speaking in tongues?

[Eddi]

What do people think about speaking in tongues?

I have just been discussing this with an evangelical friend of mine, in a cafe

Apparently he sometimes speaks in tongues although he has never mentioned this to me before I think it is something he keeps to himself which I think is understandable

Suddenly, I felt the urge to burst out in tongues and I opened my mouth and spoke in tongues, in the cafe!

Bizarre and unfamiliar words poured out of my mouth

I did this in hushed tones though, didn't want to make a scene

We had a brief conversation in tongues, but none of us had any idea what we were saying but it somehow felt right and natural

Apparently the current Archbishop of Canterbury speaks in tongues, I heard that somewhere....

So.... what do people think about speaking in tongues?

 

[Revoltingest]

So.... what do people think about speaking in tongues?

They need help.

 

[wellwisher]

What do people think about speaking in tongues?

I have just been discussing this with an evangelical friend of mine, in a cafe

Apparently he sometimes speaks in tongues although he has never mentioned this to me before I think it is something he keeps to himself which I think is understandable

Suddenly, I felt the urge to burst out in tongues and I opened my mouth and spoke in tongues, in the cafe!

Bizarre and unfamiliar words poured out of my mouth

I did this in hushed tones though, didn't want to make a scene

We had a brief conversation in tongues, but none of us had any idea what we were saying but it somehow felt right and natural

Apparently the current Archbishop of Canterbury speaks in tongues, I heard that somewhere....

So.... what do people think about speaking in tongues?

If you ever met someone who talks too much, their talking is often spontaneously generated, often faster than they can think. Their talking is not a conscious thing, all the time. We do not have to plan everything we say, since it is processed and organized by the unconscious mind. The difference between this and talking in tongues is the theme that integrates the unconscious mind during the language processing.

I know people who have natural wit and some of the stuff that comes out of their mouth is so clever and funny and they often surprise themself. Their unconscious mind is processing language in this own special style unique to them. Tongues attempts to use the theme of the spirit, working within your language grid, like a tornado, that pulls random sounds up and out the mouth.

I used to do a yoga called chaotic meditation. One of the exercises involved talking in gibberish. Instead of talking normal; subroutine connected to your style, you would try to speak with random sounds, noises and random patterns, that are not any normal language or your normal mode of speaking. The idea was to scramble the unconscious data processing subroutine pattens of speech and thought to help you rest and clear your mind. It did have the impact of settling my mind, so I was able to just be. This was prep for another form of yoga that could tweak other subroutines. There appear to be a health benefit to talking in tongues or using gibberish if you are atheist.

 

[Erebus]

So.... what do people think about speaking in tongues?

I think it mainly comes down to being in an environment where speaking in tongues is socially appropriate. If the people around you encourage you to lose your inhibitions about just letting sounds come from your mouth, you're more inclined to just go with it. The "words" may be nonsense but that doesn't matter if you're comfortable with others hearing it. I imagine it could be quite liberating in the right circumstances.

It's similar to cultures/religions that have ecstatic dance. People feel free to let loose and move in whatever manner feels right.

 

[ChristineM]

So.... what do people think about speaking in tongues?

Not a lot

 

[dybmh]

So.... what do people think about speaking in tongues?

The last time I looked at it from an academic perspective, there was nothing inherently wrong with it. Not an indicator of mental illness. People who do it seem to get some benefit from it.

From a religious perspective, I don't think the words come from God, but instead the act of speaking in tongues is a demonstration of faith. The ability to stop trying to speak and let whatever comes out come out is faithful.

 

[Eddi]

People who do it seem to get some benefit from it.

Yes, it feels therapeutic

Based on my very limited experience of the practice it is quite a strange experience but also an uplifting one

 

[loverofhumanity]

There’s this:


QUESTION: WHAT IS meant by the Apostles’ speaking in tongues?

Answer: The meaning is that the Apostles taught in a spiritual tongue, a tongue that embraces all tongues. For the Word of the Kingdom comprises spiritual meanings and divine mysteries, and whoso attains to this Word will find the realities and mysteries of creation to be clear and evident. The divine inner meanings are the all-encompassing reality of all tongues.

Therefore, the Holy Spirit endowed the Apostles with the tongue of the Kingdom, and they spoke with all peoples as if in their own tongue; that is, whenever they conversed with a person of any faith or nation, it was as though they were speaking his own tongue. Were it otherwise, there are at present more than a thousand known languages and it would be fair to expect that the Apostles would have written at least one Gospel in the language of one of the other nations. It is, however, well established that the Gospel was written only in Hebrew and in Greek. No Gospel was even written in Latin, though that was at the time the official language of the land. Yet, as the Apostles were not proficient in Latin, no Gospel was written in that language. (Abdul-Baha)

And this:

Speaking in Tongues: Two Letters from the Bahá'í World Centre

 

[Quintessence]

The concept is pretty much a Christian thing, so I don't really give it much thought.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

If you ever met someone who talks too much, their talking is often spontaneously generated, often faster than they can think. Their talking is not a conscious thing, all the time. We do not have to plan everything we say, since it is processed and organized by the unconscious mind. The difference between this and talking in tongues is the theme that integrates the unconscious mind during the language processing.

I know people who have natural wit and some of the stuff that comes out of their mouth is so clever and funny and they often surprise themself. Their unconscious mind is processing language in this own special style unique to them. Tongues attempts to use the theme of the spirit, working within your language grid, like a tornado, that pulls random sounds up and out the mouth.

I used to do a yoga called chaotic meditation. One of the exercises involved talking in gibberish. Instead of talking normal; subroutine connected to your style, you would try to speak with random sounds, noises and random patterns, that are not any normal language or your normal mode of speaking. The idea was to scramble the unconscious data processing subroutine pattens of speech and thought to help you rest and clear your mind. It did have the impact of settling my mind, so I was able to just be. This was prep for another form of yoga that could tweak other subroutines. There appear to be a health benefit to talking in tongues or using gibberish if you are atheist.

Would you say this helps with wit?

 

[Left Coast]

The concept is pretty much a Christian thing, so I don't really give it much thought.

Surprisingly it isn't. Glossolalia has been observed in other religions.

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/matauryn/2017/12/11/glossolalia-paganism/

 

[Windwalker]

Speaking in tongues, or glossilalia is not limited to Christianity. It predates Christianity. Plato spoke of it 400 years before Christianity was born. You have the Zulus in Africa practice it. You have it Voodoo rituals, and so forth. What tongues speaking is is a type of expression of religious ecstacy.

I know of one woman who had never heard of it start practicing mediation for pain relief, and found herself speaking in tongues. One could try to analyze the science behind it, but regardless of its causes, it is still associated with states of spiritual ecstasy. It can be quite theraputic also. It's "letting go", which bypasses the normal discursive mind, like dancing.

The very best description I heard of it was calling it a "jazz mantra". Mantra chanting is about relaxing the mind and letting the mantra take over. It creates relaxation, and opens the practitioner to spiritual states of consciousness. So tongues speaking, really is just like "skat" (think of Ella Fitzgerald), where they really aren't words, but phonetic utterances, strung together.

While it may be "nonsense" words, nonsense is the very point of them. It's not supposed to be about ideas and concepts. It's supposed to be about states of consciousness. Getting out of the discursive mind. And doing that, is in fact what meditation is all about. And meditation is therapeutic, of course.

 

[JustGeorge]

They need help.

Really? Is that how one gets assistance? Just talk in tongues?

I've been doing it wrong all along...

Well, I guess this afternoon, I'll go out into the boulevard, talk in tongues, and hopefully my house should be spotless by nightfall...

I know people who have natural wit and some of the stuff that comes out of their mouth is so clever and funny and they often surprise themself. Their unconscious mind is processing language in this own special style unique to them. Tongues attempts to use the theme of the spirit, working within your language grid, like a tornado, that pulls random sounds up and out the mouth.

I noticed something like this happens should I get mad... I don't get mad very often, but when I do, I put on a show, and the stuff that comes out of my mouth is hilarious; much funnier than I normally am.

 

[Psalm23]

What do people think about speaking in tongues?

I have just been discussing this with an evangelical friend of mine, in a cafe

Apparently he sometimes speaks in tongues although he has never mentioned this to me before I think it is something he keeps to himself which I think is understandable

Suddenly, I felt the urge to burst out in tongues and I opened my mouth and spoke in tongues, in the cafe!

Bizarre and unfamiliar words poured out of my mouth

I did this in hushed tones though, didn't want to make a scene

We had a brief conversation in tongues, but none of us had any idea what we were saying but it somehow felt right and natural

Apparently the current Archbishop of Canterbury speaks in tongues, I heard that somewhere....

So.... what do people think about speaking in tongues?

I used to practice of speaking in tongues often. I became uncertain about it , questioning if I should be speaking in tongues and other concerns. I eventually stopped. The only time I catch myself speaking anything that sounds like tongues is when I am waking up from sleep and in that half awake state and not very often. Sometimes I sleep talk and wake up saying something ( or even singing at times).

 

[Revoltingest]

Really? Is that how one gets assistance? Just talk in tongues?

I've been doing it wrong all along...

Well, I guess this afternoon, I'll go out into the boulevard, talk in tongues, and hopefully my house should be spotless by nightfall...



I noticed something like this happens should I get mad... I don't get mad very often, but when I do, I put on a show, and the stuff that comes out of my mouth is hilarious; much funnier than I normally am.

They need help.
Never said they got it.

 

[JustGeorge]

They need help.
Never said they got it.

Well, shoot. There goes that plan...

 

[Eddi]

They need help.

And in what form would that "help" come in?

 

[Revoltingest]

And in what form would that "help" come in?

Counseling?
Intervention?
Psychiatry?

 

[Eddi]

Counseling?
Intervention?
Psychiatry?

I thought you were a libertarian?

Using psychiatry to eliminate spiritual practices one doesn't approve of doesn't sound very libertarian to me

If I want to enter an ecstatic state and talk in what sounds like gibberish then that's my business and my right and I would allow no one to stop me doing so

 

[Revoltingest]

I thought you were a libertarian?

Yes.

Using psychiatry to eliminate spiritual practices one doesn't approve of doesn't sound very libertarian to me

I recommended it.
I wouldn't impose it.

If I want to enter an ecstatic state and talk in what sounds like gibberish then that's my business and my right and I would allow no one to stop me doing so

People minding their own business,
& harming no one are no problem.