Preamble

An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Paranormal and Spiritual Experiences on Peoples' Lives and Well-Being

J.E. Kennedy and H. Kanthamani

Data from a convenience sample of 120 people actively interested in parapsychology who reported having had at least one paranormal and/or transcendent experience showed that these experiences increased their interest and beliefs in spiritual matters and increased their sense of well-being. More specifically, the majority of respondents indicated that the experiences resulted in increased belief in life after death, belief that their lives are guided or watched over by a higher force or being, interest in spiritual or religious matters, sense of connection to others, happiness, well-being, confidence, optimism about the future, and meaning in life. They also indicated decreases in fear of death, depression or anxiety, isolation and loneliness, and worry and fears about the future. A large majority of respondents indicated that these effects resulted from a combination of more than one paranormal and/or transcendent experience. The magnitude of changes in well-being and spirituality were positively associated with the number of anomalous experiences. Measures of current well-being and current importance of spirituality were positively associated with reported changes in well-being and spirituality resulting from anomalous experiences. 

(Original publication and copyright: The Journal of the American Society for Psychical Research,1995, Volume 89, pp.249-265.)

In Homer's epic The  Odyssey, Penelope, Odysseus' wife, who had a dream that seems to signify that her husband Odysseus may be about to return,  says: Stranger, dreams verily are baffling and unclear of meaning, and in no wise do they find fulfilment in all things for men. For two are the gates of shadowy dreams, and one is fashioned of horn and one of ivory. Those dreams that pass through the gate of sawn ivory deceive men, bringing words that find no fulfilment. But those that come forth through the gate of polished horn bring true issues to pass, when any mortal sees them. But in my case it was not from thence, methinks, that my strange dream came." (In the book Odyssey 19, lines 560-569)

Rebecca: "fractured by this weighted sight"

Rebecca, who was very private about her experiences, as many are, spoke about the essence of spirituality in a poem about her experiences which is really both eloquent and succinct. The pivotal question is as Rebecca says: "I must believe or not believe"  - Yes, Spiritual Experiences ask Hamlet's Question punctuated by powerful emotions: "To Be or Not To Be; That is The Question!"

Rebecca's Poem: "I must believe or not believe"

The gift and curse of this sight

Colors my world in shades of blue

I must believe or not believe

Stay blind or walk the path to you

And while I surrender to the mystery

All the feelings come along too

I get fractured by this weighted sight

Flynn: "What is the meaning of it ,I am not sure, yet It happened several times and it is my reality."

Flynn, who at age nine, had a dream that his mother would die mirrors what Rebeca Says as well! Flynn observes:

"Many times I have explained to my children that reality is a very important observation and that understanding it, is living in the now the present regardless of the past reality which only exists in your mind .They have started to understand and understanding it does not destroy the world you live in if you have always been kept in the loop as it is called your reality for example if i have seen the future told others of it and it happens what is the meaning of it ,I am not sure, yet It happened several times and it is my reality."

William James & Sense of Reality! William James First Law of Spirituality

Both Carl Jung and William James emphasized the fact that experiences shape and determine peoples beliefs and worldviews. William James in his classic work The Varieties of Religious Experience, originally published in 1902, observes that "if you do have them, and have them at all strongly, the probability is that you cannot help regarding them as genuine perceptions of truth, as revelations of a kind of reality which no adverse argument, however unanswerable by you in words, can expel from your belief" is what William James emphasizes in his classic work, , The Varieties of Religious Experiences. (P.47) William James goes on to say that religious experiences and spiritual experiences create and generate a “sense of reality” (p.48) Jung said the same thing actually - that experiences shape a person's reality (Duh!) 

Normalcy 

Minimally 110 Americans Have Spiritual-Psychic Experiences. Consistently studies show that somewhere between one half to one third to half of people have spiritual-psychic experiences of one sort or another. Crystal L. Park and Raymond F. Paloutzian, editors of the comprehensive anthology, Handbook Of The Psychology Of Religion And Spirituality, observe that "Numerous survey studies in both the United States and Europe have demonstrated the normalcy of reports of religious experiences, including mystical experience (see Spilka, Hood, Hunsberger, & Gorsuch, 2003, pp. 307-312). (p. 67 The Guilford Press, New York, 2005)

As a point of information I would emphasize that none of my five psychology of religion books, while they all discussed William James, every one overlooked the concept of "sense of reality" which many spiritual people highlight - and frequently. I asked a current student of child development psychology if she had ever heard about William James 1902 classic or sense of reality. On top of that materialist psychologists on FB psychology groups quite honestly don't give a damn what William James thinks. That is literally a true fact - I encountered that in many discussions. I should say protocol rules on Linkedin in are different. I would describe FB science and psychology groups when it comes to spirituality as a free fire zone.

What Spiritual People Say about Spirit and Spirituality

Gerlinde

I'm Gerlinde Staffler, a writer from Italy, I started to write in September 2020.

My poems are mostly emotional and strongly philosophic and spiritual! This sides in me are the motor to live the life in fullest way!

Spirituality is a limitless dimension of human experience and has a special approach to life, where research and inner growth counts, extending our life to a deeper level of existence that brings balance to body, mind and soul.

I have written the poem "The path..my path" during a walk in nature...walking is like let flowing my feelings and thoughts about life inside and outside me. The path is a writing about our choices for the future and at the same time life lays many surprises on the way, therefore we never know exactly our destination ... but we should never worry too much and go ahead listening to our inner voice.

Linda

Linda Skarrup observed that "Spirit" covers a wide range of beliefs and experiences that are personal! I don't think it's possible to pin it down to just one 'thing'.....for myself, it was a gradual awakening as to who, I AM. It was always there waiting, my first direct experience was at a meditation retreat in Montana... 30 days, no talking, nothing but meditation, food, sleep. One morning, while watching the snow come down outside through a big picture window, I heard the phrase: "this", is all there is"!

Later Linda added that "My spiritual practices GOT ME TO HERE! There are many paths, many teachings and many teachers.... seek and you will find the right One For You...

Last year when I started my spiritual awakening, coming from a life of agnosticism and eventual atheism, I felt that I was only now beginning to reclaim something that was stolen from me a long time ago.

Angel

In a parallel way of looking at spirituality, Angel, a counselor and companion in my journey, also spoke about spirituality being "everything" - an all inclusive way of looking at the world at coping with the world. She proclaimed: “Spirit, to me, is literally; everything. It is the universe beyond our very small, limited existence as human in a physical world. This encompasses your view too, of Spirit being a creative force. It is THE creative force since it is everything. So, when we as humans, create or connect or dream or heal...we tap into Spirit.”

Annie, a psychology student in a masters program:

I went through a major 'dark night of the soul' for a few years that led me to question and dig deep deeper into my false beliefs and what is really going on in the world. In a separate comment she told me that "Spirit is definitely primordial - existing prior to, within and after material. Everything is energy. Like a fish in water, many are just unaware. It's also largely a highly personal experience so the experience may come sooner for others or not at all if they choose to look at a superficial level.

Almost all of education unfortunately focuses on developing and using the left-brain, logical mind and not the right- brain creative mind. Both must be balanced. When people are stuck in the left-brain, they will never understand your spiritual message. The unconscious speaks in symbols and is the key to spiritual truths but people no longer understand how to use this. I feel it is by design...."

Similar to Linda, and Angle, Annie's concept of spirit in that it is "pervasive in consciousness" (everything) and a way of thinking is "everything" as well. She also talks about energy. A moment's consideration of how science might objectively describe or define life in an abstract way, describing "life" as energy or an energy system would seem likely candidates.

Marwa, a passionate - and sometimes fiery -Muslim woman who has had some spiritual experiences of her own   said spiritual experiences are a "Gift by Allah, giving to those who love believing in him, and give them this spiritual gift" - a "gift and will commit leading to creativity and geniuses."

Marwa went on to say that "Loguman is Massinger of Allah, was given spiritual gift called wisdom." Luqman was one of those whom Allah had given immense wisdom. Wisdom is the result of thought, deliberation, and experience. Many people possess this quality and live long enough to learn and inspire generations to come.

There are spiritual gifts like clemency and patience. Prophet Muhammad said to Ashajj ibn Qays: You possess two qualities that Allah loves: gentleness and patience. (Muslim)

Then there is the intense faith of Abu Bakr,`Uthman’s modesty, Ali’s bravery, Abu al-Darda’s wisdom, Amr’s resourcefulness, and Mu`awiyah’s leadership skills.

There are spiritual gifts of an intellectual kind, like keen discernment and inspiration. Memory is one of these gifts, possessed by the great hadith scholars like Al-Bukhari and Ahmad ibn Hanbal.

Then there are intellectual gifts of a scientific bent, like mathematical genius in which many of the great thinkers of the East and West excelled.

There are linguistic gifts, like those possessed by Sibuwayh, al-Khalil, and many great poets.

There are physical gifts like strength, speed, and coordination which are celebrated by the world today through sporting events and which constituted part of the heroism celebrated in the past.

MIrabai: Nancy Poiteau, a counselor who has worked with people on their spirituality and spiritual-psychic experiences did emphatically state that - these people do tend to be very independent - something I have found to be true as well. Mirabai, who has had foresights in her dreams, is a very independent hybrid Christian-Hindu, states that "In our Vedas teachings, we each have a Dharma...a sort of duty... There is the Dharma of an educator...there is the Dharma of an intellectual person...who will always be in the pursuit of gaining knowledge...& enlightening others about it... There is also the warrior Dharma...The merchant Dharma... The labourer Dharma... The other is the outsider Dharma... These are the people who change things... None is superior or inferior. All the above is needed for us to function in this world, relying on each other's Dharma."

If I were to explain my understanding of spirit and spirituality in two words, they would be Creativity & Life-Force as Drive & Idealism.  It is likely that due to my personal Dharma - a term referring to a person's cosmic divine destiny - or Spiritual Truth - would seem to be focused on Political Intuition-Precognition and in my view, a pivotal typp of spirituality for humanity would be the spirit of civic activists like Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, and Tolstoy - each who found inspiration and motivation in their spiritual beliefs.   

Some examples

As Flynn, who at age nine had a dream about his mother dying which unfortunately came true - he still questioned 45 years later - said, what disturbs him is that spirituality is about people which many seem to marginalize and sideline. I couldn't agree more. Spirituality first and foremost is not about some outdated theoretical construct of outdated theories of classical physics, it is about people. I would say the same is true spiritually. Spirituality, especially in light of the fact that when it comes to spirituality each person's spirituality is unique - depending to large degree - as J E Kennedy points out - on personality traits, genetic predispositions (for which there is some proof), as well as circumstances such as grieving, depression, recovering addict, and so on - as opposed to a a universal Spirt such as God. In both Luke and John there are several passages that refer to a "spirit within" guidance and truth, as well as in John Christ is quoted as saying "God is spirit!" But it is a fact that spirituality is a "people thing."

Basics & Relevance of Spirituality: Synthesis-Consensus of Frankl, Jung, James, and Durkheim

First, it is readily apparent that when you look to history you can see how the spiritual beliefs in animal spirits obviously played a pivotal role in shaping totemic societies, and it would clearly stand to reason that the spiritual beliefs in animal spirts created meaning and shaped the meaning structure of totemic societies. 

In William James’ classic 1902 work, The Variety of Religious Experience, William James states unequivocally that spiritual and religious experiences create a “sense of reality!” It is a self-evident fact and truth. When you look at the experiences that William James cites, then it is easy to see that spiritual experiences do indeed shape and influence spiritual and religious beliefs – something modern social sciences largely ignore and bypass. 

The Synthesis-Consensus of Viktor Frankl, Carl Jung, William James, and Emile Durkheim is that "Spirit" [spiritual processes] create meaning and a sense of reality (truth). It is probably expressed by Carl Jung when he said "Spirt gives meaning to [his] life!"

Why is this important? J Gillies and R Neimeyer focus on “meaning structures” (p.53), and begin their article with, “Constructivist theories recently have begun to inform understanding of grief, emphasizing the role of meaning making in adaptation to bereavement.” (p.31) Richards (2001) emphasizes that in his study, “68 out of 125 participants spoke of spiritual phenomena in their experiences.” 

"Commonly the bereaved experience missing, longing, and yearning for the deceased; intrusive thoughts, memories, and images of the deceased; intense emotional episodes of sadness, crying, loneliness, and fear; decreased energy and activity; loss of pleasure; social withdrawal and isolation; and feelings of meaninglessness and hopelessness"

In light of the fact that human beings have had spiritual beliefs - and spiritual experiences for tens of thousands of years it would be inevitable that some unconscious symbolism and unconscious processes associated with spirit or spiritual symbolism. Tim Spector, in the article, What Twins Reveal About The Science Of Faith (Popular Science, August 8, 2013) states, “They [the researchers] estimated the heritability of spirituality to be around 40 to 50 percent, which is quite high considering how tricky it is to measure." There are a number of other studies which show that some traits of religiosity - as well as some traits of personality - are inherited! Many have heard of Carl Jung's theory of a Collective Unconscious which could be generally understood as the genetically inherited predispositions through millions of years of evolution. Of course, the human mind turns on symbols, and symbolism which in terms spiritual and mythologies Jung referred to as archetypes. A social psychologist mentioned to me that he believes there is likely some truth to Jung's theory. He highlighted the fact that infants have an innate fear of snakes.   

So, people grieving for loved ones, which involves pain and suffering tap into unconscious spiritual processes to help them cope and to go through the process of meaning reconstruction as Gilles and Neimeyer say. That is, in this sense, spirt and spirituality is more of an unconscious resource that people, depending on their personality and genetic disposition can tap into as resources for creativity, meaning creation, and as Christ says in Luke "guidance" as well! Historically, especially in light of religious mythologies, spirituality is clearly one of the most creative and imaginative processes in human consciousness. Those are precisely the processes one needs in the "meaning reconstruction" processes in grieving - or depression, or recovering addicts, or whatever challenge a person happens to be facing.

Annie

For perspective - Annie: I would like to quote Annie, a student of psychology who is going for her masters. Debbie H. a graduate of neuroscience, who I met some time ago, also got into transcendental spirituality.  Man cannot live on data alone.

"I went through a major 'dark night of the soul' for a few years that led me to question and dig deep deeper into my false beliefs and what is really going on in the world. So many great independent scholars enlightened me through the amazing work they share online. Michael Tsarion is one, he has a fantastic website. He used to have a lot of great content on YouTube but removed it due to Truth being censored on that platform. Some is still available though."

 "The education system also seems to kill imagination, a necessary ingredient."

The bottom line is that a student of psychology has to go outside of psychology to search for the truth. Also in talking with people, depression appears to be a rather common reason for turning to spirituality. This is just one response. Debbie H. a graduate of neuroscience, who I met has also taken an interest in transcendental spirituality. People need more than data to function effectively. In a separate message Annie observed, "Those in power intentionally want people driven by materialism and blind to their own great power as spiritual beings...."

...and later she goes on to say, "The education system also seems to kill imagination, a necessary ingredient."

Unfortunately, when Annie states that "Those in power intentionally want people driven by materialism..." that is partly true. There is nothing in black and white when it comes to spirituality and opinions vary considerably. However, I have come across a fair amount of people in academics who clearly are intentionally and deliberately sabotaging spirituality at every chance they get.

Preface:

When it comes to the potential of the human brain and the Power of Beliefs, it seems that not many people understand the vast potential of the human mind and human consciousness!

 Mr. Wright’s Miracle

The "Placebo" effect is a widely-tested, well-documented and a very convincingly demonstrated effect and phenomenon. You give a person a medication and tell them this will cure them of whatever disease or illness they have - and it works. Beliefs are very very powerful in human consciousness. So, in that context, I would bring to your attention a story documented by modern medicine so you understand that with the human body a lot of things are possible when you ordinarily might not think so. Andrew Newberg, a neuroscientist and author, tells the rather miraculous story of Mr. Wright as recounted by his doctor, Dr. Klopfer.

The story begins with Mr. Wright at death’s door. “His body was riddled with tumors, his liver and spleen were enlarged, his lungs were filled with fluid, and he needed an oxygen mask to breathe.” (p.3) On hearing about the new drug Krebiozen, touted by the media as a miracle cure, Mr. Wright pleaded with Dry Klopfer to be given the drug. Dr. Klopfer gave him an injection on Friday. On returning Monday, Dr. Klopfer discovered, much to his astonishment, that “Mr. Wright’s tumors had shrunk to half their original size, something that even radiation treatments could not have accomplished….and after ten days practically all signs of the disease had disappeared.” But that is not the end of the story.

Mr. Wright was the only patient who showed any improvement. A couple of months later the Food and Drug administration published a very negative report on the drug Mr. Wright had been given. After hearing of the report, Mr. Wright “immediately became ill.” Dr. Klopfer realized that it was Mr. Wright’s belief in the drug that had affected the cure. So, he told Mr. Wright a “new, super-refined, double-strength product” had come out. After injecting him with water, Mr. Wright improved right away and his tumors disappeared again. Then a new report by the American Medical Association calling Krebiozen “worthless” was published in newspapers. Two days after reading the newspaper article trashing Krebiozen, Mr. Wright was dead.

The power of belief, the empowerment of meaning, is an incredibly strong force in human behavior. The human body is quite literally a miracle and it is clear from this story that the human body is incredibly intricate that must be interconnected at the microscopic level. One person I told this story to responded, “Oh, yes, the placebo effect.” Einstein once said anyone who can’t perceive the miracles that happen each and every day in this world is, for all practical purposes, dead to the world. Placebo effects don’t suddenly and completely cure people – just doesn’t happen. Mr. Wright’s story goes way beyond the placebo effect. Personally, I consider Mr. Wright’s story a reflection of human spirit. The human body and spirit are capable of incredible things. The moral of the story is “Never give up!” and as Millie says, “Always stay positive!”

Spirit Within

A Different Perspective:

I have done a substantial amount of research, and in my research I came across Christ's statement to worship in "Spirt and truth!" (John 4:23-24) After turning that over in my mind for some time, I came to the realization that Christ's statement that to worship in "spirt and truth" was an excellent guiding principle for me personally. I look at things differently, and in my view that statement is not just a spiritual truth, but also as a very valid and true scientific statement.

I reasoned it this way: If you look at Geertz's five part definition of religion, four parts, in a round-about way, essentially described and defined "Truth." In fact compared to Geertz's universally accepted definition of religion, the only thing Christ left out was the part of Geertz's definition which stated that one characteristic of religion are "long lasting moods and motivations" were an important characteristics. In fact, Christ had "spirit" which Geertz left out.

I happened to be reading Brian Hayden's book, "Shamans, Sorcerers, and Saints" when I realized that Geertz had left spirit out of his definition, so I emailed and asked Hayden if leaving out "spirit" didn't invalidate Geertz's definition which as Ira Chernus pointed out had been universally accepted throughout all of the social sciences since 1965. To my surprise he agreed with me. So, in my mind Christ's statement about "Spirit and Truth" had to be one of the most brilliant spiritual and scientific insights into the nature of humanity.  among all the world's spiritual and religious literature! What struck me is that Jesus Christ's simple statement and observation about religion which could be grasped as "spirit and truth" was an insight which beat out all the social scientists two thousand years before - and "we" have all this amazing technology and unbelievable scientific knowledge. From my view my experiences are real - and a physical reality. So I view spirit and spirituality as being real and true with a fundamental scientific reality as well. 

 That separates me from a large portion of religious people, mystics and even Jungians (Jung once said that "Spirit is myth") who view spirit and spirituality as being in a separate "spiritual realm." I believe that is psychologically and spiritually unsound, being both untrue and unscientific. I frequently point out there are a large number of very real and very worldly - and beneficial - types of spirituality such as the spirituality of compassion and the spirituality of civic activists like Martin Luther King Jr., Gandhi, and Tolstoy who found inspiration and raw drive to endure beatings and imprisonment.

The spirituality of Autistics is so Peculiar, it should be overviewed - again - for perspective

Dr. Koenig "Fascinating" Ingela Visuri: Spirituality and "The case of High functioning Autism"

Ingela Visuri, a PhD, in her well researched dissertation paper focused on the spiritual experiences of high functioning autistics stated that Autistics demonstrate a tendency  to have "unusual, sensory experiences [and] are prevalent among autistic individuals" She goes on to say that "A majority of the participants report unexplainable, sensory experiences that seem to occur without any input of stimuli: touch by invisible hands, visions of things that other cannot see, whispers when no one else is to at home, and sensations of invisible bodies being present. "Several participants describe times of grief when they have felt that a significant, invisible other has been present to comfort them."  (Varieties of Supernatural Experience: The case of High functioning Autism)

 What struck me is the distinct character of the experiences - "unexplainable sensory experiences" - invisible touch, invisible presence (i.e. bodies), and even imaginary friends. My reasoning would be that since this peculiar type of spirituality appears peculiar to autistics it would seem to follow that the peculiar way their brain process information and their deficit in Theory of Mind processing {ability to make inferences and judge others' intentions) would be a an influence or cause of this peculiar type of spiritual experiences [I should note that Dr. Persinger showed that a sense of "presence" of other beings by people seems to be generated to an extent by the temporal lobe, as i recall]. I have done some research into neuroscience and it is complex. But I believe the argument presented below is a reasonable proposition.

What makes autistic experiences set apart from others is that the experiences represent a distinct category - perhaps best illustrated by invisible touch or presence. What makes that exceptional is that it would seem an inescapable conclusion that, in light of the well-known plasticity of the human brain, it would seem an inescapable conclusion that the mine is somehow trying to compensate for the deficit in ToM which produces the well known autistic tendency not to be able to connect. Since the Need to belong is a very powerful drive which "drives" the need to connect, it would stand to reason that physiological reward of some sort accompanies the act of "connecting" - and the brain is tying to compensate for the absence or loss of physiological reward stimulus. 

I had connected with Dr. Koenig, after Dr. Wong said I should get my "Letter to a Congressman" (MD Congressman Ruppersberger) which is critique of materialism in Maryland Universities published because it is an accurate assessment. Dr. Koenig agreed with Dr. Wong's assessment. So I sent Dr. Koenig, a well known and reputable medical doctor and researcher at the Duke of University, this brief mini-essay about the spirituality of autistics. He did reply "Fascinating" - though I am not quite sure if he said that because the studies and idea are "fascinating" or because anyone coming up with such a bizarre idea is "fascinating"? 

 Synchronicity - Spiritually inter-connected 

There is some synchronicity - spiritual connectivity that does happen sporadically. For instance - I was on the road in my car on I 97 traveling to Baltimore when I thought-image of my connection friend Mirabai and pulled off the road to text her. At the very moment I pulled off, I got a text from Mirabai. I mean the timing was incredible. That has happened like five or six times. She has been an asset and helpful, partly because her spirituality is balanced and even - keeled - in contrast - to a degree - of my spirituality, Mirabai, like many people who have spiritual experiences (mostly through dreams) who have experiences is very independent  with hybrid beliefs.

             Autistics and Spirituality

High Functioning Autistics

Brief Highlights of High-Functioning Autistics by B.G.

My kids don’t stop creating things, you wouldn’t know they are autistic, they are just very focused into what they are doing but they need to be creating and doing something all day long, they are homeschooled, always, since before covid.

We are considered high functioning, people think we can out-grow being autistic or have a break through, I think it may be true for some, but for most of us, we find ways to cope, learn behaviors and stay away from stressful situations so it appears like it just goes away (like when being creative) but its really a different way of thinking, this is why I believe that the growth in the autistic population as of lately may have something to do with Edgar Cayce's new 5th root race being born.

Most of us have special hobbies that we obsess about, can you guess what mine is ?? 🙂 Its the Edgar Cayce Readings. 

Through the Eyes of an Autistic Child

My son has always been close to the spiritual domain. He was supposed to be a twin but the twin died early on while still in the womb. When he was born, he didn't come crying - as is normal with some babies - he came out cooing. By the time he was two he was just barely starting to talk. The doctors told he may never develop normally. From the time he was two to about the age of six, he communicated with someone named Joseph. They would play together, sometimes quarrel; my wife asked him one day who Joseph was and he said that Joseph was his brother, One night he was up sitting in the living room and my wife heard a scream. She went in there was my son just shaking. She asked what was wrong and he said he saw a ghost. She asked him what did he look like? He pointed to the picture of my wife's dad who was killed in a truck accident when she was 5. He said it looked like him. By the time he was about 12 my wife asked him if he ever saw Joseph anymore, and he said that Joseph went away. As he got older and he learned how to pray and the meaning of prayer, he would pray for hours a night. One night I stayed up to listen and it sounded like he was talking to his best friend. To him God was his best friend. As I've aged and put aside my foibles of youth and I have learned a lot from my son. I now have relationship with God. I don't have long conversations with him like my son but feel a presence in my life I hadn't felt for a long time. Yes, you have my permission to write your essay. My one question is how do you quantify and qualify those kinds of spiritual experiences?

From the time he was two to about the age of six, he communicated with someone named Joseph.

I would add a comment that I encountered a plumber who told me of the son of one of his friends would talk to his grandfather who had passed away and come up with information only his  grandfather would have known.

This is an excellent question!

My one question is how do you quantify and qualify those kinds of spiritual experiences?

When I encounter people with spiritual-psychic stories I know for a fact that nearly every one had an experience that is "Real." I also know form personal experience that God doesn't give you an instruction manual - and the types of experiences are incredibly diverse and different - that I am very nonjudgmental; in talking with people 

Filipino Fireflies and Spiritual Beings

According to my grandfather me at the age of 5 yrs old i was missing at 1pm they go around the town to seek me but nothing he live me near the big tree. afterwards at 6pm they found me im stay there.after for whats happening on me i really wants to catch fireflies to put inside my mosquito net i can sleep well if my mosquito net becomes bright .fireflies come from the tree when i am lost. one night i saw little girl with wings and fly in front of me it was im 9 y/0 thats why i stop to catch fireflies after that

After i lost in a tree i make a habit to catch fireflies until 9y/0 here in the Phils especially in a province no lights in night at my time only a lamp thats why im happy when i saw a brighter light from the fireflies

Not a dream i saw it but in a real life. Maybe a girl with a wings is only 3 inches

She have an sparkling wings and sparkling white dress thats why i cant see her face and i can moved i dont know why,?? afterwards maybe im sleep and when i wake up i never catched it again

I dont know if this girl with a wings connected when i have a family ..but some old people telling me especially the falls prophet or in filipino manghuhula i have a guardian

Mirabai

 Here are the spiritual-psychic experiences of Mirabai, who I have known for some years now 

As a preface I would observe that she comments that most of her dreams are about family – which could possibly be a general reality for many women. 

1, Mirabai

"Also the recurring dream that my late spouse was leaving me...weeks before his actual death."

2. Mirabai

"So, in this family outing dream..my deceased aunt was present.. All of a sudden the hill we were on collapsed.. We somehow managed to escape & there were no casualties.. We took shelter in an abandoned small house..etc. I woke up from my dream in the middle of the night.. I was wondering why did I dream of an aunt who had passed away... Checked my phone messages I got my answer. There was a message that informed that her husband had a heart attack & passed away. So of course, I had to get in touch with my cousins & all."

3.Mirabai

"One night, my mum entered my dream... I suspect that women often dream more about families than foreign events In my dream I know she was dead... She was sitting in a rock behind a house of my early childhood days... It was hilly. She was holding an infant in her hand... The next day I got the news that my sister had delivered her third child."

4. Mirabai

"My aunt...when I was in Canada..a few years ago. This same aunt had died before her daughter delivered the first grandchild. In my dream she came to me one night..Told me to tell her daughter to buy a garland for the mother goddess as her child had been delivered safely.. True enough, when I went back home.. I got the news that my cousins had delivered her child safely..

5. Mirabai 

"Premonitions are usually quite vague... Dates, names etc..

Before the major Tsunami in Asia...

I dreamt that I and other people as well were drifting in the sea on furniture & such..

We are not in imminent danger but I was wondering why is everything covered by the seawater.. I was not afraid, in my dream... More like an observer...

Because the Tsunami did not affect Sg but parts of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand & India.. Neighbouring countries especially Malaysia..."

For perspective I should mention briefly that I also encountered an Evangelical woman Dawn, who spoke of a dream of a tsunami as well. Later, when she had no other spiritual-psychic experiences, her views changed and she concluded that her dream was accidental or incidental. My sense of it is that the impact of "apparently" precognitive dreams is much stronger with westerners than many from Eastern countries like he Philippines and others like that. Although Mirabai had the dream about the tsunami the night before, she observed she really didn't connect the dream and the event until much later, partly due o the horrific damage it did to surrounding countries like Malaysia. 

I have come across the concept of unconscious archetypal water symbols and symbolism - which makes perfect sense. Hypothetically, vibrations or historical earth cycles could possibly trigger a perception - hypothetically.   

Other Spiritual Experiences that Brought People out of Depression

A Muslim Woman shared a similar spiritual experience: "I wonder those who have psychological disorder, if the get some seed of the spirituality, and cultivate it in their unheated mind and heart, things will be different to them, I passed by one very tough experience, and I witnessed depression, and when I was about to be on medicine, one of my soul-father asked me to connect my heart with Allah, as I was practicing spirituality that I discovered had been once childhood in my heart, I did it. The spiritual experience of seen vision "dreams sending from God" that my tragedy it is totally solved, I get cured, and depression free. If you want to ask me I'm ready to answer!"

The education system also seems to kill imagination!"

This is the observation of Annie, a student of psychology, who is going for her masters:

"I went through a major 'dark night of the soul' for a few years that led me to question and dig deep deeper into my false beliefs and what is really going on in the world. So many great independent scholars enlightened me through the amazing work they share online. Michael Tsarion is one, he has a fantastic website. He used to have a lot of great content on YouTube but removed it due to Truth being censored on that platform. Some is still available though."

The bottom line is that a student of psychology has to go outside of psychology to search for the truth. Also in talking with people, depression appears to be a rather common reason for turning to spirituality. This is just one response. 

In a separate comment she told me that "Spirit is definitely primordial - existing prior to, within and after material. Everything is energy. Like a fish in water, many are just unaware. It's also largely a highly personal experience so the experience may come sooner for others or not at all if they choose to look at a superficial level. Almost all of education unfortunately focuses on developing and using the left-brain, logical mind and not the right- brain creative mind. Both must be balanced. When people are stuck in the left-brain, they will never understand your spiritual message. The unconscious speaks in symbols and is the key to spiritual truths but people no longer understand how to use this. I feel it is by design....

It is a spiritual war to keep people stuck in materialism. This is actually the symbology of the inverted pentagram - material over spirit and it how people are easily controlled. Those in power intentionally want people driven by materialism and blind to their own great power as spiritual beings. The education system also seems to kill imagination, a necessary ingredient."

Ana

Ana, who doesn't talk a lot about her spirituality also said that her interest in spirituality began while she was going through some rough times.

There are studies which definitely show that some traits of religiosity are genetic, and in light of tens of thousands of years of spiritual beliefs it would stand to reason that in the unconscious there would be numerous symbol-ideas and archetypes of spirt and spirituality - and that in times of stress people would tap into to cope with their situations.  

Thoughts and Comments on FB

Linda

My spiritual practices GOT ME TO HERE! There are many paths, many teachings and many teachers.... seek and you will find the right One For You...

Last year when I started my spiritual awakening, coming from a life of agnosticism and eventual atheism, I felt that I was only now beginning to reclaim something that was stolen from me a long time ago.

I think it's the fact of us becoming more isolated. And it's becoming harder and harder for many people to truly connect with others. And when you have millions of people feeling like they don't truly connect with anybody physically, some of them are probably going to kill themselves.

Spiritual Experiences Create A Sense of Reality

Angel, who had a really rough go of it after her partner died, told me that she attended group sessions on how to cope with grief - which is never easy. My mother also had a very difficult time after my father died.  Angel said that in one session, someone said that grieving is like being in a night which is pitch black and completely dark - yet after a while your eyes adjust and you begin to see tiny lights light up in the darkness and it dawns on you  that those lights are other souls like you - and suddenly you realize that you are not alone!   She said that really resonated with her and made quite a difference to her mindset!

Jo's Story of Grieving

Jo,

Who had been through the grieving process after her husband died wrote this out as suggestions for my mother after we lost my father. 

"Let me suggest that she talk to him and even if feelings of anger show up scream and yell out loud. Now is not the time to hold back. Spirit knows and hears our thoughts and feelings. Talking out loud is for our benefit. Deep breathing was very useful for me and of course meditation. She can look for signs that he might send her or you. Immediately after my husband died I began seeing the very small white butterfly. I never saw them until that time. She can ask him to send a sign. It might take a while as I believe spirit needs time to adjust to their new surroundings. (at least 6 to 12 months). I asked my husband to go find my father and get help on understanding how to reconnect with us.

I still have triggers that send me into "flashbacks" caused by the trauma but that has become less and less. Tapping is also in the magic box and there are books and web sites with the details. If you know about Hay House Publishers, they have a tremendous amount of resources to use. Grieving is part of our process as humans and if we didn't Love with our hearts and souls, we would not be grieving with such pain. Time will help ease the pain but it never removes the longing for our loved ones. I hope this helps both of you."

Christine Veazey's Story of Transcendence and Survival 

Diane M.

"I am adopted to a Lakota elder and medicine man who lives on Pine Ridge reservation with extended relatives on Rose Bud and Standing Rock. There is a lot that has been written by non natives that is just flat inaccurate or outright lies."  She contributes regularly to the fB group The Nature of Human Reality: https://www.facebook.com/groups/180311252519414

In reference to this article: Researchers At Large Hadron Collider Are Confident To Make Contact With Parallel Universe In Days: The article says that,  "If successful a very new universe is going to be exposed – modifying completely not only the physics books but the philosophy books too."

It is even probable that gravity from our own universe may “transfer” into this parallel universe, researchers at the LHC say. The experiment is assured to accentuate alarmist critics of the LHC, many of whom initially warned the high energy particle collider would start the top of our universe with the making a part of its own. But up to now Geneva stays intact and securely outside the event horizon. Link to article https://www.sciencenatures.com/2020/10/researchers-at-large-hadron-collider.html?fbclid=IwAR0Hc-eBzObPrlRxmhEVCP7glviOLbhrcvkmI9HjjtAVLewqiR-KZIv_0Os

Her sense of it is that gravity fluctuations will severely effect human consciousness, and she may be right. I did run across an article that said that fluctuations in the geo-magnetic field have an effect on spiritual-psychic experiences (which affect peoples' worldviews) - and it is well know that the human brain does, in fact - and reality - at times generate a magnetic field. Furthermore, Persinger has demonstrated putting a magnet in proximity to the temporal lobe can generate a sense of "presence" of others, beings, or even 'God.' To me, it appears readily apparent that all the physical changes in the environment - the introduction of new communication technology with all its electronic 'stuff' in the atmosphere, as well as the new reality of endless streaming information in highly visible format has had (an adverse) effect on the human environment). I never completely discount what anybody says. Diane may well have an excellent point.   

.....and all my loved ones family and friends. What have I been saying for decades and decades is finally going on now. Those who know me the longest know this is true. Scientists are confident they will make this breakthrough within weeks because the truth is they have been bumping one parallel dimension next to ours on and off for for the last 4 to 5 years with some success and more so recently. I know because when they do it, I hear and see it more vividly than ever before, which will sound unbelievable or totally crazy to many people until they see the scientific truth for themselves.. I am speaking truth and it is up to you what you chose to see or ignore.. No judgment at all and I guess by now most would understand I am unafraid of judgments but would rather people have the understanding they need to go forward. I walk in two worlds in spirit and consciousness as do the rest of you but I am aware of it and always have been. Question is are you aware of it? People ask what has happened to our world and reality turning it upside down? Why have things gone off the rails in an insane manner. Why do I feel I am losing it or coming apart? Why are some people seeing reality clearly and others are seeing a different more mean and ugly reality entirely? There is a major piece of the puzzle coming soon via science and now there will be hard proof. For all of those feeling out of balance or at times think they may be going crazy, know you are not. The universe parallel to ours has been bleeding over into ours in irregular waves for some time now. It is not fixed and neither is ours. Not the way we think. Millions across the planet are feeling it, perhaps billions in their own way.. Some are becoming paranoid, others frustrated, others scared, some angry and many just lashing out at the uncertainty while others thinking they are losing their hold on reality entirely. You are not losing it but you must learn to flex as the dynamics of our reality are impacted and they are being impacted in ways beyond imagination.. Be fearless and face the future with strength not fear. Fact is we don't know for sure how it will all settle or if it will settle completely in our lifetimes, but just knowing it is happening will help you greatly. So here is the truth and I am sharing something about myself that most have never heard and many will not understand and frankly am fearless doing so right now because it is time. I am not talking end of the world nonsense but the very real possibility that we will see a blending of two universes in which we all are functioning to some degree, consciously or unconsciously right now. How much will our dimension/reality be be impacted? Enough to feel like the world is going crazy especially in 2020 and into 2021. I have known this my entire existence and so have the aboriginal and native people around the world. To the west it all sounds crazy. To those who have not lost their connection to the truth of reality, they will know exactly what I am talking about. Move with, kindness, love and certainty of a better future. It's all about energy, it has always been so. The truth is that the more positive energy we give to life, all the creatures and aspects of this reality and the people and the planet, the more in balance we can give our existence in this world and beyond. What I am saying here is no challenge to religion or spiritual beliefs nor is it a challenge to agnostics or atheists. The fact is that we are all part of this universe and our origin is from a single point in time long ago and here we stand at another point and time together. The greatest and most challenging time to be a human being of this world and this dimension.

                                         The Spirit of Minya the Cat

Judy said, "Minya was my beloved cat who died a couple years ago. She comes to me sometimes. I named her Minya because she looked and acted like a Russian Blue cat and because I thought the name went well with Matie, our Maine Coon cat at the time. Minya is a Russian name meaning "Who represents God?" It fit her beautifully. Minya was a very clean cat and very nurturing. She also had a funny little quirk she would do. She would get up on the dining room table and pick the toothpicks out of the holder one at a time and drop them on the table.

After Minya died, I got a kitten, Cali. Cali, now 11 months old, is a sweet, long-haired cat, but she was not keeping her tail as clean as she should. I tried everything I could think of to teach her, but to no avail. Remembering how Minya had taught Nia, the kitten we got after Matie died, I decided to call on Minya and ask her to teach Cali to keep her tail clean. Within a couple days, Cali was cleaning under her tail and has kept herself clean ever since. Two days after I had called on Minya to help, when I got up in the morning, there on the dining room table were several toothpicks having been taken out of the toothpick holder. I knew Minya had been here."