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The Modern Antiquarian Forum » Unexplained uneasy feeling |
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GLADMAN 950 posts |
Jul 07, 2011, 19:47
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Littlestone wrote: If anyone can put up the evidence for new elements, fair enough. I'm waiting. If not........ Well, that is something scientific research endeavours to do all the time (put up new evidence) based on the ideas, theories, mathematics etc of others. Because the evidence is not (yet) there for something is not proof that that ‘something’ does not exist. “There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio...” :-) Yeah - agree, but of course the opposite holds true as well. I shouldn't berate my late old Grandad for seeing pink spiders climbing the walls after drinking 15 pints of Guinness since.... well, he might have been right. After all, I can't 100% prove they weren't there, can I? Can you 100% prove anything doesn't exist? I can't prove God... or Dawkin's celebrated 'teapot'... doesn't exist. For one thing because, handily, they are invisible. Now there's a thing. As I said, I've spent the past 25-odd years frequenting places traditionally held to be the haunt of spirits/ghosts, etc. Burial chambers, castles, battlefields, hillforts etc... sometimes at night, mist swirling around. Perfect. And never even a hint. You would have thought it odds-on that there would have been something? Surely? In 25 years? Or do they simply avoid me because I'm not worth the effort of scaring. Hope not, since I'd really, really like to sit down and have a chat. I was looking at a book in Waterstones the other day where the author claims to have isolated the part of the brain (or something like that) that causes 'religious impulses' - with hard evidence. Sounds a good read. Might be rubbish, though. But the draw is the promise of 'evidence'. Not just, hey, this exists because I know it does, or voice in my head tell me so. That is dogma, and dogma of any kind is wrong. By all accounts study of the human brain is progressing well.... or so my niece at St Andrews tells me. Want's to be a neurologist, of all things. Hopefully such research will one day help clarify what we truly experience, and what we simulate. Until then it remains open and I remain to be convinced. Until then I must go with what my senses tell me.
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handofdave 3515 posts |
Jul 07, 2011, 20:28
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In Storrs Connecticut, there's a natural megalithic site near where I lived as a child. I was perhaps 10 or so, and alone at this spot, in the woods, surrounded by large stones, when I heard someone say my name in a loud whisper, right behind my head. Nobody else was there, of course.
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Sweep 30 posts |
Jul 08, 2011, 01:33
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CARL wrote: I've not experienced any 'uneasy' feelings (other than dodging land owners!) but Karen often has these feelings when visiting tombs. Apparently the ability to 'feel' the presence of 'spirits' is something which runs in her family and her sister has a very strong ability to do this. I have to say that I take all this with a pinch of salt but I remember the first time we went to WKLB Karen was unable to set foot inside due to the feelings she was sensing. This has happened at other tombs as well (not all tombs) but that time at WKLB was the strongest she has felt. I was more concerned about getting my feet muddy in the puddle! That's interesting. The first time I visited West Kennet I felt a very strong negative feeling, and the lady I was with felt it as well - a sort of mix of hostility and a `yukky' feeling, like something a bit sticky and unpleasant. As always I try to be as objective as possible about these things, but there was definitely something not very pleasant which seemed to be localised around the barrow itself and made the entrance a rather unenticing place. What does one do in such a situation? We discussed it and we both felt it was something external to both of us, not something psychlogical between us. That was very clear. I tried to look at my own feelings objectively, like a psychologist trying to understand a transference situation, if that makes sense, and tried to communicate a respectful and friendly feeling in return. (How else does one respond meaningfully to what certainly feels like a mood or emotion, whatever the real explanation may be?) My companion made a small offering of local grasses or something of the sort. Who knows what may have made the difference, but the feeling of the place lightened. Neither of us know what it was, but we don't feel as if what we did in response to it simply addressed our own emotions. It certainly didn't feel subjective, whatever it was. I definitely stop short of saying it was some sentient presence, though it did tend to feel like that. I think it's reasonable to say what something felt like, without implying that this is what it was. As suggested earlier, maybe something lingers at location and can be sensed. I've found that sometimes seems to be the case, but at other times it feels like something responded to and not just sensed. All one can do, perhaps, is acknowledge the feeling as accurately as possible, and respond in the way that feels appropriate, however odd that may be, and see what happens. Jumping to conclusions would be rash, but ignoring the phenomenon would be a denial of something that evidently occurs, from whatever causes.
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Resonox 604 posts |
Jul 08, 2011, 05:16
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handofdave wrote: In Storrs Connecticut, there's a natural megalithic site near where I lived as a child. I was perhaps 10 or so, and alone at this spot, in the woods, surrounded by large stones, when I heard someone say my name in a loud whisper, right behind my head. Nobody else was there, of course. Would you then reckon this voice to belong to someone more recently passed over who had known you whilst alive?
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tjj 3606 posts |
Edited Jul 08, 2011, 10:20
Jul 08, 2011, 09:18
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I'm interested in your observations about West Kennet Long Barrow as I experience a similar sensation when I go into the barrow. I've been doing it sporadically for about ten years now and it always feels the same - by its nature a dark and cavernous place. The floor is always wet and someone told me rats get in there?? (possibly invented to deter people leaving 'offerings'). I've had some wonderful moments over there but always outside the barrow - one occasion that stands out was a misty midweek morning in October when a wren flew out, sat on an entrance stone and observed me for a few moments before flying into the long grass. I think we are not really meant to be going inside chambered long barrows, if you think about it, it isn't really a natural thing to do. I much prefer to stay out in the breeze and sunlight, or starlight if at night, and leave places for the dead in peace.
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Sanctuary 4670 posts |
Jul 08, 2011, 10:06
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tjj wrote: I'm interested in your observations about West Kennet Long Barrow as I experience a similar sensation when I go into the barrow. I've been doing it sporadically for about ten years now and it always feels the same - by its nature a dark and cavernous place. The floor is always wet and someone told me rats get in there?? (possibly invented to deter people leaving 'offerings'). I've had some wonderful moments over there but always outside the barrow - one occasion that stands out was a misty midweek morning in October when a wren flew out, sat on an entrance stone and observed me for a few moments before flying into the long grass. I think we are not really meant to be going inside chambered long barrows, if you think about it, it isn't really a natural thing to do. I much prefer to stay out in the breeze and sunlight, or starlight if at night, and leave places for the dead in peace. I've never felt that way about the WKLB June but have about the passage grave La Hougue Bie in Jersey...but only as an adult. http://www.prehistoricjersey.net/La_Hougue_Bie.shtml (check out all the other sites on the island and be amazed). The strange thing is that as a kid born and raised in the island and living just a mile from this most amazing of chambered tombs, we were forever playing in and around it without a care in the world. We would run inside its whole length without fear and hide in the side chambers in the pitch dark. 60 years ago there was no lighting and it was open to whoever wished to go inside. I left the island when I was 16 and for some 10 years never returned, but I go back every other year now as I have family over there. I have two ports of call above everything else when I return and they are what is known locally as the Dolmen de Faldouet (Le Pouquelaye de Faldouet) and La Hougue Bie, both passage graves. Childhood memories and my introduction to the Ancient World. Faldouet is still the most charming of sites being enclosed within a little woodland where you can sit just 75 yards off the little country lane unseen and find complete solitude. I absolutely love it and would be where my ashes would be spread if I still lived there. La Hougue Bie on the other hand I am much more 'respectful' off as to me it 'feels' like you are walking amongst the dead whilst inside. It's not something I am afraid of and go in alone. It is huge, or feels huge inside compared to the WKLB. I am not afraid because I feel they are my direct ancestors and on occasion I have wept for them. I think the older you get the closer you feel an affinity with those that have gone before. Ten years ago I would never had revealed this but you 'grow up' don't you as you get older and see this as being quite normal behaviour. As an 'aside', if you've not visited Jersey or the other islands, you should. The Neolithic history in Jersey is astonishing for such a small island and will literally take your breath away...then there's the island itself!!! Roy
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Sweep 30 posts |
Jul 08, 2011, 10:13
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tjj wrote: I'm interested in your observations about West Kennet Long Barrow as I experience a similar sensation when I go into the barrow. I've been doing it sporadically for about ten years now and it always feels the same - by its nature a dark and cavernous place. The floor is always wet and someone told me rats get in there?? (possibly invented to deter people leaving 'offerings'). I've had some wonderful moments over there but always outside the barrow - one occasion that stands out was a misty midweek morning in October when a wren flew out, sat on an entrance stone and observed me for a few moments before flying into the long grass. I think we are not really meant to be going inside chambered long barrows, if you think about it, it isn't really a natural thing to do. I much prefer to stay out in the breeze and sunlight, or starlight if at night, and leave places for the dead in peace. I was probably a bit vague in my previous post. The odd feeling I shared with the person I visited West Kennet with occurred outside the entrance, as we got within about five or six feet of it. It lightened enough for us to enter the barrow a little while later, which is remarkable because it had been so strong initially. I agree with your points about the inside. Any enclosed space, especially with damp, is liable to evoke uneasy feelings. What we experienced was definitely something quite different from that.
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drewbhoy 2557 posts |
Jul 08, 2011, 21:58
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thesweetcheat wrote: drewbhoy wrote: I sent you a message explaining the situation Tjj. It will all become clearer soon, I hope. Don't forget to knock three times for "yes" Drew. And if I knock for long enough I'll get an answer. The knocking worked and help is on its way sometime next week.
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tjj 3606 posts |
Jul 08, 2011, 22:57
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drewbhoy wrote: thesweetcheat wrote: drewbhoy wrote: I sent you a message explaining the situation Tjj. It will all become clearer soon, I hope. Don't forget to knock three times for "yes" Drew. And if I knock for long enough I'll get an answer. The knocking worked and help is on its way sometime next week. Message enthralled and much appreciated. Good stone hunting intrepid one. J
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tjj 3606 posts |
Edited Jul 09, 2011, 00:21
Jul 08, 2011, 23:06
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Roy, have just read your post about Jersey. As always, you write really well, I was wondering if you were planning a book on the passage graves of the Channel Isles. I've had a quick look at your excellent link - have bookmarked it and will spend some time browsing. No, I've never visited Jersey or any of the other Channel Isles - hope I manage to get around to it one day. atb June
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