How to Authentically Experience God

[Purple Rabbit]

I can't quote you any studies I'm afraid, just anecdotally I'd say that the 'oneness' the religious claim to feel with god during prayer, seems to me to be linked to the stripping away of 'the self' associated with deeper forms of meditation. But this is admittedly conjecture on my part. I'm extremely interested in this side of religion as atheists can never win the long term argument with the religious so long as there's denial that people can have life-changing, or life affirming spiritual experiences or seek to reduce the validity of said experiences.

The road to atheism can have life-changing effect on a spiritual level. Drugs can. My first gaze through a telescope did. The birth of my children was. I do not see your point. Why should we validate religious experiences on a different level?