Could phantom limbs possibly be the continuation of the etheric, astral or spiritual bodies?
By a phantom limb I mean the feeling that many people have after they lose an arm or a leg. Most can still sense their limb's presence. Some can even continue to feel pain from something that is no longer visible.
I placed a coffee cup in front of John and asked him to grab it (with his phantom limb). Just as he said he was reaching out I yanked the cup away.
"Ow," he yelled, "Don't do that."
"What's the matter?"
"Don't do that," he repeated, "I just had my fingers around the cup handle when you pulled it. That really hurts!"
Hold on a minute I wrench a real cup from phantom fingers and the person yells, ouch! The fingers were illusory, but the pain was real - indeed so intense that I dare not repeat the experiment.
From: Phantoms in the Brain: Probing the Mysteries of the Human Mind by Ramachandran V.SDoctors have answers. They say that the trauma of losing a limb affects the sensory cortex of the brain which gives us our body image. Or they might say that the phantom limb is the result of disturbances in the spinal nerve-roots.
The feeling of a phantom limb sometimes fades with time, but not always. The neurologist George Riddock tells of a man who had his right leg amputated below the knee at the early age of fourteen. Twenty years later the sensation of the limb remained.
The man claimed that he could still 'bend and stretch' his missing foot and toes. He could even differentiate between various objects - while walking with his artificial leg - when he trod them. He could recognise such things as matchsticks, buttons and other small objects.
His missing foot would sometimes itch and he would attempt to scratch it and he was even known to step off with his 'right foot' when getting out of a chair - believing it to be still in place.
He had other sensations in his feet as well. If it was about to rain his 'toes' would feel like they were immersed in water and in windy weather his toes felt as if they were separating from each other. His friends relied on him for accurate weather forecasts!
Another patient who had his right arm amputated would rotate the stump at his shoulder so that he could feel his phantom hand pass through his chest.
A soldier who lost an arm while holding a grenade, which exploded, felt his phantom hand was still grasping the grenade long after the amputation.
Okay the doctors have an answer for phantom limbs but they never seem to consider the possibility of the continuation of something such as the etheric, spiritual or astral body - or whatever else you may wish to call it.
But, of course, scientists always know best ... yea, right!
P.S. If you can have a phantom limb, then why not a 'ghost' when the physical body has completely gone? And if a phantom arm can pass through a man's chest, ghosts would surely be able to move through walls, wouldn't they?
Fascinating! I've always wondered about this phenomenon. Is the book you mention in the sidebar a new one?
ReplyDeleteThe etheric body makes sense to me.
Very interesting post. I have a friend who lost part of her thumb in a work related accident. She tells me she can still feel the missing portion at times and often it is very painful.
ReplyDeleteyou always seem to come up with some fascinating subjects and linking phantom limbs and ghosts is certainly something to think about
ReplyDelete