Sandra Morgan2 said:They aren't "windows" into pure consciousness. Because in pure consciousness, there is no content. No objects. No events. No phenomena. Paradoxically, there isn't even anyone there to be conscious of being in a state of pure consciousness. It’s a pure non-dual experience... which, of course, isn't an "experience." For an experience to exist, you need a subject doing the experiencing and a sense of time passing—both of which are just more content, more objects within consciousness. They are just our usual worldly tendency to divide things into a watcher, the watching, and the thing being watched.
Exactly. Like any other experience, these are only valuable if we actually acknowledge them. I think we tend to reject them. Mostly because they scare us.
That fear you mentioned? To me, it's a beautiful protective mechanism. It’s good that it exists! It pulls us back to where we belong right now—to the world where we have to pay the bills, raise kids, maintain a home, and make sure we have a hot meal on the table every day. If we slipped into some parallel reality, we'd look like total lunatics in this one. We'd be swept away by experiences that serve no practical purpose, eventually needing someone to take care of us or ending up in a mental health facility.
So, in this case, fear serves a vital function: it keeps us grounded.
Do you really think, Sandra Morgan2, that people can just forget experiences like that?
That fear you're talking about? Personally, I think it's a beautiful built-in safety switch. It's actually good that it exists. It drags us back to where we belong for now—to the reality of paying the mortgage, raising kids, keeping the house running, and making sure there's a hot meal on the table tonight. If you just slip over to some parallel reality and get lost in it, you end up looking like a total nutcase in this one. You get swept away by experiences that don't serve any practical purpose, and before you know it, you're either a burden on someone else or checking into a psych ward.
So, in this context, fear actually serves a purpose: it keeps us grounded.
Sure, maybe fear works as a defense mechanism as long as we're using it to push experiences away—using it as the ultimate block. But once you've actually lived through it? That block is gone. At that point, it can lead you straight into an illusion of monsters and pure evil. That's why, in the Abrahamic traditions where they have these super clear-cut archetypes of good versus evil, you see all these mystics—people who clearly had an awakening—preaching wildly about hellfire and divine wrath. The most obvious example is St. Paul in the Christian tradition, who basically steered the entire course of Christianity. Bottom line: I don't think fear is a good friend. Caution, maybe. I remember this one Zen master—can't for the life of me remember his name, shoot—who said something that stuck with me: "Before enlightenment, mountains were mountains and hills were hills. After enlightenment, mountains are still mountains and hills are still hills."
Sandra Morgan2 said:I’m with John on this one. What scientists are capable of doing—what they can trigger or induce—just doesn't count as a true spiritual experience. To me, a real spiritual experience is enlightenment. It’s that awakening of pure consciousness. Everything else? Those are just phenomena. They're mere sensations or perceptions that don't align with our standard conscious state, our sense of space and time, or our physical perception of the body when the brain is functioning normally.
Near-Death Experiences. Always such a fascinating topic.Meditation, high fevers, schizophrenic or psychotic episodes, temporal lobe epilepsy auras, psychedelics, narcotics... DMT.Ayahuasca, electrical magnetic stimulation of brain centers—all of this can trigger a total breakdown of our everyday reality. That solid, predictable world we think we know? It starts to warp, bend, sway, and crumble until it transforms into something else entirely.
The core remains the same: the space of our consciousness where experience actually unfolds. These phenomena are always just contents within that awareness, which means no actual leap into pure consciousness has occurred. Even if someone felt larger than a mountain, experienced all three dimensions of time at once, perceived time differently, or saw their own doppelgänger—those experiences are fascinating, unique, and transformative. They’re certainly valuable. They show us how much the illusions we perceive depend on subtle shifts in brain activity, proving that reality is far more dynamic and layered than we can grasp. But even then? They aren't "spiritual" experiences. I’d call them experiences of alternative or parallel realities instead. As cool as they are, we shouldn't be slapping religious or spiritual labels on them.
On different frequencies—with entirely different brain centers firing—space, time, and our very sense of self look completely different. It’s a whole new world.
Who says this everyday reality is any more "real" than those altered states? You know the feeling—when your perception shifts and suddenly you aren't even in your own body anymore. One second you're grounded, and the next, you're floating two feet above yourself, looking down at your double sitting there... just a little bit to the right.
Quinn:
I personally believe that the fact we can actually induce these kinds of experiences proves we know far more than we realize—it’s just buried incredibly deep. From a biological evolution standpoint, no matter how profound our memories might feel, there is simply no evolutionary necessity for something like this. People who have these kinds of experiences induced usually don't know how to handle them. And I'll admit—it isn't easy dealing with them even when they just happen spontaneously! But how exactly does the fact that anyone can be induced into it serve as proof that it’s just... nothing worth mentioning?
It’s worth it if the experience actually changes you—if it expands your consciousness. But if it just drives you crazy? Then it isn't worth the trouble. For me, these little "periscopes" we use to peek out from our physical bodies and test reality feel like a claustrophobic trap. It's too limiting. To me, these shifts in perception feel exactly like being born without hearing, living my whole life in silence, and then having someone suddenly introduce me to the world of sound. An entire dimension just opens up right in front of you. It’s valuable on so many levels that I don't even know where to start...
Maybe. But aren't those experiences kind of like little windows that give us a fleeting glimpse of pure consciousness—windows we purposely slam shut because we're too terrified to actually face what's on the other side?
When you're on different frequencies, with different centers activated under different brain conditions, space, the world, time, and how you see yourself in it look completely different.
Who's to say this mundane, everyday reality is any more "true" or less of an illusion than what we see when our perception shifts—when suddenly we aren't even in our bodies anymore, but hovering two feet above ourselves, looking down at our double sitting there, a little to the right...
This standard reality might not be more "real" or less illusory than the stuff we see in altered states, but somehow, we're just incredibly tethered to it, even when we see right through the illusion.
If an experience is transformative and expands someone's understanding, then yeah, it's worth something. If it drives a person insane, then no, it's not. For me, these little periscopes we use to peek out of our bodies and test reality feel like a claustrophobic limitation. That's why many of these expanded perception experiences feel to me like, say, being born without the sense of hearing, never having heard a single sound in my life, and then suddenly someone introduces me to the entire world of audio. An entire dimension opens up right in front of you, and it's valuable on so many levels that I don't even want to get into it...
Exactly. Like any experience, these things are only valuable if we actually take them seriously. I think we tend to dismiss them, mostly because they scare the hell out of us.
David Vaughn75 said:Honestly, it’s incredibly easy to trip over the line where deep spiritual breakthroughs end and full-blown psychotic breaks begin.
You really have to walk on thin ice with this stuff—you can't just assume every wild vision is some divine gift.
I mean, man, it’s a tough call. Think about how our modern civilization would handle someone like Francis of Assisi showing up in the middle of Times Square, stripping down, and announcing he’s heading into the woods to live with the animals. Total meltdown, right? Or what if Buddha just walked up to a crowd and claimed he’d lived through 99,000 different lifetimes? People would lose it. Honestly, I can't even imagine how guys like Krishnamurti or Maharishi would fare today—they'd probably be handed a prescription by a psychiatrist before they could even finish their first sentence. That's why I'm saying, you really have to be careful with how you approach it.
Check this out—I stumbled upon this fascinating site that dives deep into a ton of different studies on this whole topic. It’s actually pretty eye-opening.
frozengull2 said:One pretty common thing that pops up during meditation is this loss of "body boundaries." I guess anyone who’s ever tried to quiet their mind has felt it to some degree. Personally, I drift into that state quite often—so much so that it actually catches me off guard sometimes during my daily life, just while I'm going about my business. Back in the day, I had to stop everything just to lean into it, but nowadays I can kind of control it to an extent even while I'm doing stuff (you know, like being half-focused on it while multitasking)... Even though it happens a lot, it isn't exactly easy to "crank it up" on command... to feel it intensely enough.
I’m talking about that sensation where your body sort of "unhooks" itself from your sense of physical size. The best way I can put it is that our sense of "being" is usually tied to our body, and we’re super aware of where we end and where the rest of the world begins... but once you quiet down and try to "feel" the infinity of the space you're "submerged" in, anyone would have to experience what I'm talking about; The feeling hits pretty suddenly (but not violently), and if you can manage to "hold onto it" or focus on it, it starts to build up and get more intense. It feels like your body has suddenly exploded in size!? Like you don't feel contained by those same old dimensions anymore. It's honestly hard to explain coherently. Basically, it’s not that I got bigger, it’s more like I became tiny inside myself... and it’s like my hands, legs (every single part) feel miles away... like my hands are meters away from my head or my "center." Like I'm standing dozens of feet above my own limbs, yet at the exact same time, I'm right where I am!? Such a weird thing to describe; this simultaneous shrinking and expanding within the body (I know it sounds stupid, but anyone who's been there knows exactly what I mean). As soon as the sensation hits, if you get startled and try to "shake it off," it vanishes. It comes easily to me, but it took a bit of "practice" to learn how to hold it and make it stronger. Realistically, you can't just "do it" or keep it going whenever you want. You have to settle down and stay focused the right way, and the scale of the experience can really trip you out; how the body starts "being" scattered over miles of space with this hard-to-explain feeling of "transparently-tactile infinite smallness"!? (not gonna get into all the details now). It’s not for the faint of heart because it’s so weird and literally outside the frame of "normal everyday existence"... though personally, regardless of how big it got, I never had any issues (or any real fear) when I was "diving into" it. Still (I gotta say), over time, this sensation started popping up spontaneously for no reason at all during regular situations. Like, out of nowhere, it just hits me. Especially if I'm really inspired by something totally unrelated to daily life and I start drifting off into my thoughts. But it's easy to "switch off" since, like I said, you have to be calm and zero in on the sensation for it to escalate. If you don't... the whole thing just dies down fast. I should also mention that I experienced this for the first time completely by accident when I was a little kid and had a massive fever one time. It wasn't super intense back then, but it was "that thing I'm talking about," and I felt it clearly—as a "state" that I couldn't make any sense of or explain to myself at the time. It was like something stepping outside the bounds of anything I’d ever felt before! Later, when I started experiencing this state spontaneously during moments of inner stillness, I recognized it immediately as "that thing that happened to me back then."
Anyone who has experienced this intensely enough instinctively "knows" that our being (our framework, our "where we start and where we end"... our embodiment as such) is something that goes way beyond the limits of the body, and there’s no way for someone who has lived it to deny that "certainty" or try to measure it or record it in any material way... outside the realm of personal experience. You just have to live it to get it. Everything I just went through—all those conclusions I pulled from that experience—doesn't need some deep dive or a manual to explain it. You just... you just know. You become certain of it instinctively.
ps. I also want to make one thing clear: this has absolutely nothing to do with those "experiences" people try to fake nowadays using high-tech gadgets. You know the drill—one person wears a GoPro on their head, another puts on some 3D glasses, and then they touch each other to trick someone into feeling this fake "sensory connection" or like they're somewhere far away at the same time. That's just a cheap illusion. It’s a manufactured sense of being "connected" to what you're seeing, but it doesn't break out of the usual boundaries of everyday reality, no matter how much it might mess with your brain. That isn't it.
For me, my first out-of-body experience happened while I was burning up with a fever back in elementary school, and then later, during a near-death experience where reality just seemed to split into two separate worlds. That’s actually what drove me to dive into psychology, then neurocognitive sciences, and eventually quantum physics. For years, I tried to hunt for answers in hard science while basically running away from spirituality, but I just couldn't make sense of those experiences—especially when things reached a breaking point where I truly dissolved into everything and stopped seeing myself as a separate entity. The weird part? My experiences weren't even triggered by contemplation or meditation, which isn't even something I started doing until about a year and a half ago.
ps. I want to point out that this experience has absolutely nothing to do with those "experiences" they try to manufacture nowadays using modern tech—you know, where one person wears a camera on their head and another wears 3D glasses, and by touching the person with the camera, they create this fake sensation of "feeling touch/being somewhere else" for the person in the glasses. It just creates a hollow illusion of identifying with what you're "seeing," and it’s nothing that breaks through the fabric of everyday existence (even if it manages to trip the brain up a bit). That's not it.
That’s why these experiment-induced experiences are so fascinating to me; I think it’s all the same stuff, except the person going through it has no clue what to do with it, especially since they know they're just part of an experiment. Anyway, like I said in my first post, I really think these experiments prove that there's so much more hidden inside us than just our perception of the material world—we just aren't aware of it until some kind of trigger kicks it off, or, obviously, if we practice some kind of spiritual discipline.
Benjamin Taylor6 said:Here is one of the oldest examples:
Shamanic drum healing is one of the most ancient techniques out there; experts suggest its roots go back anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 years. It doesn't surprise me one bit—hearing was one of our earliest developed senses, and according to various traditions, the very creation of the world was tied to sound. Because of that, shamanic drumming is a technique recognized across the entire planet and within countless cultures. Much like color therapy, where every hue carries a specific energy and area of influence, the sound of the drum and its specific rhythms have their own targeted applications.
By using steady, rhythmic drumming, you can shift the frequencies of both the body and the mind. It allows the rational consciousness to quiet down so you can finally listen to that inner voice—that subconscious pull that is so often suppressed in our modern American way of life, yet is precisely where the answers to life's big questions tend to hide. By improvising with rhythm or volume, a shaman can draw attention to major energetic blockages, prompting us to confront and resolve them. Those waves of sound coming from the drum act as both support and the momentum that pushes us forward through the rhythms of life. Through drumming, the shaman communicates with their guides and energies, traveling into the spiritual realm to seek answers or assistance for themselves or their community—whether those needs are moral, practical, or spiritual in nature. The dialogue between the shaman and the drum is just as vital as the connection between the shaman and the group they are working with, as it is an incredibly potent tool for self-work.
Interesting stuff. Honestly, I often find myself vibing way more with heavy drum beats than sitting through meditation. It really just depends on the mood—especially when the folks at home are being a handful.😍
casualtiger2, please try to maintain a sense of focus. I am simply asking whether you believe you would be capable of distinguishing between them, or if such a distinction would elude you entirely. That is the only point of importance here.
If we lose our capacity to discern, what purpose does our perception even serve?
"Quote:"
I completely understand your perspective when it comes to demanding rigorous evidence for such hypotheses—truthfully, I seek that same level of proof myself. However, at this stage, I simply don't have those proofs readily available, nor is it my primary goal to go about convincing others. I personally believe that both God and the created world hold an equal degree of reality, though it is the divine essence that holds a much deeper relevance to our existence.
Let us set aside the pursuit of raw evidence for a moment and instead focus our attention on seeking a sense of logical structure, internal consistency, and fundamental coherence within these ideas.
My only question is this: Is it possible to deceive a man who considers himself spiritually enlightened, leading him to embrace a fraudulent experience that he would eventually swear is the absolute truth?
But what are you actually getting at when you say "real" versus "fake"? Are you saying induced experiences are inherently lies? What does "authentic" even mean to you?
bluemason3 said:They aren't "scientists," they're "scientism" proponents. Even the guy who came up with the "God helmet" and those specific experiments qualifies his own work, claiming he didn't actually succeed in proving everything can be reduced to those kinds of theories.
Besides, the brain processes all information, including stuff from our immediate surroundings. Does that mean everything we see around us is an illusion? If we pull this "brain-centric" argument to its logical conclusion, we end up with total solipsistic-Matrix subjectivity rather than the naturalist reductionism the skeptics are pushing for.
There's also the issue that spiritual experiences might look identical on the surface while being fundamentally different in substance. For instance, you could dream about Jesus, you could have a weird, unpleasant hallucination caused by a fever, or you could have an incredibly intense vision accompanied by feelings of purity, ecstasy, and piercingly clear consciousness. If you were just describing the visual, you might describe seeing the same figure of Jesus in all three cases.
While some have assumed they are the same based on those superficial similarities, people who have had an NDE and those using hallucinogens say the experiences are nothing alike.
Yeah, I get that. But what I'm actually wondering about these experiments is whether they prove that "something is there" or if they prove the exact opposite. Look, regardless of whether we view our brains as a receiver or just a hard drive, the real question is how these specific projections occur in the first place. No matter what triggers them, we can't find any biological evolutionary reason for them to exist. So, the point isn't about the quality of certain experiences; it's about the fact that they happen at all, no matter what method sparks them.
Look, we’ve all heard the chatter by now—there are endless studies out there showing that you can actually trigger these intense "spiritual" experiences just by poking at specific centers in the brain. It’s everywhere. You’ve got astronauts floating in the void having these profound moments, people tripping on psychedelics, near-death experiences... it's a whole spectrum of weirdness. The typical scientific take? They argue that if you can just flip a switch in the brain to make these things happen, then it’s all just neurochemistry. To them, it’s proof there’s nothing "out there," just neurons firing in the dark. Naturally, religious folks look at those kinds of experiments with a massive amount of skepticism. But honestly? I see it differently. To me, the fact that we can even induce these states suggests we’re sitting on a mountain of knowledge we aren't even aware of—stuff that's buried incredibly deep. If you look at it through the lens of biological evolution, there’s zero survival reason for us to carry around those kinds of heavy, ancient memories, no matter how deep they go. People who get hit with these induced experiences usually end up totally lost, not knowing what to do with themselves. And let's be real, even when these things hit you out of nowhere, it’s a hell of a thing to process. It isn't easy to carry. But seriously, since anyone can basically be triggered into this state, how does that prove it's somehow meaningless? How does being able to replicate it mean it doesn't matter?
wearyowl29 said:So, how do you actually go about making a mistake?
Is it possible for a blunder to be an act of pure creativity?🤷
Usually, we just take a thought and turn it into words, then turn those words into actions. If a thought stays scattered or never actually happens, I guess that's what you'd call an omission. But even those "missing" pieces shape the reality we live in—which basically means our thoughts are constantly building our world, whether we realize we're doing it or not.
Actually, maybe that's a better way to put it. Since, let's face it, we're all already perfect.
Jacob Sanchez7 said:We’re all already perfect. We shape the reality around us flawlessly, without even trying. It really just comes down to one thing: what are we actually going to do with that perfection? Who do we want to be?
But seriously, what’s the deal with prayer? Why would anyone just toss that technique out the window along with everything else? Sometimes I just get this massive urge to have a direct conversation with the transcendent—the divine, the great unknown, whatever you want to call it. Honestly, there's something about it that just hits right, you know? It’s relaxing. I’m curious, though—what kind of experiences have you guys had when you mix prayer with meditation? Is anyone else here actually running that combo? For me, nothing beats praying while staring straight into the sun.
I’m tossing this thread over here instead of the Religion sub, assuming the mods won't kill me for it, because honestly? I want to hear from everyone—believers, skeptics, atheists, whatever you call yourself—if this quote actually hits home for you. I mean, isn't it pretty much a given that we basically build our own reality just by how we choose to react to it? It's like we're architects of our own little bubbles. But I guess what I'm really driving at is... how exactly do you guys think we pull that off?
Henry Kim3 said:And so, I suppose you're trying to tell her that forgiveness isn't necessary?
Forgive me, but I detect an overwhelming amount of sarcasm and condescension in that question. I don't really feel any inclination to answer it, especially since it seems like it wouldn't be understood anyway... 😉
Nah, I'm saying there’s nothing to even forgive if you don't let it get under your skin in the first place. Look, holding a grudge isn't actually about what someone else did—it's entirely about how we choose to react to their nonsense.
Let the judges handle the sentencing; we should just focus on mastering our own reactions.
Thanks for all the advice, everyone. Honestly, I’ve already given most of those techniques a shot, and yeah, they're solid—even if I still have a massive amount of work to do before I actually get them down. But look, I really think we need to give newbies a heads-up: you can't just dive into mindfulness by clicking random links or flipping through some self-help books and expect to be fine. You seriously ought to practice this under the guidance of a pro. Why? Because if you do it wrong, you could trigger a total ego meltdown—like, a full-blown personality disintegration. And trust me, trying to stitch all those broken pieces of yourself back together afterward is a hell of a lot of work.🙂
Mark Torres14 said:Let me push this further. If a person isn't allowed to speak, do they even have free speech? I’m being serious here. We talk about free speech as this grand social concept. But at its core, it should mean we can discuss any value or situation without facing total ruin. Look at this scenario: Someone runs a story in the New York Times claiming you're a predator. You're furious, so you sue to clear your name, but in the meantime, you get fired, your neighbors shun you, your spouse takes their own life, and your kids disown you. Then, the journalist hides behind "freedom of the press" to protect their sources. In the end, it turns out you were innocent all along. So what now? Are those of us who love to dissect other people's lives, religions, and opinions—all while hiding behind the shield of "free speech"—actually enlightened enough to let others do the same using their own standards of truth? Or do we just laugh it off as "free speech"? Basically, where do we draw the line on free speech in society?
But honestly, if you blow up and start suing everyone when some fake news story hits, you just end up looking guilty to the public. On the flip side, if you just shrug it off and carry on with your life, you might dodge that whole catastrophic domino effect triggered by some sensationalist hack looking for clicks.
electrictinker26 said:Guilt is nothing more than an illusion... because karma exists. Everything you do, whether good or bad, eventually balances out. You might feel fear that your mistakes will manifest physically in a future life, but by then, it’s already too late. Your soul remains pure and untainted. Most of what we struggle with are just physical burdens; if we didn't have these bodies, these problems wouldn't exist. Since life continues beyond death, your soul stays flawless.
I'll give you that one—we definitely let fear run the show way more often than we should.
But hold on, electrictinker26, how can you be so sure karma even exists? And what are we even defining as "good" or "bad" here? Who gets to decide that? From whose perspective are we looking at this?
Henry Kim3 said:There’s this persistent voice inside you that won't shut up, constantly whispering: "Look at how weak you are. You're worthless. Everything goes wrong because you're fundamentally flawed. Nobody loves you, nobody actually wants you around... It’s all your fault, this and that, and you know you'll never be able to forgive yourself..." I guess it's important to realize that this isn't some divine guidance from God. It’s more like a demon has crept too close because you've kept your heart walled off. First things first: you have to learn how to forgive. You need to start by forgiving others for everything they've put you through. Honestly, just deciding in your own heart to let it go and making a genuine effort to move past it is enough. And after that, you really need to forgive yourself. If you do, I imagine you'll feel this massive weight finally lifting off your chest. 🙂 Furthermore, I think you should try praying to God a bit more often. Maybe pray that He might release you from those chains of guilt and the hatred you hold against yourself...
vivideagle8 As specified by Henry Kim3: I suppose I just let people hurt me and drive me to tears, even though deep down I know they don't have the slightest clue who I actually am.
I suppose allowing others to hurt you isn't necessarily a bad thing, provided you actually learn how to forgive. It’s much harder to be the one who causes the pain—the kind of guilt that eats away at you until you can't even sleep at night because your own conscience is tearing you apart. Maybe the real lesson here is just learning how to respect yourself first; if you do that, respecting others becomes a natural byproduct. You have to forgive people, you have to forgive yourself, and then you just need to go out and live YOUR life. Don't waste a single second worrying about what people are saying or all their mindless lecturing. Honestly, I think it's better to live alone or just with one decent person than to spend your life chasing after a pack of idiots just so you can be the leader of them.
Your sense of inadequacy is eating away at you, and honestly, it’s destructive. You're letting other people's words and actions get under your skin, and that is something you can never allow to happen—not to yourself, and certainly not to them. Let them talk their trash and act however they want, but you need to live your life for yourself, not for their approval. If you want to show them you're stronger than they are, just let them see that nothing they do can touch you. I guess you have to learn how to outgrow your own reactions. It sounds easier than it looks, but you can achieve that through forgiveness. You simply shouldn't take everything people say or do to heart. People have become incredibly malicious lately; they will do whatever it takes to tear you down just to feed their own egos. It’s like they’re trying to siphon off your life energy to fuel themselves. Don't let them. Build a shield using your faith in God and your own heart, and then nobody can touch you. I don't think you realize just how much damage people can actually do to you if you give them the permission to. I'm not saying you should go around breaking people's arms when they attack you, but in your own heart, you have to know your own worth. You have to know what others are truly worth, too. You really need to learn how to filter out the noise from everyone else.
I suppose a better question would be, WHERE DID YOU GET STUCK? Your angel is right there, surely telling you, "it isn't your fault, let this go because you are worthy," but then this other voice creeps in saying, "how stupid can you be, how can you believe you aren't at fault, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR EVERYTHING!!!" and then you just break, you cry, your heart shatters, and that's that... Your angel is powerless then, simply because you aren't listening to them; instead, you're listening to some fool on the other side of spirituality who is destroying you...! A person has to learn wisdom, they have to go through so much in life just to learn HOW TO KNOW which voice is the right one, because, for every single soul, there is a spiritual battle, and you MUST learn how to FIGHT! You are standing right in the center of all of this, and every day you are on a spiritual battlefield from which you must emerge as a winner...! So, don't ask "where did my angel get stuck," ask "where did I get stuck," because, if you allow your angel to approach you, no one will be able to touch you, since their entire purpose and goal is to defend you, protect you, heal you, help you, advise you, and lead you to themselves into eternal joy before the face of Jesus... 🙂
Forgive who? And for what, exactly? Look, vivideagle8, at the end of the day, words are just vibrations in the air—they don't mean anything until you decide they do. You're the one handing them all that weight. That's why what Henry Kim3 said about guilt is actually spot on. It eats at you, sure, but it’ll keep gnawing at your soul as long as you believe there’s actually something to be forgiven. Because if you're looking for forgiveness, you're basically admitting someone had the power to hurt you in the first place. Why give them that much control?
Honestly, I think the real question isn't what happened or why... it’s more like, WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU? Seriously, where have you been hiding? I can't even begin to wrap my head around this one. Seriously, where do we even start? It feels like we’re just spinning our wheels in the sand at this point, doesn't it? Everything is just... messy. I mean, honestly, how did we get here? Is anyone actually paying attention, or are we all just collectively deciding to close our eyes and hope for the best? Because from where I'm sitting, it looks like a total train wreck in slow motion. Does that make sense? Or am I just shouting into the void again? Probably both. Definitely both. Stuck? Feeling like you’re hitting a wall? Look, I guarantee there’s an angel hovering nearby whispering, "Hey, this isn't on you. Let it go. You’re worthy of better than this." But then—bam!—that other voice kicks in. That nasty, intrusive little voice that screams, "Are you kidding me? How can you be so naive? You *are* to blame! It’s all your fault!" And just like that, you crumble. You break down, the tears start flowing, your heart just shatters, and it feels like game over. Your angel is sitting right there, totally helpless, because you aren't listening to the light—you're tuned into some spiritual fraud that’s busy tearing you apart. Listen, life is tough. You have to walk through the fire and gain some actual wisdom just to figure out which voice is telling the truth. Every single soul is fighting a spiritual war, and let's be real: you HAVE to learn how to fight. You are standing right in the middle of the battlefield every single day, and your only job is to come out on top. So, stop asking, "Where did my angel go?" Instead, try asking, "Where am I getting stuck?" Give that angel a chance to actually reach you. If you let them in, nothing can touch you. Their whole damn purpose is to protect you, heal you, guide you, and eventually lead you home to that eternal joy in the presence of Jesus. 🙂
Henry Kim3, where exactly is this "spiritual warfare" supposed to be happening?
Mark Torres14 said:A French newspaper drops a caricature of Muhammad, hiding behind "free speech" traditions and their precious little darling: "freedom of expression." A Russian punk band dances in an Orthodox church shouting slogans against Putin, claiming "freedom of speech." Some journalist leaks your private info or a photo of you without your consent, citing "freedom of speech."
Just think about what would happen in the "real world" if every single person used their right to "free speech" to say exactly what they actually think to every other person, group, or community.
What even is free speech, and does it actually have limits?
It’s on society to protect free speech, but it’s on the individual not to weaponize it and to deal with the fallout when they talk too much. You've gotta be ready to take the heat when people push back. And look, there's no rule saying criticism has to be a total insult, especially when you know certain groups hold specific values pretty close to the chest.
So, look, I’m still pretty much a total newbie when it comes to some of these spiritual "workout" techniques, so I was hoping the veterans around here could weigh in on the whole mixing-and-matching thing. Like, how does everyone feel about combining different methods? I mean, I’ve been playing around with a few different practices lately, and it got me wondering—is anyone else doing this, or is everyone more of a "one path and stick to it" kind of person? Is blending them actually a good move in your experience, or am I just asking for trouble by trying to do too much at once?
I find Castaneda pretty fascinating. Honestly, his whole approach to exercises hits way harder for me than yoga ever did. The stuff about lucid dreaming? That’s where it really gets me, mostly because it lines up so closely with some weird things I've actually experienced. As for his personal life, I couldn't care less, to be blunt. It's the same deal with Jesus, Abraham, Muhammad, or Buddha—their biographies aren't my business. What matters are the teachings they left behind. At the end of the day, the heart knows what's real because it just feels it, right? We're all going to run our own little experiments to pick out the rituals and spiritual techniques that work for us. Obviously, you're going to gravitate toward whatever brings you peace, fulfillment, and joy, rather than something that feels like a chore. It's a deeply personal choice, isn't it?