By Alex P. Vidal
“Ghosts are all around us. Look for them, and you will find them.”—Ruskin Bond
ACCORDING to our ancient folklore in the Philippines, there are “good” and “bad” spirits.
And that they sometimes stray or stay in the places where their bodies had died—especially if their death was gruesome or attended by frightful or violent circumstances.
If we ask a medium how long the spirit will linger after death, writer Sally Painter said the answer we will receive is that “spirit doesn’t have an expiration date for how long it can hang around after death.”
In fact, according to many mediums, spirits can come and go as they please, moving between worlds by exerting their free will.
There are instances when spirits can’t or won’t move beyond the physical realms for various reasons.
For example, Painter said, “this might be because the spirit has unfinished business or loved ones left behind who the spirit wishes to protect and oversee their well-being.”
Then, there are cases where the spirit cannot let of the negative emotions either surrounding their death or their life.
These spirits fail to release from this world and cling to it. This is a matter of exerting free will, she explained, “and those spirits remain tethered to this world until they are ready to leave.”
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Was the “catastrophic implosion” put forward by the US Navy and Coast Guard to be the reason for the disappearance of the OceanGate Titan submersible while on its way to the Titanic wreckage site in June 18 caused by “bad” spirits who have been lingering in the deep sea?
It may be recalled that of the 2,240 passengers and crew on board the RMS Titanic when it sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912, just off the coast of Newfoundland in the North Atlantic after hitting an iceberg during its maiden voyage, over 1,500 lost their lives, mostly trapped inside the ship.
Is it possible that some of the spirits from the dead RMS Titanic passengers didn’t leave the area some 13,000 feet below sea level even after more than 100 years?
And that some of them “resented” the voyages of explorers or deep-sea divers and tourists on board the submersibles like the ill-fated OceanGate Titan for “desecrating” their graveyard?
Is it possible “they weren’t happy” anymore that their memorial place has been commercialized and turned into a tourist destination?
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You may dismiss this eerie theory right away if you don’t believe in a ghost story or superstition being told in the month of June.
It won’t hurt, however, if we digress in our interpretation of the deeply disturbing sea mishap that killed five crew, including three paying billionaires, once in a while for purposes of discussion.
As of June 22 (Thursday in the US), no US Navy and Coast Guard and sea diving exploration expert has openly lent credence on this probability raised only in this article for the first time.
Their investigation and postmortem analysis have zeroed in on the technical aspect, or the lack of sufficient safety measures on the part of the submersible company.
And besides, superstition, paranormal, and preternatural talks are considered a taboo in serious investigations of highly sophisticated technical matters in advanced countries like the US and Canada.
Members of a massive international search effort found a debris field in the general area of the Titanic earlier in the day (June 22), and it was confirmed to contain parts of the Titan sub.
“The debris is consistent with a catastrophic implosion of the vessel,” Rear Adm. John Mauger, commander of the First Coast Guard District, said in a news conference we watched while being aired “live” at 3 o’clock in the afternoon.
The debris was found about 1,600 feet from the Titanic’s bow on the sea floor, Mauger said, adding that it was too early to tell when the Titan imploded.
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OUR MORAL LIFE. Our whole happiness and even sanity depend on our moral condition.
Since society doesn’t exist all by itself in a void, but is made up of individuals who compose it, the problems of society cannot ultimately be solved except in terms of our moral life.
If the citizens are sane, the society will be sane. If we are wild animals, our society will be a jungle.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)
