By Russell White
P.I.T.T. / Paranormal Investigation Team of Tulsa

This article originally appeared in the December, 2004 online issue of Ghost Magazine in the Spirited Science: Mainstream Science Meets Paranormal Studies column. Posted with permission of Russell White.

I walked along a path through the woods. All around me as far as I could see lay dense vegetation. A warm, sweet smelling breeze caressed my face as I walked up the hill. In breaks through the trees I could see an orange hued sky, and strange amorphous clouds scuttling by. I wasn't alone. Periodically a small cat-like creature would leap out of the bushes and playfully launch an attack on my lower legs. Now I say cat-like because of the playful nature of our contact.

It played with me as a house cat will do on occasion, hiding behind the couch, or chair and then launch itself to attack my feet and legs, only to retreat back into the bush for another attack. But its appearance was “off”, much like the rest of the scenery. The place was warm and inviting but just didn't feel like it was “here”, which is the best way I can describe it. The creature itself resembled a dog with porcupine quills on its back and beyond that nothing else about it matched anything that I can put into words.

I continued up the hill trying to get to the crest as I felt I needed to see what was over the top. At one point the creature launched one of its playful attacks and wrapped itself around my leg.

Annoyed at it, I shook it off my leg, apparently startling it so that it dug its claws into my leg, as it slid to the ground. With my knee stinging I continued down the path. As the scenery faded out around me; I awoke.

What I just described is something I experienced while trying to meditate. I had gotten to a point in meditation where my mind was pretty clear and the sound quality of the fan I was near had changed. Then, I apparently either fell asleep and had this dream, or I changed my level of consciousness and traveled interdimensionally. The oddest thing is that when I awoke I had four scratches on my leg in the same exact place that the creature had scratched me. I examined my bed and the surrounding areas for any sharp object… to no avail.

Was this a dream or was this “somewhere else”? How do I return?

In order to entertain the possibility that there exists in this physical world, what some call “ghosts”, we have to first lay the foundation of defining exactly what it is we mean by “ghost”. Spooks, specter, haunts, apparition, lost soul. All these words and more are used to reference the elusive phenomena that we seek. These very words mean many things to many people, and are taken seriously by some and even jeered at by others.

I think, however, that we can all agree that if anything transcends the death of our biological shells then it must be what some refer to as our soul, spirit or the essence of our being.

Modern science does not recognize the immortal soul per se, but it does however recognize human consciousness. What exactly is consciousness?

One can find no less than several dozen definitions and meanings for this word. Indeed, it is a complicated subject in itself and has been the topic of debate for centuries. For our purpose I feel that the best definition is a relatively simple one. Consciousness is the sense of self-awareness one develops from life experiences and one’s interaction with one’s environment. In essence, science believes that we are all born with a clean slate (Tabula Rasa) or blank personality. Now many people will argue this fact. I, myself, have two children and would like to think that they each began life as themselves, personalities intact. But the fact remains, from the time we are born our cognitive processes kick in and we are constantly learning and interacting with our surroundings. So even if we accept that we are born with some sort of personality, it certainly isn't the same one we end up with over time.

Our sense of self and personalities are shaped by those we come in contact with, places we are, things we see and do and the emotional responses that we have to each of these scenarios. The reason I bring this part up is that it lends credence to those who theorize that emotional attachment plays a large part in haunting phenomena. It certainly makes sense logically. I know that were I to pass to the other side at this point in my life, besides haunting my ex-wife, I would return to the farm where I grew up as a child. This place, among all others that I have lived in, in adulthood, is the one place that means “home” to me. To the present occupants of the farm I'm sure I would be a very frightening “ghost”.

Rene Descartes (1596-1650), a prominent scientist, mathematician and philosopher was among the first to scientifically investigate human consciousness. His theory was that mind and body were indeed separate and his statement “Cogito ergo sum” or “I think therefore I am” is the mantra for dualists everywhere. In essence this school of thought believes that separate laws govern the mind and body. The body would exist separately yet in tandem with the mind, or our consciousness.

Now the other side of the coin has been termed monism. This camp basically believes that mind and body is the same thing, that the mind or soul is simply a byproduct of biology and physiology, or just another bodily function.

Obviously, in order to entertain the idea of a surviving human consciousness then we must believe in the dualist theory, because to believe otherwise is to admit that consciousness is terminated with the expiration of the biological shell.

Now I, personally, have always been something of a dualist despite my logical and somewhat pragmatic view of the universe. To me it is almost laughable to think of the human spirit could be in essence “snuffed out” due to the failure of the biological machine that surrounds it. Yet in my mind I haven’t seen any really solid arguments for or against dualism. Until recently, that is.

Professor Antonio Damasio has pioneered research into a specific area of the brain, the amygdala, and its relation to human consciousness.

The amygdala is a portion of the brain near the hippocampus. This area is known to be the seat of emotional processing, and also holds many receptors for the neurotransmitters that are released by fear, anger, stress etc.

What Professor Damasio observed (the first part of the scientific method) was that people who had suffered a brain injury that involved the amygdala were unable to make any type of decision that was based on emotion. For instance a person with this type of injury when asked, “What scares you most, tornadoes or tigers?” were unable to formulate an answer. Some of them went as far as to get a piece of paper to list pros and cons of each object, still effectively processing and thinking but doing so sans emotion.

So, going by the data presented in this study, one would have to assume that it is highly probable that consciousness really is only a byproduct of our biology, for if our consciousness existed outside of our brain then an injury of this type wouldn't affect our emotive response would it?

The other day I stood outside of my job and watched a tornado form and reform (yes, in Oklahoma we have tornadoes in November). As I watched the storm form, dissipate and reform I was once again struck by the power and strength of nature. Then, as the storm moved east and the sun came out and shone on the back of the super cell, I was reminded again of the beauty and mystery of nature. I remembered how not so many years ago, in the scheme of things, our ancestors cowered before nature, sure that the Gods were angry with them. So sure that they implemented intricate rituals to appease these Gods and hopefully escape their wrath again. Only through the evolution of science and technology were we finally, fully able to realize that these storms were not in fact the wrath of an angry God, but instead a product of our environment. But still they were beyond our control. I was reminded of the fact that only in my lifetime (I'm 37) did we develop the technology to not only forecast these storms but we can now forecast them with pinpoint accuracy.

Science and technology are still relatively young. All we can hope for is that during our lifetimes, they will advance to the point that we can isolate and identify that which remains intangible today.