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Profound experiences
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Try not to get into any arguments.. we're all merely listing weird stuff here... no need to try and "explain" it away... that's for another thread if you feel the need. Cheers  
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"Many years ago I was reading a book by Francis Chichester and thought how nice itwould be to have his long out of print first book. A couple of days later in a part of London I never normally vist it lept out at me from a table outside a second hand shop. I believe people call this the Library Angel at work. Similar things have happed to me a number of times." Haha, I have a parking angel - wherever I go, a space miraculously appears! | |||
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One day I had to drive straight from my gang kids off to some special function my cult was having in a Beverley Hills mansion. That was already weird enough. Anyway... I got there and the guru got up on stage and started talking. Now... get me right here... I joined this cult purely out of cynical curiosity so I wasn't sold on it whatsoever. Anyway the guru asks us to start staring at him and just to follow his lead. At this point I remember having to decide between resisting the process, remaining critical and withdrawn from it all, or going with the flow and seeing what happened. I figured... what the heck.. in for a penny in for a pound
Anyway there we are focussing on the guru guy and suddenly his head starts glowing gold out into the room until the whole room is full of gold... then, as if that wasn't whacky enough, his face started changing, revealing other people's faces in it. It was actually pretty wonderful... women, children, old people. It felt to me that he had kinda taught me a technique... rather than it was specifically about him. So when I went out to pick up my car from the valet I took a look at his face and pretty soon I was able to start seeing other faces appear in it. It's not really something I've tried since, and at the time it didn't happen with everyone's faces so it wasn't a drug experience, so I'm just happy to take it on face value, if you can excuse the pun. There ya go... one more for the weird pile | |||
"I used to be in my school choir and every 2 years we went on amazing trips. The second one I went on was to Venice, I was so lucky. After 2 days of being in Venice we did our first concert and everything went really well. I left feeling on a high and ready for our next performance which was going to be in St Mark's Basilica. The morning leading up to the concert went well and our teacher dropped the bombshell on us that we would be singing as part of the mass, it was an honour. The mass started and we sang our songs, as we I sang I started to feel very uplifted. It's not my normal reaction as although I feel good it's always something I had to concentrate on. The more I sang the easier it seemed to be. I began to feel like I was bathed in a warm light. To this day I've never been able to explain why that happened and although I'm not religious and I don't believe in a God of any kind, I certainly felt special that day. " That's just beautiful Stretchy... I'm so glad I asked  | |||
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Have had the same dream from a young age,celtic female with two children stood on a hillside looking out to the sea from a estuary waiting the return of her partner who is not going to return. Yeah I know nuts ...lol. | |||
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"I used to be in my school choir and every 2 years we went on amazing trips. The second one I went on was to Venice, I was so lucky. After 2 days of being in Venice we did our first concert and everything went really well. I left feeling on a high and ready for our next performance which was going to be in St Mark's Basilica. The morning leading up to the concert went well and our teacher dropped the bombshell on us that we would be singing as part of the mass, it was an honour. The mass started and we sang our songs, as we I sang I started to feel very uplifted. It's not my normal reaction as although I feel good it's always something I had to concentrate on. The more I sang the easier it seemed to be. I began to feel like I was bathed in a warm light. To this day I've never been able to explain why that happened and although I'm not religious and I don't believe in a God of any kind, I certainly felt special that day. That's just beautiful Stretchy... I'm so glad I asked "Thanks | |||
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"I've had quite a few, the one that sticks in my mind is just after I read 'The will to power by Nietzsche, I thought " what's the point", sat by my favourite Oak in the woods staring into space, everything started to change around me, but I think I was seeing it differently, without lines of division, don't know how long it lasted, but I suddenly felt euphoric, I've learned since these are called " peak experiences", when the mind goes quiet and changes into an unrecognisable state, had them since, but not as powerful, changed me in a big way. " Very Ekhart Tolle. | |||
"I've had quite a few, the one that sticks in my mind is just after I read 'The will to power by Nietzsche, I thought " what's the point", sat by my favourite Oak in the woods staring into space, everything started to change around me, but I think I was seeing it differently, without lines of division, don't know how long it lasted, but I suddenly felt euphoric, I've learned since these are called " peak experiences", when the mind goes quiet and changes into an unrecognisable state, had them since, but not as powerful, changed me in a big way. " Have you read much Nietzsche? I'm always quoting him but when it came to sitting down and reading I was not sure which book to start with? | |||
"I've had quite a few, the one that sticks in my mind is just after I read 'The will to power by Nietzsche, I thought " what's the point", sat by my favourite Oak in the woods staring into space, everything started to change around me, but I think I was seeing it differently, without lines of division, don't know how long it lasted, but I suddenly felt euphoric, I've learned since these are called " peak experiences", when the mind goes quiet and changes into an unrecognisable state, had them since, but not as powerful, changed me in a big way. " I experienced something similar most commonly referred to as subspace... I was being flogged rather hard... no real pain involved... just the very sensual repetitive thud of heavy floggers on my back... I was so relaxed i started to actually bounce off the padded table i was strapped to, I can't really describe the sensation other than i felt like i was floating, Ive never experienced anything that came close to that either before or afterwards... | |||
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"I've had quite a few, the one that sticks in my mind is just after I read 'The will to power by Nietzsche, I thought " what's the point", sat by my favourite Oak in the woods staring into space, everything started to change around me, but I think I was seeing it differently, without lines of division, don't know how long it lasted, but I suddenly felt euphoric, I've learned since these are called " peak experiences", when the mind goes quiet and changes into an unrecognisable state, had them since, but not as powerful, changed me in a big way. " I think there must be something about nihilism that borders on the religious, as it did the same for me. It wasn't in direct response to reading... but I became a pretty extreme nihilist after reading Nietzsche and it was this which helped me to clear my conceptual realm of a load of useless clutter and set the stage for an experience very much like your own. Strangely enough, it would seem that this is a mystic path to God called the via negativa, in which we empty our mind of our preconceptions and just perceive reality as it actually is. Here's a quote that describes it somewhat... "His fixed gaze no longer scans each object in its turn and his mind ceases identifying their particulars. The whole framework of intelligent understanding, by which he normally appraises his impressions, sinks into abeyance and uncovers a world experienced uncomprehendingly as a divine miracle." When this happened to me, as it did you, I became aware of a vast indescribable presence watching me. I thought "hello" in my mind and an inner voice I'd never heard before replied "hello". Since then I have built a friendship with this presence and come to find it the most loving, graceful and wise being I know. This is how I would decribe the god experience... very much as you described it but with the rather unexpected addition of this weird being. It certainly did my head in at the time... as you might imagine after having become totally entrenched in Nietzsche, Nihilism and all that "God is dead" stuff lol
Here's another quote about the via negativa that also resonates with me...
"[It is often] allied with the approach of mysticism, which focuses on a spontaneous or cultivated individual experience of the divine reality beyond the realm of ordinary perception, an experience often unmediated by the structures of traditional organized religion or by the conditioned role-playing and learned defensive behavior of the outer man."
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"I've had quite a few, the one that sticks in my mind is just after I read 'The will to power by Nietzsche, I thought " what's the point", sat by my favourite Oak in the woods staring into space, everything started to change around me, but I think I was seeing it differently, without lines of division, don't know how long it lasted, but I suddenly felt euphoric, I've learned since these are called " peak experiences", when the mind goes quiet and changes into an unrecognisable state, had them since, but not as powerful, changed me in a big way. Very Ekhart Tolle." I'll look him up, a lot of people have had this experience, J Krishnamurti, Fritjof Kapra, Morihei Ueshiba, it appears to be a natural state of mind, possibly linked to what we said about children yesterday. | |||
"I've had quite a few, the one that sticks in my mind is just after I read 'The will to power by Nietzsche, I thought " what's the point", sat by my favourite Oak in the woods staring into space, everything started to change around me, but I think I was seeing it differently, without lines of division, don't know how long it lasted, but I suddenly felt euphoric, I've learned since these are called " peak experiences", when the mind goes quiet and changes into an unrecognisable state, had them since, but not as powerful, changed me in a big way. Have you read much Nietzsche? I'm always quoting him but when it came to sitting down and reading I was not sure which book to start with?" Only The will to power, and Zarathustra, in the latter he speaks of us being a bridge from Ape to Superhuman, I read them when I was at Art college years ago, then moved on the J Krishnamurti and Alan Watts, more Eastern and spiritual. | |||
"I've had quite a few, the one that sticks in my mind is just after I read 'The will to power by Nietzsche, I thought " what's the point", sat by my favourite Oak in the woods staring into space, everything started to change around me, but I think I was seeing it differently, without lines of division, don't know how long it lasted, but I suddenly felt euphoric, I've learned since these are called " peak experiences", when the mind goes quiet and changes into an unrecognisable state, had them since, but not as powerful, changed me in a big way. Have you read much Nietzsche? I'm always quoting him but when it came to sitting down and reading I was not sure which book to start with? Only The will to power, and Zarathustra, in the latter he speaks of us being a bridge from Ape to Superhuman, I read them when I was at Art college years ago, then moved on the J Krishnamurti and Alan Watts, more Eastern and spiritual." Yes, I am not very eastern inclined.....I need to sit down and research one day, though I would like a copy of 'Nietzsche's greatest hits' really lol! | |||
"I've had quite a few, the one that sticks in my mind is just after I read 'The will to power by Nietzsche, I thought " what's the point", sat by my favourite Oak in the woods staring into space, everything started to change around me, but I think I was seeing it differently, without lines of division, don't know how long it lasted, but I suddenly felt euphoric, I've learned since these are called " peak experiences", when the mind goes quiet and changes into an unrecognisable state, had them since, but not as powerful, changed me in a big way. I think there must be something about nihilism that borders on the religious, as it did the same for me. It wasn't in direct response to reading... but I became a pretty extreme nihilist after reading Nietzsche and it was this which helped me to clear my conceptual realm of a load of useless clutter and set the stage for an experience very much like your own. Strangely enough, it would seem that this is a mystic path to God called the via negativa, in which we empty our mind of our preconceptions and just perceive reality as it actually is. Here's a quote that describes it somewhat... "His fixed gaze no longer scans each object in its turn and his mind ceases identifying their particulars. The whole framework of intelligent understanding, by which he normally appraises his impressions, sinks into abeyance and uncovers a world experienced uncomprehendingly as a divine miracle." When this happened to me, as it did you, I became aware of a vast indescribable presence watching me. I thought "hello" in my mind and an inner voice I'd never heard before replied "hello". Since then I have built a friendship with this presence and come to find it the most loving, graceful and wise being I know. This is how I would decribe the god experience... very much as you described it but with the rather unexpected addition of this weird being. It certainly did my head in at the time... as you might imagine after having become totally entrenched in Nietzsche, Nihilism and all that "God is dead" stuff lol
Here's another quote about the via negativa that also resonates with me...
"[It is often] allied with the approach of mysticism, which focuses on a spontaneous or cultivated individual experience of the divine reality beyond the realm of ordinary perception, an experience often unmediated by the structures of traditional organized religion or by the conditioned role-playing and learned defensive behavior of the outer man."
"It was the feeling that nothing at all matters that put me in that state of mind. Have a read of J krishnamurti's book ' Freedom from the Known', got me into his teachings after Nietzsche. | |||
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"I've had quite a few, the one that sticks in my mind is just after I read 'The will to power by Nietzsche, I thought " what's the point", sat by my favourite Oak in the woods staring into space, everything started to change around me, but I think I was seeing it differently, without lines of division, don't know how long it lasted, but I suddenly felt euphoric, I've learned since these are called " peak experiences", when the mind goes quiet and changes into an unrecognisable state, had them since, but not as powerful, changed me in a big way. Have you read much Nietzsche? I'm always quoting him but when it came to sitting down and reading I was not sure which book to start with? Only The will to power, and Zarathustra, in the latter he speaks of us being a bridge from Ape to Superhuman, I read them when I was at Art college years ago, then moved on the J Krishnamurti and Alan Watts, more Eastern and spiritual. Yes, I am not very eastern inclined.....I need to sit down and research one day, though I would like a copy of 'Nietzsche's greatest hits' really lol! "There are books which concentrate on his basic concepts, Eastern philosophy is very relevant to us in the west, try Alan Watts, he was a great speaker, try this from you tube, forgive the cheesy music. www.youtube.com/watch?v=emHAoQGoQic | |||
"It was the feeling that nothing at all matters that put me in that state of mind. Have a read of J krishnamurti's book 'Freedom from the Known', got me into his teachings after Nietzsche." Yeah read some of Krishnamurti's work but he never really did it for me. He was raised by a weird bunch of esotericists to be the second coming of Jesus and although he disbanded the sect I don't think he ever saw things straight after that... too much ego for my liking | |||
""A true nihilist would believe in nothing, have no loyalties, and no purpose other than, perhaps, an impulse to destroy." Why would the latter be so?? "I don't know where you got your quote from but I guess the general maxim of nihilism is... if it isn't True throw it in the bin | |||
"It was the feeling that nothing at all matters that put me in that state of mind. Have a read of J krishnamurti's book 'Freedom from the Known', got me into his teachings after Nietzsche. Yeah read some of Krishnamurti's work but he never really did it for me. He was raised by a weird bunch of esotericists to be the second coming of Jesus and although he disbanded the sect I don't think he ever saw things straight after that... too much ego for my liking "I disagree, I feel he is clear about what he says, especially about the danger of the ego. | |||
"It was the feeling that nothing at all matters that put me in that state of mind. Have a read of J krishnamurti's book 'Freedom from the Known', got me into his teachings after Nietzsche. Yeah read some of Krishnamurti's work but he never really did it for me. He was raised by a weird bunch of esotericists to be the second coming of Jesus and although he disbanded the sect I don't think he ever saw things straight after that... too much ego for my liking
I disagree, I feel he is clear about what he says, especially about the danger of the ego."But its obviously an oxymoron... seeing as he himself is the embodiment of a supreme "listen to me" ego. Once you realise that then you can't really trust anything else he says imo... but of course... that's just my opinion. I appreciate that he's been a big influence on many others... that's just my explanation of why he didn't rock my boat | |||
"I've had quite a few, the one that sticks in my mind is just after I read 'The will to power by Nietzsche, I thought " what's the point", sat by my favourite Oak in the woods staring into space, everything started to change around me, but I think I was seeing it differently, without lines of division, don't know how long it lasted, but I suddenly felt euphoric, I've learned since these are called " peak experiences", when the mind goes quiet and changes into an unrecognisable state, had them since, but not as powerful, changed me in a big way. Have you read much Nietzsche? I'm always quoting him but when it came to sitting down and reading I was not sure which book to start with? Only The will to power, and Zarathustra, in the latter he speaks of us being a bridge from Ape to Superhuman, I read them when I was at Art college years ago, then moved on the J Krishnamurti and Alan Watts, more Eastern and spiritual. Yes, I am not very eastern inclined.....I need to sit down and research one day, though I would like a copy of 'Nietzsche's greatest hits' really lol!
There are books which concentrate on his basic concepts, Eastern philosophy is very relevant to us in the west, try Alan Watts, he was a great speaker, try this from you tube, forgive the cheesy music.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=emHAoQGoQic"Yes, stilling the mind is common to all spiritual disciplines - I find mucking out gets me into that neutral place where I can 'hear'. | |||
"It was the feeling that nothing at all matters that put me in that state of mind. Have a read of J krishnamurti's book 'Freedom from the Known', got me into his teachings after Nietzsche. Yeah read some of Krishnamurti's work but he never really did it for me. He was raised by a weird bunch of esotericists to be the second coming of Jesus and although he disbanded the sect I don't think he ever saw things straight after that... too much ego for my liking
I disagree, I feel he is clear about what he says, especially about the danger of the ego.
But its obviously an oxymoron... seeing as he himself is the embodiment of a supreme "listen to me" ego. Once you realise that then you can't really trust anything else he says imo... but of course... that's just my opinion. I appreciate that he's been a big influence on many others... that's just my explanation of why he didn't rock my boat "His aim was to free the human mind, so that people can see for themselves, he was adamant that people should not see him as a guru or leader, just a teacher who points the way for you to see for yourself. | |||
"I've had quite a few, the one that sticks in my mind is just after I read 'The will to power by Nietzsche, I thought " what's the point", sat by my favourite Oak in the woods staring into space, everything started to change around me, but I think I was seeing it differently, without lines of division, don't know how long it lasted, but I suddenly felt euphoric, I've learned since these are called " peak experiences", when the mind goes quiet and changes into an unrecognisable state, had them since, but not as powerful, changed me in a big way. Have you read much Nietzsche? I'm always quoting him but when it came to sitting down and reading I was not sure which book to start with? Only The will to power, and Zarathustra, in the latter he speaks of us being a bridge from Ape to Superhuman, I read them when I was at Art college years ago, then moved on the J Krishnamurti and Alan Watts, more Eastern and spiritual. Yes, I am not very eastern inclined.....I need to sit down and research one day, though I would like a copy of 'Nietzsche's greatest hits' really lol!
There are books which concentrate on his basic concepts, Eastern philosophy is very relevant to us in the west, try Alan Watts, he was a great speaker, try this from you tube, forgive the cheesy music.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=emHAoQGoQic
Yes, stilling the mind is common to all spiritual disciplines - I find mucking out gets me into that neutral place where I can 'hear'."My mind was clear during that experience, that's why I felt no division between me and everything around me, there was no me. Then the question arises, what is me? | |||
"It was the feeling that nothing at all matters that put me in that state of mind. Have a read of J krishnamurti's book 'Freedom from the Known', got me into his teachings after Nietzsche. Yeah read some of Krishnamurti's work but he never really did it for me. He was raised by a weird bunch of esotericists to be the second coming of Jesus and although he disbanded the sect I don't think he ever saw things straight after that... too much ego for my liking
I disagree, I feel he is clear about what he says, especially about the danger of the ego.
But its obviously an oxymoron... seeing as he himself is the embodiment of a supreme "listen to me" ego. Once you realise that then you can't really trust anything else he says imo... but of course... that's just my opinion. I appreciate that he's been a big influence on many others... that's just my explanation of why he didn't rock my boat
His aim was to free the human mind, so that people can see for themselves, he was adamant that people should not see him as a guru or leader, just a teacher who points the way for you to see for yourself."Perhaps he would've been better off using a nom de plume then WIthout that it ends up being a variant on the liars paradox... "take my word for it, don't take anyone's word for it" | |||
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"I've had quite a few, the one that sticks in my mind is just after I read 'The will to power by Nietzsche, I thought " what's the point", sat by my favourite Oak in the woods staring into space, everything started to change around me, but I think I was seeing it differently, without lines of division, don't know how long it lasted, but I suddenly felt euphoric, I've learned since these are called " peak experiences", when the mind goes quiet and changes into an unrecognisable state, had them since, but not as powerful, changed me in a big way. Have you read much Nietzsche? I'm always quoting him but when it came to sitting down and reading I was not sure which book to start with? Only The will to power, and Zarathustra, in the latter he speaks of us being a bridge from Ape to Superhuman, I read them when I was at Art college years ago, then moved on the J Krishnamurti and Alan Watts, more Eastern and spiritual. Yes, I am not very eastern inclined.....I need to sit down and research one day, though I would like a copy of 'Nietzsche's greatest hits' really lol!
There are books which concentrate on his basic concepts, Eastern philosophy is very relevant to us in the west, try Alan Watts, he was a great speaker, try this from you tube, forgive the cheesy music.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=emHAoQGoQic
Yes, stilling the mind is common to all spiritual disciplines - I find mucking out gets me into that neutral place where I can 'hear'.
My mind was clear during that experience, that's why I felt no division between me and everything around me, there was no me. Then the question arises, what is me?"Yes, a feeling of unity is something that moves me in many ways. | |||
"Yes, a feeling of unity is something that moves me in many ways." I think it is the essence of most spiritual and religious experiences... the dawning awareness that everything is interconnected and that all things add up to one single living "thing" or Being | |||
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"Yes, a feeling of unity is something that moves me in many ways. I think it is the essence of most spiritual and religious experiences... the dawning awareness that everything is interconnected and that all things add up to one single living "thing" or Being "I've heard that described as " The immeasurable, that which cannot be measured", thought is time, so it has to cease, for us to see the immeasurable. | |||
"Yes, a feeling of unity is something that moves me in many ways. I think it is the essence of most spiritual and religious experiences... the dawning awareness that everything is interconnected and that all things add up to one single living "thing" or Being
I've heard that described as " The immeasurable, that which cannot be measured", thought is time, so it has to cease, for us to see the immeasurable."I also tend to think of this as being an attempt to comprehend the whole as a whole... to resist dividing it down. It's like turning off your main vision and trying to apprehend everything via your peripheral vision. It's all about refraining from isolating and judging "things" but flipping into more of a listening mode where you just receive. As others have attested... this can happen in all kinds of places... out with the horses, on a surf board. We look up to the stars and feel amazement for being a part of this... and then it suddenly hits us that "this" is a part of the Infinite... and that's where everything gets more weird
Interesting thread everyone. Thanks so much for all the wonderful stories... keep em coming | |||
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"I've had some incredible, beyond words, states of mind and presence, usually via meditation, hypnosis or yoga - which I mix to taste. I can recall the places and echoes of them now. I think our bodies and minds are largely treated to an existence that's akin to having a racing car but driving at 5mph on a potholed road. " Yup, good analogy. | |||
"I've had some incredible, beyond words, states of mind and presence, usually via meditation, hypnosis or yoga - which I mix to taste. I can recall the places and echoes of them now. I think our bodies and minds are largely treated to an existence that's akin to having a racing car but driving at 5mph on a potholed road. "
I prefer the rugged path xx | |||
