RE: Have you had experiences you'd describe as sacred, mystical and/or religious?
August 20, 2014 at 9:29 am
3, 9, 11, and 17 are all valid descriptions of what happened to me.
At 7.5 years of age and thoroughly indoctrinated by the Church, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I felt calm about the whole thing, despite my parents freaking the fuck out. I even said to my dad "I know God has a plan for me." It felt pretty religious/spiritual/whatever to my half-formed brain at the time, and it fit in with my worldviews, like God was testing me or something.
Now, it fits in with my current world view like this: Shit happens, and people are going to rationalize or spin their situation to fit their beliefs. I certainly did that back then, and if it were to happen today, I'd take whole responsibility for the onset, because I feel that I must be self-reliant to the furthest plausible extent. Basically, it's just confirmation bias. When "life" happens, you'll find a way to force it to fit your view.
That was one specific event, and over 11 year span that contains both Diabetes and Christianity, I don't recall anything similar.
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On a different track, I've had "moments" where I'm on my skateboard or my bike, going down the street, and I've hit a rock or something, and nearly toppled, and I think to myself: "I could be injured right now, that was pretty lucky." And on occasion, when that happens, I'll start thinking about alternate realities and all the times that I could have been seriously injured or even killed by chance, and it throws me a little bit. I've never thought "God's looking out for me" or anything along those lines since I've de-converted, but it does throw me, and every now and then, I wonder if there might be something out there trying to keep my fool head on my shoulders.
At 7.5 years of age and thoroughly indoctrinated by the Church, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. I felt calm about the whole thing, despite my parents freaking the fuck out. I even said to my dad "I know God has a plan for me." It felt pretty religious/spiritual/whatever to my half-formed brain at the time, and it fit in with my worldviews, like God was testing me or something.
Now, it fits in with my current world view like this: Shit happens, and people are going to rationalize or spin their situation to fit their beliefs. I certainly did that back then, and if it were to happen today, I'd take whole responsibility for the onset, because I feel that I must be self-reliant to the furthest plausible extent. Basically, it's just confirmation bias. When "life" happens, you'll find a way to force it to fit your view.
That was one specific event, and over 11 year span that contains both Diabetes and Christianity, I don't recall anything similar.
----------
On a different track, I've had "moments" where I'm on my skateboard or my bike, going down the street, and I've hit a rock or something, and nearly toppled, and I think to myself: "I could be injured right now, that was pretty lucky." And on occasion, when that happens, I'll start thinking about alternate realities and all the times that I could have been seriously injured or even killed by chance, and it throws me a little bit. I've never thought "God's looking out for me" or anything along those lines since I've de-converted, but it does throw me, and every now and then, I wonder if there might be something out there trying to keep my fool head on my shoulders.
