Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Cara Coleen on August 12, 2012 at 12:46am

I did, yes, before I was atheist. Actually, I was still going through my "deconversion" period and didn't believe Jesus was really the "Son of God" at that point (considering converting to Judaism at that point).

In fact, this particular experience was probably the weirdest/most creepy I'd had ever as a fundie. I was in my room, laying in my bed. I thought it was the afternoon. For whatever reason, I started listening to my own breathing, then I thought I heard breath that didn't belong to me. I held my breath for a second and it continued. As soon as I realized there was someone (or something) else breathing, it turned into a guttural laugh and I felt something go inside my chest. From my upbringing, I had a natural reflex to say Jesus' name whenever I felt something "evil" was going on, but this time I couldn't open my mouth. I shook myself, then woke up and it was the middle of the night. I was really confused and just quietly whispered "Jesus?" It was weird to feel compelled to say that when I didn't believe any of that was real.

Of course, I can't explain what happened. A super intense, very real-feeling dream. Maybe it was brought on from having gone through so much just detaching from Christianity, which was somewhat traumatic in itself.

Permalink Reply by x on August 12, 2012 at 7:11am

Nope, and I doubt anyone else has either.  As a metaphysical naturalist I don't think there is a "supernatural" or a "paranormal".  I know weird things happen to people and are seemingly inexplainable,  but I think that is just our ignorance showing.  I don't mean that the people who have the experiences are ignorant, just that we don't have the knowledge to explain everything yet.   

Permalink Reply by eugene on August 12, 2012 at 7:21am

No. Many people have attested to such experiences. However, since it cannot be scientifically verified, in my opinion, they remain mythical.

Permalink Reply by Simon Paynton on August 12, 2012 at 7:45am

"since it cannot be scientifically verified,"

Always the convenient get-out clause. 

Permalink Reply by Simon Paynton on August 12, 2012 at 7:42am

Yes, I've had quite a lot of telepathic experiences. 

I have often found that if someone in the next apartment or the next room is thinking about me, or the other way round, then we can "feel" each other's emotions, on a basic level, and have some kind of telepathic exchange.  Can this be scientifically verified?  Yes, I've verified it twice when the person reacted by speaking about what had just taken place.  Can I do this in a laboratory?  Who knows, who cares? 

Permalink Reply by James Cox on August 12, 2012 at 9:12am

What would stand for a paranormal experience?

I have been places where I became aware of a great quiet, when it felt like I had entered some sacred space and I should tred lightly.

Once, while walking into the back area of our John Day Fossil Beds, I felt a buzz, again like some sacred space had been entered, like I was in the presence of the Obolisk in 2001.

While doing field sampling for an environmental operation 2002, it was mid afternoon with a deep blue sky and bright sun. I was standing in a very large field of broccoli, of a deep gray green, counting bugs. I looked up and noticed that I was standing in what felt like a deep depression in the field. (This was in the very old Lake Lahbish area, where the soil is approx. 65% organics due to the peat deposit that makes up the lake bed, making it sticky when wet). The curve of the depression made me think of pictures I had seen in descriptions of huge space habitats. As I followed the curve, I half expected to see towns and fields hanging over me. The beauty of it was nearly overwheming. 

My mother and I had over the years called each other at the same time.

 

Permalink Reply by Simon Paynton on August 13, 2012 at 1:48am

Sometimes we exchange a mental image, where that image has a strong emotion attached to it.  It's just the same as with words, when people have a heart to heart conversation.  One person speaks the words, making a mental image with those words, and then the words are out in the air and both people hear them spoken.  

What I mean is we can have a brief exchange of information, telepathically, using mental images and emotions or precise feelings instead of words. 

Permalink Reply by Simon Paynton on August 12, 2012 at 10:33am

Once, years ago, I got in a blazing rage over someone to the point where I was on the verge of freaking out on them (but I didn't).  Next, within the space of 5 minutes, three or four of my close friends called me on the telephone.  Later, one of them told me he had "seen" me in his mind's eye surrounded by lightning flashes. 

Recently I got in a blazing rage for a second time, and immediately, a close friend called, although I didn't pick up the phone. 

Another time I was on my way to a friend's house and I had an encounter with the police.  When I got to my friend's, she knew all about it without my telling her. 

These are all experiences with a verifiable element.  I have had countless others, similar, which may or may not have been true, I couldn't verify them. 

Permalink Reply by Gewisn on August 13, 2012 at 3:59pm

Have I ever had an experience I couldn't explain?  Sure.

How do I explain it?  "unexplained" does not mean "can't be explained" (some day).

Like anything else, I use what I know about the universe (my small part of it) to identify the most likely causes, put them into order of most to least likely, and look for evidence that would make some explanations more likely to be the cause and others less likely.  If none of the explanations I entertain is truly "very likely" to be the cause, then it remains "unexplained" until I have more information.  
Two factors determine how much effort I put into finding that evidence:  
A)  how important is it to me?  
B) how much access do I have to the information involved?

Same process as when I try to figure out how the dog got out of the yard, or why one side of the fence is faded but the other is not, or what that odd light moving slowly across the sky might be, or whether there is/was life on Mars.
A)  dog got out of the yard:  very important, good access to the facts
B)  fence is faded on one side:  not important, but I have all the facts (sun shines only on 1 side)
C)  light in the sky:  unimportant (not coming down near me), don't have access to any of the facts except that no one's verified alien craft despite thousands (millions?) of reports
D)  life on Mars:  very important in the abstract; I have to depend on experts b/c I have no direct access to the facts