Mystical Experiences

[yeshuaslavejeff]

What experiences in Christianity do you consider "mystical?"

Good question/ for clarity ---- what is "mystical" for this thread.

Most experiences of most people world wide are of demons, so as noted earlier, it is best to avoid them and to know , if the experiences happen where they come from, or just to ignore them simply, when they are not from Yahweh.

 

[Senkaku]

Good question/ for clarity ---- what is "mystical" for this thread.

Most experiences of most people world wide are of demons, so as noted earlier, it is best to avoid them and to know , if the experiences happen where they come from, or just to ignore them simply, when they are not from Yahweh.

Mystical can be anything that seems "supernatural" in nature. I am not looking for labels here, I want people to post in their own words what their experience was like.

Let me be clear to everyone, this thread is not to judge or label anything, it is to listen and discuss. If you can not handle that, then this thread is not for you. If you feel, at anytime, like you must label someone's experience or judge the experience in any way, then this thread is not for you and I ask politely that you do not respond and cause turmoil. please respect what others post here.

 

[cloudyday2]

this is a really important principle. we must be able to rule out when something is truly of God and not just in our minds.

Lately, I've begun to think slightly differently. The purpose of miracles and mystical experiences is to convey guidance. It is the meaning of the experience that determines its value. The experiences usually aren't designed to prove the existence of God (or whatever); they are designed to communicate information to a specific person or group.

So I don't think God ever breaks the rules of nature. Everything has natural explanations, but sometimes there is guidance/encouragement/etc. in events.

One convenient method of naturalistic communication would be through our minds via hallucinations or inspirations. The fact that they came from our minds doesn't invalidate them as mystical IMO.

EDIT: Of course hallucinations and inspirations aren't always mystical. Like any advice, we need to evaluate, maybe accept or maybe reject, and then look at the results. I don't know what else we can do, because it's hard to know if something is truly mystical.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

Mystical can be anything that seems "supernatural" in nature. I am not looking for labels here, I want people to post in their own words what their experience was like.

Let me be clear to everyone, this thread is not to judge or label anything, it is to listen and discuss. If you can not handle that, then this thread is not for you. If you feel, at anytime, like you must label someone's experience or judge the experience in any way, then this thread is not for you and I ask politely that you do not respond and cause turmoil. please respect what others post here.

Yahweh does not say to respect things of the world, especially of he enemy (mystical events of the devil)
but to test everything,
but as this is the kitchen sink, and not a Christian part of the forum,
and I guess under forum site rules, there's not much choice, eh.....

 

[Senkaku]

Yahweh does not say to respect things of the world, especially of he enemy (mystical events of the devil)
but to test everything,
but as this is the kitchen sink, and not a Christian part of the forum,
and I guess under forum site rules, there's not much choice, eh.....

I will pm you

 

[cloudyday2]

@Senkaku , you might consider having the moderators move this thread to the world religions forums, but maybe you want it in the kitchen sink forum IDK.

 

[Senkaku]

@cloudyday2 it depends on how snippy my christian brothers and sisters get. I want it to be a melting pot for everyone, but if things get out of hand, I may have them move it. I love my christian family, but sometimes they have difficulty with being understanding and I don't want that to ruin the purpose of this thread.

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

"punish the darkness" ?? (under username)

Why not SHINE THE LIGHT to bring people out of the darkness, who-so-ever is willing ?

 

[Senkaku]

"punish the darkness" ?? (under username)

Why not SHINE THE LIGHT to bring people out of the darkness, who-so-ever is willing ?

please stay on topic, if you wish to discuss why I have that under my name, my inbox is open.

 

[cloudyday2]

Here is an experience that had a Jesus element FWIW.

I had converted to Eastern Orthodox after about 25 years of being irreligious and skeptical. (There is a lot more to this, but I'm trying to keep it succinct.) After six months as a Christian, I felt that I was losing momentum, so I decided an evening Bible study at a Methodist church might be helpful. Eastern Orthodox are not allowed to receive communion in non-Orthodox churches, but this was just an evening Bible study in a classroom.

So the chapter we were studying was Romans 2. The Bible study was not very helpful. I think I might have been the only person that had read the chapter ahead of time, and the discussion was off-topic. We sang some old-fashioned hymns which was nice.

Just as I thought we were done. The assistant pastor unveils bread and a chalice for communion, and everybody is forming a circle to participate. I knew it was against the rules for an Orthodox to receive communion in a Methodist church, but Romans 2 was about Gentiles who had "circumcision of the heart" and so forth. Also I never felt comfortable with this rule in Orthodoxy.

I was very religious at that time, so I prayed that God might show me what to do. Then a man that I hadn't noticed before came into the circle and held my hand. He seemed uncommonly devout, and I instantly felt very comfortable about receiving communion there.

Then when the chalice came around I had a series of disturbing images flash in my mind, and I was too shocked to receive communion. The devout guy beside me just walked out of the room without speaking or smiling while everybody else chit-chatted amiably.

When I told my Orthodox priest about this, he was relieved that I had not participated in communion and seemed to think that was the message of the experience (if any). I actually got a different message from the images that flashed, but they could be interpreted various ways.

 

[cloudyday2]

Here is another experience that fits the typical Christian mode.

About 25 years ago, I was hoping for some confirmation that God exists. I had grown-up as a Christian, but I had mostly lost my faith about 5 years earlier in college.

Each week I visited a different church. I went into a non-denominational church that was renting space in a strip mall. There were lots of empty chairs, so I picked an empty row. A few minutes later, a guy came in and sat in the chair beside me - even though 90% of the chairs were empty. That made me uncomfortable, but I didn't want to be rude and move away. The service wasn't very memorable.

At the end of the service this guy beside me followed me out the door to the parking lot. He said that he had never been to this church, but the Holy Spirit told him to go to there and pray for me. He seemed to know my issues which was a little uncanny, and he implored me to let him pray for me.

The whole thing made me uncomfortable, so I didn't let him pray for me, and I hurried across the parking lot and drove home LOL. But in retrospect, I suspect that this guy was being led by the Holy Spirit, and I may have missed an opportunity. IDK

 

[Senkaku]

Here is another experience that fits the typical Christian mode.

About 25 years ago, I was hoping for some confirmation that God exists. I had grown-up as a Christian, but I had mostly lost my faith about 5 years earlier in college.

Each week I visited a different church. I went into a non-denominational church that was renting space in a strip mall. There were lots of empty chairs, so I picked an empty row. A few minutes later, a guy came in and sat in the chair beside me - even though 90% of the chairs were empty. That made me uncomfortable, but I didn't want to be rude and move away. The service wasn't very memorable.

At the end of the service this guy beside me followed me out the door to the parking lot. He said that he had never been to this church, but the Holy Spirit told him to go to there and pray for me. He seemed to know my issues which was a little uncanny, and he implored me to let him pray for me.

The whole thing made me uncomfortable, so I didn't let him pray for me, and I hurried across the parking lot and drove home LOL. But in retrospect, I suspect that this guy was being led by the Holy Spirit, and I may have missed an opportunity. IDK

whoa, that's intense

 

[FireDragon76]

Here is another experience that fits the typical Christian mode.

About 25 years ago, I was hoping for some confirmation that God exists. I had grown-up as a Christian, but I had mostly lost my faith about 5 years earlier in college.

Each week I visited a different church. I went into a non-denominational church that was renting space in a strip mall. There were lots of empty chairs, so I picked an empty row. A few minutes later, a guy came in and sat in the chair beside me - even though 90% of the chairs were empty. That made me uncomfortable, but I didn't want to be rude and move away. The service wasn't very memorable.

At the end of the service this guy beside me followed me out the door to the parking lot. He said that he had never been to this church, but the Holy Spirit told him to go to there and pray for me. He seemed to know my issues which was a little uncanny, and he implored me to let him pray for me.

The whole thing made me uncomfortable, so I didn't let him pray for me, and I hurried across the parking lot and drove home LOL. But in retrospect, I suspect that this guy was being led by the Holy Spirit, and I may have missed an opportunity. IDK

Have you ever seriously considered maybe he was right?

Someone who has the types of spiritual experiences you have ,and yet resists their obvious meaning, is in need of prayer and guidance.

I had an experience once that was sort of like that, but ended differently:

One time years ago I was going through a dark period. I just came out of the Orthodox church and I went to an Episcopal Church a few weeks ,and an elderly woman came up to me during coffee hour and gave me a book, the Ragamuffin Gospel, by Brennan Manning. She told me I needed to read it.

We became friends and we sat together during church. This older, middle aged woman also talked about her devotion to the virgin Mary, which was also something I could identify with due to my background. I found out this woman had been homeless alot, she had cancer and used a walker, and I encouraged her to go to the healing service.

She went to the healing service one week as I saw her there, and a few weeks later she was no longer using the walker and she said her cancer was gone. Then she got involved in the cathedral's homeless ministry. But I lost track of her as she started going to a different service time and she just as quickly was out of my life.

I have had more of these types of experiences in Episcopal and Lutheran churches than I ever did in the Orthodox church. In fact I can't recall anything like that in the Orthodox Church happening. Orthodox like to believe they have some kind of unique relationship to God, but it just isn't confirmed in my experience.

 

[FireDragon76]

In my experience cynicism makes it difficult to intuitively know spiritual things. And usually cynicism is due to some kind of psychological pain in your past.

Orthodox priests often mean well but their religion can be rigid and they can just give you pat answers to uphold a kind of fundamentalism. Perhaps you really did experience God in communion in a Methodist church, but it was shocking to you because of what the Orthodox priest told you. Peter too was shocked when God showed him the sheet falling down from heaven with the various kinds of unclean animals on it, as an encouragement to not be afraid to meet a gentile. Sometimes spiritual things can upset our reality as we understand it.

I have had similar experiences in my own church. Initially, I had alot of cynicism, because the Orthodox can do a very good job indoctrinating you to believe they are the true Church alone. But I had an experience on Pentecost that I could not explain, and my cynicism went away. I realized my church may not be perfect but God definitely was working through it, in a way I had never experienced in the Orthodox Church.

 

[cloudyday2]

Have you ever seriously considered maybe he was right?

Someone who has the types of spiritual experiences you have ,and yet resists their obvious meaning, is in need of prayer and guidance.

Yeah, I suspect that I should have allowed that guy to pray for me (assuming we actually have freewill - maybe I did the only thing that I could do).

But I don't think the meaning is necessarily obvious. There are lots of reasons to be skeptical of Christianity and the Judaism that spawned it. I wonder if there is a generic God who uses Christianity as a sock puppet to reach people in Christian cultures while using Islam for people in Islamic cultures and Hinduism for people in Hindu cultures etc.

Also there are more weird experiences in my life besides these I've described. For my psychological health it seems that I need to keep some distance from them. Honestly, just remembering these two made me start feeling shaky and drained and depressed. I keep these memories at a distance by trying to be a critical-thinking atheist, but I know I am not facing-up to all the data.

I had an experience once that was sort of like that, but ended differently:

One time years ago I was going through a dark period. I just came out of the Orthodox church and I went to an Episcopal Church a few weeks ,and an elderly woman came up to me during coffee hour and gave me a book, the Ragamuffin Gospel, by Brennan Manning. She told me I needed to read it.

We became friends and we sat together during church. This older, middle aged woman also talked about her devotion to the virgin Mary, which was also something I could identify with due to my background. I found out this woman had been homeless alot, she had cancer and used a walker, and I encouraged her to go to the healing service.

She went to the healing service one week as I saw her there, and a few weeks later she was no longer using the walker and she said her cancer was gone. Then she got involved in the cathedral's homeless ministry. But I lost track of her as she started going to a different service time and she just as quickly was out of my life.

I have had more of these types of experiences in Episcopal and Lutheran churches than I ever did in the Orthodox church. In fact I can't recall anything like that in the Orthodox Church happening. Orthodox like to believe they have some kind of unique relationship to God, but it just isn't confirmed in my experience.

I wasn't aware that Episcopal churches had healing services. I grew up in the Episcopal church, but that was 1970s. That is a neat experience - especially that the woman was cured.

Why do you think Christians are so reluctant to discuss these types of experiences? Maybe they make people uncomfortable just as my own experiences make me uncomfortable?

 

[Rajni]

Yeah, I suspect that I should have allowed that guy to pray for me (assuming we actually have freewill - maybe I did the only thing that I could do).

I wouldn't worry too much about that. Frankly, if he wanted to pray for you, he could -- and probably did. Nothing is stopping us from praying for anyone.

 

[Rajni]

I wanted this thread to be a place where people of all faiths speak about their various kinds of mystical experiences. mostly, I am curious to see what others experience outside of the Christian faith but Christian experiences are welcome too. Please limit your responses to ONLY mystical experiences and discussions about said experiences. I'm not looking for this to be a debate but more of a discussion.

Most experiences I have had that I would consider mystical have been
synchronistic in nature. While coincidences happen all the time, when they
involve things which have personal meaning to the observer, that’s the part
that gives me pause and places them firmly into the supernatural category.

-

 

[Senkaku]

Most experiences I have had that I would consider mystical have been
synchronistic in nature. While coincidences happen all the time, when they
involve things which have personal meaning to the observer, that’s the part
that gives me pause and places them firmly into the supernatural category.

-

Supernatural is also welcome here. I would like to hear some of your stories as well, sounds interesting.

 

[FireDragon76]

But I don't think the meaning is necessarily obvious. There are lots of reasons to be skeptical of Christianity and the Judaism that spawned it. I wonder if there is a generic God who uses Christianity as a sock puppet to reach people in Christian cultures while using Islam for people in Islamic cultures and Hinduism for people in Hindu cultures etc.

I think you are over-intellectualizing something that was not meant to be intellectualized.

Respect for other religions is not incompatible with being a Christian, certainly. You'll find many mainline Protestants and Catholics that would agree. God desires all people to be saved, but its our responsibility in our church to proclaim what we have experienced about God in Jesus Christ.

Also there are more weird experiences in my life besides these I've described. For my psychological health it seems that I need to keep some distance from them.

Many people successfully integrate spirituality and mental health. The Episcopalians and Lutherans have counsellors and pastors that could help you integrate those things if you so desire it.

I have adult autism and I visit an Episcopalian counsellor once every two months, though for a while I visited every two weeks a few years ago. She is part spiritual director and part therapist.

Honestly, just remembering these two made me start feeling shaky and drained and depressed. I keep these memories at a distance by trying to be a critical-thinking atheist, but I know I am not facing-up to all the data.

Of course.

I wasn't aware that Episcopal churches had healing services. I grew up in the Episcopal church, but that was 1970s. That is a neat experience - especially that the woman was cured.

Some do, not all.

Why do you think Christians are so reluctant to discuss these types of experiences? Maybe they make people uncomfortable just as my own experiences make me uncomfortable?

They are generally private experiences and some people are afraid of being ridiculed, I suppose. Others just recognize they can be a source of pride and self-importance. Other people don't attach too much importance to them.

 

[Senkaku]

Why do you think Christians are so reluctant to discuss these types of experiences? Maybe they make people uncomfortable just as my own experiences make me uncomfortable?

every church has different views on it. frankly, any church that is against things of this nature, I am against. Jesus put it plainly, only a Pharisaical heart rejects these things and prevents others from experiencing those things as well.(Matthew 23:13) The church needs to be careful when dealing with spiritual things, it's not just about shunning the evil things so that we walk in truth, its also about accepting the good spiritual experiences and not judging God when he gives them. the moment we do, we operate in hypocrisy, to which Jesus issued a strong woe against. I think many have fallen into this same hypocrisy and have forgotten where they came from.