RE: Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?
August 20, 2014 at 10:58 am
Ca we have a 'Yes, but I was high at the time' option?
Poll: Have you had such experiences? This poll is closed. |
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No, I don't believe I have or am quite certain I have not. | 17 | 23.94% | |
Maybe, but it was too indistinct to be sure and/or is too poorly remembered to describe in any detail. | 1 | 1.41% | |
Yes, I believe so or am quite certain that I have. | 7 | 9.86% | |
What I experienced could be described as a merging with something greater than or less narrow than my ordinary self. | 3 | 4.23% | |
What I experienced could be described as a kind of disembodied or general awareness in which I was more a spectator than an actor. | 4 | 5.63% | |
What I experienced could be described as improved perception and insight and a correspondingly increased sense of power or confidence. | 3 | 4.23% | |
My experience was confusing, frightening or unpleasant. | 0 | 0% | |
My experience was largely uplifting, energizing or euphoric. | 6 | 8.45% | |
The experience I had made sense to me while it was happening within a frame of reference I already had. (Which one?) | 6 | 8.45% | |
The experience I had has not been one of which I've been able to make a great deal of sense. | 0 | 0% | |
The experience I had was one I've come to recognize as fitting a frame of reference I did not possess at that time. (Which one?) | 5 | 7.04% | |
The experience has made an enduring change which is quite clear to me. (Regrets or glad?) | 3 | 4.23% | |
The experience has probably changed me but it is hard to say exactly how. (Regrets or glad?) | 3 | 4.23% | |
The experience was transitory and I now feel back to normal or largely the same. (Regrets or glad?) | 1 | 1.41% | |
As a result of this experience, I now feel more connected to other people and/or something greater. | 3 | 4.23% | |
As a result of this experience, I now feel different and somewhat more estranged from other people than I used to. | 0 | 0% | |
What I experienced was a one time thing. | 2 | 2.82% | |
What I experienced was spread out over multiple events. | 5 | 7.04% | |
Whatever it was, it was something I'd like to experience again. | 0 | 0% | |
Whatever it was, it was something I wouldn't expect to experience again. | 2 | 2.82% | |
Total | 71 vote(s) | 100% |
* You voted for this item. | [Show Results] |
Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?
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RE: Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?
August 20, 2014 at 10:58 am
Ca we have a 'Yes, but I was high at the time' option?
RE: Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?
August 20, 2014 at 11:57 am
(August 20, 2014 at 10:48 am)whateverist Wrote: Well you ordinarily do not strike me as very confused at all, fellow simian. But did you realize that you could vote for as many as you like? Also you can go in and change any vote you like. I've changed my vote to include - Quote:15. As a result of this experience, I now feel more connected to other people and/or something greater. This relates to the fact that we aren't just part of the universe but the universe is within us and everything is connected. I regard it as right brain perception. I don't think of the something greater as being God, though, because the universe is greater than me. Where are the snake and mushroom smilies?
RE: Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?
August 20, 2014 at 12:13 pm
RE: Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?
August 20, 2014 at 2:42 pm
(August 20, 2014 at 12:13 pm)ChadWooters Wrote:(August 19, 2014 at 10:00 pm)Michael Wrote: Yes, and it was that experience that led to my 'conversion' from atheist to theist.Mystical experiences made me question; philosophy allowed me to know. It was the mystical experience that taught me that there was very much that I didn't and don't know :-) RE: Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?
August 20, 2014 at 3:25 pm
(August 20, 2014 at 2:42 pm)Michael Wrote:(August 20, 2014 at 12:13 pm)ChadWooters Wrote: Mystical experiences made me question; philosophy allowed me to know. So, you come across as a very decent person, having read your posts. It seems that your experience then was mystical, and had nothing to do with the accuracy or otherwise of the bible or any teachings you had. I raised this issue previously when you referred to a critical appraisal - or words like that, I don't remember exactly - and I don't recall that you replied. Does the lack of logic bother you at all? RE: Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?
August 20, 2014 at 3:27 pm
No. Number 1 for me.
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RE: Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?
August 20, 2014 at 3:53 pm
(August 20, 2014 at 3:25 pm)Diablo Wrote:(August 20, 2014 at 2:42 pm)Michael Wrote: It was the mystical experience that taught me that there was very much that I didn't and don't know :-) I'm sorry, I don't recall your previous question. In brief, I embraced the Christian faith 'at risk' of it being incorrect, or perhaps at risk of it being correct. That was after the 'mystical' experience. The critical appraisal is essentially living the faith. The longer I live it the more sense it makes and the lower the risk seems to be, though I haver no doubt I've got at least something wrong somewhere and always will. I'm also quite aware I might be terribly wrong about everything. I couldn't go back to atheism though, or at least not a materialistic form of it. For me the atheistic paradigm just couldn't hold my experiences without denying the possibility of them really reflecting the presence of the numen. I know this is going to sound so terribly week, but you know the monastic approach (I am a lay member of a monastic community of Benedictine monks) of prayer and silence has just really 'gelled' with me. I still much prefer silence to listening to preachers :-) RE: Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?
August 20, 2014 at 4:01 pm
(August 20, 2014 at 3:53 pm)Michael Wrote:OK, I misunderstood what you meant by 'critical appraisal'. I trained as a scientist and worked as an accountant so I have a different interpretation of that phrase.(August 20, 2014 at 3:25 pm)Diablo Wrote: So, you come across as a very decent person, having read your posts. It seems that your experience then was mystical, and had nothing to do with the accuracy or otherwise of the bible or any teachings you had. If you're happy with the problems inherent in the bible, and the explicit contradictions with logic, then I'm glad for you, and I wish you well. Personally I could never accept that difficulty: if it's wrong, it's wrong, and no amount of contemplation could persuade me otherwise. RE: Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?
August 20, 2014 at 4:08 pm
(This post was last modified: August 20, 2014 at 4:13 pm by Michael.)
Hi Diablo.
Well I'm a scientist (25 years post-doc work in biomedical sciences). If you mean by 'critical appraisal' the application of scientific method, then I would say that faith lies outside of the purview of science. The scientific method explores a nature that could depend on a creator and sustainer God, or have no dependence on any God; there's nothing in the scientific method that is going to distinguish between the two. I'm happy to let science shape my wider world-view, but you should probably bear in mind that you rarely find people taking a highly literalistic reading of scripture here in the UK; so I've never tried to fit science together with young earth creationism, for example (that just has never been an option for me from the start; I start from the premise of an ancient Earth and life that has evolved, and is evolving, from the very simplest life to more complex forms). RE: Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?
August 20, 2014 at 4:13 pm
Altered states of consciousness...
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