Could an APer meet Father Christmas?

[astralspinner]

Not the most serious thread I've ever started. But some say that when lots of people believe a being exists, their belief creates it on the Astral.

So, since thousands, maybe millions, of kids believe in Santa Claus, does that mean he actually exists astrally, and could be met by APers?

[fost500]

I suppose they could, but he would be a thought form. Wouldnt that make him inanimate? An inanimate father xmas would be quite scary

[astralspinner]

I'm not so sure about that. There are a number of places online where you can read about "man-made" spirits that are quite responsive.

AIUI, the theory is that it's possible to make a thoughtform that actually has a limited amount of intelligence - sort of like dream characters, which aren't particularly smart but act without conscious direction.

So if hundreds of people individually create a 'dream' Santa, and then the "Like Attracts Like" principle draws the hundreds of them together and they merge, the unified being will be hundreds of times more intelligent than the original 'dreams'

That's as I understand it, anyway. Thinking about an entity creates that entity, and lots of people thinking about an entity makes a more complex and opwerful entity.

[Adun]

it maybe possible but i don't think he would be self-aware, just a thought form programed to act like kids think santa would

[Selski]

it maybe possible but i don't think he would be self-aware, just a thought form programed to act like kids think santa would

Wouldn't that also be true of "God" then, in that those whose thought-form was male, elderly, white beard, kindly would see that; and then again, those whose thought-form was all-powerful, aggressive, angry (perhaps an incredible hulk image?) would see that?

Just my thought (form).

Sarah

[Tyciol]

Why must he be inanimate?

In some films, like the Santa Clause, the idea that the Santa Claus role is passed on from person to person is presented. In that case, he would train a new one or something.

Perhaps Santa is immortal.

It isn't right to assume that Santa would be fully created by the world's perceptions of him. He was based on a real person, after all. While he might be annoyed at doing so, he could easily change his appearance (astrally) to reflect the popular media image. Perhaps he takes each person's perception of him or something like that...