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Who else thinks that ghost stories are all made up? Do you think that folks who share stories about apparitions, or of speaking to mediums, or the millions of ordinary people who have reported EXTRAORDINARY experiences with spirit are simply too gullible for their own good?The truth is, after almost 15 years of studying, researching and writing about spiritual experiences of all types and stripes, I can honestly say that the vast majority of people I've met who HAVE had incredible "paranormal" experiences are as sane and centred and well grounded as the skeptics who believe all of this is new age nonsense.As a matter of fact... I used to BE one of those people who thought everyone who believed in any sort of "woo woo" was a bit wacko myself, and belittled my fair share of friends and family members who claimed to have had spiritual experiences before I had my own.So what changed my own mind about ghosts, apparitions and the survival of consciousness after the death of the physical body?I had what is called a "crisis apparition" where a loved one, or in this case, a close friend and coworker, appeared to me at the moment of his death, in the middle of the night, to say "goodbye". This person lived 2000 miles away from me... in a different time zone, and yet, there he was, standing in my bedroom in the middle of the night, wordlessly waving goodbye a good 6 hours prior to my showing up for work in the morning and learning of his sudden and unexpected passing, at the very same time he appeared to me.Of course, even THIS wasn't enough to convince me - it took meeting with mediums and learning that this experience is not only NOT incredibly rare... it's actually incredibly common, and entire books have been written about this specific phenomena of apparitions of the very recently dead appearing to others many miles away... at their actual moments of demise.Did you know, for example, that 80% of people who lose a child will report a spontaneous visitation from that child at some point within 12 months of their passing?Or, that in about ? of those cases... the appearance of that child is witnessed independently by 2 or more people... making the idea of wishful thinking or imagination or even outright fabrication FAR less likely?Or, the thousands of reported cases of apparitions appearing to spouses of soldiers, or to parents or family and friends... often at the exact moment of their recorded demise and thousands of miles away, to let their families know that they are okay, and not to grieve for their loss?Or how about the families of 9/11 victims, who have shared incredibly similar stories of being visited by their loved ones since the terrible tragedy of the twin towers? More than a few dozen of these families have gone on record in books documenting this experience, with their incredibly inspiring, and eerily similar stories of spiritual visitations that have uplifted them, giving them hope that they WILL one day meet again.The truth is, as a former skeptic and cynic and debunker of ALL things paranormal... and now as one who writes about this stuff full time, I have absolutely no doubt that the human personality endures after the death of the physical body. I also have no doubt that there is true MEANING in the world... and that our lives are imbued with a purpose that is far beyond our ability to fully comprehend. I do know though, that living with this knowledge is inspiring, and exciting and makes every day feel like another great adventure... and if you open your eyes to the evidence, so TOO will you!