Why part of me is convinced of God's existence

[The Sum of Awe]

I have to say I'm still on the fence about it. When I left this forum last my ontological view of the world was that of militant nihilism and physicalism, but 2-3 years ago I had an experience between April and May of 2019 that flipped my worldview inside out.

I can't say the cause, but what I can say is that I felt myself die in my bed, my mind was racing with epiphanies, I saw "easter eggs" or patterns all around me in the present and reminiscing on my past I found foreshadowing leading to that moment and I felt as if I was about to "wake up" from some dream of existence; solipsism in a Hindu Brahman kind of way (granted, I was interested in Hinduism at the time this happened)

Other than how I was perceiving everything, the most interesting thing to note is that as I felt myself die in my bed, I shouted "Hare Krishna" at the top of my lungs. I felt the physical effort I put into shouting it, I heard myself shout it, and as I finished shouting it that's when I died. A second later I was laying in my bed as if nothing had happened, as if I didn't even shout that (and apparently I didn't because there was no reaction from the people I lived with at the time).

Of course this was all likely in my head, but that's not the point. It made me think of existence in a much different way... Part of me still finds it possible that the world is just a meaningless accident, but then I think back to the experience and am reminded that there's something odd (for the lack of a better term) about existence.

This is why part of me believes in God, bare with me - this is not really a debate, just a discussion:

Consciousness. Existence. Being. Life. Just a finite, odd fever dream of 'something' in between two eternities of nothing at all. Why is it here? Why is there something and not nothing? Think about your favorite television show on the screen - it's there. But the television is 'on', if it wasn't there the television would be 'off'. Common sense, right? Apply that to existence - existence is on, not off. Why is it on? What's causing energy to be instead of, you know, just not being?

I know, I know.... Just because we don't know something, doesn't mean "God did it". However, let's think about what it can be - the reason that existence exists. What are the qualities of Whatever that causes being?

Well, it can't be 'something', otherwise we would only be taking it another step: Why does that something exist instead of not exist? If this Whatever was something, it'd be a part of everything, and we're trying to know why everything exists - it's self defeating.

Could it be nothing? I mean, what is true nothingness? The absence of anything at all. No energy, no being, no nothing. Nothingness is just . That implies that there also doesn't exist boundaries, logic, or limitations. It's possible that this implies that nothingness is chaotic and existence was molded out of nothing/chaos. But I dunno, seems pretty far fetched to me. Wouldn't that imply existence could collapse at any time?

So if it neither exists nor doesn't exist, what is it? What is it that causes existence to be 'on' instead of 'off'? The only other idea I have is God - omnipotent, omnipresent, formless, and simply All. The only thing that exists is God, but really to say that God exists is like saying water is wet. Water isn't wet, it makes other things wet when it sticks to the surface of them.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I have to say I'm still on the fence about it. When I left this forum last my ontological view of the world was that of militant nihilism and physicalism, but 2-3 years ago I had an experience between April and May of 2019 that flipped my worldview inside out.

I can't say the cause, but what I can say is that I felt myself die in my bed, my mind was racing with epiphanies, I saw "easter eggs" or patterns all around me in the present and reminiscing on my past I found foreshadowing leading to that moment and I felt as if I was about to "wake up" from some dream of existence; solipsism in a Hindu Brahman kind of way (granted, I was interested in Hinduism at the time this happened)

Other than how I was perceiving everything, the most interesting thing to note is that as I felt myself die in my bed, I shouted "Hare Krishna" at the top of my lungs. I felt the physical effort I put into shouting it, I heard myself shout it, and as I finished shouting it that's when I died. A second later I was laying in my bed as if nothing had happened, as if I didn't even shout that (and apparently I didn't because there was no reaction from the people I lived with at the time).

Of course this was all likely in my head, but that's not the point. It made me think of existence in a much different way... Part of me still finds it possible that the world is just a meaningless accident, but then I think back to the experience and am reminded that there's something odd (for the lack of a better term) about existence.

This is why part of me believes in God, bare with me - this is not really a debate, just a discussion:

Consciousness. Existence. Being. Life. Just a finite, odd fever dream of 'something' in between two eternities of nothing at all. Why is it here? Why is there something and not nothing? Think about your favorite television show on the screen - it's there. But the television is 'on', if it wasn't there the television would be 'off'. Common sense, right? Apply that to existence - existence is on, not off. Why is it on? What's causing energy to be instead of, you know, just not being?

I know, I know.... Just because we don't know something, doesn't mean "God did it". However, let's think about what it can be - the reason that existence exists. What are the qualities of Whatever that causes being?

Well, it can't be 'something', otherwise we would only be taking it another step: Why does that something exist instead of not exist? If this Whatever was something, it'd be a part of everything, and we're trying to know why everything exists - it's self defeating.

Could it be nothing? I mean, what is true nothingness? The absence of anything at all. No energy, no being, no nothing. Nothingness is just . That implies that there also doesn't exist boundaries, logic, or limitations. It's possible that this implies that nothingness is chaotic and existence was molded out of nothing/chaos. But I dunno, seems pretty far fetched to me. Wouldn't that imply existence could collapse at any time?

So if it neither exists nor doesn't exist, what is it? What is it that causes existence to be 'on' instead of 'off'? The only other idea I have is God - omnipotent, omnipresent, formless, and simply All. The only thing that exists is God, but really to say that God exists is like saying water is wet. Water isn't wet, it makes other things wet when it sticks to the surface of them.

How do you plan to use your experiences?

 

[The Sum of Awe]

How do you plan to use your experiences?

I use my experiences to remind me to have faith in existence, that everything is happening for a reason. To further extend what my experiences showed me existence a test, or a story, or a learning experience, who knows... but it's written and directed by God, and guess who the one going through the experience is? God.

I also utilize my experiences to remind myself not to take life seriously. Life is temporary, therefore the things that happen out of our realm of control may as well be taken as seriously as a dream or a fiction. Of course in some cases this is easier said than done, but it helps to reminisce the experiences.

 

[Wrangler]

Part of me still finds it possible that the world is just a meaningless accident, but then I think back to the experience and am reminded that there's something odd (for the lack of a better term) about existence.

This is why part of me believes in God

I commend you for being such a deep thinker. From what I can tell, you are intellectually fighting what you know to be true in your heart.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

I commend you for being such a deep thinker. From what I can tell, you are intellectually fighting what you know to be true in your heart.

That could go both ways. Am I fighting nihilism in my heart with optimism and belief in a God or vice versa. Impossible to know, of course. The only thing I can really do with my beliefs is figure out where to apply them in my day to day life instead of trying to dig further down the rabbit hole. The rabbit hole can be frightening at times though

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I use my experiences to remind me to have faith in existence, that everything is happening for a reason. To further extend what my experiences showed me existence a test, or a story, or a learning experience, who knows... but it's written and directed by God, and guess who the one going through the experience is? God.

I also utilize my experiences to remind myself not to take life seriously. Life is temporary, therefore the things that happen out of our realm of control may as well be taken as seriously as a dream or a fiction. Of course in some cases this is easier said than done, but it helps to reminisce the experiences.

It sounds like you have a good start foundation for spiritual growth. I bet now you can count previous experiences that lead up to that (what I did so far growing).

 

[The Sum of Awe]

It sounds like you have a good start foundation for spiritual growth. I bet now you can count previous experiences that lead up to that (what I did so far growing).

I think so. I haven't done a whole lot of spiritual developing since the experience, I'm admittedly lazy. I've tried looking into Hinduism which is the vibes I get almost every time I have an experience like this (no later experiences have been quite as measurable as the first one) but every time I look into it I feel like I only find more stuff that I don't know.

But for the most part, yes, I'm more spiritually uplifted than I was prior to the experience.

 

[Willamena]

I have to say I'm still on the fence about it. When I left this forum last my ontological view of the world was that of militant nihilism and physicalism, but 2-3 years ago I had an experience between April and May of 2019 that flipped my worldview inside out.

I can't say the cause, but what I can say is that I felt myself die in my bed, my mind was racing with epiphanies, I saw "easter eggs" or patterns all around me in the present and reminiscing on my past I found foreshadowing leading to that moment and I felt as if I was about to "wake up" from some dream of existence; solipsism in a Hindu Brahman kind of way (granted, I was interested in Hinduism at the time this happened)

Other than how I was perceiving everything, the most interesting thing to note is that as I felt myself die in my bed, I shouted "Hare Krishna" at the top of my lungs. I felt the physical effort I put into shouting it, I heard myself shout it, and as I finished shouting it that's when I died. A second later I was laying in my bed as if nothing had happened, as if I didn't even shout that (and apparently I didn't because there was no reaction from the people I lived with at the time).

Of course this was all likely in my head, but that's not the point. It made me think of existence in a much different way... Part of me still finds it possible that the world is just a meaningless accident, but then I think back to the experience and am reminded that there's something odd (for the lack of a better term) about existence.

This is why part of me believes in God, bare with me - this is not really a debate, just a discussion:

Consciousness. Existence. Being. Life. Just a finite, odd fever dream of 'something' in between two eternities of nothing at all. Why is it here? Why is there something and not nothing? Think about your favorite television show on the screen - it's there. But the television is 'on', if it wasn't there the television would be 'off'. Common sense, right? Apply that to existence - existence is on, not off. Why is it on? What's causing energy to be instead of, you know, just not being?

I know, I know.... Just because we don't know something, doesn't mean "God did it". However, let's think about what it can be - the reason that existence exists. What are the qualities of Whatever that causes being?

Well, it can't be 'something', otherwise we would only be taking it another step: Why does that something exist instead of not exist? If this Whatever was something, it'd be a part of everything, and we're trying to know why everything exists - it's self defeating.

Could it be nothing? I mean, what is true nothingness? The absence of anything at all. No energy, no being, no nothing. Nothingness is just . That implies that there also doesn't exist boundaries, logic, or limitations. It's possible that this implies that nothingness is chaotic and existence was molded out of nothing/chaos. But I dunno, seems pretty far fetched to me. Wouldn't that imply existence could collapse at any time?

So if it neither exists nor doesn't exist, what is it? What is it that causes existence to be 'on' instead of 'off'? The only other idea I have is God - omnipotent, omnipresent, formless, and simply All. The only thing that exists is God, but really to say that God exists is like saying water is wet. Water isn't wet, it makes other things wet when it sticks to the surface of them.

Existence is a story.

You're either telling the story, or you're not.

There is no "nothingness"--it's just the story of nothing to tell.

What causes the story is being. "Being" isn't the story, as much as we try to make it into a story (myth).

Water is neither wet nor is it not. Both are story.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

Existence is a story.

You're either telling the story, or you're not.

Is it really our story to tell, or is it the universe's?

There is no "nothingness"-

True, by definition.

-it's just the story of nothing to tell.

But nothing would be the lack of a story.

What causes the story is being. "Being" isn't the story, as much as we try to make it into a story (myth).

Water is neither wet nor is it not. Both are story.

I'm confoozed.

 

[shunyadragon]

I have to say I'm still on the fence about it. When I left this forum last my ontological view of the world was that of militant nihilism and physicalism, but 2-3 years ago I had an experience between April and May of 2019 that flipped my worldview inside out.

I can't say the cause, but what I can say is that I felt myself die in my bed, my mind was racing with epiphanies, I saw "easter eggs" or patterns all around me in the present and reminiscing on my past I found foreshadowing leading to that moment and I felt as if I was about to "wake up" from some dream of existence; solipsism in a Hindu Brahman kind of way (granted, I was interested in Hinduism at the time this happened)

Other than how I was perceiving everything, the most interesting thing to note is that as I felt myself die in my bed, I shouted "Hare Krishna" at the top of my lungs. I felt the physical effort I put into shouting it, I heard myself shout it, and as I finished shouting it that's when I died. A second later I was laying in my bed as if nothing had happened, as if I didn't even shout that (and apparently I didn't because there was no reaction from the people I lived with at the time).

Of course this was all likely in my head, but that's not the point. It made me think of existence in a much different way... Part of me still finds it possible that the world is just a meaningless accident, but then I think back to the experience and am reminded that there's something odd (for the lack of a better term) about existence.

This is why part of me believes in God, bare with me - this is not really a debate, just a discussion:

Consciousness. Existence. Being. Life. Just a finite, odd fever dream of 'something' in between two eternities of nothing at all. Why is it here? Why is there something and not nothing? Think about your favorite television show on the screen - it's there. But the television is 'on', if it wasn't there the television would be 'off'. Common sense, right? Apply that to existence - existence is on, not off. Why is it on? What's causing energy to be instead of, you know, just not being?

I know, I know.... Just because we don't know something, doesn't mean "God did it". However, let's think about what it can be - the reason that existence exists. What are the qualities of Whatever that causes being?

Well, it can't be 'something', otherwise we would only be taking it another step: Why does that something exist instead of not exist? If this Whatever was something, it'd be a part of everything, and we're trying to know why everything exists - it's self defeating.

Could it be nothing? I mean, what is true nothingness? The absence of anything at all. No energy, no being, no nothing. Nothingness is just . That implies that there also doesn't exist boundaries, logic, or limitations. It's possible that this implies that nothingness is chaotic and existence was molded out of nothing/chaos. But I dunno, seems pretty far fetched to me. Wouldn't that imply existence could collapse at any time?

So if it neither exists nor doesn't exist, what is it? What is it that causes existence to be 'on' instead of 'off'? The only other idea I have is God - omnipotent, omnipresent, formless, and simply All. The only thing that exists is God, but really to say that God exists is like saying water is wet. Water isn't wet, it makes other things wet when it sticks to the surface of them.

I sort of agree with reservations. I believe in God. because there is an 'apparent' unity of the spiritual evolution of human consciousness and nature that is reflected in the different religions of human history. Individual religions reflect the diverse human cultural view of of the human perspective. I also fully acknowledge that there is a natural explanation for the nature of our physical existence, and human physical and 'apparent' human spiritual existence, therefore I am a 'philosophical agnostic.' Consciousness itself can be explained by the natural evolution of life.

The claims of uniqueness of any one religion or belief system in human history is indeed illogical and irrational when considering the nature of the 'apparent' unity of human spiritual evolution, and the belief in a universal 'Source' some call God(s).

 

[Willamena]

Is it really our story to tell, or is it the universe's?

The universe is a story, so if you want to give away your power to tell the story, there is no one to prevent that.

But nothing would be the lack of a story.

Only if you give away your power to tell the story to something/someone else.

Don't do that.

I'm confoozed.

Here's the story....

"Here's me. There's you."

"There's the world."

It's a good story. Build on it.

 

[Hermit Philosopher]

Dear @The Sum of Awe

Whereabouts are you now in regards to this matter?


Humbly
Hermit