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Showing posts from August 5, 2010

GHOSTS AND SPIRITS: JAPANESE, JEWISH AND NATIVE AMERICAN BEIIEFS

   Since Halloween is just a few months away, and ghoulies and ghosties are on everyone's mind.  It might be a good time to explore how various cultures handle paranormal beliefs.  I will write about the basic beliefs of the Japanese, Jewish and Native Americans.    We Americans are quite open minded about the paranormal, especially lately with the many different shows about ghosts and other paranormal activity.  More than 30 percent of all Americans believe in ghosts. I have never seen one personally, but the town I live in, in California has 2 expected places that are known for being haunted.  One I have stayed the night in (one of them is a hotel and the other used to be a boys prison).     Let's put our beliefs aside for a moment and take a look into the basic beliefs of three other cultures regarding ghosts and spirits.   JAPAN       The Japanese culture, which is rich in superstition and the paranormal, is also very open to the belief of a spirit world.  In fact,