Are spiritual experiences real?
Some think all Spiritual experiences are “brain hiccups”; I try to be open to this idea. Brain imaging shows where spiritual experiences are interpreted in the brain. Brain imaging also shows where physical experiences are interpreted in the brain. Potentially spiritual experiences could be replicated with brain stimulation. Physical experiences can already be replicated with brain stimulation… So the ability to replicate an experience with brain stimulation means nothing about the reality of the experience itself. I have had spiritual experiences and I do not think they are “hiccups”… But anything is possible… you could be a brain in a glass for I all know… A scenario could exist where spiritual experiences could be proven to be from God— however, a scenario cannot exist where spiritual experiences could be proven as not from God. I know of no one who has had them (as I have) who thinks they are still brain hiccups.
Spiritual experiences are the most wonderful experiences in life, by far (and I have had lots of wonderful non-spiritual experiences). Regardless of their nature, I think that everyone’s life would be enhanced from experiences spiritual experiences. Not only do they enhance the quality of my life short term, but also long term. These experiences give me strength and encouragement to be kind and moral. These spiritual experiences fill me with peace, integrity and compassion. I only have spiritual experiences when I am truly observing my religious teachings and it is very difficult to follow my religious teachings without weekly group support.
It is possible that people in other religions have these kinds of experiences too. That would make sense because I believe that God is no respecter of persons. He will not favor me above another just because of what church I attend. I have done a fair bit of research on other churches and I really like lots of them. However, I prefer the religion that I attend the most and I feel that it is the best for me. I have had spiritual experiences directly related to the origin of my church. My spiritual experiences regarding my church's origin lead me to believe it is of God. Although I have not had spiritual experiences regarding other churches--I think that God can work through other churches too, and that makes sense to me… why wouldn’t he?
When I attend my church and try to observe the counsels, I have more spiritual experiences. I don’t have to agree with or understand everything taught in my church in order to attend there. Some people think that you have to, but that is silly. I didn’t agree with everything taught in every class in college but I still attended there. I don’t agree with every medical practice ever practiced in hospitals, but I still attend there. I can believe that some things that have occurred in my church might have been errors (the opposite seems impossibly improbable). I can believe that the process of revelation involves the human brain, because it is impossible to be otherwise. I can believe that the human mind has a potentially wide margin of error with revelation, just as it does with everything else. Because of the human brain margin of error, I can let go of details in my religion that I may not agree with. I permit a similar margin of error in the scientific method and this permits change and new theories to evolve that make more sense. I ought to permit at least the same kind of margin of error in religion as I do science. I should allow for mistakes in the human mind in scientific discovery just as I should allow for mistakes in the human mind in spiritual discovery. Regardless of these potential mistakes and not understanding everything, I will continue to try to discover spirituality similarly as I do in science. Both science and spirituality enhance my life and fill different areas of my life— filling voids that otherwise cannot be filled and answering questions that do not overlap each other. My spirituality seems to answer many “whys”, and science seems to answer many “hows”. All thoughts on science and spirituality are theories that are subject to change because of the margin of error inherent in the human brain.
Conclusion: I will continue to go to church and seek out spiritual experiences because they dramatically enhance the quality of my life and because I want to learn as much as I can about them. Whether spiritual experiences are real is yet to be discovered, but more likely to be discovered by engaging in spirituality and science as I do.
Spiritual experiences are the most wonderful experiences in life, by far (and I have had lots of wonderful non-spiritual experiences). Regardless of their nature, I think that everyone’s life would be enhanced from experiences spiritual experiences. Not only do they enhance the quality of my life short term, but also long term. These experiences give me strength and encouragement to be kind and moral. These spiritual experiences fill me with peace, integrity and compassion. I only have spiritual experiences when I am truly observing my religious teachings and it is very difficult to follow my religious teachings without weekly group support.
It is possible that people in other religions have these kinds of experiences too. That would make sense because I believe that God is no respecter of persons. He will not favor me above another just because of what church I attend. I have done a fair bit of research on other churches and I really like lots of them. However, I prefer the religion that I attend the most and I feel that it is the best for me. I have had spiritual experiences directly related to the origin of my church. My spiritual experiences regarding my church's origin lead me to believe it is of God. Although I have not had spiritual experiences regarding other churches--I think that God can work through other churches too, and that makes sense to me… why wouldn’t he?
When I attend my church and try to observe the counsels, I have more spiritual experiences. I don’t have to agree with or understand everything taught in my church in order to attend there. Some people think that you have to, but that is silly. I didn’t agree with everything taught in every class in college but I still attended there. I don’t agree with every medical practice ever practiced in hospitals, but I still attend there. I can believe that some things that have occurred in my church might have been errors (the opposite seems impossibly improbable). I can believe that the process of revelation involves the human brain, because it is impossible to be otherwise. I can believe that the human mind has a potentially wide margin of error with revelation, just as it does with everything else. Because of the human brain margin of error, I can let go of details in my religion that I may not agree with. I permit a similar margin of error in the scientific method and this permits change and new theories to evolve that make more sense. I ought to permit at least the same kind of margin of error in religion as I do science. I should allow for mistakes in the human mind in scientific discovery just as I should allow for mistakes in the human mind in spiritual discovery. Regardless of these potential mistakes and not understanding everything, I will continue to try to discover spirituality similarly as I do in science. Both science and spirituality enhance my life and fill different areas of my life— filling voids that otherwise cannot be filled and answering questions that do not overlap each other. My spirituality seems to answer many “whys”, and science seems to answer many “hows”. All thoughts on science and spirituality are theories that are subject to change because of the margin of error inherent in the human brain.
Conclusion: I will continue to go to church and seek out spiritual experiences because they dramatically enhance the quality of my life and because I want to learn as much as I can about them. Whether spiritual experiences are real is yet to be discovered, but more likely to be discovered by engaging in spirituality and science as I do.
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