freak ppl out to just up and drop it b/c no one's been able to satisfactorily explain it.

[Halie]

Well...I wouldn't exactly call it a power, but when a person is listening to a song, I can usually tell which part of the song they're listening to. Like, ya know, over msn and when they're listening to their iPod or summin'.

I've done it to a few people on this forum, actually. When I've spoken to them on msn, in their 'Personal Message' it was showing what they were listening to, so I quite randomly typed out a line from that song, and it just happened to be the part that they were listening to at the time.

I've also had numerous arguements with people over the fact that I'm Immortal. I believe I'm Immortal. They don't. I've had shit loads of near death experiences, and I'm weird. So yes, I strongly believe that I am Immortal.

I also believe that there are people watching me. I believe they're watching me now [Say hello! ]. I had a discussion with my mother about it a month ago [maybe two months] and she thinks I'm nuts. Don't really blame her lmao. I've had things like these come and go though. I've thought pictures of people on my corkboard could see me, etc. But this thing about people watching me now has seemed to stick around for much longer than the other things I had. It could be a sign of Schizophrenia, but I highly doubt it. Although I did think I was a Schizo not so long ago.

[Furore]

I've also had numerous arguements with people over the fact that I'm Immortal. I believe I'm Immortal. They don't. I've had shit loads of near death experiences, and I'm weird. So yes, I strongly believe that I am Immortal.

And I thought I was the only one...
But yeah, I don't really think I'm immortal as I once suspected, now I just see myself sort of like a 6'3" cockroach. Insanely hard to squish.

As for psychic powers, it could be nothing but sometimes I get a few seconds warning before something happens. I call it my 'instinct' and it's saved my ass a few times at the last second. Chances are I'm just taking in a lot more information than I consciously realise and acting on that information somehow, but regardless it does feel like a sixth sense of some kind.

So far it's applied to falling objects, sneaky punches, ambushes and more. Also of note is sometimes I sort of tense up for what seems no reason. And then something tends to happen within the next hour or two. Coincidence? Mayhaps, but then it does raise some questions in my head...

[Che]

I find it hard to believe you can see the future through your dreams. Perhaps you dream something, since our mind is so random in dreams most of the time, and it properly aligns with something a week or two later. It's probably only coincidence. Perhaps you just think you dreamed about that particular image. Sometimes our minds play tricks on us like this.

Also, I'm also quite positive that psychics are just using non-specific issues to try to relate to their customers. Haven't you see the documentaries or shows where the psychics get answers wrong, but they just keep asking questions until one is right? From what you've typed in this post I can think of a few things you might relate to very well.

As for the train experiment and the people rescheduling because of being ill or something, what do you think the majority of the reasons are for people not being on a train?

Is there really something more, or do most people just want there to be? Instinct and free will are very interesting features of the human mind.


Immortal, wow? Do you seriously think that. I wonder if you'd suddenly change your mind if there was a .45 shoved down your throat and the hammer cocked back. I'm assuming you're young, as most people who are young get the feeling they can't die. However, a few years after maturing everyone in life realizes that it was stupid to believe that.

[Dead & Grateful]

As for the train experiment and the people rescheduling because of being ill or something, what do you think the majority of the reasons are for people not being on a train?

Not my theory, just a point of interest. In any case, the various reasons for which people cancelled was not the point, it was the fact that over a long period of time, there were consistently more cancellations for the trains or planes which ended up crashing.

[Zardoch]

I find it hard to believe you can see the future through your dreams. Perhaps you dream something, since our mind is so random in dreams most of the time, and it properly aligns with something a week or two later. It's probably only coincidence. Perhaps you just think you dreamed about that particular image. Sometimes our minds play tricks on us like this.

Honestly, I'd believe the same as you if I haven't had a ton of small experiences where my dreams become reality. As a child, I would often realize little things I did here or there was something that was apart of my dream I had, like deja vu. Thing was while I brought up the idea that it could just be a "feeling", I always remembered these situations to be exactly like it was in my dream. One year in second grade I was rolling a pencil back and forth with the palm of my hand. When I looked down at my hand a sense of realization swept over me and I distinctively remember seeing the exact same thing in my dream; my hand, the pencil, and the marks on my desk.

That is what I call a "small experience" within my life where I have experienced something that I could not explain, but knew was going to happen or already was happening.

Also, I'm also quite positive that psychics are just using non-specific issues to try to relate to their customers. Haven't you see the documentaries or shows where the psychics get answers wrong, but they just keep asking questions until one is right? From what you've typed in this post I can think of a few things you might relate to very well.

Yeah, those kinds of psychics and people who call themselves psychics, yet have you pay them for their services are definitely frauds, but I've seen plenty of non-commercial psychics pull some weird shit off. The most impressive thing I've seen was a documentary or maybe just some show that recorded one of those places where people are tested for psychic ability. You know, where about 10-15 people are given a test on paper with questions about what is happening outside. When they were finished, there were some astonishing results. Such as drawings that were accurate to various places or objects these people had never seen before. A couple written answers detailed out various things happening during the time they took the test.

There are some interesting results from psychics that aren't on the payroll and aren't just asking questions until they get something right.

Immortal, wow? Do you seriously think that. I wonder if you'd suddenly change your mind if there was a .45 shoved down your throat and the hammer cocked back. I'm assuming you're young, as most people who are young get the feeling they can't die. However, a few years after maturing everyone in life realizes that it was stupid to believe that.

That was just immature and rude, dude. I know you don't agree with everyone here, but patronizing them and inflating some ego of yours because you don't have the same opinion is childish. That was pointless.

Anyway, on the subject at hand I'm certain there is no such thing as a coincidence in life. Sure, there can be coincidental situations where people have the same name or whatever, but it is often exaggerated. That and I just find it simply ignorant to deny the supernatural things that we can't explain in this world just for the sake of science or "logic". It's close-minded.

[Furore]

Immortal, wow? Do you seriously think that. I wonder if you'd suddenly change your mind if there was a .45 shoved down your throat and the hammer cocked back. I'm assuming you're young, as most people who are young get the feeling they can't die. However, a few years after maturing everyone in life realizes that it was stupid to believe that.

Oh yeah, I hate guns. Lucky for me not so many people have them in Australia cos they're illegal and shit.
But yeah I wouldn't be scared at all. Firstly as death doesn't scare me. I don't have any desire of dying, especially now as I have a good deal to lose, BUT either way y'know? Would I really give a damn when I'm dead? HAH!

And yes I have come into idiots with guns a few times. The most recent one ended up with me falling unconscious. But it wasn't from being shot or the blood loss or shock associated with it. No, it was the half the ceiling of the damned old-ass building falling on my bloody head. I have my own kind of luck with things like these. Things just fail, but then something else weird happens that's usually bad, just not as bad.

And my luck holds in other ways. I've been concussed several times, and the neurologist says that once or twice screws up most people in some way (like slurred speech, shaking etc) yet I have nothing along those lines.

Anyways I am so offtopic now, BUT I wonder, why the hell people fear death. To me it's the most irrational fear ever. Fair enough a painful death or something, but people shot in the head don't often live long enough to feel that much pain, do they? I'd imagine their brain would just be in tasty looking gray chunks on the floor. It's probably a fear of pain for many rather than death...

That was just immature and rude, dude. I know you don't agree with everyone here, but patronizing them and inflating some ego of yours because you don't have the same opinion is childish. That was pointless.

Anyway, on the subject at hand I'm certain there is no such thing as a coincidence in life. Sure, there can be coincidental situations where people have the same name or whatever, but it is often exaggerated. That and I just find it simply ignorant to deny the supernatural things that we can't explain in this world just for the sake of science or "logic". It's close-minded.

The first paragraph, mayhaps, but then he was just voicing what he thought. It merely serves to show the differences between how different people think. Or levels of sanity perhaps. I'm not known to be the most... 'normal' of people.

And, I myself do believe there are coincidences in life. Just that not everything is a coincidence and a lot of the time we can't tell whether something is just a coincidence or actually means something. As for science, I see it in a similar vein as I do religion. Neither can really prove anything 100%. They're more for trying to understand things as we wish to personally. And even then a unique perspective or interpretation can bring even more fun to the party.

I believe there may be some true psychics in this world, BUT even if there are, there are probably even more fakes as well as people who have a lot of coincidences happen. I would probably be one of the latter kinds of people. Foster chaos and it looks after you. ^^

[Bleachfangirl]

..I don't believe there's anything like that. Sixth sense is basically just coincidence or gut instinct on something. There's no real way to tell the future to know something without knowing it. There are guesses and nice little knacks for guessing that seem to work out a lot.

If someone successfully guesses something, then they just did something cool. If you cancel your flight or train ride because you're feeling squeamish, that's because you probably don't feel safe and that you're paranoid. In dreams, you get warped interpretations of things in your head. So if someone freaks about going on a plane or train, they probably don't believe in their stability too much. That's all.

But that's just me.

[Che]

I just want to make it clear that I'm sorry if I offended anyone, but what that sounded to me like was some nerdy kid in high school claiming he's immortal but he really just wishes he was. Maybe you were referring to something else, kind of like the movie "Unbreakable"?

Being Immortal would mean that you never die, and live on forever. There is no record of this happening ever in our history, so why would I believe some random guy claiming it on an internet forum? I have every right to question this and believe you are just a normal person. Not saying you aren't immortal though!

That and I just find it simply ignorant to deny the supernatural things that we can't explain in this world just for the sake of science or "logic". It's close-minded.

I'm not denying the supernatural things we can't explain, I'm simply not going to be that gullible. I haven't had any supernatural experiences or anything of the sort happen to me in my life, so therefore what I believe is based on my experiences. I believe things after I see them, but I like to keep an open mind. I haven't researched these psychics before, but the whole idea seems sketchy to me. When a vase falls off your table in your house, some people say it's ghosts. I say it's gravity. But maybe it's both.