Do Human Babies See ... Souls?

I've long been fascinated by little babies, since I have none of my own, nor little
experience in direct interaction. Only in casual settings, such as a restaurant, or waiting at a crosswalk.

They are so cute, and engaging....and puzzling.

Cute? Obvious. Engaging? That's what is puzzling!! What I mean is, they will look at you (I assume it happens to all of us, whether we're adults or other children) with such unabashed openness and curiosity, I began to wonder if they can perceive, at that young age, more than we, as adults, can.

Or, more succinctly, Can Babies See....souls? AND, since they lock eyes so easily, why is that?? Do adults lose something, as part of the brain's cognitive patterns forming, in our environment?

Full disclosure: I don't have a strong opinion, either way, as to the existence of what is commonly called a "soul"...I profess complete ignorance. BUT, I wouldn't be Human if I didn't keep a curiosity.....

So, to start this topic, I searched and include this, a scientific discussion as a spring board:


hubpages.com...

What do Babies See?

The visual system is our most complex sensory system, but functionally is the least mature system at birth. Together, the sensory systems form an integrated hierarchy, and are influenced by the nature of the environment. At birth, infants are still auditory dominant, rather than visually dominant; that is, they are first "listeners," rather than "lookers."

[...]

Normally, in the early months, there should be nothing more enchanting than the human face - and even more so in the context of social interaction...

SO, is this why babies are so fascinated with faces, at that stage/age? Is it simply because they are seeing a new face, unfamiliar and different than the ones in their immediate family and surroundings?

...continuing...

What a Baby Sees in the First Year

Newborn - One Month

A newborn...
has an inborn preference for what is familiar;
pays attention briefly to the human face;
responds to movement;
Possesses color vision, with the exception of blue.

Two Months

A two-month-old baby...
visually "locks" onto a human face, particularly when the face is accompanied by a voice;
watches people at a distance;
Is able to alternate his/her gaze between two people, objects or patterns, and show simple visual preference.

That is just a portion of the science, and I emphasized a few points.

What I am questioning is going to include the possibility of the metaphysical in this subject. Again, this is a topic I am not well-versed in, but I am opening up here for the ATS community to chip in with their experiences/thoughts on the matter.

I welcome your thoughtful comments.



(fixed tags)


[edit on 10 July 2009 by weedwhacker]

edited:
simple answers never suffice. see other post for more details.

[edit on 10-7-2009 by ELECTRICkoolaidZOMBIEtest]

reply to post by ELECTRICkoolaidZOMBIEtest


Well, thank you, ZOMBIEtest, for that thoughtful comment.

OK....BIG TOTE BOARD total, so far:


ME: (don't know)

ZOMBIE: (knows)

Not sure I want to keep score...might get complicated...

But, thanks for your response!

reply to post by weedwhacker


i know this isn't a very good reply, just saying i laughed really hard after reading this. burn.

ok fine. let me rephrase that as


i would like to see some sort of evidence to back up that souls exist before determining if babies can see them. i havent seen anything compelling enough to convince me, so in my opinion no, they most likely dont see them.

That better?

Most new born babies look into the third eye. Babies often cry if the can not see the light and experience the spiritual uplift. One method of calming them is to turn the light on in the room. This acts as a pacifier because the third eye is light sensitive and it helps to draw their attention inwards and upwards. Babies certainly can see auras and may see ghosts, etc.. These qualities are lost as the spirit becomes accommodated to this world.

I dont think there is enought evidence to prove or disprove your question.

Ive heard of little kids seeing ghost, and talking to them and such. Young children often have imaginary friends....maybe something more to it...or maybe not.

I read somewhere that something like 1% of the population remembers the moments after birth, and the events of their early childhood.

Perhaps if you found someone like that they may answer your questions. Although keep in mind human memory is flawed, so take whatever they say with a grain of salt.

Well ill leave you with my belief that Cats can see Astral Travelers. I have 2 Cats and whenever i see them they grill me. So maybe, babies can see something also.

awesome thread Ima flag this sh^t hahaha

ZOMBIE must be the buddha or some sht

anyways, its possible babies can see things we cant, Not really testable though. But i think it is very possible that thatre are souls.

There are people who can boil water with their minds, i believe something has to be something. As for ZOMBIEBUDDHA where is your link to the proof that your statement was valid.? Please post proof in the next answer.

reply to post by pokiethewarlock

...just saying i laughed really hard after reading this...

Not entirely certain of the "this" to which you refer, but if I brought at least a few moments of joy to you, then I have fulfilled my destiny...



....no, not mocking, but not exactly serious either....

i meant for him to bring proof they (souls) do not exist? Please include proof souls do not exist befor making someone else dissprove that. thanks

reply to post by phi1618


phi1618, I am a cat person too (and I love dogs as well !! So no hating!) and I understand, and thank you for that.

Reel, fascinating thoughts. That's what I'm looking for, to discuss these possiblities.

I remain sceptical.....very, very....but not so closed off that I can't decide for myself the merits of others' opinions.

Weedwhacker, i think i may have a way to test your hypothesis.

Certain children learn to speak and even read at very young ages. The youngest ive ever heard was a child speaking basic ( Ma-ma, Da-da ) sounds which identify familiar people at the age of 7 months.

Now im assuming children if they did have this ability would retain it up until the age or 4, since at around the age of 3 childrens imaginations become very active and they begin to develop imaginary friends.

perhaps finding a child who could speak at an early age, and simply ask them. You would of course only be getting the childs word for it however

Originally posted by KingAtlas
i meant for him to bring proof they (souls) do not exist? Please include proof souls do not exist befor making someone else dissprove that. thanks

when did i ask people to disprove the proof that souls do not exist that i never claimed to have?

i admittedly phrased my opinion poorly in the beginning but clarified that i think we should focus first on more compelling of souls before trying to figure out who can see them.

I believe they do. I think that whatever chemicals are running through their brains when they are young-up until about 6ish allow them to perceive portions of reality that adults can't or grow to not see.

Also, I think that kids when young are susceptible to being inhabited (benignly) by other souls not of their own. I say this because of a family friend. this kid likes to play the drums. As a kid around 6 or so he would jam on the drums. had very,very little formal training at the time-he was only 6. The kid had natural talent. the dad is a great guitar session player. But this kid started getting a little too good on the drums a little too young. bare with me here. He was playing really complicated jazz rhythms that he had never been taught, learned or exposed to. When asked what he was playing he would say. simply i don't know but it just comes to me. But he wasn't playing stuff that simply comes to you. he was doing serious drum compositions. over a few months time he started to say that he was some other person all together. only when he was playing the drums. He wouldn't remember saying any of this stuff when he would put down the drumsticks after a jamming session. So the parents start doing some research on this imaginary drummer name the kid kept using. turns out an obscure but very talented jazz drummer of the exact same name died right around when he was born. Even further research lead to recordings of the jazz drummer and the songs WERE the exact same songs the kid was playing. songs the kid has no exposure to, and simply could not physically learn by the age of 6.

The talent and recollection of the drum songs eventually went away. he just doesn't remember any of it when parents and family ask him about it to this day. he still plays the drums but nowhere near as well as he did for those few months he shared with this other soul. To this day everybody is still left scratching their heads.

Originally posted by weedwhacker
I've long been fascinated by little babies

I fully understand what you mean.

Over the past weekend, I had visited a friend at his sister's house... She of which has two children, a 5 year old boy, and 2 year old girl.

I am a close family friend, see the children every once in a while....

The five year old is really cool, but the two year old has never really opened up to me.

Over the weekend I spent there, she got more accustomed to me, and what I had observed was truly amazing.

I am an only child, and have never really been in the 'child-environment' much...

From observing this infant, and the ways that she communicated...its almost as if something was almost 'guiding' her, as to how to be social and communicate her thoughts...

By bringing me books, and communicating through pointing at pictures, I was able to understand this chlid almost as if she could fluently speak.

I personally believe that there is more at work than we will ever be able to comprehend.

Originally posted by ReelView
Most new born babies look into the third eye. Babies often cry if the can not see the light and experience the spiritual uplift. One method of calming them is to turn the light on in the room. This acts as a pacifier because the third eye is light sensitive and it helps to draw their attention inwards and upwards. Babies certainly can see auras and may see ghosts, etc.. These qualities are lost as the spirit becomes accommodated to this world.

You mentioned babies seeing ghosts well this I agree with. My best friends brother died when her son was about 9 months old. Well when Bryant was about 2 Shelley was in her kitchen and her son, Bryant was pointing to the corner saying "Uncle Dennis" He was so young when he died that when he did this it startled Shelley. She said he would do this all the time. I was over there once and we were sitting on the couch and he pointed to the corner of the living room and again said "look mommy uncle Dennis." I looked and there was nothing there, but we both got the chills. I have no doubt in my mind that little Bryant could see his Uncle and for some reason we couldnt. He only did this in this one house and when he got older Shelley said he stopped "seeing" Dennis around the house....It has always amazed me that he would say this and I totally believe he saw him, because he was only 9mths old when he died. I truly believe babies and little kids see more when they are younger. I know my own experiences growing up faded when I got older. I dont see nearly as much paranormal stuff now like I did when I was little. IMO it is truly amazing.

reply to post by weedwhacker

I hate to break it to you it depends on the age. But newborns can't see more then a foot.
That is why all baby toys are black white and red tilll about 6 months, because those are the only vivid colors they see.

Now when they get a little older, it is a different story. I had a few interesting scenarios myself, but I won't bore you with the stories.

[edit on 11-7-2009 by nixie_nox]

reply to post by weedwhacker


Based on my knowledge and experience with astral projection, and the fact that very young children are able to see auras better then an adults eye which has faced lots of damage through television, computer screens, etc. I would be forced to say yes.

Theres a plane/realm/dimension just above our physical one and looks no different to a astral projector, so with a well developed third eye/ ability to see auras a young one could see a projector or a soul whose physical body has died and needs time to reflect in this realm before they move onto the astral realms.