I dunno, I don't wanna start analysing that feeling cos I'll probably go completely off track and sound nuts :eek: but it's almost like I can see the world from space and it's just funny then how we all think we're super important... space has never seen or heard of us
Yeh, see I've done it
The Astoria??? Orgazmic!
Verona??? it's all surmountable
Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
Wembley? We all believe!
Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
Chicago 07? And love
What a different life
Had I not found this love with you
I've never seen an angel, but I think I have felt and heard them.
I had one experience in which I was in a church meeting as a teenager (seventeen). I was going through a time in my life when I reached rock-bottom with self-esteem. There was an "altar call" where people were invited to be prayed for based on experiences of low self-esteem and self-hatred. I knelt down, bowed my head and closed my eyes. I felt a hand press on my shoulder and a warmth through my entire body. I opened my eyes and looked over my shoulder. There was no-one there. Again, I closed my eyes, and felt the same hand press gently on my shoulder again. This time it was there for five minutes. I opened my eyes. No-one was there. Now, either someone was f***ing with me, or...
Another experience was even stranger. I had just returned from a Christian youth camp, feeling pretty drained and burned out from the whole 'Christian-ness' of the thing, to be honest. I went onto the landing upstairs to pray to God. I told him that I felt all this was a bit religious, and if I was to believe in him whole-heartedly, I just needed something real to cling on to: an experience. As I was praying, I heard quite clearly a person playing worship songs on the guitar in my room; it was like listening to the radio. I sat there listening to it, thinking if my mind was playing tricks on me, it would stop. When it didn't, I opened the door to my room. The second I opened the door, the music stopped and there was no sign of anyone in my room. I snooped around for a little while as well, just to make sure...
When I was a young lad (five-ish), my family were at a Christian conference. My mum was at one of the meetings. She had to take me out of the meeting because I was crying and being disruptive. She decided to take me for a drive in the car so that I would fall asleep. On the journey, I heard very clearly some music (children's music about God); the lyrics were about sleeping soundly and things like 'peace' and what-not. Anyway, I said to my mum, 'Mum can you turn the music up?' 'There's no music on,' she said. Needless to say, she never got me to sleep because I kept saying 'Turn the music up!' 'There is no music!' she kept assuring me. Indeed, when I looked at the radio/tape player, nothing was on. We both remember this pretty clearly.
Man, I must be so annoying even God couldn't get me to sleep
'We're learning songs for baby Jesus' birthday. His mum and dad were Merry and Joseph. He had a bed made of clay and the three kings bought him Gold, Frankenstein and Merv as presents.'
Angels are spiritual beings - called angels by those who believe in the christian faith - that will look after you when necessary....
I believe in those beings.. I have had 'encounters' with them.. I know a number of people that have as well...
Though strangely enough I do not go for the religious aspect of things, I named my daughter Gabrielle - after the archangel....
Gabrielle is a beautiful name
'We're learning songs for baby Jesus' birthday. His mum and dad were Merry and Joseph. He had a bed made of clay and the three kings bought him Gold, Frankenstein and Merv as presents.'
Angels are spiritual beings - called angels by those who believe in the christian faith - that will look after you when necessary....
This definitely exists too I definitely know someone's looking out for me and feel it quite often... too many things have worked out when they shouldn't have for it to be just coincidence... it also feels different to what I consider to be God.
The Astoria??? Orgazmic!
Verona??? it's all surmountable
Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
Wembley? We all believe!
Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
Chicago 07? And love
What a different life
Had I not found this love with you
Thank you She has also had encounters with spirits, but as a child, she never questioned them.. All was natural.. part of the world...
These type of encounters make you realise that there is more to this world then one would like to believe. It is a very comforting feeling. I know of a person who had somewhat more disturbed encounter but nevertheless it was still eye opening and gave her a very different outlook on life.
I've never seen an angel, but I think I have felt and heard them.
I had one experience in which I was in a church meeting as a teenager (seventeen). I was going through a time in my life when I reached rock-bottom with self-esteem. There was an "altar call" where people were invited to be prayed for based on experiences of low self-esteem and self-hatred. I knelt down, bowed my head and closed my eyes. I felt a hand press on my shoulder and a warmth through my entire body. I opened my eyes and looked over my shoulder. There was no-one there. Again, I closed my eyes, and felt the same hand press gently on my shoulder again. This time it was there for five minutes. I opened my eyes. No-one was there. Now, either someone was f***ing with me, or...
Another experience was even stranger. I had just returned from a Christian youth camp, feeling pretty drained and burned out from the whole 'Christian-ness' of the thing, to be honest. I went onto the landing upstairs to pray to God. I told him that I felt all this was a bit religious, and if I was to believe in him whole-heartedly, I just needed something real to cling on to: an experience. As I was praying, I heard quite clearly a person playing worship songs on the guitar in my room; it was like listening to the radio. I sat there listening to it, thinking if my mind was playing tricks on me, it would stop. When it didn't, I opened the door to my room. The second I opened the door, the music stopped and there was no sign of anyone in my room. I snooped around for a little while as well, just to make sure...
When I was a young lad (five-ish), my family were at a Christian conference. My mum was at one of the meetings. She had to take me out of the meeting because I was crying and being disruptive. She decided to take me for a drive in the car so that I would fall asleep. On the journey, I heard very clearly some music (children's music about God); the lyrics were about sleeping soundly and things like 'peace' and what-not. Anyway, I said to my mum, 'Mum can you turn the music up?' 'There's no music on,' she said. Needless to say, she never got me to sleep because I kept saying 'Turn the music up!' 'There is music!' she kept assuring me. Indeed, when I looked at the radio/tape player, nothing was on. We both remember this pretty clearly.
Man, I must be so annoying even God couldn't get me to sleep
Those are wonderful! Did I ever write about my PJ in Camden, and my grandpa showing up experience? It's got to be somewhere. Let me see if I can find it.
There is no such thing as leftover pizza. There is now pizza and later pizza. - anonymous The risk I took was calculated, but man, am I bad at math - The Mincing Mockingbird
Ok, so maybe I didn't write it, here goes. It was the best Pearl Jam experience, and it wasn't at a concert. However, it would not have happened if not for a Pearl Jam concert.
Camden Philly 06#1. I decided I couldn't afford to go so I was able to find someone to purchase my tickets. However, I had to take the train from DC to Philly so that I could personally pick them up and sell them. I looked at the schedule and made plans with the purchaser with enough cushion of time in case things are delayed.
I arrived in the morning, and walked to the river between Philly and Camden. PureandEasy gave me directions on how to use the riverboat, so I was prepared, but the times were not as frequent as I would expect. The purchaser was about 1 hour late for our meeting. Again, I had cushion, but I was getting nervous because the times the riverboat went back to Philly may be too late for me to reach my train back to DC on time. I also knew, of course, that rationally I could always get another train if push comes to shove, but I didn't want to end up in DC too late.
As I was waiting I asked a couple concert staff where's the best place to get a taxi?
One said -I don't know I never see taxis here.
One said - Maybe over there near the acquarium.
It was then I realized I didn't see any taxis in Philadelphia, and none here. What's up with that? No taxis? It's probably an indication of the crime.
After I sold the tickets I went to the acquarium, and the acquarium manager, and a police officer were standing outside the acquarium. I asked for the best place to get a taxi. The police officer said that they come about every half hour. He then said, he would call one for me. He came back, and said one would be there in 10 minutes. Then he said that he would get "one of his guys" to take me to the taxi hang out or whatever it's called. Now, you gotta remember this is in the worst crime area of the country, and they are taking their time out to help me find a taxi. The police officer drives over, I get in the back, and the first thing I say is "I thought I would never be in one of these unless I was in trouble " He drove me to the taxi shelter, making small talk, very nice, mirrored sun glasses. Finally, a taxi came along side us, after the police officer waved for him to come over, that was willing to take me to the train station.
Such incredible good will, helpfullness, in the worst crime area of the country, blew my mind away. My grandfather worked in the St. Louis police force for 35 years, and whenever something major big happens with police that's positive, I think he's around looking out for me. Boy did I thank him in the sky that time. Oooowheeee!!!!! I was so full of joy that he was looking out for me it was truly the best PJ experience!
I called my mom the next day and said, "Your dad says hello."
There is no such thing as leftover pizza. There is now pizza and later pizza. - anonymous The risk I took was calculated, but man, am I bad at math - The Mincing Mockingbird
Awww Ms H and HLF, they're lovely stories... I think it's only when you really need help that it all becomes clear to you. Once it HAS become clear you may not need this 'evidence' again!
When I was at my very very very lowest a few years ago (I've never really been a depressed kinda person but have since put it down to being on the pill at the time - really fucked me up) I was just crying frequently for no reason and felt not just lonely but completely ALONE! It was terrifying cos my hormones were completely fucked up and what I was going through did not feel natural at all. It finally got to the stage where I turned to 'God' and asked for help.
I was reading a book at the time and just one line was the first reply. The main character standing on a beach pondering (the insignificance that I spoke of earlier) how we're all completely alone in this world. For some reason that really really comforted me and made me realise that 'yeh we are, it's not just me, and I can't wait for someone else to snap me out of this cos it's all in my hands'.
When I put the book down for the night, I lit a candle burner, turned off the light and pressed play on the stereo... 'crucify' by Tori Amos came on and I looked at the wall and the design of the candle burner had reflected a cross onto the wall :eek: . It was pretty spooky.
Then, I think it was pretty soon after, another night I was looking out my window and I saw a shooting star and I'd never seen one before. Since the night before I'd been wondering what kinda DEFINITE 'sign' could I ask for... so I said 'ok, if you're there, show me another one'. I saw 7 or 8 of them in the next half hour :eek: . I read the next day that there was a meteor shower but I wasn't to know.
Ever since then I've never needed to know or ask any further questions... I just feel pretty comforted most of the time and it's a really nice feeling.
The Astoria??? Orgazmic!
Verona??? it's all surmountable
Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
Wembley? We all believe!
Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
Chicago 07? And love
What a different life
Had I not found this love with you
I've been monitoring this thread since it started because I am interested in the different stories and experiences. I'd like to share a story that does not have a reasonable explanation that we can catalog as spiritual or religious. But I don't have one. I do consider I've had religious experiences because my faith (Catholic) has always been a part of my life. I was raised and am still a practicing Catholic. So what I consider a religious experience may be different than what others consider one. The quote below is an example.
Going to a live show can most definitely be such an experience for me. And I think it pushes the same buttons inside us that mass religious experiences does. It's about a room filled with people focusing on the same thing, creating a kind of energy between crowd and performer. I almost reached that peak at the Nine Inch Nails consert 2 weeks ago, particularly during "The Eraser" (with the song ending on repeated chants of "Kill me" together with the crowd) and "Hurt".
I too am moved at concert performances by my favorite bands. Music has a powerful effect, there is certainly a kind of "high" and uplifting experience, that most definitely is enhanced by the crowd in attendance. However, that feeling to me is totally different from what I feel from what I consider a religious experience.
An personal example of a religious experience is the feeling I had when I received the Sacrament of Confirmation. It was a peacefulness, calmness, and assurance that we are not alone in this world. Very difficult to explain in words. I remember this time in particular because it was when I felt it the strongest, but I get those feelings when I attend Mass, when I pray, when I receive communion. For those of you not familiar with the Catholic faith, our celebrations are usually quiet, low key (there are exceptions) unlike what I've seen on TV from other Christian denominations.
Please don't infer that I'm saying I'm right and you're wrong. It is just how I see this subject. I just consider the feelings at a concert are very different than the what I consider a religious experience.
I have a spiriutal experience that I will share...it is personal so telling it is not very easy...and I am not one to go believing in ghosts and all that sort of stuff.
I was bed-side when my mother died just over a year ago from brain cancer and I was obviously upset. I took the task to inform friends and family of what happened and left to a far corner of the hospital with my cell phone. I did not want my dad doing this as he was in no condition at all for it.
Anyway before I made any calls I just sat down in the corner and began crying and thinking of things I would have said and you know stuff like that. So I was getting upset at myself for some regrets (if you know someone with brain cancer people you realize that the individual they become is not entirely the person they were before) that arose in the past years.
Anyway back to the story, while I was thinking of so many things I felt an intense cold rush flow from the bottom of my feel and enter my head....and for a few seconds...you know how we all have our "voice" inside our heads that "talks" to use...essentially your mind....I have another voice speak to me....told me.."don't worry everything is going to be all right"...and then that cold rush seemed to go right through my head....since that moment I have been at 100% complete peace with myself...I no longer feel regret sure I feel sad not being ablt to ever to speak to my mother again I felt better....anyway it could have been my emotions taking over or something more unexplained....but anyway that is my small story to add.....
I have a spiriutal experience that I will share...it is personal so telling it is not very easy...and I am not one to go believing in ghosts and all that sort of stuff.
I was bed-side when my mother died just over a year ago from brain cancer and I was obviously upset. I took the task to inform friends and family of what happened and left to a far corner of the hospital with my cell phone. I did not want my dad doing this as he was in no condition at all for it.
Anyway before I made any calls I just sat down in the corner and began crying and thinking of things I would have said and you know stuff like that. So I was getting upset at myself for some regrets (if you know someone with brain cancer people you realize that the individual they become is not entirely the person they were before) that arose in the past years.
Anyway back to the story, while I was thinking of so many things I felt an intense cold rush flow from the bottom of my feel and enter my head....and for a few seconds...you know how we all have our "voice" inside our heads that "talks" to use...essentially your mind....I have another voice speak to me....told me.."don't worry everything is going to be all right"...and then that cold rush seemed to go right through my head....since that moment I have been at 100% complete peace with myself...I no longer feel regret sure I feel sad not being ablt to ever to speak to my mother again I felt better....anyway it could have been my emotions taking over or something more unexplained....but anyway that is my small story to add.....
Oh WOW RiC!!! Feel like a total tool for mentioning it, but almost the same thing happened to me at the start of 2005.
Only I was sleeping. And I woke up startled, with my heart pounding because I could feel someone in the room, right beside me. I could physically feel a presence. And a cool "breeze" for want of a better term. And then very quietly but firmly I heard someone say right into my ear "It's all going to be ok." I sat up in bed and put the light on. But there was no one there. And I sat up for hours. I wasn't scared. I felt really peaceful, but I was convinced that someone had spoken to me, and I asked the people I live with if anyone had been in my room but they all thought I was mad. A few weeks later I had a relapse of an ongoing medical condition. Things where not going well for a while there, but every time I started to get worried, I could hear that voice in my head, "It's all going to be ok" and I felt so calm and safe. And the voice was right, I was ok.
I'm really sorry about your Mum. Must be awful to have gone through that.
Oh WOW RiC!!! Feel like a total tool for mentioning it, but almost the same thing happened to me at the start of 2005.
Only I was sleeping. And I woke up startled, with my heart pounding because I could feel someone in the room, right beside me. I could physically feel a presence. And a cool "breeze" for want of a better term. And then very quietly but firmly I heard someone say right into my ear "It's all going to be ok." I sat up in bed and put the light on. But there was no one there. And I sat up for hours. I wasn't scared. I felt really peaceful, but I was convinced that someone had spoken to me, and I asked the people I live with if anyone had been in my room but they all thought I was mad. A few weeks later I had a relapse of an ongoing medical condition. Things where not going well for a while there, but every time I started to get worried, I could hear that voice in my head, "It's all going to be ok" and I felt so calm and safe. And the voice was right, I was ok.
I'm really sorry about your Mum. Must be awful to have gone through that.
Yeah complete peace is the best way to explain it...all the tears/sadness/regretful feelings just disapated and have not come back for me...it was very enlightening.
I usually keep that story close because I just do not want negative feedback. Yeah it could very well been an explainable phenomenon because of sudden emotional stress...but it never happened to me before (and for that matter since) and usually under stressfil circumstances I turn into a wreck so to have this feeling pass over and have such strong emotions disipate so quick if unheard for me.
And yeah it was a very tough time....just watching something tear away someone you love....so dehabilitating.....she fought to the end (8 year battle that we thought she had won 6 years prior but came back worse than ever) and I was there to the end...it was tough but i feel stronger today because of everything that happened.....
Maybe you had someone watching over you for your tough time? It is weird as I am skeptical about alot things but when stuff like this happens to you one begins to wonder what really is beyond life.
Here's an odd one. I was looking for a job, and I applied for a job as a police department transcriptionist. This was in 2003 I always wanted to work in the police because of the connection with the grandfather mentioned previously who I never met.
From 1989 to 1996 I worked either voluntarily or paid as a crisis counselor. I learned and heard about/from survivors of domestic violence, and all forms of child abuse. The one nagging thought I had when I applied to that transcriptionist position is that I would meet with the perpetrators of this violence. There was no way around it.
One night I was on the verge of having a nightmare while asleep. There was a man talking with his friends in a room. He was a well-groomed man wearing very preppy clothes, and he had his son in the room with him. The son was wearing well-groomed clothes also. The man told his son to go to his room.
Both the son, and I knew, that it was a sign that the man was going to molest his son that night. The son was sitting crossed-legged on the floor, and before the man got into the room, someone starting hitting me on my arm. Like with the pointer finger, but really hard. So I was hit awake from my nightmare that could have happend. However, even awake it kept going which meant that ultimately the fear I was experiencing in the dream was turning into total and complete annoyance that someone was hitting me. It was then I gave a big THANK YOU to my room which besides me was empty.
Now, here's the deal. I don't know if my police officer grandpa could do that, and at first I thought it was him. However, upon further reflection, if anyone would hit me out of a nightmare that would be my Italian grandfather. He wasn't known for being the nicest man, but if anyone would get the strength to make sure to hit me out of a nightmare there's no doubt it would be someone as full of pride as him. So, grandpas, gotta love them. Too bad I didn't know them, eh?
There is no such thing as leftover pizza. There is now pizza and later pizza. - anonymous The risk I took was calculated, but man, am I bad at math - The Mincing Mockingbird
hey... Just wanted to share my experience... Actually havent told a single person about this, and now, well, im sharing it with thousands.
So, in the last two years ive started to meditate regularly. A few times Ive experienced feelings of me beginning to leap out of my skin, which freaked the hell out of me, and I ended up breaking my concentration. Anyway, as for the experience I wanted to share....
I was in a deep meditation state for about 30 minutes. I started seeing wierd colors and shapes which is normal, and is due to neurons firing, but anyway.... Everything went black, and then all of the sudden I was seeing a person standing right infront of me. He was just standing there. Looking at me. He had a real distinct face, middle eastern looking. It was the oddest thing. Everything was silent, he didnt move or blink. I didnt understand what was going on, so i opened my eyes and broke the session. Anyway, the next morning I woke up, and on the front page of our paper was a picture of this prominant canadian business man who was being held hostage in Iraq, and evidentally was executed. It was the exact same person that I saw the night before. As for why I saw him, I have no clue, and I also didnt save the newspaper clipping which I really regret.
Not sure what you would classify that experience as, but im definately a spiritual person, and ive had those feelings of connectedness and being one with the universe. Ive also had a few weird ghost type experiences, but I think ive taken up enough space!!
hey... Just wanted to share my experience... Actually havent told a single person about this, and now, well, im sharing it with thousands.
So, in the last two years ive started to meditate regularly. A few times Ive experienced feelings of me beginning to leap out of my skin, which freaked the hell out of me, and I ended up breaking my concentration. Anyway, as for the experience I wanted to share....
I was in a deep meditation state for about 30 minutes. I started seeing wierd colors and shapes which is normal, and is due to neurons firing, but anyway.... Everything went black, and then all of the sudden I was seeing a person standing right infront of me. He was just standing there. Looking at me. He had a real distinct face, middle eastern looking. It was the oddest thing. Everything was silent, he didnt move or blink. I didnt understand what was going on, so i opened my eyes and broke the session. Anyway, the next morning I woke up, and on the front page of our paper was a picture of this prominant canadian business man who was being held hostage in Iraq, and evidentally was executed. It was the exact same person that I saw the night before. As for why I saw him, I have no clue, and I also didnt save the newspaper clipping which I really regret.
Not sure what you would classify that experience as, but im definately a spiritual person, and ive had those feelings of connectedness and being one with the universe. Ive also had a few weird ghost type experiences, but I think ive taken up enough space!!
That is one of the coolest stories I have heard....pretty wild....
Please don't infer that I'm saying I'm right and you're wrong. It is just how I see this subject. I just consider the feelings at a concert are very different than the what I consider a religious experience.
I hear you. That's why I put a divide between "mass events" like concerts and such, and the more personal part of the whole thing.
And all of you in here, I do love you. I can't remember last time an AMT thread went this peacefully and civil for so long. I wont respond to every post in here, but I will generally thank all of you who shared a little piece of yourselves. I am almost shamed I do not have more interesting stories for myself.
Do go on, the lot of you.
Peace
Dan
"YOU [humans] NEED TO BELIEVE IN THINGS THAT AREN'T TRUE. HOW ELSE CAN THEY BECOME?" - Death
"Every judgment teeters on the brink of error. To claim absolute knowledge is to become monstrous. Knowledge is an unending adventure at the edge of uncertainty." - Frank Herbert, Dune, 1965
I like the open mindedness and respect happening in this thread. It's a breathe of fresh are on this moving train.
I'm not sure if mine is a spiritual or synchronistic experience but I'll share and you can decide.
I was going through a child custody battle at the time. Well more like war than battle. I was doing my best to play fair and look out for my son's best interest and my step-son's best interest against someone who was being vindictive. I had false child abuse charges laid against me even.
So after one court appearance I was about as low as I could be. I knew I wasn't going to get any visitation rights to my step-son and it looked like I'd get very limited visitation rights and no parental rights for my son. I was on the verge of just giving up the battle.
I remember I was driving back to work after this day in court and I was just crying while driving. I couldn't figure out why this was happening to me or why someone I used to love was trying to do this to me and the kids. Liek I said I was just ready to quit the whole process. Every court date or fake child abuse charge shit was like getting emotionally raped and there's only so much I can take. So I'm driving down the road, tears in my eyes, listening to a station I almost never listen to and "For Those About To Rock" by AC/DC came on. Just the build up in the song and the chorus "For those about to rock we salute you" was just the song I needed to hear at that time. I can't say it exactly lifted my spirits but it did let me know I couldn't quit, not so much for me but my son. The moment may have been synchronistic, the right song at the right time, but the effect it had on me was purely spiritual. Something changed inside of me during that song and it was a change for the better.
I always like to think that I wouldn't have quit the fight without hearing that song but I'm glad I'll never know. In the end things turned out as good as the could given reality. I still never get to see my step-son but I have my son pretty much full-time with parental rights. And he's a great kid, possessing the best attributes of both his mom and dad and a bunch of his own.
“One good thing about music,
when it hits you, you feel to pain.
So brutalize me with music.”
~ Bob Marley
Surferdude, if something changed within you during that song, I believe it a spiritual experience. Happy to know all is well with your son...
From my experience and those of others I know, it seems that most of the events seem to occur when we are searching for something, when we are going through a trauma, approaching death or when we are in need (or someone else is in need) - except for children.. they seem to always be open.
Could this perhaps seem to others that our subconcious mind may be digesting info/signal, 'fixing' things for us and 'showing' a solution the only way we would be receptive to it because our concious mind can't deal with things? Could the apparition of the canadian hostage be that the poster had heard/read something about it and it was subconciously bugging him?
Or do we often experience these events during difficult times because the rest of the time, we tend to shut our minds to those kind of things?
Difficult to say, but these are powerful phenomena (not alway positive, I might add!) and I cannot believe it is just our mind 'sorting us out'.
I like the open mindedness and respect happening in this thread. It's a breathe of fresh are on this moving train.
I'm not sure if mine is a spiritual or synchronistic experience but I'll share and you can decide.
I was going through a child custody battle at the time. Well more like war than battle. I was doing my best to play fair and look out for my son's best interest and my step-son's best interest against someone who was being vindictive. I had false child abuse charges laid against me even.
So after one court appearance I was about as low as I could be. I knew I wasn't going to get any visitation rights to my step-son and it looked like I'd get very limited visitation rights and no parental rights for my son. I was on the verge of just giving up the battle.
I remember I was driving back to work after this day in court and I was just crying while driving. I couldn't figure out why this was happening to me or why someone I used to love was trying to do this to me and the kids. Liek I said I was just ready to quit the whole process. Every court date or fake child abuse charge shit was like getting emotionally raped and there's only so much I can take. So I'm driving down the road, tears in my eyes, listening to a station I almost never listen to and "For Those About To Rock" by AC/DC came on. Just the build up in the song and the chorus "For those about to rock we salute you" was just the song I needed to hear at that time. I can't say it exactly lifted my spirits but it did let me know I couldn't quit, not so much for me but my son. The moment may have been synchronistic, the right song at the right time, but the effect it had on me was purely spiritual. Something changed inside of me during that song and it was a change for the better.
I always like to think that I wouldn't have quit the fight without hearing that song but I'm glad I'll never know. In the end things turned out as good as the could given reality. I still never get to see my step-son but I have my son pretty much full-time with parental rights. And he's a great kid, possessing the best attributes of both his mom and dad and a bunch of his own.
Thats tough man with fake child abuse charges...just not fair....great to hear that things worked out for you in the end....:)
once several years ago i was lying on my bed and i saw a black wraith standing in my doorway. it came towards me and passed right through me.
when i am out and about during the night i try to make sure i am never outdoors between the hours of 3am and 4am. i call this the monster hour. i don't know what it is but for this one hour it is as if there is a shift in the air. it unnerves me and i don't like it. and before anyone asks, no i am not afraid of the dark. and no i don't have nightmares.
when it passed thru you, did you feel paralyzed? because if so, i'm pretty sure you experienced is the "Old Hag Syndrome".
this is what I came to talk about, because I experienced it, and probably not coincidentally, it happened to me between 3am and 4am.
it started off as a dream, very calm and serene:
I think my dream goes back further than the point I can remember it from, but here is what I recall... I am riding in the back of a friend's car, looking out the window to the left. The two friends I am with are chatting with each other in the front of the car. We are driving in a mountanous area and approach a decent-sized lake on our left. the time of day is the twilight hour, just after sunset. In the corner of my eye, I notice a man wearing a black suit who is floating above the lake. He is looking away from me and slightly up towards the sky, where there is a glowing white aura above and about ten yards in front of him. I somehow float out of the car as it speeds away, and I move towards this man and this aura, who are both driftly slowly and in the same up and outwards direction. As I approach the man, I see he is not moving and appears dead. His suit looks like a suit that a man would be buried in. The aura in front of him begins to take the shape of an angel - a very classical looking female angel with a white dress, soft, almost translucent wings that flutter lazily, hair color that is brown or blonde - its hard to tell because of the light. I float past the man (or his body) on his left. I move up towards the angel. When I get within five feet of her, she turns around swiftly and her face was the most horrible vision I have ever seen, without a doubt. Hard to describe it perfectly, but imagine a combination of the librarian ghost in 'Ghostbusters' and the wraths that appear out of the Ark of the Covenent when the Nazis open it in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'. I completely freeze, like in a metaphysical vice, and blood begins to ooze out of her eye sockets. At this point, I finally wake up, but I still feel paralyzed and there appears to be a fuzzy lightning-like glow in front of my chest. I fight it as if I'm fighting for my life. The struggle lasts probably about 10 seconds but it felt like it last for at least a whole minute. I shake it off (or maybe the 'sleep paralysis' wears off - as scientists may be correct about) and I can move and take a deep breath. I sit there emotionally stunned recalling every last detail I could of what just happened to me.
about a year or two later, when I found out that other men have had a very similar experience and that this phenomenon has been reported going back centuries, well... it was naturally a shocking revelation to me. why would so many different individuals see this same wrath... this 'old hag'??? and only men...??? i understand that sleep paralysis is a natural effect and that being startled out of a dream could probably leave you in the grip of this paralysis for a little while until you snap out of it. but i get woken out of dreams a lot, and this was the only time i felt paralyzed. also, the drawings I have seen of the "old hag" are exactly what I have seen... and the most common "sympton" of this "syndrome" is the feeling of being paralyzed... but moreso... it's the feeling of having your life force being sucked away. i'm not sure how simple science can explain that away.
well, that's the most profound spiritual experience I have had. I also do feel positive spiritual experiences thru good music and art... and rare communal experiences. so it's not all horrifying
You fuckers are kinda freaking me out. I've been trying to think of an appropriate human-demon lately, and the best thing I can come up with is that Blair witch, who must have been 9 foot tall, boney, and all sinewy muscle under wrinkly skin. And a demons voice, with breath that just overcomes one while she gets a pincer grip on your shoulder.
You fuckers are kinda freaking me out. I've been trying to think of an appropriate human-demon lately, and the best thing I can come up with is that Blair witch, who must have been 9 foot tall, boney, and all sinewy muscle under wrinkly skin. And a demons voice, with breath that just overcomes one while she gets a pincer grip on your shoulder.
Scraggly hair, too! Maybe thick black hair sprouting from her arms.
when it passed thru you, did you feel paralyzed? because if so, i'm pretty sure you experienced is the "Old Hag Syndrome".
this is what I came to talk about, because I experienced it, and probably not coincidentally, it happened to me between 3am and 4am.
it started off as a dream, very calm and serene:
I think my dream goes back further than the point I can remember it from, but here is what I recall... I am riding in the back of a friend's car, looking out the window to the left. The two friends I am with are chatting with each other in the front of the car. We are driving in a mountanous area and approach a decent-sized lake on our left. the time of day is the twilight hour, just after sunset. In the corner of my eye, I notice a man wearing a black suit who is floating above the lake. He is looking away from me and slightly up towards the sky, where there is a glowing white aura above and about ten yards in front of him. I somehow float out of the car as it speeds away, and I move towards this man and this aura, who are both driftly slowly and in the same up and outwards direction. As I approach the man, I see he is not moving and appears dead. His suit looks like a suit that a man would be buried in. The aura in front of him begins to take the shape of an angel - a very classical looking female angel with a white dress, soft, almost translucent wings that flutter lazily, hair color that is brown or blonde - its hard to tell because of the light. I float past the man (or his body) on his left. I move up towards the angel. When I get within five feet of her, she turns around swiftly and her face was the most horrible vision I have ever seen, without a doubt. Hard to describe it perfectly, but imagine a combination of the librarian ghost in 'Ghostbusters' and the wraths that appear out of the Ark of the Covenent when the Nazis open it in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'. I completely freeze, like in a metaphysical vice, and blood begins to ooze out of her eye sockets. At this point, I finally wake up, but I still feel paralyzed and there appears to be a fuzzy lightning-like glow in front of my chest. I fight it as if I'm fighting for my life. The struggle lasts probably about 10 seconds but it felt like it last for at least a whole minute. I shake it off (or maybe the 'sleep paralysis' wears off - as scientists may be correct about) and I can move and take a deep breath. I sit there emotionally stunned recalling every last detail I could of what just happened to me.
about a year or two later, when I found out that other men have had a very similar experience and that this phenomenon has been reported going back centuries, well... it was naturally a shocking revelation to me. why would so many different individuals see this same wrath... this 'old hag'??? and only men...??? i understand that sleep paralysis is a natural effect and that being startled out of a dream could probably leave you in the grip of this paralysis for a little while until you snap out of it. but i get woken out of dreams a lot, and this was the only time i felt paralyzed. also, the drawings I have seen of the "old hag" are exactly what I have seen... and the most common "sympton" of this "syndrome" is the feeling of being paralyzed... but moreso... it's the feeling of having your life force being sucked away. i'm not sure how simple science can explain that away.
well, that's the most profound spiritual experience I have had. I also do feel positive spiritual experiences thru good music and art... and rare communal experiences. so it's not all horrifying
I suffer from sleep paralysis myself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis It is quite unnerving. My first experience was when I was 10 or 11. We were on a road trip and I was asleep in the backseat. I also tend to sleep with my eyes open (creepy I know) when I'm under a lot of stress. Whenever I have had a sleep paralysis episode, I have had my eyes open. So, I usually see everything around me and I don't realize that I'm asleep. When I'm having the experience, I totally believe whatever is happening. I have had this 'old hag' float above me before! First time I saw her was in college. I thought my dorm was haunted until I woke up. Other times I just sense a presence in the room with me, or see a shadow of someone coming down the hall or hiding in the darkness. I'm totally paralyzed and I have trouble breathing.
I think the old-school stories about an incubus or succubus originated from sleep paralysis experiences. There is a painting on in that wiki link that shows an incubus sitting on a woman's chest. People thought this was the reason they could not breath. Also, I think some modern day alien abduction experiences might really be a sleep paralysis experience.
While we are on the subject, I wonder if anyone here has had a lucid dreaming experience? I've always been interested in hearing about those experiences.
The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance,
but the illusion of knowledge.
~Daniel Boorstin
Only a life lived for others is worth living.
~Albert Einstein
I suffer from sleep paralysis myself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis It is quite unnerving. My first experience was when I was 10 or 11. We were on a road trip and I was asleep in the backseat. I also tend to sleep with my eyes open (creepy I know) when I'm under a lot of stress. Whenever I have had a sleep paralysis episode, I have had my eyes open. So, I usually see everything around me and I don't realize that I'm asleep. When I'm having the experience, I totally believe whatever is happening. I have had this 'old hag' float above me before! First time I saw her was in college. I thought my dorm was haunted until I woke up. Other times I just sense a presence in the room with me, or see a shadow of someone coming down the hall or hiding in the darkness. I'm totally paralyzed and I have trouble breathing.
I think the old-school stories about an incubus or succubus originated from sleep paralysis experiences. There is a painting on in that wiki link that shows an incubus sitting on a woman's chest. People thought this was the reason they could not breath. Also, I think some modern day alien abduction experiences might really be a sleep paralysis experience.
While we are on the subject, I wonder if anyone here has had a lucid dreaming experience? I've always been interested in hearing about those experiences.
whem i was a young kid, im guessing around 8-10 yrs old, i had night terrors.
i don't know the science of it but i will explain in short what i used to do.
wake up from a sleep but not, eyes wide open but sleep walking like and screaming.it actually was painful for some reason.as in i felt very small and
sort of heavy in gravity like.i'd turn on every light in the house screamin like.
id go outside even.my dad and mom would walk with me, mostly my dad i remember walkin with me outside, im sleepin the whole time, eyes open and can see everything but kinda fogy/hazy or distorted like but not bad.
maybe even things were kinda slowed down.it was wild.done it alot, as in more than a few times.i was quite hyperactice/did poorly in school due to over active thoughts, couldnt focus on the task at hand, thinkin 2,ooo things at once.doc got me on ridilin.that stoped the night terrors.didnt help my schooling much tho.
whem i was a young kid, im guessing around 8-10 yrs old, i had night terrors.
i don't know the science of it but i will explain in short what i used to do.
wake up from a sleep but not, eyes wide open but sleep walking like and screaming.it actually was painful for some reason.as in i felt very small and
sort of heavy in gravity like.i'd turn on every light in the house screamin like.
id go outside even.my dad and mom would walk with me, mostly my dad i remember walkin with me outside, im sleepin the whole time, eyes open and can see everything but kinda fogy/hazy or distorted like but not bad.
maybe even things were kinda slowed down.it was wild.done it alot, as in more than a few times.i was quite hyperactice/did poorly in school due to over active thoughts, couldnt focus on the task at hand, thinkin 2,ooo things at once.doc got me on ridilin.that stoped the night terrors.didnt help my schooling much tho.
How scary, Chadwick! I'm glad you don't suffer from those anymore, probably 'grew out of it' and it might have been linked to ADD, so maybe the medications did work. I don't know too much about night terrors, so I'm not up on the science of it, but I'm sure there are lots of resources on the net.
The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance,
but the illusion of knowledge.
~Daniel Boorstin
Only a life lived for others is worth living.
~Albert Einstein
ive experienced many amazing events which are from seeing my grandmothers spirit/ghost.
feeling her around me watchin over me, like a gaurdian
angel.had a few experiences with my dads after life energy, one being a huge
miracle from him to me.the other was signs he was with me in my car.
my brother comes to me in my dreams and lets me know things are goin well.
gives me messages to give my mom.my dad comes in my dreams to with messages.
ive knew things were going to happen before they happened.
as a really young kid i somehow knew logs were going to fall off a log truck our family was following when i was playing on the cars floor in the backseat with my 2 brothers.i stood up, told my dad those logs are gonna fall off.
dad slows down and backs away from the log truck, 3 seconds later, the logs all come rollin off the truck missin us by a few feet.
we gotta stay in tune with our feelings/soul.
i call it being centered. or like being one with the universe.
we all have these gifts but we get polluted and these gifts get buried away.
as i am now scared to post my experiences in this thread.
i sit here and type at the bottom of this post.
haha.
it's just me.
as PJ says, I am mine.
Those are amazing experiences, Chadwick! Thanks for sharing them. I recently read a book about a guy that studied different after-death communications. He features over 3000 firsthand accounts in his book, much like your experiences.
The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance,
but the illusion of knowledge.
~Daniel Boorstin
Only a life lived for others is worth living.
~Albert Einstein
Comments
Yeh, see I've done it
Verona??? it's all surmountable
Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
Wembley? We all believe!
Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
Chicago 07? And love
What a different life
Had I not found this love with you
I had one experience in which I was in a church meeting as a teenager (seventeen). I was going through a time in my life when I reached rock-bottom with self-esteem. There was an "altar call" where people were invited to be prayed for based on experiences of low self-esteem and self-hatred. I knelt down, bowed my head and closed my eyes. I felt a hand press on my shoulder and a warmth through my entire body. I opened my eyes and looked over my shoulder. There was no-one there. Again, I closed my eyes, and felt the same hand press gently on my shoulder again. This time it was there for five minutes. I opened my eyes. No-one was there. Now, either someone was f***ing with me, or...
Another experience was even stranger. I had just returned from a Christian youth camp, feeling pretty drained and burned out from the whole 'Christian-ness' of the thing, to be honest. I went onto the landing upstairs to pray to God. I told him that I felt all this was a bit religious, and if I was to believe in him whole-heartedly, I just needed something real to cling on to: an experience. As I was praying, I heard quite clearly a person playing worship songs on the guitar in my room; it was like listening to the radio. I sat there listening to it, thinking if my mind was playing tricks on me, it would stop. When it didn't, I opened the door to my room. The second I opened the door, the music stopped and there was no sign of anyone in my room. I snooped around for a little while as well, just to make sure...
When I was a young lad (five-ish), my family were at a Christian conference. My mum was at one of the meetings. She had to take me out of the meeting because I was crying and being disruptive. She decided to take me for a drive in the car so that I would fall asleep. On the journey, I heard very clearly some music (children's music about God); the lyrics were about sleeping soundly and things like 'peace' and what-not. Anyway, I said to my mum, 'Mum can you turn the music up?' 'There's no music on,' she said. Needless to say, she never got me to sleep because I kept saying 'Turn the music up!' 'There is no music!' she kept assuring me. Indeed, when I looked at the radio/tape player, nothing was on. We both remember this pretty clearly.
Man, I must be so annoying even God couldn't get me to sleep
- the great Sir Leo Harrison
I believe in those beings.. I have had 'encounters' with them.. I know a number of people that have as well...
Though strangely enough I do not go for the religious aspect of things, I named my daughter Gabrielle - after the archangel....
Gabrielle is a beautiful name
- the great Sir Leo Harrison
Verona??? it's all surmountable
Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
Wembley? We all believe!
Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
Chicago 07? And love
What a different life
Had I not found this love with you
These type of encounters make you realise that there is more to this world then one would like to believe. It is a very comforting feeling. I know of a person who had somewhat more disturbed encounter but nevertheless it was still eye opening and gave her a very different outlook on life.
The risk I took was calculated, but man, am I bad at math - The Mincing Mockingbird
Camden Philly 06#1. I decided I couldn't afford to go so I was able to find someone to purchase my tickets. However, I had to take the train from DC to Philly so that I could personally pick them up and sell them. I looked at the schedule and made plans with the purchaser with enough cushion of time in case things are delayed.
I arrived in the morning, and walked to the river between Philly and Camden. PureandEasy gave me directions on how to use the riverboat, so I was prepared, but the times were not as frequent as I would expect. The purchaser was about 1 hour late for our meeting. Again, I had cushion, but I was getting nervous because the times the riverboat went back to Philly may be too late for me to reach my train back to DC on time. I also knew, of course, that rationally I could always get another train if push comes to shove, but I didn't want to end up in DC too late.
As I was waiting I asked a couple concert staff where's the best place to get a taxi?
One said -I don't know I never see taxis here.
One said - Maybe over there near the acquarium.
It was then I realized I didn't see any taxis in Philadelphia, and none here. What's up with that? No taxis? It's probably an indication of the crime.
After I sold the tickets I went to the acquarium, and the acquarium manager, and a police officer were standing outside the acquarium. I asked for the best place to get a taxi. The police officer said that they come about every half hour. He then said, he would call one for me. He came back, and said one would be there in 10 minutes. Then he said that he would get "one of his guys" to take me to the taxi hang out or whatever it's called. Now, you gotta remember this is in the worst crime area of the country, and they are taking their time out to help me find a taxi. The police officer drives over, I get in the back, and the first thing I say is "I thought I would never be in one of these unless I was in trouble
Such incredible good will, helpfullness, in the worst crime area of the country, blew my mind away. My grandfather worked in the St. Louis police force for 35 years, and whenever something major big happens with police that's positive, I think he's around looking out for me. Boy did I thank him in the sky that time. Oooowheeee!!!!! I was so full of joy that he was looking out for me it was truly the best PJ experience!
I called my mom the next day and said, "Your dad says hello."
The risk I took was calculated, but man, am I bad at math - The Mincing Mockingbird
When I was at my very very very lowest a few years ago (I've never really been a depressed kinda person but have since put it down to being on the pill at the time - really fucked me up) I was just crying frequently for no reason and felt not just lonely but completely ALONE! It was terrifying cos my hormones were completely fucked up and what I was going through did not feel natural at all. It finally got to the stage where I turned to 'God' and asked for help.
I was reading a book at the time and just one line was the first reply. The main character standing on a beach pondering (the insignificance that I spoke of earlier) how we're all completely alone in this world. For some reason that really really comforted me and made me realise that 'yeh we are, it's not just me, and I can't wait for someone else to snap me out of this cos it's all in my hands'.
When I put the book down for the night, I lit a candle burner, turned off the light and pressed play on the stereo... 'crucify' by Tori Amos came on and I looked at the wall and the design of the candle burner had reflected a cross onto the wall :eek: . It was pretty spooky.
Then, I think it was pretty soon after, another night I was looking out my window and I saw a shooting star and I'd never seen one before. Since the night before I'd been wondering what kinda DEFINITE 'sign' could I ask for... so I said 'ok, if you're there, show me another one'. I saw 7 or 8 of them in the next half hour :eek: . I read the next day that there was a meteor shower but I wasn't to know.
Ever since then I've never needed to know or ask any further questions... I just feel pretty comforted most of the time and it's a really nice feeling.
Verona??? it's all surmountable
Dublin 23.08.06 "The beauty of Ireland, right there!"
Wembley? We all believe!
Copenhagen?? your light made us stars
Chicago 07? And love
What a different life
Had I not found this love with you
I too am moved at concert performances by my favorite bands. Music has a powerful effect, there is certainly a kind of "high" and uplifting experience, that most definitely is enhanced by the crowd in attendance. However, that feeling to me is totally different from what I feel from what I consider a religious experience.
An personal example of a religious experience is the feeling I had when I received the Sacrament of Confirmation. It was a peacefulness, calmness, and assurance that we are not alone in this world. Very difficult to explain in words. I remember this time in particular because it was when I felt it the strongest, but I get those feelings when I attend Mass, when I pray, when I receive communion. For those of you not familiar with the Catholic faith, our celebrations are usually quiet, low key (there are exceptions) unlike what I've seen on TV from other Christian denominations.
Please don't infer that I'm saying I'm right and you're wrong. It is just how I see this subject. I just consider the feelings at a concert are very different than the what I consider a religious experience.
I was bed-side when my mother died just over a year ago from brain cancer and I was obviously upset. I took the task to inform friends and family of what happened and left to a far corner of the hospital with my cell phone. I did not want my dad doing this as he was in no condition at all for it.
Anyway before I made any calls I just sat down in the corner and began crying and thinking of things I would have said and you know stuff like that. So I was getting upset at myself for some regrets (if you know someone with brain cancer people you realize that the individual they become is not entirely the person they were before) that arose in the past years.
Anyway back to the story, while I was thinking of so many things I felt an intense cold rush flow from the bottom of my feel and enter my head....and for a few seconds...you know how we all have our "voice" inside our heads that "talks" to use...essentially your mind....I have another voice speak to me....told me.."don't worry everything is going to be all right"...and then that cold rush seemed to go right through my head....since that moment I have been at 100% complete peace with myself...I no longer feel regret sure I feel sad not being ablt to ever to speak to my mother again I felt better....anyway it could have been my emotions taking over or something more unexplained....but anyway that is my small story to add.....
Oh WOW RiC!!! Feel like a total tool for mentioning it, but almost the same thing happened to me at the start of 2005.
Only I was sleeping. And I woke up startled, with my heart pounding because I could feel someone in the room, right beside me. I could physically feel a presence. And a cool "breeze" for want of a better term. And then very quietly but firmly I heard someone say right into my ear "It's all going to be ok." I sat up in bed and put the light on. But there was no one there. And I sat up for hours. I wasn't scared. I felt really peaceful, but I was convinced that someone had spoken to me, and I asked the people I live with if anyone had been in my room but they all thought I was mad. A few weeks later I had a relapse of an ongoing medical condition. Things where not going well for a while there, but every time I started to get worried, I could hear that voice in my head, "It's all going to be ok" and I felt so calm and safe. And the voice was right, I was ok.
I'm really sorry about your Mum. Must be awful to have gone through that.
*~You're IT Bert!~*
Hold on to the thread
The currents will shift
Yeah complete peace is the best way to explain it...all the tears/sadness/regretful feelings just disapated and have not come back for me...it was very enlightening.
I usually keep that story close because I just do not want negative feedback. Yeah it could very well been an explainable phenomenon because of sudden emotional stress...but it never happened to me before (and for that matter since) and usually under stressfil circumstances I turn into a wreck so to have this feeling pass over and have such strong emotions disipate so quick if unheard for me.
And yeah it was a very tough time....just watching something tear away someone you love....so dehabilitating.....she fought to the end (8 year battle that we thought she had won 6 years prior but came back worse than ever) and I was there to the end...it was tough but i feel stronger today because of everything that happened.....
Maybe you had someone watching over you for your tough time? It is weird as I am skeptical about alot things but when stuff like this happens to you one begins to wonder what really is beyond life.
From 1989 to 1996 I worked either voluntarily or paid as a crisis counselor. I learned and heard about/from survivors of domestic violence, and all forms of child abuse. The one nagging thought I had when I applied to that transcriptionist position is that I would meet with the perpetrators of this violence. There was no way around it.
One night I was on the verge of having a nightmare while asleep. There was a man talking with his friends in a room. He was a well-groomed man wearing very preppy clothes, and he had his son in the room with him. The son was wearing well-groomed clothes also. The man told his son to go to his room.
Both the son, and I knew, that it was a sign that the man was going to molest his son that night. The son was sitting crossed-legged on the floor, and before the man got into the room, someone starting hitting me on my arm. Like with the pointer finger, but really hard. So I was hit awake from my nightmare that could have happend. However, even awake it kept going which meant that ultimately the fear I was experiencing in the dream was turning into total and complete annoyance that someone was hitting me. It was then I gave a big THANK YOU to my room which besides me was empty.
Now, here's the deal. I don't know if my police officer grandpa could do that, and at first I thought it was him. However, upon further reflection, if anyone would hit me out of a nightmare that would be my Italian grandfather. He wasn't known for being the nicest man, but if anyone would get the strength to make sure to hit me out of a nightmare there's no doubt it would be someone as full of pride as him. So, grandpas, gotta love them. Too bad I didn't know them, eh?
The risk I took was calculated, but man, am I bad at math - The Mincing Mockingbird
So, in the last two years ive started to meditate regularly. A few times Ive experienced feelings of me beginning to leap out of my skin, which freaked the hell out of me, and I ended up breaking my concentration. Anyway, as for the experience I wanted to share....
I was in a deep meditation state for about 30 minutes. I started seeing wierd colors and shapes which is normal, and is due to neurons firing, but anyway.... Everything went black, and then all of the sudden I was seeing a person standing right infront of me. He was just standing there. Looking at me. He had a real distinct face, middle eastern looking. It was the oddest thing. Everything was silent, he didnt move or blink. I didnt understand what was going on, so i opened my eyes and broke the session. Anyway, the next morning I woke up, and on the front page of our paper was a picture of this prominant canadian business man who was being held hostage in Iraq, and evidentally was executed. It was the exact same person that I saw the night before. As for why I saw him, I have no clue, and I also didnt save the newspaper clipping which I really regret.
Not sure what you would classify that experience as, but im definately a spiritual person, and ive had those feelings of connectedness and being one with the universe. Ive also had a few weird ghost type experiences, but I think ive taken up enough space!!
That is one of the coolest stories I have heard....pretty wild....
And all of you in here, I do love you. I can't remember last time an AMT thread went this peacefully and civil for so long. I wont respond to every post in here, but I will generally thank all of you who shared a little piece of yourselves. I am almost shamed I do not have more interesting stories for myself.
Do go on, the lot of you.
Peace
Dan
"Every judgment teeters on the brink of error. To claim absolute knowledge is to become monstrous. Knowledge is an unending adventure at the edge of uncertainty." - Frank Herbert, Dune, 1965
I'm not sure if mine is a spiritual or synchronistic experience but I'll share and you can decide.
I was going through a child custody battle at the time. Well more like war than battle. I was doing my best to play fair and look out for my son's best interest and my step-son's best interest against someone who was being vindictive. I had false child abuse charges laid against me even.
So after one court appearance I was about as low as I could be. I knew I wasn't going to get any visitation rights to my step-son and it looked like I'd get very limited visitation rights and no parental rights for my son. I was on the verge of just giving up the battle.
I remember I was driving back to work after this day in court and I was just crying while driving. I couldn't figure out why this was happening to me or why someone I used to love was trying to do this to me and the kids. Liek I said I was just ready to quit the whole process. Every court date or fake child abuse charge shit was like getting emotionally raped and there's only so much I can take. So I'm driving down the road, tears in my eyes, listening to a station I almost never listen to and "For Those About To Rock" by AC/DC came on. Just the build up in the song and the chorus "For those about to rock we salute you" was just the song I needed to hear at that time. I can't say it exactly lifted my spirits but it did let me know I couldn't quit, not so much for me but my son. The moment may have been synchronistic, the right song at the right time, but the effect it had on me was purely spiritual. Something changed inside of me during that song and it was a change for the better.
I always like to think that I wouldn't have quit the fight without hearing that song but I'm glad I'll never know. In the end things turned out as good as the could given reality. I still never get to see my step-son but I have my son pretty much full-time with parental rights. And he's a great kid, possessing the best attributes of both his mom and dad and a bunch of his own.
when it hits you, you feel to pain.
So brutalize me with music.”
~ Bob Marley
From my experience and those of others I know, it seems that most of the events seem to occur when we are searching for something, when we are going through a trauma, approaching death or when we are in need (or someone else is in need) - except for children.. they seem to always be open.
Could this perhaps seem to others that our subconcious mind may be digesting info/signal, 'fixing' things for us and 'showing' a solution the only way we would be receptive to it because our concious mind can't deal with things? Could the apparition of the canadian hostage be that the poster had heard/read something about it and it was subconciously bugging him?
Or do we often experience these events during difficult times because the rest of the time, we tend to shut our minds to those kind of things?
Difficult to say, but these are powerful phenomena (not alway positive, I might add!) and I cannot believe it is just our mind 'sorting us out'.
Thats tough man with fake child abuse charges...just not fair....great to hear that things worked out for you in the end....:)
hehe!
I think I've vanquished my logical side to the Denial file permanently!!
*~You're IT Bert!~*
Hold on to the thread
The currents will shift
when it passed thru you, did you feel paralyzed? because if so, i'm pretty sure you experienced is the "Old Hag Syndrome".
this is what I came to talk about, because I experienced it, and probably not coincidentally, it happened to me between 3am and 4am.
it started off as a dream, very calm and serene:
I think my dream goes back further than the point I can remember it from, but here is what I recall... I am riding in the back of a friend's car, looking out the window to the left. The two friends I am with are chatting with each other in the front of the car. We are driving in a mountanous area and approach a decent-sized lake on our left. the time of day is the twilight hour, just after sunset. In the corner of my eye, I notice a man wearing a black suit who is floating above the lake. He is looking away from me and slightly up towards the sky, where there is a glowing white aura above and about ten yards in front of him. I somehow float out of the car as it speeds away, and I move towards this man and this aura, who are both driftly slowly and in the same up and outwards direction. As I approach the man, I see he is not moving and appears dead. His suit looks like a suit that a man would be buried in. The aura in front of him begins to take the shape of an angel - a very classical looking female angel with a white dress, soft, almost translucent wings that flutter lazily, hair color that is brown or blonde - its hard to tell because of the light. I float past the man (or his body) on his left. I move up towards the angel. When I get within five feet of her, she turns around swiftly and her face was the most horrible vision I have ever seen, without a doubt. Hard to describe it perfectly, but imagine a combination of the librarian ghost in 'Ghostbusters' and the wraths that appear out of the Ark of the Covenent when the Nazis open it in 'Raiders of the Lost Ark'. I completely freeze, like in a metaphysical vice, and blood begins to ooze out of her eye sockets. At this point, I finally wake up, but I still feel paralyzed and there appears to be a fuzzy lightning-like glow in front of my chest. I fight it as if I'm fighting for my life. The struggle lasts probably about 10 seconds but it felt like it last for at least a whole minute. I shake it off (or maybe the 'sleep paralysis' wears off - as scientists may be correct about) and I can move and take a deep breath. I sit there emotionally stunned recalling every last detail I could of what just happened to me.
about a year or two later, when I found out that other men have had a very similar experience and that this phenomenon has been reported going back centuries, well... it was naturally a shocking revelation to me. why would so many different individuals see this same wrath... this 'old hag'??? and only men...??? i understand that sleep paralysis is a natural effect and that being startled out of a dream could probably leave you in the grip of this paralysis for a little while until you snap out of it. but i get woken out of dreams a lot, and this was the only time i felt paralyzed. also, the drawings I have seen of the "old hag" are exactly what I have seen... and the most common "sympton" of this "syndrome" is the feeling of being paralyzed... but moreso... it's the feeling of having your life force being sucked away. i'm not sure how simple science can explain that away.
well, that's the most profound spiritual experience I have had. I also do feel positive spiritual experiences thru good music and art... and rare communal experiences. so it's not all horrifying
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Scraggly hair, too! Maybe thick black hair sprouting from her arms.
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I suffer from sleep paralysis myself. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleep_paralysis It is quite unnerving. My first experience was when I was 10 or 11. We were on a road trip and I was asleep in the backseat. I also tend to sleep with my eyes open (creepy I know) when I'm under a lot of stress. Whenever I have had a sleep paralysis episode, I have had my eyes open. So, I usually see everything around me and I don't realize that I'm asleep. When I'm having the experience, I totally believe whatever is happening. I have had this 'old hag' float above me before! First time I saw her was in college. I thought my dorm was haunted until I woke up. Other times I just sense a presence in the room with me, or see a shadow of someone coming down the hall or hiding in the darkness. I'm totally paralyzed and I have trouble breathing.
I think the old-school stories about an incubus or succubus originated from sleep paralysis experiences. There is a painting on in that wiki link that shows an incubus sitting on a woman's chest. People thought this was the reason they could not breath. Also, I think some modern day alien abduction experiences might really be a sleep paralysis experience.
While we are on the subject, I wonder if anyone here has had a lucid dreaming experience? I've always been interested in hearing about those experiences.
but the illusion of knowledge.
~Daniel Boorstin
Only a life lived for others is worth living.
~Albert Einstein
whem i was a young kid, im guessing around 8-10 yrs old, i had night terrors.
i don't know the science of it but i will explain in short what i used to do.
wake up from a sleep but not, eyes wide open but sleep walking like and screaming.it actually was painful for some reason.as in i felt very small and
sort of heavy in gravity like.i'd turn on every light in the house screamin like.
id go outside even.my dad and mom would walk with me, mostly my dad i remember walkin with me outside, im sleepin the whole time, eyes open and can see everything but kinda fogy/hazy or distorted like but not bad.
maybe even things were kinda slowed down.it was wild.done it alot, as in more than a few times.i was quite hyperactice/did poorly in school due to over active thoughts, couldnt focus on the task at hand, thinkin 2,ooo things at once.doc got me on ridilin.that stoped the night terrors.didnt help my schooling much tho.
"Hear me, my chiefs!
I am tired; my heart is
sick and sad. From where
the sun stands I will fight
no more forever."
Chief Joseph - Nez Perce
Yeah, that does sound like a night terror episode. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_terror
How scary, Chadwick! I'm glad you don't suffer from those anymore, probably 'grew out of it' and it might have been linked to ADD, so maybe the medications did work. I don't know too much about night terrors, so I'm not up on the science of it, but I'm sure there are lots of resources on the net.
but the illusion of knowledge.
~Daniel Boorstin
Only a life lived for others is worth living.
~Albert Einstein
feeling her around me watchin over me, like a gaurdian
angel.had a few experiences with my dads after life energy, one being a huge
miracle from him to me.the other was signs he was with me in my car.
my brother comes to me in my dreams and lets me know things are goin well.
gives me messages to give my mom.my dad comes in my dreams to with messages.
ive knew things were going to happen before they happened.
as a really young kid i somehow knew logs were going to fall off a log truck our family was following when i was playing on the cars floor in the backseat with my 2 brothers.i stood up, told my dad those logs are gonna fall off.
dad slows down and backs away from the log truck, 3 seconds later, the logs all come rollin off the truck missin us by a few feet.
we gotta stay in tune with our feelings/soul.
i call it being centered. or like being one with the universe.
we all have these gifts but we get polluted and these gifts get buried away.
as i am now scared to post my experiences in this thread.
i sit here and type at the bottom of this post.
haha.
it's just me.
as PJ says, I am mine.
"Hear me, my chiefs!
I am tired; my heart is
sick and sad. From where
the sun stands I will fight
no more forever."
Chief Joseph - Nez Perce
but the illusion of knowledge.
~Daniel Boorstin
Only a life lived for others is worth living.
~Albert Einstein