If you “saw” “God”...

[an anarchist]

This thread is open for everyone, irreligious and religious alike.

First, to the atheists and agnostics.

Suppose you had an ”out of body experience”. You leave your body and ”meet” ”God”. I frame it this way specifically because this is what happened to me. Anyways, you meet god, and then you return to your body. What say you? Do you become religious? Has faith taken root in your heart? Or do you explain to yourself that the mind, perhaps yours in particular, is fallible? Do you believe in God or do you believe you’re crazy?

I’ve been on both sides of the fence. Now I am finding myself sitting atop the fence.

Now to the religious.

Have you met god or the like? Be it an out of body or in body experience? Does it reinforce your faith, and how so?

 

[Kfox]

This thread is open for everyone, irreligious and religious alike.

First, to the atheists and agnostics.

Suppose you had an ”out of body experience”. You leave your body and ”meet” ”God”. I frame it this way specifically because this is what happened to me. Anyways, you meet god, and then you return to your body. What say you? Do you become religious? Has faith taken root in your heart? Or do you explain to yourself that the mind, perhaps yours in particular, is fallible? Do you believe in God or do you believe you’re crazy?

I’ve been on both sides of the fence. Now I am finding myself sitting atop the fence.

Now to the religious.

Have you met god or the like? Be it an out of body or in body experience? Does it reinforce your faith, and how so?

How do I know what I met was God? Rather than an evolved being from perhaps another planet?

 

[The Hammer]

Have you met god or the like?

Yes

Be it an out of body or in body experience?

Both

Does it reinforce your faith,

Absolutely.

and how so?

Because an experience is worth more than words.

 

[sun rise]

Have you met god or the like? Be it an out of body or in body experience? Does it reinforce your faith, and how so?

Have I met a person who realized God and became God? Not to my knowledge.
Have I met God in creation? Yes.
Have I met God within me? Not fully but I have through intuitive promptings.

 

[an anarchist]

How do I know what I met was God? Rather than an evolved being from perhaps another planet?

Indeed. I do have “god” in quotes for the reason of the uncertainty. But, regardless, the premise of the OP is still valid. Do you question what it is you met? Or do you question your capacity to accurately discern reality? I know one will do both, as I am doing. But what side do you think you would eventually end up on?

 

[Mock Turtle]

This thread is open for everyone, irreligious and religious alike.

First, to the atheists and agnostics.

Suppose you had an ”out of body experience”. You leave your body and ”meet” ”God”. I frame it this way specifically because this is what happened to me. Anyways, you meet god, and then you return to your body. What say you? Do you become religious? Has faith taken root in your heart? Or do you explain to yourself that the mind, perhaps yours in particular, is fallible? Do you believe in God or do you believe you’re crazy?

Fortunately I have never suffered from any mental illness that might cause delusions/illusions or such being involved as to what I might have experienced, and similarly I have never taken any recreational drugs that also might affect such things. I have never experienced anything that I might suspect could be attributed to something spiritual - given that anything I have experienced could be explained by many of the things that humans are likely to experience from simply being human and with the minds we all have.

Hence I really don't know if I could discriminate between a real experience (as to involving any God) and one that my own mind created. Not that I am therefore saying that all such experiences do simply come from our minds and could not involve any God, just that I might not be able to tell the difference - or as to aliens being involved, for example, as mentioned.

 

[Stevicus]

This thread is open for everyone, irreligious and religious alike.

First, to the atheists and agnostics.

Suppose you had an ”out of body experience”. You leave your body and ”meet” ”God”. I frame it this way specifically because this is what happened to me. Anyways, you meet god, and then you return to your body. What say you? Do you become religious? Has faith taken root in your heart? Or do you explain to yourself that the mind, perhaps yours in particular, is fallible? Do you believe in God or do you believe you’re crazy?

I’ve been on both sides of the fence. Now I am finding myself sitting atop the fence.

Now to the religious.

Have you met god or the like? Be it an out of body or in body experience? Does it reinforce your faith, and how so?

I've heard (from a Cheech and Chong record) that if you play Black Sabbath at 78 rpm on your turntable, you'll see God. I discovered that wasn't really true, although if you play Grand Funk Railroad at 16 rpm, you'll see Toucan Sam go cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.

 

[RestlessSoul]

I've heard (from a Cheech and Chong record) that if you play Black Sabbath at 78 rpm on your turntable, you'll see God. I discovered that wasn't really true, although if you play Grand Funk Railroad at 16 rpm, you'll see Toucan Sam go cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.

And if you play a Hank Williams record backwards, you get out of jail, your wife comes back to you, and you get your job and your house back.

 

[LuisDantas]

This thread is open for everyone, irreligious and religious alike.

First, to the atheists and agnostics.

Suppose you had an ”out of body experience”. You leave your body and ”meet” ”God”. I frame it this way specifically because this is what happened to me. Anyways, you meet god, and then you return to your body. What say you?

"I wonder what that was all about. Also why I would call that entity god. That is very much unlike me, after all."

Do you become religious?

I'm arguably religious already. I can't picture myself changing my views significantly due to an OOBE or NDE, though. Particularly where it comes to god-beliefs. I am just way too aware of the worth of apatheism and igtheism.

Has faith taken root in your heart? Or do you explain to yourself that the mind, perhaps yours in particular, is fallible? Do you believe in God or do you believe you’re crazy?

Nope. That is just not me.

 

[ChristineM]

My father is Christian, not fanatically, as a 7 day per week farmer he did not attend church very often but still, he has a belief in the Abrahamic God.

He is also something of a poker player and likes to set a wager on the outcome of his games.

He was mugged, attacked with a half brick across his head which fractured his skull.

He was in a coma for a month during which time he died 3 times. Thanks to the skill of the staff looking after him he was revived each time.

When he came out of the coma he distinctly remembers meeting god 3 times. He claims the only reason he is alive today is that god is a lousy poker player.

 

[Audie]

This thread is open for everyone, irreligious and religious alike.

First, to the atheists and agnostics.

Suppose you had an ”out of body experience”. You leave your body and ”meet” ”God”. I frame it this way specifically because this is what happened to me. Anyways, you meet god, and then you return to your body. What say you? Do you become religious? Has faith taken root in your heart? Or do you explain to yourself that the mind, perhaps yours in particular, is fallible? Do you believe in God or do you believe you’re crazy?

I’ve been on both sides of the fence. Now I am finding myself sitting atop the fence.

Now to the religious.

Have you met god or the like? Be it an out of body or in body experience? Does it reinforce your faith, and how so?

I saw Mohammed Ali, who came in my room
when I was a child and very ill.
The out of body was leaving myself in bed
coz i was too heavy to get up and go to him.

I showed him how heavy i was, that he cannot
pick me up.

 

[Orbit]

This thread is open for everyone, irreligious and religious alike.

First, to the atheists and agnostics.

Suppose you had an ”out of body experience”. You leave your body and ”meet” ”God”. I frame it this way specifically because this is what happened to me. Anyways, you meet god, and then you return to your body. What say you? Do you become religious? Has faith taken root in your heart? Or do you explain to yourself that the mind, perhaps yours in particular, is fallible? Do you believe in God or do you believe you’re crazy?

I’ve been on both sides of the fence. Now I am finding myself sitting atop the fence.

Now to the religious.

Have you met god or the like? Be it an out of body or in body experience? Does it reinforce your faith, and how so?

I never "saw" God, but had an experience where I felt God's love. It was a profound experience, but alas I chalked it up to brain chemistry in the end.

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

This thread is open for everyone, irreligious and religious alike.

First, to the atheists and agnostics.

Suppose you had an ”out of body experience”. You leave your body and ”meet” ”God”. I frame it this way specifically because this is what happened to me. Anyways, you meet god, and then you return to your body. What say you? Do you become religious? Has faith taken root in your heart? Or do you explain to yourself that the mind, perhaps yours in particular, is fallible? Do you believe in God or do you believe you’re crazy?

I’ve been on both sides of the fence. Now I am finding myself sitting atop the fence.

Now to the religious.

Have you met god or the like? Be it an out of body or in body experience? Does it reinforce your faith, and how so?

Okay, here's my story of my Jesus experience, back when I was 12.

I'd been studying the Bible and praying a lot, and one day it seemed that happy and calming feeling came over me, and in my mind's eye I saw Jesus, and heard him speak. He said to me, "I welcome you; please follow me."

And so I did. I felt filled with the lord and for the next couple of weeks was a pompous, vain and cruel convert, saying and doing things that I thought showed my god-given wisdom...but I was really just following people who were just as clueless and harmful...

After a couple of weeks, I was shown in no uncertain terms to sit down, shut up, and to open my eyes and ears LEARN...and so I did..

Since then, when I think about Jesus, I see him in my mind's eye. He smiles, even when I am questioning even his existence and the edifice of knowledge and practice that is Christianity, and he sometimes shrugs his shoulders. Then he says, "I welcome you. Come, follow me."

I still am not sure what that entails, but as I grow older I am trying still.

What does this experience mean? I don't know. How does Jesus fit into an animistic cosmos, which is what I experience on a daily, visceral level? How can I believe any of the written tale, when it is clearly a mish-mash of truth and fable and history and visions. I have no idea. He just smiles, shrugs his shoulders, and says, "Follow me."

Maybe it's all a delusion. It might be, but it's MY experience. I accept that I do have experiences. The feelings and memories I have do not go away just because I conclude they are/might be not-real. So I still accept my experience of feeling saved by Jesus. I just don't know what it means--it certainly does not mean what it seems to mean to a great many Christians, to be loud and proud and to advertise to all that I'm saved and going to heaven...hell! what does that even mean?. And when I confront him, in my mind's eye, he just laughs and smiles, extends his arms to me, and says, "I welcome you. Please follow me."

So, I believe I had an experience, indeed, a lifetime of experiences...but how it all fits together, I just don't know. I'm an agnostic because I don't think it's even possible for a mere human to truly KNOW anything about any of our experiences, beyond what experience shows us to be dependable.

So, does that help answer your questions?

 

[Audie]

Okay, here's my story of my Jesus experience, back when I was 12.

I'd been studying the Bible and praying a lot, and one day it seemed that happy and calming feeling came over me, and in my mind's eye I saw Jesus, and heard him speak. He said to me, "I welcome you; please follow me."

And so I did. I felt filled with the lord and for the next couple of weeks was a pompous, vain and cruel convert, saying and doing things that I thought showed my god-given wisdom...but I was really just following people who were just as clueless and harmful...

After a couple of weeks, I was shown in no uncertain terms to sit down, shut up, and to open my eyes and ears LEARN...and so I did..

Since then, when I think about Jesus, I see him in my mind's eye. He smiles, even when I am questioning even his existence and the edifice of knowledge and practice that is Christianity, and he sometimes shrugs his shoulders. Then he says, "I welcome you. Come, follow me."

I still am not sure what that entails, but as I grow older I am trying still.

What does this experience mean? I don't know. How does Jesus fit into an animistic cosmos, which is what I experience on a daily, visceral level? How can I believe any of the written tale, when it is clearly a mish-mash of truth and fable and history and visions. I have no idea. He just smiles, shrugs his shoulders, and says, "Follow me."

Maybe it's all a delusion. It might be, but it's MY experience. I accept that I do have experiences. The feelings and memories I have do not go away just because I conclude they are/might be not-real. So I still accept my experience of feeling saved by Jesus. I just don't know what it means--it certainly does not mean what it seems to mean to a great many Christians, to be loud and proud and to advertise to all that I'm saved and going to heaven...hell! what does that even mean?. And when I confront him, in my mind's eye, he just laughs and smiles, extends his arms to me, and says, "I welcome you. Please follow me."

So, I believe I had an experience, indeed, a lifetime of experiences...but how it all fits together, I just don't know. I'm an agnostic because I don't think it's even possible for a mere human to truly KNOW anything about any of our experiences, beyond what experience shows us to be dependable.

So, does that help answer your questions?

A Mormon told me he prayed long and hard
for god to tell him if the BOM is true.

Finally, he got the "no uncertain terms"
answer, " YES".

If he'd been unsatisfied and kept asking
he have gotten the opposite answer.

Like me stewing for weeks about which
Grad school. "Answer" would come to me
with great convincing clarity and sense of
relief n peace! Then I'd go back to stewing
and soon it was one of the others. I rotated thru
all three that way. Then I chose NYU for no
reason other than looming deadlines.

 

[Twilight Hue]

This thread is open for everyone, irreligious and religious alike.

First, to the atheists and agnostics.

Suppose you had an ”out of body experience”. You leave your body and ”meet” ”God”. I frame it this way specifically because this is what happened to me. Anyways, you meet god, and then you return to your body. What say you? Do you become religious? Has faith taken root in your heart? Or do you explain to yourself that the mind, perhaps yours in particular, is fallible? Do you believe in God or do you believe you’re crazy?

I’ve been on both sides of the fence. Now I am finding myself sitting atop the fence.

Now to the religious.

Have you met god or the like? Be it an out of body or in body experience? Does it reinforce your faith, and how so?

No. If there is oxygen in the brain, hallucinations happen. Life will continue as always but the memories of the experience can be life changing.

NDEs mean nothing supernatural whatsoever. It just indicates one's brain is still alive.

 

[Unseeking seeker]

Well, there are several cases of NDE, where people met angels, masters and the like, Jesus and other forms of God as of belief system. Jeff Mara podcast is just one of the many popular NDE channels on You Tube. Incidentally, in the case of Dr. Eben Alexander his neuro cortex was completely severed, so what was the mechanism that made him cross over and return healed is something that defies logic. Likewise, Anita Moorjani’s case. There are so many more …

About God, it is how we view it. From the non-dual perspective of understanding or direct recognition, God alone is, as one without a second, in a singularity or what we may know as Self.

in duality, where we are, in a subject-object relationship, have we seen God and communicated? I’d say, yes. This cannot be proved to anyone else, however, since it is an instantaneous knowing beyond the limitations of lower mind. Liken it to a secret known to the beholder alone.

 

[Sargonski]

How do I know what I met was God? Rather than an evolved being from perhaps another planet?

We don't .. any more than rowing boat down stream merrily

 

[Bthoth]

This thread is open for everyone, irreligious and religious alike.

First, to the atheists and agnostics.

Suppose you had an ”out of body experience”. You leave your body and ”meet” ”God”. I frame it this way specifically because this is what happened to me. Anyways, you meet god, and then you return to your body. What say you? Do you become religious? Has faith taken root in your heart? Or do you explain to yourself that the mind, perhaps yours in particular, is fallible? Do you believe in God or do you believe you’re crazy?

I’ve been on both sides of the fence. Now I am finding myself sitting atop the fence.

Now to the religious.

Have you met god or the like? Be it an out of body or in body experience? Does it reinforce your faith, and how so?

At a very young age, I had a new build house chase me while on Psilocybin . I dont touch the stuff now.