Reply #141: The experience is fairly consistent [View All]

[tinrobot]

It's the classic 'spiritual' experience that creates feelings of love, compassion, bliss, etc... A feeling that everything is connected, eternal, and "one."

I'm sure you can find thousands of books explaining it and millions of examples of people having the experience. People can experience it regardless of religion or spiritual beliefs. Even people who simply meditate with no spiritual affiliation can summon up the experience.

So, is the experience God itself, talking to God, or just a feeling of bliss? Who knows, because the experience is really the only thing you have. But it's a powerful experience that has transformed many people and spurred many religions to come into being. Once people have the experience, I do find they are more prone to belief in something greater than themselves. They may not call it God, but then again, 'God' is just a word.