Are we "special?"

Hi there, (my first post! Yay!)

So...I have always wondered why I have been interested in paranormal phenomenon, and more attuned to events that are beyond the general belief of the public...or to put it another way, my ideas of this planet, and our existence dont necessarily fit with the conventional social norms that exist.

My twin sister is the same way too, we both have very keen interests in pretty much all topics covered that are covered on ATS. Wheras most of my family and friends, really have no interest in it...sure they might believe in aliens or that 9/11 could have been staged...but they don't have the same type of enthusiasm or ambition to investigate further.

I find there are people who question everything and there are people who blindly accept...I do think that the majority of the people on ATS fall in the first category...people who question everything...but what makes that so? How come we are the ones finding ourselves consumed with wanting to know more?

Why is that people like you and I are considered cooky, or off-balance, if we even entertain the though of ET or OOBE's?

So are we special? Are we the group of people who are "enlightened?"

Thoughts, comments?

~ SciDoc

reply to post by SciDoc


I think it's a matter of some people just being more curious than others.

My boyfriend thinks I am kooky for even mentioning half the things I read on ATS. He's a strict Baptist though, and I think some of these topics are just not acceptable to him being the faith he is.

I'm a never ending source of entertainment for him after I've spent a session reading things here!

While I haven't changed his mind about some of the more "out there" topics, he has come around about some other conspiracy type topics. Especially those having to do with politics.

right...I totally agree. The curiosity and sense that you know that things are not always quite as they seem. its not a very common trait. But I think that we here at ATS are all like that.

Maybe we should feel special because we dont have blindfolds on our eyes and allow strangers to guide us through life, like the majority of people...I give u one example. I was discussing politics with one of my co-workers, and I asked him simply, "why are you republican?"...his answer immediatly was "i dont know, I guess because my family is republican"....i was stunned at that response coming from him, especially since he is an "intellect" and one may assume from his level of education that he is a bright fella'....the same goes for religion...most people who proclaim a specific faith do so because that is how they were raised...they never question it.

Perhaps the ability to question EVERYTHING, including faith/origins/ET/OOBE/Politics etc...comes from our upbringing. I don't know. I am trying to figure out if there is a common reason why some of us are more ATS material than others..hehe

~ SciDoc

Yeah, I agree with some people not being open or willing to new possibilites and theories, they're just not as curious, especially when it comes to paranormal things and conspiracies...my parents are religious and my mom thinks most of my conspiracies are 'nonsense', but I've managed to get my dad convinced on most things (9/11 being an inside job...) because he was curious. Maybe some people are just programmed to be more open-minded..

The search for "truth" is a powerful and often frightening and painful path......some just don't have the strength to even try the handle, let alone open the door.

Originally posted by nerbot
The search for "truth" is a powerful and often frightening and painful path......some just don't have the strength to even try the handle, let alone open the door.

i think this a great possible answer to the OP's question, and probably one of many right ones.

my sisters and i are drawn, OVERWHELMINGLY, to ask and search. we have come up w/ so many theories of why we can't be satisfied with what we are told like most around us are.

we have speculated more "rational" theories such as the effects of those we were raised around set us up for this constant questioning of what we are told, etc etc.

i have one kind of off the wall theory though and this is just a theory. lets say that the story of adam and eve is true.... or a reference to the truth, at the very least.

cain and seth were the two primary offspring of the couple and according to the story. one line represented "darkness" (of course, i am aware that others look at it differently..... keep in mind, i am just thinking and don't ever take my thoughts as absolute) and the other, seth's, represented the line that had "God's" light.

so, could that have carried down through generations? the one's that feel that pull to question and seek are the one's who were born w/ something different whether it is physical or of the "mind/soul"? i wonder if some of us were born w/ some kind of "light" and those that were not are the ones that would rather accept and live their lives in a more superficial existence.

i know that i have "smart" friends who just seem clueless when it comes to what is REALLY going on around them. they can explain almost anything that has to do w/ math, science, social structures, politics blah blah blah, yet they can't see that president bush is in complete violation of everything the office of president was meant to stand for. to me it is clear and yet i am not "smart" about politics and such things.

whatever seperates us from them is real though. even before i "woke" up to what was going on around me, i knew something was..... i sensed it. most ppl that "wake" up do have that sense that something is wrong before they finally open their eyes. i rarely hear of someone who is desperately searching that didn't possess that sense to do so before hand.

sheesh (i am NOT great at expressing my thoughts, so i hope this makes sense to at least someone lol)

reply to post by justamomma


Right....that is a very interesting theory.

Perhaps those of us who do seek the "Truth" or greater understanding are just souls at a different level than others...perhaps older, perhaps younger...not sure, can argue either way I suppose.

Myself and my sister, who happens to be my twin, we both just like how you descibed...never satisfied with the answer that the general public seem to agree and accept. Which is odd, because its not like I was raised entirely different from the hundreds and thousands of people who have traversed my path through out my life. The only other person who I can genuinely say shared similar thoughts or perhaps even influenced my mindset would be my grandfather, who happened to be a FreeMason in the UK. Even so, my sister and I have cousins and other siblings who were not at all influenced by him and any beliefs he may have subconsciously exposed us to.

Anyway, I have always had this nagging thought in my head about this...perhaps it is just how Nerbot said "The search for "truth" is a powerful and often frightening and painful path......some just don't have the strength to even try the handle, let alone open the door"

I actually think we are the ones that are normal and they are "special" or abnormal. Not questioning your reality is, imo, the hallmark of insanity.

reply to post by SciDoc


Hey Scidoc! Welcome.

Questioning everything is the foundation of rationality and science. You know how it is; scientific method, doubt, skepticism, etc.

This applies especially to such topics as extraterrestrials, the paranormal, and conspiracy theories like those regarding 9/11. It's great to be curious and explore them. Do objective research and keep an open mind. But within these particular topics are people who end up believing in them due to faith rather than logic. So you get people who scream about ghosts and aliens and how 9/11 was an inside job, even though they don't have nearly enough proof. This rejection of rationality alienates and discredits the thinking members of a movement (9/11 is a good example). So instead of open-minded people who admit that while they don't have enough evidence to believe in something, they think it's possible and deserves further study, we get people who become fanatical believers in some conspiratorial faith.

What we need to do is accept that at the present time, evidence may or may not point one way, and that regardless, something should be investigated to find the truth. Not investigated to find what you think is the truth, but investigated to find what is the truth.

[edit on 17-6-2008 by Johnmike]

Originally posted by SciDoc
Hi there, (my first post! Yay!)

So...I have always wondered why I have been interested in paranormal phenomenon, and more attuned to events that are beyond the general belief of the public...or to put it another way, my ideas of this planet, and our existence dont necessarily fit with the conventional social norms that exist.

My twin sister is the same way too, we both have very keen interests in pretty much all topics covered that are covered on ATS. Wheras most of my family and friends, really have no interest in it...sure they might believe in aliens or that 9/11 could have been staged...but they don't have the same type of enthusiasm or ambition to investigate further.

I find there are people who question everything and there are people who blindly accept...I do think that the majority of the people on ATS fall in the first category...people who question everything...but what makes that so? How come we are the ones finding ourselves consumed with wanting to know more?

Why is that people like you and I are considered cooky, or off-balance, if we even entertain the though of ET or OOBE's?

So are we special? Are we the group of people who are "enlightened?"

Thoughts, comments?

~ SciDoc

Go ahead and take a look at "Indigo Children"

I'm the same way. As much as I try to talk to my friends/family about these issues, al I manage to accomplish is aggrivating them.

I feel like some people would rather not talk about things that they can't control. Me, on the other hand, am a truthseeker and I strive to get to the bottom of things.

It's really all about personality. Plus, some people just have a way to block mind control tactics.