Theists, please describe how you experience your god

[I_am_not_mafia]

If you are religious and believe that you experience your god then please describe what you have personally seen / heard / felt etc.

So for example, if you actually hear your god then what language does (s)he speak. What accent does (s)he have? Is it a male or female voice? What does his / her / its voice sound like? Deep? High pitched? Soft?

If you see your god then what does it look like? White skinned, old, blue eyes and wearing white robes with a long strokable beard?

Have you ever felt your god touch your skin?

Or if you do nothing but feel the presence of your god then please describe this sensation as well.

[Catholic_Lady]

I have had a supernatural experience once, but don't feel comfortable sharing it with just anybody. Much less publicly on a forum lol.

[I_am_not_mafia]

I have had a supernatural experience once, but don't feel comfortable sharing it with just anybody. Much less publicly on a forum lol.

That's fair enough. It's probably quite a personal matter.

The reason I started the thread was because it would be far more convincing if everyone had the same experience if there is only one god. But I don't expect this to be the case. My hypothesis is that most theists are actively training their brains to enable the kind of dream like states that normally occur during sleep to happen while they are awake. This is why prayer and meditation is a big part of many religions. If correct then we would expect people to have experiences which are taken consistent with their culture and their daily environment, such as the religious imagery they are immersed in and the accents they regularly hear.

[WinterHold]

God in my mind is a vague void, more like space.
Because I don't know a color for void, I picture a blank space extending to infinity.

It's impossible to assign gender to something like that; it is just not valid. I also believe that assigning a body to him is quite not valid also.

I refer to "him" using "him", because language dictates it. Gender is below him though; he created both male and female genders, and created what we don't know.

I didn't hear any voices or had any experiences. I can feel his presence though, through meanings -stuff like karma-.

[I_am_not_mafia]

God in my mind is a vague void, more like space.
Because I don't know a color for void, I picture a blank space extending to infinity.

It's impossible to assign gender to something like that; it is just not valid. I also believe that assigning a body to him is quite not valid also.

I refer to "him" using "him", because language dictates it. Gender is below him though; he created both male and female genders, and created what we don't know.

I didn't hear any voices or had any experiences. I can feel his presence though, through meanings -stuff like karma-.

I can relate to that. That's how I imagined God when I was taught to believe in him. Anything more specific than that seemed too parochial.

[brewer]

God in my mind is a vague void, more like space.
Because I don't know a color for void, I picture a blank space extending to infinity.

It's impossible to assign gender to something like that; it is just not valid. I also believe that assigning a body to him is quite not valid also.

I refer to "him" using "him", because language dictates it. Gender is below him though; he created both male and female genders, and created what we don't know.

I didn't hear any voices or had any experiences. I can feel his presence though, through meanings -stuff like karma-.

Exactly this. God is only a concept of the mind and the only experience anyone can have. Which means fantasy, not reality and created nothing.

[WinterHold]

God in my mind is a vague void, more like space.
Because I don't know a color for void, I picture a blank space extending to infinity.

It's impossible to assign gender to something like that; it is just not valid. I also believe that assigning a body to him is quite not valid also.

I refer to "him" using "him", because language dictates it. Gender is below him though; he created both male and female genders, and created what we don't know.

I didn't hear any voices or had any experiences. I can feel his presence though, through meanings -stuff like karma-.

Exactly this. God is only a concept of the mind and the only experience anyone can have. Which means fantasy, not reality and created nothing.

Us not being able to detect "dark matter" and "dark energy" is a very small example on why we can't detect God. He's too big, or too different for our eyes and minds to comprehend, the Quran has a verse about just that:

https://quran.com/6/103?translations=

Sahih International

Sura 6, The Quran:
(103) Vision perceives Him not, but He perceives [all] vision; and He is the Subtle, the Acquainted.

[I_am_not_mafia]

Exactly this. God is only a concept of the mind and the only experience anyone can have. Which means fantasy, not reality and created nothing.

Some theists like Godscreated actually claim to have more tangible sensations than this. I remember asking someone at the Salvation army about this and she told me that sometimes she actually feels God's presence in the room with her, which I suspect is the limit to what most theists manage to achieve.

I was also interested in the quote from George Harrison mentioned in another thread about how through meditation you can actually play with God. I'll see if I can find it.

I find it interesting from a neuroscience perspective. Schizophrenia for example can be disruptive yet religious experience isn't. Probably because for most religious practitioners it actually takes a lot of time and effort to summon up tangible sensory experiences and the recipient probably wants them.

Many people with (for want of a better term) abnormal psychology often claim that it's just a different way of being. There's never a single cut off point where you either have or don't have a particularly psychological condition. Brains are grown and therefore each one is different. Some are on the extreme end of a bell curve and maybe those with such sensory religious experiences  aren't so extreme that their psychological make-up is considered problematic because they can still function in society.

I've heard religious people asked before what they make of those who actually claim to see and hear spirits and supernatural phenomenon. Do they wish they could see it as well or do they wonder if the person has mental health issues? For example I remember reading a facebook post about a baptism and one of the comments mentioned how they actually saw the demon leaving the body. What would everyone else there think who didn't see anything like that? And what I am particularly interested in, what was happening in the brain of the one that thought they did see it?

[brewer]

Some theists like Godscreated actually claim to have more tangible sensations than this. I remember asking someone at the Salvation army about this and she told me that sometimes she actually feels God's presence in the room with her, which I suspect is the limit to what most theists manage to achieve.

I was also interested in the quote from George Harrison mentioned in another thread about how through meditation you can actually play with God. I'll see if I can find it.

I find it interesting from a neuroscience perspective. Schizophrenia for example can be disruptive yet religious experience isn't. Probably because for most religious practitioners it actually takes a lot of time and effort to summon up tangible sensory experiences and the recipient probably wants them.

Many people with (for want of a better term) abnormal psychology often claim that it's just a different way of being. There's never a single cut off point where you either have or don't have a particularly psychological condition. Brains are grown and therefore each one is different. Some are on the extreme end of a bell curve and maybe those with such sensory religious experiences  aren't so extreme that their psychological make-up is considered problematic because they can still function in society.

I've heard religious people asked before what they make of those who actually claim to see and hear spirits and supernatural phenomenon. Do they wish they could see it as well or do they wonder if the person has mental health issues? For example I remember reading a facebook post about a baptism and one of the comments mentioned how they actually saw the demon leaving the body. What would everyone else there think who didn't see anything like that? And what I am particularly interested in, what was happening in the brain of the one that thought they did see it?

Shaman make these same claims when they experience god(s), either thru natural trance like states or with chemical assistance. It's limited to the single individuals mind/body. And they seem to psychologically need the experience. The mind can do some interesting things but in the end, it's all in the mind.

[Drich]

If you are religious and believe that you experience your god then please describe what you have personally seen / heard / felt etc.

https://atheistforums.org/thread-13378.html
https://atheistforums.org/thread-15622.html
The above are both old accounts but still ring true where I was confronted by God and a Messenger

So for example, if you actually hear your god then what language does (s)he speak.

it's not really words when I was being judged.. it was just a complete understanding of EVERYTHING (concerning the plan God has for man the complete love of God/how it all works and how I failed, the bullshit I told my self and the reality of what I knew. meaning the lies I told myself about God and what I truly understood and knew to be true.. there was no defense it was pointed out and I had no choice but to except as it was truth./which btw is why I am always harping on what is true with you people as it is the corner stone in which your judgement will hinge. Before God nothing is hidden only the truth will matter which again is why I always challenge you with the truth) all of that in an instant beamed into my head. then away from I never knew you.. again don't know if it was verbally said but the message was very clear.

What accent does (s)he have? Is it a male or female voice? What does his / her / its voice sound like? Deep? High pitched? Soft?

He spoke with Love, a love every atom in your being wanted to be apart of. my messenger sounded like a southern black man who just got out of prison. deep and somewhat intimidating.

If you see your god then what does it look like?

Jesus was short, mess of curly hair, robed, eys are what I remember the most not a color but contained judgement and a touche of the eternal love God is offering. If you had to put a color to it it would be blinding bright blue/white
He is now what I would consider to be 'younger' guy. the angel was older some white in his beard maybe 40s idk black people always look way younger than they are until the get old then they look really old. camo jacket and messed up jean pants with a beanie. (very cold night/evening)

White skinned, old, blue eyes and wearing white robes with a long strokable beard?

scraggle beard same as the angel but black guy scraggle/patches

Have you ever felt your god touch your skin?

I felt who ever pulled me out of Hell.. the put my soul back together (i felt that comming apart)

Or if you do nothing but feel the presence of your god then please describe this sensation as well.

kinda like the feeling when you studied for a test and know you know all the answers... but all the time x1000 on everything. Nothing I know I can not ask for that God will not grant me. Not out of a vacuum but at a cost. meaning as a responsibility and all the fix'n that come with that..

Long time ago I asked for the wisdom of solomon because I could not get over how he was able to see through people. My messenger told me I'd have that and more.. I often wonder how could this be since the bible said He was the wisest man to ever or will ever live. Then I came to understand through you 'good people' that it is not me who is wise/smart. While solomon had this wisdom as apart of his personality, I have simple access to God the Spirit and His wisdom far exceeds anything solomon could offer.

Now that said everytime I ask God a question I don't always fully understand the answer given me.

One of you has caught me providing an answer I did not understand a few different times, and when challenged the answer never changes but the way I support it does when I finally get it..

That is the thing/How you know it is God. it is not how something is said it is what is said and if it can be verified.