RE: I had a religious experience the other night
November 20, 2017 at 6:54 am
(This post was last modified: November 20, 2017 at 6:56 am by Edwardo Piet.)
It's important to not misinterpret what we experience. What we actually experience and the meaning we attach to it is different. So, for instance, it's important to be careful not to attach a supernatural meaning to a natural experience. And once we acknowledge that all experience is natural, then we already know that when we experience something whatever it is it certainly isn't supernatural.
It is in principle impossible to rationally believe in anything supernatural until the concept of the supernatural is at least coherent.
And, hallucinations are less of a problem when we know they are hallucinations. And illusions are very different to delusions. Delusions are about misinterpreting something, whereas illusions are about seeing something that isn't there but it's perfectly possible to know that an illusion is an illusion, but if you are experiencing a delusion you are by definition deluded. Actually, more accurately, it's impossible to experience a delusion. Because a delusion is something we are in fact not experiencing but we incorrectly believe that we are experiencing.
So, regardless of what you experience the important thing is to not misinterpret what you are actually experiencing.
IOW even what we believe we seem to be experiencing, is not actually what we're necessarily even seeming to be experiencing. We can be mistaken about what we experience and we can even be mistaken about what we seem to be experiencing. The only thing that we cannot be mistaken about is that we seem to be experiencing something. That seeming/consciousness exists. Everything else is on the table.
It is in principle impossible to rationally believe in anything supernatural until the concept of the supernatural is at least coherent.
And, hallucinations are less of a problem when we know they are hallucinations. And illusions are very different to delusions. Delusions are about misinterpreting something, whereas illusions are about seeing something that isn't there but it's perfectly possible to know that an illusion is an illusion, but if you are experiencing a delusion you are by definition deluded. Actually, more accurately, it's impossible to experience a delusion. Because a delusion is something we are in fact not experiencing but we incorrectly believe that we are experiencing.
So, regardless of what you experience the important thing is to not misinterpret what you are actually experiencing.
IOW even what we believe we seem to be experiencing, is not actually what we're necessarily even seeming to be experiencing. We can be mistaken about what we experience and we can even be mistaken about what we seem to be experiencing. The only thing that we cannot be mistaken about is that we seem to be experiencing something. That seeming/consciousness exists. Everything else is on the table.
