Higher Power

**Trey** · February 08, 2007, 09:31 PM

I was thinking to myself, and was inspired by the believe in God/Don't believe in God threads. My question is, regardless of your beliefs, have you ever felt or experienced the supernatural/Higher Power? Please explain, and I'll get back to you with some of my stories later.

**Warmaster** · February 08, 2007, 09:43 PM

Originally Posted by Trey

I was thinking to myself, and was inspired by the believe in God/Don't believe in God threads. My question is, regardless of your beliefs, have you ever felt or experienced the supernatural/Higher Power? Please explain, and I'll get back to you with some of my stories later.

Im afraid that i havent. Im always keeping my eye out because i have a couple of Christian friends who seem pretty adamant that they experience miracles on an almost daily basis. Personally, i havent seen any evidence of anything other than the sorts of things that have been affirmed by science. Its part of the reason why i'm atheist. If theres some sort of higher power they sure as hell havent done anything to me that has influenced my life, so i'm more than happy to go on living on the assumption that they're not there at all.

**Shigawire** · February 08, 2007, 10:17 PM

No I have not experienced it. There is a growing amount of data that suggests it originates in the brain of patients who have temporal lobe epilepsy. These are not seizures that come in a physical form by any means, it happens quietly inside the brain, in the temporal lobe. It cannot be seen from outside, except with powerful scanning devices that determine the electric and chemical activity in the brain. So these are totally unreported and undiagnosed, until scanned.

Neuroscientist of Caltech, V.S.Ramachandran explains:

The commentary on "diminished libido" would correlate with the observed celibacy of a lot of "holy men." Also the commentary on how some of these would find every little thing to be "remarkable" would perhaps explain the origin and behavior of the native Hawaiian religion, where every little stone is remarkable. It manifests itself differently in different brains.. but I don't think it's a bad theory, that certain people are genetically predisposed to have these experiences more than others. All our thoughts and experiences originate in our brain anyhow.
Who knows how many other types of unreported "invisible seizures" are out there?

**Sétanta** · February 08, 2007, 10:20 PM

Yes, every day.

**Last Roman** · February 08, 2007, 10:30 PM

Originally Posted by Sétanta

Yes, every day.

you should probably get that checked.

as for myself, I've never "felt" it

**SickBoy13** · February 08, 2007, 10:59 PM

Physically, not really.
When I am praying I feel much less stressed, but that is mostly due to the relaxation that prayer brings me.
Spiritually and Mentally, yes, just like Setanta. God has influenced every facet of my life. Really, when all is said and done, you've tried your hardest, all you can do is pray that God thinks accomplishing your goal fits into the grand scheme of things.

**Roy Batty** · February 09, 2007, 03:43 PM

In a manner of speaking, I have felt a "higher power" in the face of particularly strong storms. Feeling so small and helpless, it's as close as I've ever come to spirituality. However, I would attribute that spirituality to nature itself, rather than to a holy deity.

**Shigawire** · February 09, 2007, 07:10 PM

Oh yes, the feeling of "awe" to nature and cosmos is a very different thing, as it doesn't make any extreme assumptions, other than the assumption that "nature is awesome."

**Khosson** · June 09, 2007, 03:07 PM

Maybe i have.One incident that comes close to the description happened to me just two moths ago.

I was sad,sad,verry verry sad and even if i was an atheist i was beging an eventual divinity for help.One day pssed and nothing...But in the night of the second day my mother showed me something on TV....there were some christian dudes that where singing psalms probably.It really was amazing and imperessed me to the tears.

Till this day i have not decided if it was GOD there.I have'nt really decided even if GOD can show his existence that way by interfiering with the phisical world......anyway nice of him to lift my spirit.

**Amorphos** · June 09, 2007, 06:27 PM

i have and do, it was and is an experience - i don’t think it has anything to do with epilepsy nor any other disease - crazy idea!

**Noble Savage** · June 09, 2007, 06:32 PM

I have a had a feeling of immense well being recently (I wasn't on any sort of drugs

). I was walking to work one morning and I was watching the sun rise through some trees and then the light hit me. It really did make me feel like nothing I have felt before (and I have dabbled

) .I was an athiest till then but now....

**Luftwaffels** · June 09, 2007, 07:56 PM

Well, I cannot truly define what "feeling a higher power" is like.

Personally, I beleive I have "felt God" on occasion. Normally just taking a walk like the poster above me and getting a good feeling from the view, Going hunting for Turkeys and enjoying the nature around me (normally taking a nap under a tree) and laying on a hammock on a windy day.

Meh, most would say "so what" but I get a special feeling sometimes, as I'm sure everyone else does from time to time (but you'd probably just call it a good mood or something).