Did you have a Spiritual Awakening?

LOL I did


here is what the thread is about

I'm trying to come up with a way to talk about how people came to believe in whatever spiritual beliefs they ascribe to. I know a lot of people don't believe in anything supernatural, but I'm asking them to please not use this thread to make that point - again, or just show up to ridicule what they read here.


And so I posted what I did to explain how I came to believe what I believe.

Oh - it read like you explained how you came to be in the church you're in now. Not the same, IMO.

Pretty likely (apart from feelings for the individual, particularly if personally known to me) - I've seen a buncha unexplained stuff, and heard of much more - its unexplained.

Yup!

As Timber noted...the unexplained is the unexplained...just as the unknown is the unknown.

I use to write that as, "We agnostics call the great unknown...the great unknown."

Nothing wrong with guessing about it, though.

Some people guess there is a natural explanation for everything...and use expressions like "I believe there is a natural explanation for such-and-such...and I believe there is no possibility of a non-natural explanation." Others are sure there is a spiritual explanation...and insist that a spiritual explanation "makes more sense."

Others simply acknowledge that they do not know...and leave it at that.

Al-righty then! We can easily see that neither Timber or Frank have had experiences they would in any way characterize as spiritual. Okeedokee - well, that's that.


So what about everyone else?

Re "answered prayer."

Some may say that the man in that scenario healed himself by the power of faith. He believed it, and the body responds to mental imagery and positive vibes. He thought he was incapable of being healed, but his mind could believe a "God" could do it. That belief healed him, not necessarily the God.

Petting dogs helps people improve their health.

Exercise releases endorphins.

The mind/faith/body connection is proven, however it isn't attributable (yet) to a spiritual being.

The man may have attributed to God what he, himself, did.

I know of people (one of them a very prominent citizen who owns a major sports franchise - yes, that was totally irrelevant puffery, I know) who "came to believe" after asking for help from God (as they understood god to be) in a totally skeptical, totally dismissive manner, like "Okay god or whatever - if you're up there and you hear me, which I really doubt - could you help me?!?" the turnaround in their circumstance caused them to change their views about a higher spiritual power.

I shared that to make the point that, if people were simply attributing to 'God' what they had done for themselves, IMO they would have had to already be in sort of a suggestible state of mind, mentally prepared for their 'subconscious' or whatever to enact change - and I am witness to the fact that they were not.

The problem with your contention is that we must accept simply your word that any of it is so, and that nothing else could have explained the alleged "turn around" in their personal fortunes.

Interesting topic.

This subject is all very hazy for me because I find that there are fundamental disagreements on what "God" is. When I was very small (4 or 5) I had an experience where I "knew" "God". It's very difficult to explain. I used to hide in a closet and just space out. During one of these moments I had a realization, for lack of a better word. It was a mind-blowing realization, as if someone had injected knowledge of something directly into my brain. I will try to explain it. It was as if I had zoomed out of my body and gained an instant understanding of how big the universe is, how long time is going forward and back, and how short and insignifcant my own life and human life in general is. It was followed by an understanding that I had the knowledge of everything that came before me and everything that came after, but that it was unavailable to me, and possibly by my own choice.

I was able to put myself in this "state of understanding" on at will after that experience, but that ability faded with age and disappeared completely when I was 19 or 20. But I still have a belief in "God", not as a supernatural being, but as a completely natural force of life. And I believe that there is a hereafter, and also a herebefore, something that causes great consternation to my southern Baptist father. I think it is because of this spiritual "awakening" that I have always had difficulty accepting religion.

I used quotes throughout this post because words seem inadequate to describe my experience.

Thanks for sharing that, Freeduck. A child's faith is a precious thing, IMO.

I see the letters IMO used frequently, and I fail to understand what they represent.

Can anobody please enlighten me?

"In my opinion". You might also see "IMHO", meaning "in my humble opinion"...

Thank you. Very clever IMO

I am a member of a 12 step group. We often tell stories about how spirituality manifests itself (or not) in our lives. One thing that is edifying to me about those discussions is that almost never does the tone resemble the "hallelujah! I done seen the light" kind of testimonial. Much more often the anecdotes relate a kind of "learning experience" spirituality. that is to say, almost no one claims to have been "slain in the spirit" or struck by a dramatic revelation, but rather that they had things happen to them that dramatically altered their whole way of regarding life and God.

Hi Snood.

Assuming the truth of it, cancer goes into remission all the time. As this is the case I would not need to add any supernatural causes. Even if an unknown agent was involved (which would be very hard to demonstrate), I would personally find it more likely that her own mind , rather than an external supernatural force, was that agent.

Although impressive by comparison to medical technology of the past, I am not overly impressed with contemporary medicine. Although improving, it has a long way to go. Cancer is one of the areas we know relatively little about.


Well, yes. I would freely acknowledge that.However, I would offer reasonable and logically grounded scenarios for what might be behind it.(such as, maybe the cancer just went into remission)


I liken it to seeing a pinecone fall whilst in a pine forest, and assuming it wasn't thrown by a sasquatch, but did in fact fall from a tree.

No, I wouldn't stipulate the supernatural might be involved, as I do not believe there is such a thing as the 'supernatural'. If something were shown to exist free of all naturalistic causes, I would rethink my position.

Yes, I would.

No one said anything about cancer.

Oh, so you didn't.
My own mind must have read that in there. The point is still valid, though.

I'm a Scorpio.

you ask for something in a prayer. You don't get it. some will say, see, God doesn't answer prayers. Some will say God answered no. A matter of perspective.

Holy shyt, Bear...you are becoming quite the philosopher.