I've copied this from a christian forum, presumably that's within the rules. This aspect of religion bemuses me, perhaps our theists can offer their explanation. It should make for a healthy discussion I think.

"I only am sure that the Holy Spirit has spoken to me at least once, at most twice. The time when I am almost certain the Holy Spirit spoke to me was when He told me to get my mom's boots for her. I know that it was the Holy Spirit because, unlike a regular thought, I felt a "quickening". My body felt paralyzed of some sort, and the "thought" just shot right at me at full speed. 
The second time was through that song I keep telling you guys about. The song that basically said, "It's more than you can handle right now, but don't give up". I was lost in my thoughts, and those lines (those are not the exact lines) grabbed my attention. I still am not entirely sure what God was talking about when He told me this, though. 
These are the only two times that the Holy Spirit has talked to me and I have noticed it. How often does the Holy Spirit speak to you? How does the Holy Spirit speak to you when He does? Do you think that my experiences are of the Holy Spirit? How can I make the Holy Spirit talk to me even more, if that is even possible? Sorry for all these questions, but I think they are good ones."

"Holy Spirit speaks to me every day, about various things, and most often through His word. He speaks to me with that "still, small voice" deep within my spirit. It is part of the intimacy that we need to develop with Him---knowing His voice and communing with Him is a daily blessing and the source of supply of His wisdom and strength for the coming day, where He knows what is about to come my way, and knows what it is I need to cope."

"How often does the Holy Spirit speak to you?
If he didn't speak to me everyday I'd be in a ditch somewhere. He is always moving in my heart, leading my soul in the direction the Lord pleases. Do I always take notice of it? No. Do I need to? No. "

"How does the Holy Spirit speak to you when He does?
He doesn't so much "speak" as he moves and stirs my spirit. He doesn't speak in audible words, but instead tugs on our spirits in the direction he wants us to move in. Sometimes words may be involved, but I wouldn't say he "speaks" in the same way people do."

"Do you think that my experiences are of the Holy Spirit?
They may well be, but I do not have the authority to say yes or no."

"How can I make the Holy Spirit talk to me even more, if that is even possible?
Well good luck "making" God the Spirit talk to you more. He is going to say exactly what he needs to when he needs to. You could pray that God would open your heart to understand when the Holy Spirit is speaking to you."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about Him speaking to me through Scripture. I usually have thoughts telling me to do things, but they do not stand out to me. They are just like all my other thoughts. So I don't that they are from God's Holy Spirit. But they might be. I am doing to ask God how He speaks to me tonight. I forgot to mention that God also spoke to me through a dream once. It helped me out, and I think it was a test."

"Kill yourself", numerous times. "Kill everyone", a couple of times. "The cake is a lie", once.

I guess I'm the one who the Holy Spirit likes to drunk text, apparently.

Never. I guess he/she/it doesn't like me.

Guess I'll go eat worms.

This is a regular problem I see with theists. They claim absolute certainty about things. "It was definitely the Holy Spirit."

Bullshit. We're not capable of absolute certainty, and to try and announce that you can never be mistaken or deceived, even by your own brain, is either incredibly naive or arrogant.

I've heard voices before which I have attributed to my brain not quite being at normal function while waking up. Of course it may be possible this was "the holy spirit", if such a thing even exists, but there's no possible way to know that. How the fuck could I possibly know? I have nothing to compare it to. Neither do any of these weird people. They can only compare it to the first time they heard from it, and if that was an impostor or their brain screwing with them, they are wrong every time. So the most likely explanation is my brain messing with me, a well known phenomenon. I'm too logical to just propose and accept supernatural explanations which sound appealing.

Religion seems to encourage and revel in delusion, and to treat what would normally be symptoms of mental illness as a virtue.

Fucking bullshit.

(March 20, 2015 at 7:04 am)TubbyTubby Wrote: The time when I am almost certain the Holy Spirit spoke to me was when He told me to get my mom's boots for her. I know that it was the Holy Spirit because, unlike a regular thought, I felt a "quickening". My body felt paralyzed of some sort, and the "thought" just shot right at me at full speed. 

Sometimes I buy surprise gifts for friends just because I like them. There is no need for god to tell me to do it. Why would the god of a world with such suffering care of someone bought their parent a pair of boots? You would think god would tell them to give that money to a homeless person.

Quote:If he didn't speak to me everyday I'd be in a ditch somewhere. He is always moving in my heart, leading my soul in the direction the Lord pleases.

I would not want to be in a car if this person was driving

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(March 20, 2015 at 7:53 am)Kitty Galore Wrote: Never. I guess he/she/it doesn't like me.

Guess I'll go eat worms.

Fat ones, skinny ones...damn it,Kitty. Now that song is stuck in my head

Not nearly as often as my cat talks to me.

After that 75th Hi i blocked its number.

@ Nope

As a wise man once said "My work here is done".

I had to declare in the name of Satan's blood for the almighty to knock it off.

(March 20, 2015 at 7:59 am)robvalue Wrote: We're not capable of absolute certainty, and to try and announce that you can never be mistaken or deceived, even by your own brain, is either incredibly naive or arrogant.

You probably have not have had any mystical experiences. They come with a level of certainty simply undeniable and cannot be dismissed by those that have them. I have had two such experiences in which everyday consciousness peels away to reveal a more salient reality. That said, I do not believe that the so-called "soft still voice" experiences fall into that category.