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While I may not be able to fully answer what Zac means by that, I can at least try to re-word it, as I believe I know what he means. Zac, if I'm wrong about any of this, please correct me.

Basically, most people choose to believe in the metaphysical (see the list for a list of good examples) because they feel the need to believe in something. Christians believe in God because they are told that if they "have faith" and "follow in Christ's footsteps," they will go to heaven regardless of what they've done in life. Others believe in it because their imagination is so wild, so vivid and so extreme that it makes it difficult for them not to believe in something of the sort. However, people like myself, Zac, and so many others that I've seen and met, refuse to believe in something just out of "faith" or the "need to believe." In fact, we don't believe in something. We follow our paths because, as Zac as already put it, we know it to be true through our own experience.

I'm not, however, going to say that it is easy picking out the metaphysical from what we know as physical. Knowing what I know now, it's not too difficult, but there is much that occurs at an unconscious level- and even at a conscious level- that isn't exactly "in the norm" even though they could easily be passed off as such. For instance, smelling something that isn't there; most people would attribute this to something that they're craving, but have you ever smelled death before like that? I have on several occasions within the last year, and it's not pretty. Have you ever "read someone's mind" or had someone else read yours? That falls under the metaphysical as well, and I've done both. I've also made people feel things that aren't there, like a slight, insubstantial breeze.

Every one of those things can very easily be passed off as something else: Smelling death can be passed off as a dead animal being nearby very quickly and easily, and it makes for a perfect rationalization for something as unexplained as smelling rotting flesh inside your house; telepathy can easily be dismissed as nothing more than "thinking what I'm thinking" or "mere coincidence"; and most people would just figure that something like those breezes are a "nice change of weather." It's too easy to do, and I still have much to learn along these topics.

I do plan on sticking around for this topic, though, as I'd like to use it as a source of knowledge for my own studies. Zac, again, if you feel I missed part of what you meant- or the whole thing, for that matter- or that I inadequately explained something, please correct me. I would hate to be filling in false information.

Wow, has it really been this long since I looked here? Jeez...

Anyways, to (hopefully) get this thread on the move just a little bit quicker- and because it's part of what I'm currently studying- I'm casting my vote for Norse mythology as well. I'd also like to take a look at Celtic and Eastern at some point as well, but I'm going to stand my ground for Norse as the lead-off.