Have you ever had a profound spiritual experience (not drug related)

[Quixote1818]

that was so amazing, inspiring and powerful you could never begin explain the experience and have people believe you?

If so, what did you learn from the experience?

Just curious because it seems almost everyone I know has had some kind of experience like this. Some think it profound while others think it was an illusion of the brain and not really magical.

[skids]

1. Why exclude drug-related experiences?

JOOC?

[Quixote1818]

5. I have had spiritual experiences with and without drugs

and the one I had without drugs was very different because I still had my regular reasoning. I am not convinced the ones I had with drugs were authentic. But thats just me and if you feel strongly enough about the authenticity of a drug related spiritual experience feel free to vote yes even if it was drug related. I am mainly concerned about the confidence you have in the experience as being real.

[darkmaestro019]

2. yes,

and yes to your parenthetical condition, which I'm not particularly fond of due to the wide vast deep worldwide history of entheogenic use in religious ritual. I'm illustrating my miffed-ness by this gentle rebuke and my lack of poll response. : )

Is pain removed by hypnosis more "gone" than pain removed by morphine?

I suppose what you are getting at is whether transcendent experiences occur in the absence of external mind-alteration.

The deepest and most expansive and permanent and unexplainable spiritual experience I ever had was while utterly sober, unless you want to rule out cigarette smokers. : ) And I'm a non-Wiccan, heathen, sort of LHP creature.

[proud2BlibKansan]

3. A few days after my dad died

I woke up after taking a nap one afternoon and I could feel him there with me. At first I thought I was just dreaming. Then I got up and I could smell him. My dad always wore Old Spice after shave and I could smell it all around me. Then I could feel him hugging me. He was telling me he would always take care of me. It brought me such great peace I can't even describe it.

[classof56]

8. That is beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

What a lovely experience for you. I have had people I love who've died appear to me in dreams, very detailed encounters, but I would like very much to feel their presence in the way you did. You are fortunate indeed--I am sure your Dad was sorry to leave you and wanted you to know how much he loved you and would always be with you in a special way.

Again--thank you for sharing!

Blessings.

[willing dwarf]

9. That's quite lovely.

Weren't you fortunate to be able to have that experience! You will be able to return to that again and again I imagine. And the ways he will take care of you will be so interesting to discover over time.

[Jersey Devil]

19. What a great story

Sometimes I dream that I am talking with my Dad and when I wake up I wonder if it was really a dream because it seemed so real.

[Carolab]

20. A few weeks after my dad died he awoke me from a nap.

He was pressing on my chest because he wanted me to get up. I was napping on the couch where he always napped. I actually felt the pressure from his hands after I woke up. He wanted me to wake up because I needed to call my mom and have her pick up my son at day care because I couldn't. I managed to get her right as she was leaving work. If I hadn't, I would have been sleeping until she got home and my son would have been left at day care. My dad was very close to my son who was only 4 years old when he died.

Also, a few years ago I lost a boyfriend to melanoma. He had been in remission and relapsed suddenly and died within a month. I went to a seance on my birthday a month later. In a very crowded room, I was picked out and the reader described him and the circumstances of his death to a "T". She even had his name. Told me his mother was standing with him, both of them behind me. His mother had died years before and he had been very close to her. She wanted me to know she had helped him cross over. He was very spiritual and said that when he died he hoped to see his mom and dad again. The reader also said that he was sorry--he tried very hard to stay here, but he couldn't. She said he was "whole" and looked healthy and happy (years earlier, he had had surgery for the cancer that had left a deep scar from his shoulder up his neck and onto his face).

[bluedawg12]

4. I wish people that had 'em would elaborate, I never met

anyone who had one, maybe I never asked. Now I will.

But those who said yes, what was it like?

[Quixote1818]

11. It would take a book to explain my experience but let me post a poem

(children's poem) that was inspired by the experience. I also had the feeling that I could see energy from basic things like signs and books. I could feel the energy coming from something as simple as an advertisement or from a song over the radio. The energy in the writings of books was almost illuminating. I really don't know how to explain what I saw and felt but it was like having a sixth sense. I came to the conclusion that the power of the atom was magical and unlimited but humans had to solve the mystery and pain and loss tended to teach us the most about love. Love tended to move energy toward perfection while hate tended to disorganize energy and was distinctive. I came to a belief that a world utopia was possible and that was why we were here.

Man, I am really not doing this experience justice so here is the poem. Remember I wrote this for children:



What's A Rainbow Really Do?


Red, yellow, violet, blue,
Orange, green, indigo too.

Here is a little riddle for you,
What's a rainbow REALLY DO?

You see it all started when the earth was young,
And the universe had just begun.

The story of the rainbow came to be,
And with it a message for you and me.

The clouds grew thick and the skies turned gray,
On that mysterious, wonderful, eventful day.

Something magic was in the air,
Something beautiful, something rare.

Violent storm clouds were beginning to grow,
As gusting winds did start to blow.

Then out of nowhere came a brilliant flash,
And seconds later a MIGHTY CRASH!

Blackness overtook the entire sky,
And drops of moisture began to fly.


Dark and gloomy was that day,
Misty, damp with million shades of gray.

But the storm then began to break apart,
And that's when God expressed what was in his heart.

The drops of flying moisture were struck,
By sunlight filled with hope and luck.

Split apart by the raindrops blue,
Creating something of many a hue.

A ribbon of colors began to form,
Snap dab in the middle of that violent storm.

A glowing arch with lots to teach,
And almost impossible to ever reach!

What could it be, what could it be,
Shimmering along the shore of a brackish sea?

It was a GLOWING RAINBOW arching high,
That stretched across the ancient sky!

What a sight it must have been,
The VERY FIRST rainbow as it was then.

From a distance it's majestic gleam,
Shimmering above the rising steam.

While molten lava flowed between,
Ancient mountains into rushing streams.

The surface of the earth was new,
And the earliest oceans were turning blue.

After many years had passed,
Their sprouted a tiny blade of grass.

Soon plants and flowers would begin to bloom,
And natures great riddle would start to boom!

Red, yellow, lavender, blue,
Pink, purple, indigo, too.

Flowers, flowers everywhere,
Painted the landscape with natures loving care.


Microscopic forms of life,
Then became a common sight.

Dinosaurs and mammals too,
Would someday see a rainbows hue.

Primates then would walk the land,
And a million years later our ancestors would stand.

Dreams, inventions not then seen,
Have now become a common theme.

Like super fast computer chips,
And planetary trips on rocket ships.

From mother earth did all this grow,
And through out time all life would know; the beauty of a rainbows glow.

For hidden in the sun and soil,
Is natures riddle in which we toil.

But if you follow a rainbows glow,
The truth thats hidden you will know.

If you're kind and if you're true,
You can certainly see it to.

It's in the golden sun above,
It's in the souls of those you love.

It's in the stars and in the sky,
It's even in mom's apple pie.

What is it you reply?
A piece of magic that will never die.

For all the answers to which we exist,
Lye in the wisdom of a rainbows mist.

Those glowing colors arching high,
Are there to teach your soul to fly.

For every child holds the key,
To all of life's great mysteries.


Though on your own you will find no bliss,
So always, always remember this.

For the most important part of natures great riddle,
Are those who suffer and have very little.

So as you rest in your warm safe home,
Think of those who are all alone, with no one to talk to on the phone.

And think of those who live in pain,
Who's lives depend upon the rain.

When drought and famine plague the land,
They desperately wait for a helping hand.

Or for the day again they will know,
The touch of rain upon their soul, and the beauty of a rainbows glow.

But if you're filled with love and dreams,
You can do most anything!

And with a little love and care,
All pain and hunger can disappear.

And peace on earth can truly be,
The norm for every day to be.

Anything is possible you see,
It's totally up to you and me!

And like a flower what will blossom?
A heaven on earth that's truly awesome!

Red, yellow, violet, blue,
Orange, green, indigo too.

If you follow a rainbows glow,
The truth thats hidden you will know.

So the next time you see a rainbow’s glow
Remember all that you now know.

That love and magic live within,
Everything that’s ever been.
A rainbow is the archway you see,
To love, peace and harmony.

Just remember you hold the key,
To impossible dreams and mystery.


That was the message that lived within,
The very first rainbow as it was then.

Shimmering over the barren land,
Waiting for someone to understand.

The greatest riddle is here at hand,
And impossible dreams can rule the land!

[WiseButAngrySara]

23. This is wonderful! You should publish it as a child's book, with all of

the colorful illustrations that would naturally accompany the book/poem. I just listened to Neil Young singing "When God made Me/You..." on Conan O'Brien, and I wept like a child myself. The song is so simple, pure and innocent, much like I was (and so the world seemed) when I first heard Neil sing years ago. The first time I heard this particular song was post- Katrina, and it made me weep then as well.

[Quixote1818]

25. I have sent it into publishers and no one has been interested so far

When I see some of the lame children's books out their it's quite frustrating. I know it needs some work but I agree it would be a very colorful and inspiring book that I think kids would love. I think it would spark their imaginations and curiosity of the world around them.

Thanks for the vote of confidence.

[Gman]

6. Being that I am an agnostic dyslexic...

I've often wondered if there really is a doG.

[garybeck]

13. since you are agnostic, you will

probably find out when you die. but if you were wondering if there is a TAC, (not a DOG) then you would have to die 9 times to find out.

[Gman]

30. That's a different sect

:)

[willing dwarf]

7. Quite unexpected experience, described:

I was sitting in my Friends Meeting,praying for help dealing with a petty feeling of jealousy when clear as could be I could feel the presence of Jesus sitting beside me, loving me as a friend. He knew me as me, and I could tell too, he loved the person I was feeling jealous about too, as a friend. We were both loved uniquely, each for who we were.

It was the most complete sense of being known and loved, completely and unconditionally. And I was able to look round at those around me and feel how they too were loved.

At the time this happened, I was not a big time "Jesus is God" person. I'm still not one to push the "Jesus is God" thing. However, the experience has given me a real and lasting sense of connection to Jesus and to the love he knew and expressed. I have returned to the experience again and again, and it still stirs me.

By the way, the times one is stirred by beauty, a sunset, a flower opening, dew on the edge of a lead...those feelings are little guideposts --I think-- to transcendence. Noticing and cherishing those moments is the way in to deep spiritual awareness.

[peace frog]

10. I've had a number of otherworldly experiences

throughout my life... this is one I can share:

It was early on a work morning (around 6:30 AM), I was on my way in to what I expected would be a very busy workday (first day of registration at a large public university). I drove into the campus through a rear entrance next to the athletic fields, completely deserted for that time of day. I saw a car parked on the side of the road with a very young man seated at the wheel. I was seized with a strange calm and a voice in my mind very matter-of-factly said: "He wants to die." I slowed the car and looked at the boy more closely... he appeared to be in his late teens and very despondent. Had I not been in a terrific hurry to be about my busy day I might have stopped to offer help, but to my everlasting regret I did not.

When I arrived home later that evening and turned on the local news, I saw that same young man reported as a suicide. He had just been released from prison where he had been raped and brutalized because he was a slightly-built 18 year old who could not defend himself, poor boy. Depressed, he drove to a canal right next to the university where I had seen him parked, jumped in and drowned. His brother was being interviewed and told the whole story.

I still pray for that unfortunate young man, and also for myself that I did not stop to help him. Such are the burdens we must carry in this life.

[Quixote1818]

15. You should send that story into "FATE Magazine"

They would probably publish such a story.

[peace frog]

18. Thank you but no

I don't mind sharing it here but it's too personal to publish.

[Roxy66]

45. I'm so sorry...but fate is a strange thing. There is a reason for you not

stopping

[peace frog]

48. The boy may have been beyond an intervention

at the time I saw him (some people are determined to kill themselves regardless), but it is his extreme youth that makes me think he could have been saved. But as I did not stop, and he did drown, there's no way to know if he still had a will to live.

Thanks for your kind words.

[Corgigal]

12. I had something happen to me

My husband was in the ER. His parents, sister and hubby and myself were all outside in the lobby waiting to see if my husband would make it. The ER doc pulled his mother and myself into a room and told us that he's trying to pull my husband out of shock. It wasn't going well but they are still working on him.

So back we go into the lobby. The month is July and this took place in Tampa Florida. I notice a white man, in his 50's with silver color hair. He was so unusual because he had on a leather coat. He came over and talked to my father in law. Didn't seem to be sitting with anyone or waiting for anyone.

Later my husband doctor came out and told me that he's recovering and will be going to icu. He would have to stay in the hospital for a few days for some workups but he was going to make it.

The man in the leather jacket walked past me and turned right. The parking lot was on the left. I told my husband days later that I think I saw your guardian angel.

[Ladyhawk]

14. Yes, many times and in retrospect, each one had a rational explanation.

I am no longer religious or spiritual. I believe only in the physical, the explainable. I live by the concept that outrageous claims require outrageous proof. If, and only if, such proof is forthcoming will I change my mind on this issue.

I went through the fundy meatgrinder. My last stage was "pentecostal / charismatic." My friends and I used to think god could speak to us directly and we misused this so-called gift of "discerning spirits" to pretty much get our way on various issues. The worst of the lot was my friend "Jana" who decided I had a demon problem, tried to cast it out then told me never to approach her again until I trusted Jesus to solve my problems.

I thought I had seen / felt demons and the heard the voice of god. Now that I look back on it, it seems obvious that I let my emotions get the better of me. I only "saw" things out of the corner of my eye and weird experiences like billowing curtains, shaking houses, etc. could easily be explained by wind, sonic booms, earthquakes, etc. Once, while my class was staying at a church we all suffered from mass hallucinations and hysteria. Nothing out of the ordinary happened except emotional craziness. Nothing physical. Nothing provable.

The most telling fact of all is that since I stopped believing in spiritual phenomena, I haven't had a single unexplainable experience. I was simply misinterpreting normal, everyday events. I feel kind of stupid now and sorry for my old friends that still believe in that crap...and fearful for anyone "Jana" meets because she believes she has a direct conduit to god.

[undergroundpanther]

16. My first experience came when I was 4 in a dream

How I met The Underground Panthers

At night in my dream,a ripping thunderstorm came.
The windows flashed with lightning.The rain was reflected in the flashes,the thunder roared,as rain came in wisping through my window screen smelling of ozone and green freshness..Then it was dark and silent.Then,I woke up(in the dream) it was a sunny morning the colors were so hyper real,golden.. In our backyard a weed sprouted into a small tree.And the tree was rainbow colored,shimmering, like stained glass,it had grapefruit sized crystal clear fruits on it.A winged horned cat the color of the rainbow with flickering lightning in it's fur offered me a fruit off of the tree. I took it.It was a shimmery orb very much like a soap bubble with clear seeds in it's middle and a plant structure holding them like an apple or a pear has in it's centre.
I ate it,it was sweet and tasted like an orangey grape.I turned around to see the sun and it swirled it's light from green to red to orange and
blue.On the other side of the sky a silvery moon hung in the high horizon .Lots of animals showed up nearby quite suddenly,
there were even tigers and peacocks.There were lightning bugs, butterflies, birds ,mammals,all sorts of animals had gathered around my backyard close to me. I saw the sun it was flashing and I greeted it .I held aloft my hands and it came down to me,I was throwing it and catching it like a balloon Then I sent it back to the sky and it rose up like a helium balloon. I did this with the moon too and as I spun it back into the sky as it's phases spun out in reply .The animals were all around me so friendly and they were speaking to me.Suddenly the sky shifted it's clouds,and a huge panther's face emerged and appeared hovering above me it was made of sky. It's eyes were so gentle and soft .It's face covered the sky from horizon to horizon .Huge whiskers brushed against the tree tops.The Panther's eyes began to glow as I was lifted up 1 1/ 2 feet off the ground, my hair was swirling up in this electrified wind swirling around me, and a beautiful bolt of lightning flowed from the Panther's eyes and swirled down and struck my chest ,throat and head.It was gentle like it was being poured into me.


Lightning of every color came out from every pore and orifice of my body.It was color changing looked kinda like a hologram made of many kinds of beings. It didn't hurt me at all .I looked down and below me I saw another panther's face.It was covering the Earth for as far as I could see.And it was the Earth and the color of the Earth..Both felines "held" me in a free moving kind of balance above the ground suspended on a stream of lightning.almost like a bead on a string.I could float/walk around. The lightning went through the earth,through my body into the Earth panther’s eyes through the World into space stretching on forever,the sky bolts went through me into the eyes of the sky panther and up forever.
As I observed the panthers swirling shapes flew out of their stripes and manes. On the panther below her markings were trees and rivers and all sorts of things flew from the ends,living animals,music,art,anything you can think of was swirling off her and becoming alive.
Looking at the face of the panther above,I saw stars, nebulae, galaxies,comets and worlds..spirits..swirling off it's fur clouds.

Then I rose a bit higher the seasons started mixing up together.There was snow on one side of the yard ,spring on another The passing of the days sped up. Clouds rapidly moved as the shadows of the sun and moon rapidly moved across the sky ,shadows moved across the yard faster and faster. it would snow,rain, hail..in quick bursts,with sunshine in between.I saw the stars in the sky in motion like a syncopated gyroscope I was inside of..The stars that were far away formed into a snake and it danced around the horizon line.Then I felt my body being pulled up more..and I discovered I was inside that rainbow tree I ate the fruit from.I was moving up like sap. Looking out from inside the trunk was like looking out of a tunnel shaped crystal and stained glass room.I looked down to the Earth panther,and the gnarled roots of this tree I was in looked like her fur markings..It was the tree roots as spinning galaxy of fractals.This fractal/fur marking root system was making worlds,and animals and people and all sorts of stuff before my eyes..I saw so many dreams, thoughts ,inventions,things people..but it formed patterns it looked different from a higher up view.Everything was forming off it's many ever changing fractalizing spiraling ends..It "ticked" in it's swirl motion.In time with my heartbeat.

I looked up at the The Sky Panther and in it's eyes I saw s outer space made of milky ways, suns, moons, planets, dust spirals, comets ,nebulae,and there were many orbs of stars that had faces,of people animals, faces that changed shape .It was shifting wispy ,very beautiful . The faces were all kinds of faces,people animals,ect..They were clear with stars inside,their features were defined by membranes sort of like the fruit I ate..They were nebula's and galaxies that were alive with beings. I was among them floating back wards slowly. They were speaking, all of them.Suddenly there was a HUGE crash of thunder and I was startled awake in my real life..in my bed on a sunny morning..

I have never forgotten this dream.

Years later I asked Why did I startle from that beautiful dream with the sound of thunder?

Eventually I was shown why.
I was soaring in this galaxy of beings and A force a heavy fistlike force slammed me (it was a shock like thunder)and I was compressed by force,against my will into this body. I am a prisoner here. This is not my home.

But that is a whole 'nother experince..

And I met Sekhmet herself through touching a big black a statue of her at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art in 6th grade.That was a really profound thing for me. Sekhmet has walked with me ever since..
Sa Sekhem Sahu!

[proud patriot]

17. "If so, what did you learn from the experience?"

I learned that thought manifests reality

[undergroundpanther]

22. thoughts are like

A "key" that fits into a combination lock.If the key or the lock is not right the thought does not manifest. I have practiced the occult and I learned alot about probability and how at least my mind and my body seems to interact with it. So I do not think every thought I have manifests in reality.The ground of being(the collective mind or "soul" has to be willing or consenting to manifest my requests.Sometimes reality doesn't care and bad things happen to good people and this is because our reality is divided. The ground of being is a stereoscopic thing. Two similar images that appear morally neutral because the beings perceiving are of mixed character or not using both eyes to see with depth... So, I have found to trey to bend probability your way you have to negotiate your desires with what "ground of reality" and"dimensions" that you are coexisting with/within.(the smoking mirror)Hence we are not gods,but confused shattered trapped pieces of gods thinking and dreaming to understand what is, and why is..is.And to see,since the"archons" or a control/cancer like spirituality sometimes blinds us to our true self knowledge(and yes we blind ourselves with self deception too)..The control spirit seeks domination of us from birth to make us be something that pleases them,or become like them.The control force(archon or"authority") manifests through people,(parents,bullies,societies,ect)..it can also manifest through life's circumstances or anything else and it always limits us,hurts,or keeps us only seeing things close to ourselves.(like plato's cave).Always it seeks to control.Because it cannot exist without our willingness to play it's game and feed it our beings through trauma control or other compromises that lead to a degradation of our inner locus of control,our ethics or for an egoism that diminishes others.

[grannylib]

21. Mine have not CHANGED my belief system, but maybe reinforced it...

I have had several experiences I believe to have been messages from loved ones in what I believe to be an afterlife; I also believe that I have had things happen in my life that I can only consider to be God working for good out of great tragedy (I do NOT believe God causes the shit that happens in our lives, but that God can bring good things out of those instances: Romans, 8:28)

Not trying to proselytize; just my personal beliefs.

[Behind the Aegis]

24. Other

I have had experiences, but they haven't changed my belief systems. My only problem is learning to sort out the "fantasy" from the "reality." I have had dreams about recent bombings, including parts of the names of cities. Fortunately, I had emailed people before the events, so it is a little more 'verifiable.' Most of "my visions" would come in dreams, until the past few months when I started having "waking visions." Most of it is centered on my family or immediate situations. Every so often, I will see something national or international, but I haven't figured out any way to 'force it.'

The most memorable was about 9-11, I had a dream exactly two months prior, but it took place in Oklahoma (where I am living) and involved the buildings I worked in at the time. They were referred to as "The North Tower" and "South Tower." I dreamed small planes crashed into each. The towers burned, then collapsed. The timing was almost the same too. I also dreamed another plane crashed into a field near my house (PA?) and one in a triangle (Pentagon?...just the wrong shape). I told several people about the dream, because I just figured it was playing on my fear of flying or there was some other meaning (perhaps there was/is). I told so many people because the dream was so vivid, I thought people could help me "dissect" it. Ironically, the first person I told was my boss, a member of FEMA and originally from New York.

Personally, I think psychic phenomena is very real, we just don't understand it. I feel that one day it will be as 'common' as a light switch. Just as it took us centuries to figure out the Earth was not flat or the center of the universe, it will be the same for this. The human mind is so complex and not easy to study and understand. But, just because we can't completely understand it, doesn't mean it isn't real. Astronomy developed, in part, because of Astrology. Who's to say something similar can't happen with 'psychic' abilities?

[Dogmudgeon]

26. Yes, many

I am of two minds (no pun intended!) about them. I think spiritual experiences can be healthy or neurotic, like damn near every other experience in life. In my case, I have had them so often, and in so many forms, that I suspect there is some wacky brain chemistry at work, as well as healthy. I've also had periods of very active sleep paralysis; the hallucinations SP brings on often result in unusual belief systems in people who are naive to its effects. Many UFO abduction experiencers describe things that are uncannily like sleep paralysis. (Of course, the first "Official Explanation" was that they were having temporal-lobe seizures.)

William Blake also had a similar propensity to spiritual experiences, and early 20th century physician Maurice Bucke wrote about it in Cosmic Consciousness, the first book to really take a scientific approach to spiritual experiences -- although to the modern reader, the phrase "cosmic consciousness" is now linked with the most vulgar parts of the New Age movement.

Bucke thought that "CC" was, at the heart of it, a very powerful form of pattern recognition that could influence the normal patterns of thought through some learning mechanism.

As for the neurotic kind, a number of psychologists, psychiatrists, and neuroscientists have tentatively linked spiritual experiences to perinatal events like anoxia, injury, prolonged labor, and to other severe traumas. The brainstem and lower basal ganglia are at a critical developmental stage right around birth, and can be much more strongly affected by injury, especially hypoxia or anoxia. The same structures are strongly implicated in sleep paralysis. The cortex, though, is basically unformed at birth, which may explain the "ineffable" characteristic of spiritual experiences -- they aren't intellectual, and they often defy explanation.

There is actually a fairly large amount of both clinical and experimental work being done on this subject, after years of marginalization. Michael Persinger usually gets the most press, since he has discovered that even weak, moving magnetic fields can trigger quasi-spiritual experiences.

The sad thing about "spiritual experiences" is that they really fit nowhere these days. Those of us who experience them can either force-fit them into Fundamentalist, Skeptical, or Pop-Mystical molds, or be told to go pound sand. The open-minded approach of accepting the experience but scrutinizing the results is not really approved of by any of the organized groups which have lain claim to "owning" the Official Explanation.

Well, actually, I missed one group, the psych/neuro scientists and clinicians. In my experience, they've been on the right track -- they listen without judgment, offer help when someone is overwhelmed, and some of them are trying to continue the work that people such as Bucke started.

For all my spiritual experiences, I have no better understanding of the universe than I had before. But I do have a deeper appreciation for the range of human experience and the ability of the brain to produce novel states of consciousness.

And I let no one tell me what to think about these cosmic-like experiences -- I'm perfectly capable of thinking about them on my own.

--p!

[Behind the Aegis]

28. What an AWESOME response!

:applause:

[BlueIris]

27. Alright, given what's happened today, I'll post that (basically)

my profound spiritual experiences told me that a) one of my cosmic missions in this life cycle is to help right the injustices of this regime, b) John Kerry is going to be president and I'm one of the people whom the Universe wants to help that process along, and c) part of my other cosmic purpose here is to write a great and popular novel.

The details of these experiences would not be meaningful to any of you here; they're individual and deeply personal. The Universe communicated to me through "signs" that weren't meant for anyone else to understand.

Even with all that has occurred, I'm still pretty sure about Kerry's future, and my own.

[mrcheerful]

29. Oh shoot guess that excludes the

time i poked myself in the eye with a coke spoon and saw god, huh?

[New Earth]

31. i've had almost way too many!

one being, many things that happened with someone i met some years ago....to keep it short, we met online in a new age chat room and had a lot in common and liked talking to eachother - he told us we would meet one day at his work (i would get a job there) and fall in love...and that i'd break up with my boyfriend at the time for him. he told me lots of other unbelievable things that i won't mention - well, it all ended up happening. met him at his work when i got a job there, fell in love with him, broke up with my bf at the time, he knew everything i ever thought of him that i never said out loud, i've seen him disappear and reappear (invisbility, yes!) before my eyes many times - some of the things he could do i can't even post b/c i know no one will believe me. um let's see - i've seen his eyes go all black and then he can see through things - he can be in two places at once, has amazing remote viewing, precognition, clairvoyant, telepathic skills that are out of this world. he can speak through someone else, meaning, make someone else say to me what he wants to say - influencing them to say what he wants me to hear. he cast a love/sex spell on me that worked, turned me on without being anywhere near me, knew of conversations i had in places where no one else was - and you name it, he can do it. he's a prince from Ancient Egypt lost through time. he can go back there too and has promised to take me with him one day when we are finally together.. time travel, yes. he is my X-men lover. i am an Egyptian Princess. :) We were meant to find eachother to save the world from it's own destruction. i can't wait to see him again.

and well, actually - the past few years - i have realized i can do all the same things as him :) most of them anyway. all the extreme ESP abilities have surfaced and I have made myself invisible, just a few months ago, actually. so not only have i seen it all happen myself, i have now done it :)

EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE PEOPLE.

Honestly, it feels lonely sometimes to KNOW these things are all possible and still have people insist they are not. I have not only experienced these kinds of things, I have done them. There comes a point where it's no longer a matter of 'believing', but a matter of 'knowing'.

[BiggJawn]

32. I had one. Figured out it was a stress-induced psychosis.

Really stressful period in my life. I was taking Talk Therapy with a Psychologist who was into all that Jungian New-Age woo-woo-ism, and one day I was CERTAIN the "Grandfather" was talking to me.

Yeah, just like that fish was telling Cheech not to bogard that joint in that movie....

[TahitiNut]

33. "Why know the name of a thing when the thing itself you do not know? ..."

"Why know the name of a thing when the thing itself you do not know? Whose work is it but your own to open your eyes? But indeed, the work of the universe is to make such a fool of you that you will know yourself for one, and so begin to be wise!" — George MacDonald, Lilith, 1895

[BiggJawn]

40. Yes.....

"...the work of the universe is to make such a fool of you that you will know yourself for one, and so begin to be wise!"

As it was with my forays into Organized Religion and Woo-Woo "New Age" things...

[TahitiNut]

43. I'm always amused at the term "New Age" ... when applied to

... philosophies up to 2,500 to 3,000 years old that have survived to this day. As one who has practiced various meditation techniques and found them extraordinarily effective, I get a kick out of the folks who think that's "New Age."

[BiggJawn]

46. Ah, but there IS a difference!

3,000 years ago, they just practiced those techniques and considerd those philosophies.

Nowadays, when you can get 10 people to pony up $6,000 each for a 3-day weekend learning "Power Words" and "Crystal Meditations" at some bed and breakfast in Hilo, now, that's
"New Age".... ;)

Now if these folks would only wait, and let their minds clear like Lao Tzu's muddy stream... They'd save some money.

[OnionPatch]

34. Ok, this is more "supernatural"

I think. But spirituality ties right in because it led me to believe that spiritually, there is more going on than meets the eye....

I was living with my mom in my early twenties. I was taking a nap one Sunday afternoon in my bedroom. She was reading the paper on the couch. I woke up and thought about going out to the kitchen to eat a piece of cheesecake that was there. Then I fell asleep again. I kept dozing and waking and promising myself I would go out and get that cheesecake. I walked out there, opened the frig and reached for the plate. All of the sudden I heard Mom call my name and BOOM, I was back laying in my bed instantaneously! I had been dreaming about getting this cheesecake. When I answered her, she came into my room visibly shaken. She said she had seen me walk by her out of the corner of her eye and saw me getting in the frig out in the kitchen. Then she clearly heard me cough but it was coming from the bedroom, which was in the opposite direction! That's when she freaked out and called my name.

I have never sleptwalked in my life. I believe it was an out-of-body experience. Funny that it was only about a cheesecake. I would have wished for my supernatural experience to be a little more profound.

[jbnow]

37. Hey I like cheesecake!

But what you said reminded me of the only dream I have had (and recalled) of my mom who died 15 years ago.

In the dream I was sitting on the couch with my son. My mom came out of the bathroom. I stared in great surprise. She was younger, near 30. Her hair was styled in a way I had never seen. She was staring back, eating a candy bar. I was speechless.

She spoke saying something like "darn, I suppose you want part of this candy bar."

That's about all I remember. Profound, isn't it.

But there is more to the tale. How she looked in the dream really stayed with me. I hadn't even seen pictures of her hair that way and thought it was funny that I dreamed of it.
Later I saw part of an old movie and there was a woman in it who looked much like my mom in the dream. I meant to get her name and didn't and later forgot the name of the movie.

Just to share with my sisters how my mom looked I wanted to find out who she was. Finally I started describing the movie to a dear friend who is a movie buff. He interrupted me as soon as I started because he wanted to ask before he forgot. He asked if I knew who an old time actress was from by gone days, (lizbeth Scott? Not sure if I spelled first name right) I didn't know her. He went on and on about how he'd been thinking I reminded him of her even though I didn't look like her at all. He didn't know why but whenever he saw her or her name or thought of her he thought of me.
Well I didn't know her, didn't care, but agreed to look her up. Then I went on to what I cared about, describing the part of the movie I recalled. He had no idea.

Seeing what thread this is on and that it's a story...the ending is no surprise. When he visited I finally looked up the actress I reminded him of so much. It was the same actress that looked like my mom in the dream. One of the pictures even had the same style hair.

He was quite proud, no wonder he thought of me then. It was a bit later that he realized how odd it was. He'd never meant my mom.

And it all started with my mom and a candy bar she was reluctant to share.

[screembloodymurder]

35. Yes, but only a few.

I think with practice I could have more. I'm often so busy I don't recognize the message/messenger until after the fact. When I allow myself to be open to outside influences and take the time to go with the flow, I have found profound joy in the seeming connection between time, space and my own consciousness.

[NNadir]

36. The deaths of my parents convinced me that there is no God.

I suspected as much before hand, but spiritually, it became ever more clear afterwards.

It made life more precious, since now I know, this is all there is and what I do now is all that there will ever be of me.

[SpiralHawk]

38. On the mountain

Spirit relations have come to share many times. There is a Way. For myself I have learned that it is not about belief. It is about knowledge.

[Lochloosa]

39. Can't vote on this one....

you threw that little caveat in there about the drugs...:evilgrin:

[Jose Diablo]

41. In a manner of speaking, I am a space/time traveler

You see, each of the atoms and molecules within my body is/has been replaced each 7 years. Each of those molecules follow a pattern set down by what I am. My conscience retains continuity throughout this replacement of each of those parts of me. This process has been underway and a complete replacement has occurred about 8 times now, but I am still me. The pattern persists as does the awareness of existing.

Now is it that hard to believe that this pattern that is me, will persist even after this body I reside in now, perishes? Is it my body that makes me what I am, or is it the pattern?

Now where is this pattern? Does this pattern exist just in this space/time, or is this pattern actually outside space/time and the body this pattern creates, just a portal to exist, to see and feel, in this space/time.

I would suggest thinking of the universe as an information storage system with the information causing space/time, matter/energy and the reality we experience.

Edit: Or if you will, look at the light outside the cave, not at the shadows on the back wall of the cave.

[jbnow]

42. You described the issue well

about never being able to explain it...or at least I have always put it this way. It is not the story of the experience that contains the meaning, the meaning is in the experience of the story.

I fit in with both groups of explanations. As things started happening I kept assuming it was...yet another odd coincidence. Even when others would witness a part of it and be amazed I would laugh at them and say "Oh right, magic is real"

As it all began to unfold I was a very happy and logical agnostic. Perhaps I was on an inner journey but it had nothing to do with God or magic or any spiritual or such words. Just...looking for the me of me.

But the experiences continued, increased and finally went from the unlikely to the impossible and eventually logic itself made me face that.

But I will get to the most important part...what have I learned?
That the person we are is really the least of who we are.
That we are deeply connected in ways we have no idea of and work together knowingly or not.
That we really are on a unitive journey...and beyond the chaos of life is a pattern, an order, an energy that is ineffably beautiful.

It is like spirit works through us...even if we don't believe in spirit. It isn't that free will is ignored, it's a couple things. Our free will can be used for a higher good. But even more...our free will is at a deeper level then we know.
There is our human, it can change with time, it can doe.
There is our soul. it can change with time, it connects with spirit and with us, it does not die, it evolves.
There is spirit. It does not change and it is the level where we are all one.

And our souls can dupe us. Whose side is it on anyway? In my case I think I set myself up to go very far on this journey to spirit, to give myself over to it, before I had a conscious clue what it was or at least what other names for it were. I called it "It", Truth, This Energy, This Reality. If I had called it Spirit or God...it would have been much choppier. Once I realized it I was too far in to unbelieve.
And I don't like the term surrender, but from inside I learned release. Same thing.
I don't like the term obedience, but I learned attunement, same thing.

I am logical so it came before I read or heard or cared about it. If I read about something and then found it true or experienced it my nature would be to think I was influenced by it and brush it off even more. This went so far that even when I finally started reading spiritual books I'd suddenly need to put the book down, which could irritate me. But when I picked it back up later I'd see why because it would be almost at a part that described something I had said or experienced or written since I'd had to put the book down.

It's been going on 20 years but even now I don't assume an experience is magical or more then chance, I just know it could be. We don't have to know.

Now here are the key things perhaps...
I'll use the word god because it's a short word. We don't have to change to go to God, it isn't our piety or "goodness" he asks for . God wants our truth, it's the one relationship where utter truth is always called for. Whatever we are God can deal with and if changes are needed they can happen. If we are doubtful or angry or hurt it is better to be just that then to fake belief or happiness or any other thing. It has to be face to face, not face to mask.

We wouldn't even to know what to change. It's about...becoming who we really are. I changed profoundly through this...many were changes I had tried for myself. But this wasn't through my effort, not to my credit or work. It was through just a natural flow and sometimes the best we can do is get out of our own way.

God doesn't care what you call him. Call him Fred or nature or hope.

Life is a series of living parables and that's why Jesus spoke in parables. We don't have to know that to gain from that, we just need to be open to the moments, live our experiences with an open heart.

Be who you are as well as you can and don't pretend to yourself. You are more wonderful then you can imagine.

I do see Lights...and other things. Though I am one who sees what I see is no more mine then it is yours.

I don't do well expressing this. When close friends tell me I have to write a book, I have to share things, people need to know and blah blah, I tell them maybe I will have more to say when I have less to say. I have a billion words, a million stories and none of the words say what I need to say.

[countryjake]

44. Oh yeah, changed my life in ways I never thought possible!

Many years ago, I attended a march in a major city of the USA. The issues on our signs are not important to my experience; it was a peaceful, organized, legitimate protest in a nation which prides itself on the rights of free speech and the right to assemble; a demonstration in a nation that was founded on the basis that it is our inherent right and duty to speak against injustice and throw off tyranny, is what it was.

That march had ended and my tiny group of friends had gone to a large city park, proud of adding our voices to such a momentous event and exuberant in the knowledge that we were doing our part to bring truth to our country.

Suddenly, out of the blue, a group of about five policemen surrounded us. They were large men, well armed, with batons out and swinging. One of them grabbed my dear friend and threw him violently to the ground, then straddled him and put one knee upon his head, pinning him helplessly and painfully beneath a massive weight. I walked right up to that cop, with my arms akimbo, loudly demanding, "What's going on? Why are you doing that?" and that was my one mistake!

I was answered with a billy club in the jaw, smashing my lips and teeth. They had no need to pin either me or my other friend, for we were young and passive and dumb, believing that standing by our buddy with our explanation that he'd done no wrong would defuse the situation effectively. Instead, we were all three roughly handcuffed... me, with no hands to stop the blood dripping from my face.

Then a huge armored paddy-wagon appeared, driving straight across grass that was protected by signs to keep the public from leaving a footprint, and we were hustled inside it and taken to the precinct station. We were fingerprinted, mugged, and booked into the jail. My two friends were charged with disorderly conduct, as was I, but the pig who I'd so boldly questioned decided that my action constituted "assault" upon him, so that charge was tacked on, and the ass who'd clubbed me claimed that "he recognized me" as a person he had earlier seen throw a brick through a window, so destruction of property was also added to my arrest.

The months that followed were filled with trial dates, depositions and testimony, and a case against me that I never thought possible in this great nation representing Freedom, Liberty, and a citizen's right to due process. It was a rude awakening to my belief in both the system and the process, as I and my two friends were found guilty, excessively fined, and exiled from the city for life, based solely on the testimony of the policemen who had attacked us. It was quite the eye-opening experience but most humiliating of all, was when the judge demanded that we stand before the court, shake hands with and apologize to the lying bastards who'd smashed my head in!

It was all very enlightening for me, but not spiritual in the sense your topic suggests. My moment came when, almost a year later, I traveled to the city I'd been barred from, under the cover of darkness, stealthily, so to speak, and stood before the window I'd been accused of breaking, this glass I'd never seen and not even been close to that fateful night. Brick in hand, I suddenly felt such a surge of empowerment; Freedom, Liberty, Truth and Justice all rolled into one blessed perception; an almost physical awakening, equal to a thousand orgasms surging from within my groin and vagina, spreading like lightning up my body to my heart and brain, was the knowledge that this was my true path and it was right and necessary and just! As that brick flew and that damned glass shattered, a spirit of righteousness was born like no other, engulfing me with a sincere and profound belief and my life has never ever been quite the same, since!

I've lived my days since as an outspoken advocate for the oppressed and the wrongly accused or punished, shouting out whenever I perceive tyranny, repression of the truth, or folks being led down a path of blatant iniquity. Nobody has ever known why a person of my small stature gained such nerve and gusto, for the source of my heartfelt principles were private and personal to only me, but I'm confident that those feelings have been shared by countless others and will someday ring out all over this land!

[Mr_Spock]

47. Hmmm, I have been able to tap into space/time and stuff like that

Wouldn't call it spiritual though - just odd. I'll call it a mind trick if it makes people happy...

[SillyGoose]

49. I have had several experiences since my husband died last year.

I don't feel comfortable relating them here because they are deeply personal and my emotions about his death are still raw and too painful to share.

I will say, though, that my experiences forced me to acknowledge the existence of an afterlife despite my having an ambivalence (or maybe more accurately confusion) to it previously.

I was raised Catholic and went through 12 years of Catholic school. You would think I have a pretty ingrained Catholic belief but I didn't then and don't today buy into all of it. The most (and I think the best) I've taken out of my extensive religious education was a profound respect for the teachings of Jesus as they relate to social justice, equality, tolerance, peace and love. My spiritual experiences following my husband's death have reinforced these points.

[renate]

50. as a hospice volunteer, talking with bereaved family members,

I have heard some AMAZING stories about loved ones making their presence known. They vary a lot--objects appearing or being moved, strings of coincidences very specifically related to the dead person, and (coolest of all) visitations where the person sees, smells, or feels the dead person (even faces appearing on TV screens that other people see too). They're incredibly common, and they're told to me utterly matter-of-factly, and I hear them from all kinds of people with all kinds of beliefs and backgrounds, so I don't doubt them at all.

Edited to add that the weird thing is that some of the people who'd be most open to these visits never experience them, and others who are very skeptical sometimes do. Of course, sometimes it goes as expected and the woo-woo types do experience them and the skeptics don't. If there's a rhyme or reason to who gets these visits, I've neither figured it out nor read or heard an explanation. Strangely, it doesn't seem to be all that related to the closeness of the relationship--maybe because those who are super close continue to feel that connection after death anyway, so a visit would just be a bonus extra? Just a theory.

[LiberalPersona]

51. No, never

Even if I did have such an experience I would be more worried about telling a therapist that I'm hallucinating instead of questioning my beliefs.

[lapislzi]

52. Yes, but...

I have had profound spiritual experiences. No, they did not change my belief system, which is evolving slowly. I am and always have been an atheist.

A spiritual experience need not necessarily imply supernatural intervention. I am certain my spiritual experience was a result of my connection to other human beings at the time...resulting in an energy that was quite profound, but not supernatural in any way that I could determine.

I could quantify it by citing elevated levels of certain hormones, even atmospheric conditions, suggestive music...but why? I am content that I had the experience. It was wonderful and I take it for what it was. It definitely wasn't an illusion, but just because it was organic doesn't make it less magical.

[ErisFiveFingers]

53. Poll lacks an experience that has loss of faith n/t

[Thirtieschild]

54. The most beautiful experience of my life

I was feeling discouraged and the wise woman who lives inside me (but who almost never shows up) told me "Don't try to go too fast. Take it one step at a time." At that moment something inside my chest opened up and pure love poured out. It felt like sunshine, washing everything and everyone in its path. I was in a state of absolute joy for about a month; during that time strangers passing me on the street would smile at me. And then it was gone. What did I learn? That the doors may open, but if we have any unresolved conflicts they will close, leaving us wiser but still with work to do. Or at least that's what happened to me.

[RedOnce]

55. I have never studied Yoga

and I am not particularly religious, but somehow I began to have a spiritual awaking. To use your words, it "was so amazing, inspiring and powerful you could never begin explain the experience and have people believe you." It was certainly all of this and much more. It has been going on for about a year now. In the beginning it was emotionally intense and at times, disruptive to my daily life. Over time I have learned to integrate these experiences and what once seemed pretty strange has now become a part of my life.

You can read about it. In Yoga terms it can be described by Kundalini rising, or the opening of the Heart Chakra. In religious terms it can be described by the presence of the Holy Spirit. In Psychological terms it is explained in the DSM-IV as Spiritual Emergence. Some call it a Spiritual Emergency.

Being open to this experience has brought me peace and help in ways I never thought possible.

[Maestro]

56. I've never had such an experience

but after looking at the poll and seeing how many have, I feel left out. :shrug: :cry:

[elehhhhna]

57. yeah. on the EL in chicago, coming home form work.

had a peak experience.

on the EL! Weird.


Again, years later, once in Cayman, once in Aruba, on beaches early a.m.

The peaceful ocean is my trigger. But the El? It wasn't even near the lake.

[banana republican]

58. I have had several experiences

Although none receintly.

I think the most profound have been while I am talking about personal matters with an individual. A a point in our conversation it was as if a veil was lifted and I could see the person as they truely were/are/can be. I could understand not only who they were but also who they could become. I saw not only the human frailty but also the human possibility of that person.

when I met them a years later thay also remembered the comversation and remarked how it had change their lives.

[lonestarnot]

59. Answered yes, but it didn't change my belief system, as the system was

already in place when the event occurred.