Which Is the Best Definition of "Spiritual Experience"?

[Sunstone]

How would you best define a "spiritual experience"?

Would you define such an experience as "a sense, feeling, or perception of the connectedness of all things"?

Would you define such an experience as "a sudden loss of subject/object perception in which the continuum of experience remains but one no longer feels there is a knower standing apart from the known"?

Would you define such an experience as "an experience of meaningfulness"?

Or, would you define "spiritual experience" in some other way?

Last, would you define "spiritual experience" as "getting drunk with Prof. Mikey on Budweiser and landing up on a strange couch in an even stranger apartment"?

 

[eudaimonia]

How would you best define a "spiritual experience"?

A heightened awareness of life that surpasses the ordinary experience of life and that may challenge ordinary interpretations of life.

Would you define such an experience as "a sense, feeling, or perception of the connectedness of all things"?

No. That's just one example.

Would you define such an experience as "a sudden loss of subject/object perception in which the continuum of experience remains but one no longer feels there is a knower standing apart from the known"?

Just another example.

Would you define such an experience as "an experience of meaningfulness"?

Another example.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Radio Frequency X]

Spirituality, as I understand it (and maybe I don't!) is psychological. It is the psychological seeking and experiencing of divinity.

 

[michel]

How would you best define a "spiritual experience"?

A heightened awareness during which I feel totally "connected" to everything in life - I am part of everything and everything is a part of me; time looses meaning....

 

[Buttercup]

A heightened awareness during which I feel totally "connected" to everything in life - I am part of everything and everything is a part of me; time looses meaning....

I like Michel's definition and add a "Me too!". Although I was very tempted to vote getting sloshed with Mikey....if only he drank better beer.

 

[Guitar's Cry]

I chose a deep sense of meaningfullness.

This is an entirely personal answer. Having gone through periods of philosophical nihilism, finding individual meaning in a possibly absurd existence is necessary for me. A spiritual experience is often associated with natural events or sojourns, such as sunrises, sunsets, trips to the woods or the ocean, eclipses, stargazes, etc. Or listening to music. Music is a big part of spirituality for me.

 

[Buttons*]

How would you best define a "spiritual experience"?

Would you define such an experience as "a sense, feeling, or perception of the connectedness of all things"?

Would you define such an experience as "a sudden loss of subject/object perception in which the continuum of experience remains but one no longer feels there is a knower standing apart from the known"?

Would you define such an experience as "an experience of meaningfulness"?

Or, would you define "spiritual experience" in some other way?

Last, would you define "spiritual experience" as "getting drunk with Prof. Mikey on Budweiser and landing up on a strange couch in an even stranger apartment"?

may I ask why each experience you've listed cannot all be mere examples of various spiritual experiences? Not all are the same, but they aren't all that different either

 

[doppelganger]

ITo me, it's more important to try to find a meaning in the words and metaphors others are using to "define" spirituality than to formulate one myself. I find that pretty much anybody's formulation "works" for me when and if I can bring myself to approach the symbols and words used with an open-mind and a willingness to listen.

 

[Buttons*]

A heightened awareness of life that surpasses the ordinary experience of life and that may challenge ordinary interpretations of life.

eudaimonia,

Mark

i really like this response

 

[Buttercup]

ITo me, it's more important to try to find a meaning in the words and metaphors others are using to "define" spirituality than to formulate one myself. I find that pretty much anybody's formulation "works" for me when and if I can bring myself to approach the symbols and words used with an open-mind and a willingness to listen.

Guess you can get wasted with Mikey then 'eh?

 

[Random]

Spiritual experience cleanses, purifies and reinvigorates the mind-body which is soul: it is healing and health, love and kindness, beauty and transcendence, bliss and fortitude, awe and wonder. It is all inclusive and non-exclusive: it is a deep sense of connectedness to all things, a sudden loss of subject/object perception and a deep sense of meaningfulness: which is why I chose other-depends in lieu of an "All of the above" option.

 

[doppelganger]

Guess you can get wasted with Mikey then 'eh?

As long as my wife says it's okay. :yes:

 

[Sunstone]

may I ask why each experience you've listed cannot all be mere examples of various spiritual experiences? Not all are the same, but they aren't all that different either

I think you're right, Ashley: They are ways of describing the same thing. But it interests me what people choose to emphasize about the experience. For instance, it's my hunch that "a sudden loss of subject/object perception" would appeal more to people who are interested in causes, and "a deep feeling of meaningfulness" would appeal more to people who are interested in meaning of life questions.

 

[Sunstone]

ITo me, it's more important to try to find a meaning in the words and metaphors others are using to "define" spirituality than to formulate one myself. I find that pretty much anybody's formulation "works" for me when and if I can bring myself to approach the symbols and words used with an open-mind and a willingness to listen.

Spoken like a true philosopher!

 

[Sunstone]

Guess you can get wasted with Mikey then 'eh?

I think we should all get wasted with Mikey! (But strictly on a BYOB basis)

 

[EiNsTeiN]

Well, 2 cases I feel like a different person in, and I think both are spirtual cases:
When I fall in love, and when i get a deep feeling of faith, or i could explain it as a sudden shock in the mind that reminds you of what you feel deep inside..

I also feel it when I look at stars, at the sea, and at anything that shows me how much I'm nothing to this fascinating universe..

I dont know how to describe it though....
I think people have different spirtuality...someone might experiance it when seeing spaghetti and start feeling how much he is hungary!!
I think it's relative from aperson to another

However, I guess people who believe in God, get the same feeling when they deeply feel their faith (understand me?)

 

[EiNsTeiN]

I think we should all get wasted with Mikey! (But strictly on a BYOB basis)

Hehehe ...seems like that at the end!!

 

[autonomous1one1]

ITo me, it's more important to try to find a meaning in the words and metaphors others are using to "define" spirituality than to formulate one myself. I find that pretty much anybody's formulation "works" for me when and if I can bring myself to approach the symbols and words used with an open-mind and a willingness to listen.

Spiritual experience cleanses, purifies and reinvigorates the mind-body which is soul: it is healing and health, love and kindness, beauty and transcendence, bliss and fortitude, awe and wonder. It is all inclusive and non-exclusive: it is a deep sense of connectedness to all things, a sudden loss of subject/object perception and a deep sense of meaningfulness: which is why I chose other-depends in lieu of an "All of the above" option.

Good posts. You guys continue to amaze me. For me personally, before I read the posts I had decided that none of the choices could be selected because all were the result of 'Spiritual experience,' not the experience itself. Now I am not sure.

 

[DiscipleOfChrist]

Meaning, purpose, freedom, re born, brand new, clean all over, pure, friendship, fellowship, truth, trust and so much more all at once.

 

[Hacker]

I said a deep sense of meaningfulness.