The Unexplained
I remember, many years ago, running Self-Awareness groups where we explored all kinds of subjects.
They were evenings filled with interesting conversations, different points of view, and people sharing their own understanding in a safe, supportive environment. Like-minded people came together simply because they were curious about themselves, about life, and about the world around them.
One evening someone asked, "What do we think the supernatural and the paranormal actually are?"
None of us realised just how much interest that simple question would create.
The discussion was fascinating. People spoke openly about their personal experiences, while others questioned everything they heard. Nobody was trying to convince anyone else. We were simply exploring possibilities together.
I smiled when I thought about it recently.
There were eleven people at the workshop where the topic was the Supernatural & the Paranormal.
The following week, through word of mouth alone, sixty-two people arrived.
Some couldn't even fit into the room. They sat on the stairs just to listen. Curiosity had brought them there. As the evening unfolded, stories poured out.
Some spoke about knowing the telephone was about to ring before it did. Others believed they had felt the presence of a loved one who had died, while others described moments of déjà vu, sensing an atmosphere or energy in a room, unexplained lights, strange sounds, or experiences they simply couldn't explain.
Just as many people admitted they had never experienced anything unusual at all.
Looking back, what stays with me most is how fascinated people were by the possibilities we explored.
Why have people throughout history, and across almost every culture, shared stories of things they could not explain?
And why do similar stories continue to be told today?
Perhaps what one person calls supernatural or paranormal is, for someone else, simply a natural part of life.
History reminds us that many things once thought impossible to explain were eventually understood through scientific discovery.
Lightning, eclipses, disease, and countless natural phenomena were once surrounded by mystery.
Today they are well understood.
That doesn't make curiosity any less valuable.
It reminds us that our understanding continues to grow.
Yet there are still many mysteries that continue to puzzle us.
In the small town of Taos, New Mexico, for example, some residents have reported hearing a low-frequency hum for decades. Despite years of investigation, no single explanation has ever been agreed upon.
Science continues to explore possibilities, while those who experience it continue to wonder.
Perhaps the greatest mystery of all is consciousness itself.
Science has taught us an extraordinary amount about the brain.
Neuroscience can identify areas responsible for memory, emotion, language, and movement.
Yet one profound question remains unanswered.
How does the physical activity of the brain create our inner experience of being alive?
Why do electrical signals become thoughts, feelings, imagination, love, or awareness?
Some scientists believe consciousness emerges from the extraordinary complexity of the brain.
There are also those who suggest that consciousness may exist more independently of the brain than we currently understand.
Nobody yet knows.
The word paranormal is often used to describe experiences that currently lie outside accepted scientific explanation.
Throughout history people have described experiences such as telepathy, precognition, clairvoyance, psychometry, mediumship, profound intuition, and other forms of perception that seem to reach beyond our current understanding.
Some remain deeply sceptical.
Others are completely convinced by their own experiences.
Perhaps the truth lies not in choosing one explanation over another, but in recognising that human experience may be richer and more complex than we have yet discovered.
What struck me most during those workshops was never whether someone believed or disbelieved.
It was listening to people speak openly about moments that had stayed with them for years.
Not everyone explained those moments in the same way.
Some found comfort in science. Others in spirituality.
Many simply enjoyed exploring the different possibilities.
Perhaps that is what has stayed with me ever since.
I have never felt the need to have every answer.
I enjoy listening to different perspectives.
I believe we all have innate abilities and untapped potential.
I also believe there is a higher power, although I have never felt the need to define it through one particular religion or belief system.
Long before organised religions existed, people looked towards the stars, the changing seasons, the oceans, the mountains, and the night sky with wonder.
They recognised there were forces far greater than themselves.
Perhaps that sense of awe has always been part of what it means to be human.
I have never seen a ghost myself, although I have known many people who say they have. Nor have I ever, as one lady once proudly told me, sat and had tea with one.
That still makes me smile.
But I do believe miracles happen.
Sometimes they are found in remarkable acts of courage.
Sometimes in the extraordinary strength that appears when someone we love is in danger.
Sometimes in recoveries that seem impossible.
And sometimes simply in the kindness that changes another person's life.
Whether we explain these moments through science, faith, coincidence, intuition, or something we do not yet understand, perhaps they remind us that there is still far more to ourselves, to life, and to the universe than we currently know.
Throughout my life, I have learned to trust my own experiences, even when they may not be understood by everyone. I don't need to explain everything I have experienced to know that it was real for me.
Life remains exciting because there is always more to learn, more to discover, and more to understand.
For me, the unexplained is not something to fear. I have always felt an inner drive to explore, question, and learn.
It is part of what makes me feel alive, and one answer often leads to another question.