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Has Anyone Had A Supernatural Experience Or Been Able To Astral Project?


Lyra

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Hi everyone,

 

Has anyone ever had an experience with "the other side," so to speak, or with a supernatural experience or a universal source of truth in a spiritual type of manner?

I'm not talking about Christianity, or any other type of human-forced dogma religion. I just mean, in general, an encounter with some kind of higher consciousness or power beyond what we know.

 

Also, has anyone ever astral projected? I'm fascinated by this, as there are a lot of places in my life that I miss and think about a lot, that I would love to travel to again in my mind. I read an archived post from like 4 years ago where someone was saying that you have to just get into a very relaxed, almost-asleep meditative state, and visualize yourself leaving your body and seeing your physical form from the outside and then traveling like a ghost to where you want to go. They said that the first tons of times, you have to just vividly imagine it and create the reality in your head, but at a certain point it will "pop" and feel like it's real.

 

Also, has anyone ever been able to communicate with a spirit in any type of way? I don't mean "angels and demons," but just in general, in whatever form this may have taken for you.

 

No mockery please. I'm not hung up on any specific kooky agenda or trying to shove supernatural stuff down anyone's throat. But at the same time, I do believe there is something beyond our earthly everyday perception in terms of higher consciousness and a higher-level plane. i'm just very open as to what that "something" could be. I don't believe humans could capture or define it with a dogma or label, but I do believe something is there.

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I, like most, have perceived some things not immediately explainable. A currently unexplained thing is not by default a "supernatural" thing.

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I completely agree with the statement that unexplainable =/= otherworldly. If I hear, for example, a creaky noise in an empty house or a mysterious shadow, I'm not going to assume it's from another world.

 

At the same time, I'm strongly interested in having extra-perceptive experiences or dabbling into new realms, but I'm not willing to use serious drugs (or any drugs, except for some very occasional weed) in order to do so.

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At the same time, I'm strongly interested in having extra-perceptive experiences or dabbling into new realms, but I'm not willing to use serious drugs (or any drugs, except for some very occasional weed) in order to do so.

 

Chanting, ritual, fasting, disease, injury and drugs are all ways to mess up normal brain function. Many take this impairment as a spiritual experience. As I recall, LSD is an easy way to alter perception GONZ9729CustomImage1539775.gif .  Those who induce an altered state of perception and hallucination usually find it conforms to their expectation. It's a lot like "near death."

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Hi Lyra, as already stated, you will have an exceptionally difficult time discussing experiences that are "supernatural" as by definition this word suggests processes that are beyond the natural world. Such processes would be undetectable and have no influence upon us in this universe. There are most certainly a plethora of processes that are beyond our ability to detect or robustly describe, but I'd hesitate in calling such things supernatural.

 

However, I don't want to get too bogged down in terminology as there are certainly a number of experiences that cannot be robustly described but result in profoundly personal and "spiritual" insights. A bit over a year ago I dipped my toes into the psychedelic experience and have continued to seek said experiences every few months. I started with mescaline via peyote and fairly recently have had my first DMT experiences. I'm not going to condemn or condone using these substances. However, the "results" have been subjectively astonishing. I simply cannot robustly discuss how it feels to experience psychological boundaries dissolving, the loss of self, synesthesia, or profoundly transcendent experiences. I also have vague memories of a brief "out of body" sensation I experienced when I was a rugrat who had a bad pneumonia, but it was nothing like my more contemporary reflections.

 

I've had experiences where my body dissolved away and I merged into the surrounding mountains and launched off into the stars. I've had experiences where I walked among petroglyphic entities that attempted to communicate with me. I've also had to reexamine some of the most painful and traumatic experiences in my life among many more glorious experiences and exquisitely uncomfortable periods of self reflection.

 

This is certainly not completely coupled to classical psychedelics as many have reported similar experiences in flotation tanks, while meditating, while on isolation retreats, under severe stress or after ingesting cannibas. This notion has already been mentioned however.

 

While these experiences have been subjectively rich, I can see immense problems with some folks constructing rigid dogmas around said experiences and packaging it as a sort of panacea for how we should live or behave. For my part, I take what I believe are good lessons and integrate them in a way that seems to move my life in a more positive direction. Once one starts making claims about the universe, I think things go off the rails. Unfortunately, we just do not have a good theory of consciousness and cannot easily account for much of the "crazy stuff" that rattles around in our heads. If nothing else, aspects of these experiences may have a role in treating problems like PTSD or may simply allow us to have more empathy and compassion for folks who constantly live and struggle with diseases that alter perception.

 

I'm not sure if this is a satisfactory answer but I would say I've had personal and deeply "spiritual" experiences that contrast starkly with what I experience on a day to day basis.

 

Edit: Please forgive typographical errors.

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Thank you for your descriptions of your experience. That's some very fascinating stuff.

 

You make a reference to seeing "petroglyphic entities" - what are those?

 

For any living creatures or beings that you saw, that were not human or an animal we know from earth, what did they look like? Did you ever encounter any "monster-like" beings?

 

I agree with you about the dogma part. Dogma is shitty no matter where it comes from.

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I'm not really sure I can adequately answer your questions about the petroglyphic experience. What do you mean by monsters? I have not had any experience where a terrible or horrible entity attacked or harmed me but rather the most uncomfortable aspects were being forced to examine painful experiences and occasionally I've had times where I "lost" my self and had a sort of death like notion. Some call this "ego death." It can be exceptionally tough to let yourself go in this way but it has enabled me to dissolve psychological boundaries that have prevented me from exploring the nature of my emotional landscape in any detail. In that I mean most of my life has been learning how to suppress feelings, be stoic and "take it like a man" so to speak. In fact, sometimes I have a real feeling of revulsion when it comes to really exploring all that "touchy feely" stuff. When those barriers are not in the way, I feel as though I can really explore things without the familiar revulsion and embarrassment that is typically coupled to emotional exploration.

 

For example, I've never really understood why my wife cries so much. It's really uncomfortable and I just never got it. However, deep into a session under a moonless, starry night I was completely taken aback by the absolute enormity of the universe and the fact that I was part of something so complex and magnificent. I really felt a deep sense of belonging and gratitude in addition to emotions that I simply could not define. It was then that I understood. Sometimes we have feelings that are so complex that there is no way to adequately express what is going on, so we sometimes cry. It was a real revelation and an incredible insight into the deep emotional landscape that other people must experience.

 

With that said, the most shocking experience I've had was with DMT. This was mainly because unlike peyote, DMT when smoked is an almost instant experience. One moment you are yourself and seconds later you abruptly blast off into "hyperspace." Pretty jarring to be sure. In all honesty I prefer the slower onset and deeply introspective aspects of peyote. Unfortunately, I tend to become very sick on peyote and experience a significant amount of vomiting. Again, not condemning or condoning these substances, nor am I making any claims about the nature of the universe based on my personal experiences.

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I see. Thank you for clarifying, and for taking the time to share all that. Your experiences are some very fascinating stuff.

 

When you said "petroglyphic entities that attempted to communicate with me," I wasn't sure what you meant by that--a petroglyph is like a rock carving, so did you mean the mountains themselves spoke, or was it some type of being that took an unusual physical form?

 

I don't condemn DMT use at all for other people, but i personally am not comfortable using any drugs myself except for occasional weed. Weed is "safe" (as long as you aren't doing anything dangerous while stoned or abusing it too much), but other drugs, even if most people's experiences are good, can go wrong and mess you up. i've heard too many horror stories and don't want to risk being "that one person." if that makes sense.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I don't know about "astral projection" as those who believe in the efficacy of that practice seem to think they can somehow divorce themselves from their physical body.  I would rather look at the possibility of navigating the imagery of one's own psyche.

 

As child I recall lying in bed imagining I was flying over the mountains. I fell half asleep and this continued into a sort of lucid dream whereby I moved over a considerable distance, seeing the ground below whiz past.  I then landed and entered a rabbit warren.  The creatures I met there were like large rabbits but with vertical slits as the pupils to their eyes.  They seemed aware of me, rather surprised to see me and none too friendly.  At that point I woke up.

 

This put me off trying to replicate such an experience for quite some time - until I got old and truculent enough to decide that I would do the intimidating in any such mental encounter.

 

I have created a sort of mental environment where I can go to as a starting point for a mental journey - basically a grassy ledge on a mountain side with a vista over various landscapes where I can go and explore.  Not something I do very often but it is a diverting and potentially relaxing pastime.  I did once get to a valley area that, when I described it to someone else who does something similar, turned out to be of a very similar description to her "starting point".  not that I'm claiming anything particularly spooky for that.

 

And I have used this technique to revisit, rerun and take to a conclusion the imagery of interrupted dreams.

 

Ultimately, this is a tool for exploration of imagery that can lead to some, usually pretty minor, personal insights.

 

Beyond this, my main experience is of a precognitive dream - though it did not involve any particularly earth shattering revelation, and was utterly involuntary.

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What led me back to faith last year, was what I'd consider to be an experience of faith, or with the holy spirit. There may be experiences that defy mere logic, sometimes. lol :)

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Can you tell us more about what that Holy Spirit experience was? How did you know it was that, instead of wishful thinking or some other worldly explanation?

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Not wishful thinking, because I was an atheist when it happened. I think that is how I know or at least sense that it was something not ''worldly.'' I felt an immediate sense of joy, and a physical heat. This happened nearly a year ago, and I had grown indifferent towards Jesus, and all of it. So, the intense feelings that seemed to happen caused me to miss the faith. I hadn't missed anything about the faith in a while. This might not be ''proof'' to anyone here, but it was enough for me to look back into the faith, and see if it was worth giving another try. And it was. My faith now, how I feel about faith in general, is worlds away from when I originally deconverted from Christianity a few years back. I don't view it as the prison I once did. 

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What about all the people on here who described, in their "ex-timonies," desperately wanting to believe and praying to God for hours begging for some kind of sign or confirmation, who ended up leaving the faith because no such sign/message was ever sent? Why would they not have a similar experience as yours, whereas you did?

 

Why is God's threshold for determining who gets to go to heaven, based on whether or not a person believes in something that's very hard to accept logically/rationally? 

 

I mean no disrespect, and I appreciate  your taking the time to respond from my thread. I'm just trying to understand.

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What about all the people on here who described, in their "ex-timonies," desperately wanting to believe and praying to God for hours begging for some kind of sign or confirmation, who ended up leaving the faith because no such sign/message was ever sent? Why would they not have a similar experience as yours, whereas you did?

 

Why is God's threshold for determining who gets to go to heaven, based on whether or not a person believes in something that's very hard to accept logically/rationally? 

 

I mean no disrespect, and I appreciate  your taking the time to respond from my thread. I'm just trying to understand.

It is hard to accept logically. I left the faith for a few years, and identified as an atheist, so it's hard to describe what happened, without sounding crazy. lol I'm sure it may sound that way. But, I don't think that faith requires begging and all that. Before my deconversion (I joined this site when I was deconverted) I had a very ''rule abiding'' kind of faith life, one that involved begging for mercy, for signs, for all sorts of confirmation of my belief. I've come to realize, it doesn't require all of that to ''know'' God, or to at least feel comfort. Just because someone isn't a Christian anymore, doesn't mean the next step is atheism. There are many here who have left Christianity, and yet still believe in God. So there's that, too. :)

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Isn't the definition of Christianity essentially "Everyone is naturally destined for Hell, unless they truly believe that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh and that he died for our sins"?

 

Why would Jesus have to die in order for God to forgive us? Or, to go beyond that, why would the average person (who never kills/rapes/harms anyone, and who makes mistakes sometimes but overall tries to do good in the world) deserve to be tortured in Hell forever simply for not accepting Christianity?

 

If none of that stuff matters, and it's just a way to believe in God, then why would Christianity be the specific answer as opposed to spiritual deism, universalism, etc.?

 

Thanks.

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If none of that stuff matters, and it's just a way to believe in God, then why would Christianity be the specific answer as opposed to spiritual deism, universalism, etc.?

 

Thanks.

It's the specific answer for me. 

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Hi everyone,

 

Has anyone ever had an experience with "the other side," so to speak, or with a supernatural experience or a universal source of truth in a spiritual type of manner?

I'm not talking about Christianity, or any other type of human-forced dogma religion. I just mean, in general, an encounter with some kind of higher consciousness or power beyond what we know.

 

... I do believe there is something beyond our earthly everyday perception in terms of higher consciousness and a higher-level plane. i'm just very open as to what that "something" could be. I don't believe humans could capture or define it with a dogma or label, but I do believe something is there.

 

Hi, Lyra. I think I'm going to violate your rule in not talking about Christian experiences, but it's from a different point of view now so I hope it's okay. Though I no longer believe in a biblical God, I did experience some things during my Christian walk that leave me inclined to believe there's something more.There were just so many synchronicities - I can't chalk it all up to confirmation bias or coincidence. It leaves me wondering if I was operating according to some universal laws or something. The Christian faith is completely debunked for me. I beat that horse long after it was dead and just couldn't get it to rise again. But for many years, I had a pretty accurate intuition, my prayers were answered more often than not and, most significantly, things just went smoothly for me when I believed a certain way. I did have many encounters with what I believed at the time to be the Holy Spirit, but now I suspect I was communicating with my higher self or something because the results of those encounters have had lasting benefits, especially in healing emotionally from past trauma.

 

I'm apprehensive to trust in anything spiritual again because of all the pain I went through in deconverting from Christianity, but I miss those encounters. I hope more post here. I'm also very interested to hear answers to your questions from people who can be somewhat objective and rational and still open to there being more than what the natural sciences can explain.

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Hi Beyond, thanks for your response. Of course your Christian experiences count. I think I made a communication error in my original post, and was wrong to have dismissed Christian experiences. I had just meant Christian experiences that turned out to be debunked etc., but of course experiences like yours are valid. It makes sense to think of the Holy Spirit as a type of higher self.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Yes, Lyra.

Passing of ancestors, their visiting on their way.

A partner who had died and come back believing something new and talking to those dead and passing on their way.

Telepathy with partners. That's real, goddamnit.

A story of a passing ancestor finding lost shoes on top of a building where no one knew where they were but the passing ancestor after she'd passed.

 

Bash if you will, I have an open mind. I like these kinds of things.

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You sound like a natural reader of the Fortean Times.

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At the same time, I'm strongly interested in having extra-perceptive experiences or dabbling into new realms, but I'm not willing to use serious drugs (or any drugs, except for some very occasional weed) in order to do so.

 

I knew someone once who called herself a "light worker." She practiced out of body experiences. She said the first time she did it she couldn't get back in again.

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You sound like a natural reader of the Fortean Times.

 

Not sure if you were talking to me Ellinas. If so, I haven't heard of Fortean Times.

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Yes, I was.

 

British magazine that deals with the weird but doesn't take itself too seriously.  Named after Charles Hoy Fort, an American who spent his life collecting newspaper reports etc of anything that struck him as anomalous.

 

It's a fairly anarchic outlook, along the lines of "anything's possible, nothing's certain, just enjoy the ride".

 

It gives me plenty to chuckle about, anyhow.

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