MUCH OF THE UNEXPLAINED IN OUR WORLD CAN BE EXPLAINED

The unexplained, as we observe it, produces two equally strong responses from all of us. The first is fascination and the second is curiosity. There are thousands of these spread across almost all cultures. Some of them appear in every culture one way or another. A delightful read that examines many of these is "KISS--GUIDE TO THE UNEXPLAINED". The author, Joel Levy, has examined phenomena and available data on such things as haunted houses, visions and miracles, astral travelers, dowsing and much more. He has found multiple explanations as creakings caused by nighttime house settlings, whispering and sounds coming from mice and other animals in the walls, faulty electrics that make lights and appliances turn on and off.

Probably the most common subject of religious visions is the Virgin Mary and weeping icons. The most likely explanation at Fatima is that some of the witnesses were so desperate to see something, that their fantasy took over for a few moments. So in a sense, they really did perceive the image they sought. In the case of astral travelers, this is closely related to the more common type of experience known as out-of-body experience. This is where a person’s consciousness seems to leave their body. It typically lasts for under a minute but can go on for hours. It has been found that around 10% of the population have experienced this. Near-death experiences are also fairly common.

Throughout history there have been reports of sea serpents and lake monsters by sailors. One of the most famous is the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland. Time and time again this has been disproven by scientific authorities, but the sightings persist. Lake monsters have been reported from 250 of the world’s lakes and rivers and 24 of them have been in the lakes of Scotland. Dowsing is another strange process that has its origins in ancient times. It requires the "dowser" using a forked stick or dowsing rod to walk around with the stick, held lightly, facing forward horizontally. If the stick twitches or moves, it is believed that there is water underneath or metal if they are looking for treasure or whatever. Finding what the user is looking for may be a matter of pure luck. Who knows what explanation there is for hundreds of these phenomena. It’s a great source of fun anyway.