I was reminded of something that happened to me awhile back.

I was outside having a cigarette. It was nighttime, dead of night, no moonlight or anything.
I was looking around in the darkness and noticed a bush with a faint glow. It would be glowing, sometimes brighter, sometimes barely, then it would shut off suddenly, then back to glowing again.

I could not see it directly, but rather only through my peripheral vision..had to keep my eyes twitching a bit so it wouldn't "black out"

Well, for a few moments as I was standing there, it sort of slowly blew my mind...what was I seeing? some sort of faint UFO tucked in the bushes, a fairy ring that is gone undetected by humanity because of just how difficult it was to see?

I stood there for awhile, watching this very faint light go on and off, rise a bit in intensity, and even seem to slightly change color now and then...

Had I left it as that, I might be inclined to put that in the "curious" catagory...however, my skeptical mind eventually engaged and decided this was nonsense...find out what it is.

I walked to the bush, deciding to brush aside the thought of 1000 tiny angry fairys or being sucked into some dimensional vortex...as I walked down the side of the house, I noticed a slight sound coming also..like murmers

I then in a instant knew what it was...I walked further to confirm it and yep..it is as I thought.

My brother (lived with us at the time) had his window and curtains opened. his television was on lowly. the light was cast out and reflecting on the bushes slightly. Debunked...I could goto bed without fear of magical gnomes coming to get me.

Why tell this story? Well, a couple reasons
1) I do consider myself somewhat skeptical...this does not mean I ignore odd things...opposite actually, I am attracted to odd things to either solve rationally, or if indeed I did see a host of fairys circling around the bush, to understand what these critters are and how to expose them properly. Skepticism is a tool to uncover truth beyond superstition and belief. If I was not skeptical, I could very well have posted about the total "fact" that I seen a fairy bush in my back yard (or whatever I decided it was)...this would allow me to distort reality.

2) To try and encourage others not to just be skeptical about their "paranormal" experiences and explore all avenues to explain, but also to speak up about how they themself thought something was not "natural" and through some testing uncovered the explanation...this may help others not feel foolish when they initially thought something was paranormal and spoke about it only to find out reasoning behind it later.

So, What have you uncovered in the past that otherwise might have made you sound like a "believer"?

And incidently..."it can't be therefore it isn't" is not being skeptical...nothing cannot be, however some things are unlikely...unless things are dismissed through good uncoverings, then its just a religious stance your taking...hell, if I seen someone grow fangs and fly or whatnot, I would not dismiss them being a vampire until I had something that showed it was not as I percieved (bad teeth and a bungee cord)

True that. Without a solid degree of skepticism & the application of critical thinking one could never hope to find an anomalous truth for accepting everything as "truth."

An open mind, of course, indispensable as well.

Originally posted by SaturnFX


...Well, for a few moments as I was standing there, it sort of slowly blew my mind...what was I seeing? some sort of faint UFO tucked in the bushes, a fairy ring that is gone undetected by humanity because of just how difficult it was to see?

I stood there for awhile, watching this very faint light go on and off, rise a bit in intensity, and even seem to slightly change color now and then...

Had I left it as that, I might be inclined to put that in the "curious" catagory...however, my skeptical mind eventually engaged and decided this was nonsense...find out what it is.

I walked to the bush, deciding to brush aside the thought of 1000 tiny angry fairys or being sucked into some dimensional vortex...

"...some sort of faint UFO tucked in the bushes, a fairy ring that is gone undetected by humanity... the thought of 1000 tiny angry fairys or being sucked into some dimensional vortex.."

Your thoughts man lol. You created straw man arguments and then you set fire to the straw. Deluding oneself then daring to use the experience as some sort of evidence of logic and what you called "skepticism" is a cute trick. Maybe you aren't aware that you are using logical fallacies in trying to make a statement not to use them? Maybe this is a joke?

In the future you might find some help in letting phenomena speak for itself, rather then painting your vortex of dimensions, faeries or any other favorite distraction from your book. Have you seen UFO's in any bushes, or anywhere? Did you apply your same logic here to such observations? I wonder if you have.

try being skeptic concerning skepticism lol