(October 5, 2020 at 6:07 pm)Osopatata Wrote: This is a tactic that some have used when discussing religion with me: They say they have had a meditative experience and realized all is one, or otherwise postulate that all is one for some other reason. That oneness for no logical reason is extrapolated to be a magical, mystical thing that validates religious views.
I had someone tell me a postulate: "Religion is born out of an attempt to explain mystical experience". This person had their own mystical experience after a brain injury.
I know someone else who experienced being "one with everything" during a worldwide group meditation. It became the defining religious experience of her life (and was never repeated).
If you watch the TED talk by Jill Bolte Taylor https://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_tay...of_insight she describes a left-brain stroke that invoked an altered experience of connection to the world. While scary, she talks about it as if it was a mystical experience that she wishes she could revisit.
One can discuss the religious interpretation of these events, but can't attack the events themselves. They are life changing to those who have them. Too bad they often get turned into crazy religious beliefs.