Orbs

Orbs: what are they? They appear on photographs; some people seem able to see them with their eyes, others see them with their eyes shut. Spirits; archangels, elementals, insects, dust particles on camera lens, floaters... There are so many different explanations for them! An interesting pdf all about orbs is available to download from the website, http://www.parascience.org.uk/articles/orbcombined.htm.
      When someone sees an orb, it is commonly seen whilst they are tired and/or relaxed. This state is called hypnogogia. But why do they appear?

The explanations

Floaters 

Floaters can look like tiny black dots, small shadowy dots, larger cloud-like spots, or long, narrow strands. They can also look like orbs of various sizes, from large (which appear to have a radius of a few centimetres), to small (with a radius of a couple of centimetres) to tiny (a radius of a few millimetres). But if orbs are really 'floaters', why can they come in different colours? Orbs (not the sort one can see with their eyes shut, but rather the sort some people see with their eyes open) can come in all sorts of colours, such as indigo, purple, cyan, pink, orange, white, yellow or emerald green. According to http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/floaters/Pages/Introduction.aspx floaters "...are small pieces of debris that float in the eye's vitreous humour. Vitreous humour is a clear, jelly-like substance that fills the space in the middle of the eyeball. The debris casts shadows on to the retina (the light-sensitive tissue lining the back of the eye). If you have floaters, it is these shadows you will see. Floaters can occur as your eyes change with age. In most cases, they do not cause significant problems and do not require treatment."
   Floaters (or orbs) can be seen during subdued lighting. When they cover one's vision during night time it is extremely annoying, as they adversely affect one's vision when it is dark.

Orbs as entities?

Some people - spiritualists, in fact - believe that orbs are actually spirits. Those who believe in angels and archangels may attribute particular meanings or interpretations to orbs that come in different colours. For example, Archangel Michael is associated with deep blue or indigo, so if someone who believes in his existence come across or sees indigo-coloured orbs they may believe them to be Archangel Michael's spirit in visitation. Or if they believe that Archangel Chamuel, who is represented with the colour of rose-pink (Unconditional Love), their belief in Archangel Chamuel's existence may be confirmed should they come across pink or rose-pink orbs, because, again, they believe that these orbs are Archangel Chamuel's spirit. Of course, this seems to involve symbolism, because indigo blue is symbolic, as it were, of the presence of Archangel Michael; whilst pink is symbolic of the presence of Archangel Chamuel. However, it doesn't matter to such people whether there is any scientific evidence or not that supports their belief because, obviously, they do not require it. They are content with believing things without scientific evidence. And even if they never did come across coloured orbs that they might associate with the presence of an archangel, it doesn't matter, as they will still believe in the existence of archangels. 

      The obvious pitfall of such a belief is that if the person has the condition known as "floaters" as mentioned above, should the condition worsen - resulting in seeing more "orbs" which the person believes to be actual angels or spiritual entities - to the extent that the person would be advised to seek medical help, the person seeing these may refuse, because they do not believe that the "orbs" are anything serious and are merely Archangel Michael or Chamuel visiting them more frequently. Of course, the person would seek treatment if they feel they must do so; and even then, the treatment must fit their belief system. If they do not believe that the orbs are actually floaters, then they are unlikely to take up medical treatment for them. But if they believe that the orbs are archangels or spirits, they will take up such treatment that fits that belief (such as 'angel therapy' which, believe it or not, DOES exist!). The danger in such a belief can cause the person to refuse much-needed medical attention and instead pursue other treatments that may not deal with the immediate problem. If the problem was psychological, not physical, then it may respond better to spiritual healing or treatment. However, if the condition is physical, such as floaters, would spiritual healing which deals with the spiritual body (and works psychologically) really treat the physical ailment of floaters? What if the condition worsens and cannot be treated in such a way?

 Hypnogogia

Another explanation is that of hypnogogia. The hypnogogic state occurs during tiredness, on the verge of waking to sleeping. Such spiritual experiences like seeing ghosts or orbs occur when the person is considered to be in this state. However, if seeing orbs occurs due to the witness or experient being in hypnogogia, does this mean that the orbs are not due to floaters or are not spirits? Regardless, in hypnogogia, the person may seem not fully awake and may hallucinate or see things that aren't really there. Is it possible that at least some orbs are seen as result of the person being in this state, or are orbs just floaters that just happen to be noticed when the person isn't fully alert and is perhaps a little sleepy (that is not to see that all orbs are apparently seen when the person is tired)?

Orbs on photographs

So far, orbs seen in one's vision has been discussed. However, what hasn't been discussed are the the orbs that are sometimes caught on camera. These can come in a variety of shapes. Some may be hexagonal, whilst other may just be circular. 

Problematic photos

What happens when a spiritualist who believes that orbs are spirits takes a photograph of someone or something and later discovers an orb in the photograph? They will believe that the orb is a spirit and, therefore, that they had taken a picture of a spiritual entity. Essentially, because they had believed that spirits exist - and indeed that orbs are spirits - the photograph of the orb (or "spirit"!) serves as evidence for their belief that:

a) spirits exist

and

b) orbs are spirits

What happens when that belief is challenged by a sceptic who suggests that the orb may have been due to a speck of dust on the camera lens? The person will stick to their belief, even if all the evidence points to the orb being something else other than a spirit. Beliefs give people security, so the person who thinks their belief is being challenged when, in actual fact, only their assumption or interpretation is being challenged, they may become agitated as they feel that their personal psychological security is being wrecked. Beliefs give people an understanding of the world, which helps them make sense of everything, including life. If they do not have them, the person may feel insecure and vulnerable because they cannot know anything for certain - such as whether there is life after death or not. Beliefs give people structure, in order to base their attitudes, behaviour, life and opinions. Metaphorically, the belief or belief system could be like a bike's inner tube. If a stone or other debris (metaphors for conflicting information or beliefs or opinions originating from themselves or others which are at odds or challenge the original belief) gets wedged into the bike's inner tube (the person's belief/system), the inner tube is punctured (and metaphorically, the belief system is 'punctured').

    What happens to an inner tube if it is punctured? For one thing, it is unreliable and cannot be used for a bike. It is damaged and needs replacing. Likewise, if a belief is punctured, it may need adjusting (if that is possible) or, if absolutely necessary, replacement. During the period of time when the belief is being replaced, the person may feel most vulnerable because they temporarily do not have a belief on which to hold (that relates to a particular area of thinking or understanding, really). Once the person has a new belief to replace the old one, they may feel secure once more, but potentially less or more. They may not feel as secure as previously. Then again, if the new belief is more suitable for them than the old one, they may have an increased feeling of security than before.