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Personal Religious Experiences


Randall

J. Randall Murphy
This thread has been started to give those who have had some sort of archetypal religious experience a place to share it. This isn't meant for everyday religious experiences such as attending a better than usual sermon or mass or having some sort of prayer answered in a symbolic way that could be explained as coincidence, even if it's unlikely. This is for experiences of seemingly objective unambiguous religious manifestations e.g. actual angels or demons or the voice of God, or intense paranormal experiences associated with a religious place or practice.

NOTE: It isn't necessary that you believe in religion or God to have had these experiences! They can happen to atheists or agnostics or anyone. For the purpose of this thread we're simply looking for those who have had such an experience. I'll post mine again here later. But for now whoever else wants to share their story can do so here. Please keep the skepticism civil. I know these experiences do happen. What we want to know is more about them. It's not for the purpose of proving any particular God or religion is right or wrong.
 
I'm assuming we don't want... ahem... chemically induced religious experiences.
Hmm, good question. I think psychedelic experiences are relevant and that it's okay to include them so long as it is made clear that the experience was under the influence. @Christopher O'Brien would probably agree that a lot of religious experiences involve the use of psychedelics, and that there are insights to be gained from them. So if we arbitrarily exclude them, we could miss some valuable info. That also opens up the door to the overlap between psychedelics and the subjective side of ufo experiences. We'll need to be careful navigating that to keep things in context. But so far, nobody seems interested in sharing here yet, so it might not matter anyway.
 
Hmm, good question. I think psychedelic experiences are relevant and that it's okay to include them so long as it is made clear that the experience was under the influence. @Christopher O'Brien would probably agree that a lot of religious experiences involve the use of psychedelics, and that there are insights to be gained from them. So if we arbitrarily exclude them, we could miss some valuable info. That also opens up the door to the overlap between psychedelics and the subjective side of ufo experiences. We'll need to be careful navigating that to keep things in context. But so far, nobody seems interested in sharing here yet, so it might not matter anyway.
It's not a serious story. More of a 'young marduk eats too many mushrooms and goes clubbing' story.
 
It's not a serious story. More of a 'young marduk eats too many mushrooms and goes clubbing' story.
This probably isn't the place for it then. I've talked with people who have done psychedelics who have said they literally talked with God. So those types of trips would be more apropos. I tried mushrooms once a long time ago and they just made me feel sick and disoriented. I never liked 'em and wouldn't want to try them again.
 
This probably isn't the place for it then. I've talked with people who have done psychedelics who have said they literally talked with God. So those types of trips would be more apropos. I tried mushrooms once a long time ago and they just made me feel sick and disoriented. I never liked 'em and wouldn't want to try them again.
Oh, I literally talked to god.

To the tune of the Cure's 'Jumping Someone Else's Train.'

But I'll save that story for another time/place.
 
Well for me it was when my Grandmother died, being a sailor* I know that I will see her on the high seas again....

Let's put it like this: if it was a wager I have nothing to lose, it brings me comfort to think that some day when I die I will be reunited with all of my 'family' (loved ones).

maybe it wont be your classic 'heaven' (white and shining) but I do hope one day after I am gone, I will be able to continue to interact with my kin, even if it is just through 'memory': I know that I am influenced by the teachings, kindness and love I was given by people such as my grandmother.

In my understanding hell is nothing and I mean nothing. That scares me more than any ideas of a retributional/punitive olden day interpretations, i.e torture etc....

Don't want to get myself in trouble, but the idea of 1 god seems a bit outdated, but then again so does the idea of any god :eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

If anything, it is us, and we are great: but this isn't a soap box, the thread is about personal religious experiences:

When I spoke to god and asked 'him' to spare my grandmother the answer I got was: that he couldn't, but that it was alright because that is how life works. And I believe that is true, if we lived forever it would be very, very boring. No one new to meet, no new ideas or ways, no progression:
But that brings another question what are we progressing towards>? "Home"? you can now maybe start to see my quandary?

The 'cycle' of water is well known, but how old is water? :D

It is all mixed up now, not that it ever wasn't.....

So in short my religious experience was that I asked a question and got an answer that changed everything, even though I would never try to convince another person of my reality, that is what it is.
Maybe what I am trying to say, is that: Having a good time with other people, or even just time, is a blessing, but we do have control, a choice if you will: of who we spend it with, and how the interaction goes.



*Well maybe not literally, but I spend and drink like one at least, and I really do love the seas.
 
Thanks for sharing your story. In what form was your answer delivered?

I have spent some time mulling this over, and it is very difficult to answer.

Maybe the best way to say it was that it was my own 'thinking' voice (in my head) but I was in a very 'altered' state from grief, so my recall of the exact scenario is not as lucid as usual.
I do however remember a sense of relief, reassurance and comfort. Maybe even fortification against the inevitable realities of life/death.
One observation I have is that it did not seem unnatural at all, it was almost like that part of my brain kicked in to protect me: What I am trying to say is that say for example I was swimming and I noticed a dark shape approaching from below, I would automatically go into 'fight or flight*' mode which may mean I could swim that bit faster and get away, but in this case I went into 'religious/reassurance' mode and it helped me cope with the grief.


I should also say that I am guilty of not reading your initial post properly because you did state you were after archetypal religious experiences, but I had had a few beers and jumped straight in, I am quite shy so I find these topics quite hard to talk about, but I think maybe I thought it was important to make it known, that although I am sceptical of everyone and everything, I do have my own set of beliefs not based on hard evidence. They simply make me happy and are designed or borrowed by me for me, but it also (I think) helps me to respect other religions and their proper use.

I am no theologian and although I love to catagorise things, I wouldn't attach myself to any school of thought or religious type, because I change like the wind, so I don't think I am 'agnostic' but I don't really understand what that means, so I could well be unwittingly. :rolleyes::oops:




*As in Adreniline, diversion of blood, animal strength, extra-alertness and the vacation of our waste systems.
 
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