religious experince

[deb1]

Goofiness. I wish the OP would use correct spelling and grammar. Sounds juvenile.

I am forty and I often use incorrect spelling and grammar. I had to down load a spell check on my computer and I still get things wrong.

I try very hard not to mention spelling in other’s post, but to pay attention to the gist of the message. It is more charitable to do that and doesn’t drive away people.

Besides, the moment that I correct another person’s spelling then I leave myself open to having my spelling and grammar corrected at any time on these forums.

For a 15 years old he is expressing himself very well. Much better then my son who is dyslexic could.

 

[deb1]

and if you were bieng attacked in your dreams and had scratches all over you when you woke up wouldnt you be scared to?

This would frighten me also.

When I was an adolescent I dabbled in the occult. I was interested in Wicca but never got in deep.

My mother bought us a ouija board and she was addicted to it. One day, I was using it and the Ouijia board honestly spelled out something along the lines of, Mad at Brenda. Car hit. Hit Car.

I told my mom, Brenda, that we needed to get rid of this thing. Most of the information that we got from it was inncorrect anyway.

A few days later the brakes in my mother’s car went out and she hit another car. She was fine but we destroyed the Ouijia board. Maybe it was just a conicidence, but I try and avoid the occult now.

 

[deb1]

I’ve had many religious experiences.

When I was 16, I used to spend the night at this elderly Catholic couple and attend mass with them in the morning. They were very sweet.

The first time I went to mass, I was blown away. I loved the procession with the priest that occurs at the begining of mass. What amazed me the most was books that the elderly lady had about Mary.

I had an unstable, abusive mom. Reading about Mary and the fact that Jesus would share his own mother with me had a profound effect on me.

 

[Jake_Ellison]

Is there a thread (I havn’t found one) talking more about what Wiccans believe? I’d really like to discuss it with someone who actually is Wiccan, rather then just read stuff from the internet…

 

[Carrie_Andrews]

now this is just a simple Q&A

have you ever had something in your life that was so amazing it put your faith back into you?

if so what was it (details would be nice)

now heres my side

last year i was doing a yule ritual and i was so tired that i went to bed right after i was done, later that night i had a dream where i was bieng attacked by something and i would wake up with scratches on my arms and chest. for about 3 nights this happend and then i relized what i had done…i forgot to close my circle. which for wiccans is sort of like a portal,window, what ever you want to call it to the spirit world…and something nasty got out, so soon as i relized that was the problem. I closed the circle and prayed to the protection goddess and god to watch over me while i sleep…and after that i slept peacfully and without any attacks.

And yet you continue to adhere to these ungodly practices? You would always sleep peaceful in the palm of Gods hand, if you turn to the one who created all and become Christian!

 

[Jake_Ellison]

Christainity has its devil. Surely temptation is supposed to come from the devil trying to lead Christians down an immoral path of premarital sex and such like. You sleep safely knowing you’re in the ‘palm of Gods hand’ who ‘leads [you] not into temptaion and delivers [you] from evil.’ reborn_pagan sleeps safely in the knowleage that his Gods of protection are there holding him safely in their hands.

 

[Carrie_Andrews]

The Devil is real, not just to the Christian, but as the “father of all lies” who has tricked you into not only thinking he’s not there, but into thinking you’re not following him.

 

[Jake_Ellison]

The Devil is real, not just to the Christian, but as the “father of all lies” who has tricked you into not only thinking he’s not there, but into thinking you’re not following him.

Ok, and the devil is ‘ungodly’ so any ‘ungodly’ elements of Wicca aren’t reasons to convert from it, just like ‘ungodly’ elements of chritianity arn’t reason to turn from christianity. You both just pray for protection.

 

[Carrie_Andrews]

Ahh, yes, but to whom are you praying for protection? I’m praying to the One True God. If you aren’t praying to The Truth, you’re praying to evil one, the father of all lies.
One of the devils greatest tools is confusion, so test your beliefs and see if you don’t find a great deal of confusion.

 

[Oneiron]

Ahh, yes, but to whom are you praying for protection? I’m praying to the One True God. If you aren’t praying to The Truth, you’re praying to evil one, the father of all lies.
One of the devils greatest tools is confusion, so test your beliefs and see if you don’t find a great deal of confusion.

No, you’re praying to what you believe is the one true god. If he doesn’t pray to the god you believe exists, it doesn’t mean he’s praying to the devil you believe exists.

 

[KarenNC]

Is there a thread (I havn’t found one) talking more about what Wiccans believe? I’d really like to discuss it with someone who actually is Wiccan, rather then just read stuff from the internet…

Jake, it looks like the search function is temporarily disabled due to server maintenance. Once it is back up, you should be able to find lots of threads by searching “Wicca,” “Wiccan,” or “Neopagan.”

You might want to start with a thread in the Apologetics forum called Neopagan Apologetics.
I think this link will take you to it forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=124238. It is kind of buried at the moment as it is a couple of weeks old. Perservere through the calls for online exorcism, etc and you can find some really interesting discussion.

 

[pagan_soul]

My mother bought us a ouija board and she was addicted to it. One day, I was using it and the Ouijia board honestly spelled out something along the lines of, Mad at Brenda. Car hit. Hit Car.
…
A few days later the brakes in my mother’s car went out and she hit another car. She was fine but we destroyed the Ouijia board. Maybe it was just a conicidence, but I try and avoid the occult now.

Okay, it is completely plausible that your mother knew her brakes were old and failing…human beings know when things aren’t right on their vehicles and they don’t have to consciously acknowledge these things, they just enter the brain unconciously. Then later in dreams they get the reminders that they need to think about these things. Ouiji boards are driven by people not by spirits. Your mother told it that her brakes were failing…in my opinion. Thats the same way tarot cards work, the client tells the reader what to say.

I don’t believe in all this voodoo fluff, but again its only my opinion on this subject. You may want to believe that ouiji boards speak of the future…and if so I’d like to win the next lottery.

I think its important to not play in the arena of imaginating things are spirits and demons when there is a more reasonable answer. So I would also throw away the ouiji board as it engages people in ridiculous distractions and away from true spiritual development.

 

[KarenNC]

** Ouiji boards are driven by people not by spirits. Your mother told it that her brakes were failing…in my opinion. Thats the same way tarot cards work, the client tells the reader what to say…I think its important to not play in the arena of imaginating things are spirits and demons when there is a more reasonable answer. So I would also throw away the ouiji board as it engages people in ridiculous distractions and away from true spiritual development.**

I agree with you. As I have been told numerous times “If you hear hoofbeats outside the window, expect to see a horse, not a zebra.”

I also see the tarot as useful only to help you see what your unconscious mind is trying to tell you. Now whether the Gods also use one’s subconscious to communicate, is another question and one that I am not qualified to answer. All in all, I figure They usually have better things to do most of the time.

Honestly, in reborn’s case, my first explanation would be that he managed to scratch himself in a dream or he has a cat. Reborn, you also might want to revisit the books you are reading. Every Wiccan ritual description I have ever read has talked of the circle as a protection for the person inside it from distracting forces and as a container for the energy raised during a ritual (also according to my husband who was Wiccan at one point). The point of Wiccan ritual is not summoning anything (especially not demons) or containing such in a circle. That’s ceremonial magick, another critter altogether.

I had someone just yesterday ask for a referral to a psychic because she was having dreams about her mother who recently died and thought they might mean something. I told her, firstly, that I knew no one I would consider reputable and secondly, that the fact that she had just gone through the first major holiday since her mom died might have more to do with it than communication from beyond the grave.

I know that there is much written (unfortunately) in many religions about this sort of thing. Neopagans convinced they are the victim of psychic vampires/attacks or curses every time they get a headache. Christians convinced they are under demonic attack because their rosary string broke or they hit a lot of stoplights and were late for church.

Basically, sometimes stuff just happens and it is nothing more than it appears. As Freud is said to have said, “sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”

 

[reborn_pagan]

…can we please stick to the subject ?

 

[reborn_pagan]

I have a comment on this part, but I think it might make you feel I attack your faith. Therefore, if you are ok, I will post up what I think.

i’m okay with it, im not gonna try to let things get to me so easily.

 

[reborn_pagan]

** Ouiji boards are driven by people not by spirits.** Your mother told it that her brakes were failing…in my opinion. Thats the same way tarot cards work, the client tells the reader what to say…I think its important to not play in the arena of imaginating things are spirits and demons when there is a more reasonable answer. So I would also throw away the ouiji board as it engages people in ridiculous distractions and away from true spiritual development.

I agree with you. As I have been told numerous times “If you hear hoofbeats outside the window, expect to see a horse, not a zebra.”

I also see the tarot as useful only to help you see what your unconscious mind is trying to tell you. Now whether the Gods also use one’s subconscious to communicate, is another question and one that I am not qualified to answer. All in all, I figure They usually have better things to do most of the time.

Honestly, in reborn’s case, my first explanation would be that he managed to scratch himself in a dream or he has a cat. Reborn, you also might want to revisit the books you are reading. Every Wiccan ritual description I have ever read has talked of the circle as a protection for the person inside it from distracting forces and as a container for the energy raised during a ritual (also according to my husband who was Wiccan at one point). The point of Wiccan ritual is not summoning anything (especially not demons) or containing such in a circle. That’s ceremonial magick, another critter altogether.

I had someone just yesterday ask for a referral to a psychic because she was having dreams about her mother who recently died and thought they might mean something. I told her, firstly, that I knew no one I would consider reputable and secondly, that the fact that she had just gone through the first major holiday since her mom died might have more to do with it than communication from beyond the grave.

I know that there is much written (unfortunately) in many religions about this sort of thing. Neopagans convinced they are the victim of psychic vampires/attacks or curses every time they get a headache. Christians convinced they are under demonic attack because their rosary string broke or they hit a lot of stoplights and were late for church.

Basically, sometimes stuff just happens and it is nothing more than it appears. As Freud is said to have said, “sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”

lol i have a headache right now. but i know thats just from me waking up so darn early in the morning, and i know that 99.8% of the time that if something very common happens…its probly for a reason

and i doubt that i scratched myself because i keep my fingernails really short, and i havn’t had a cat sense i was ten (i miss her)

as for the “think horses not zebras” where did you get that from it sounds familer

 

[deb1]

Okay, it is completely plausible that your mother knew her brakes were old and failing…human beings know when things aren’t right on their vehicles and they don’t have to consciously acknowledge these things, they just enter the brain unconciously. Then later in dreams they get the reminders that they need to think about these things. Ouiji boards are driven by people not by spirits. Your mother told it that her brakes were failing…in my opinion. Thats the same way tarot cards work, the client tells the reader what to say.

I don’t believe in all this voodoo fluff, but again its only my opinion on this subject. You may want to believe that Ouija boards speak of the future…and if so I’d like to win the next lottery.

I think its important to not play in the arena of imagination things are spirits and demons when there is a more reasonable answer. So I would also throw away the Ouija board as it engages people in ridiculous distractions and away from true spiritual development.

It wasn’t my mom using the board, it was me. And no, I had no knowledge about the state of her car. Heck, I was 15, I tried to avoid my mom. She tended to go off into irrational tantrums.

I had my eyes closed and my sister spelled the words.

Was it something that I did myself? Could be, but then again, I do believe that things like Ouija boards, tarot cards and psychics can lead to danger. Not because the items themselves are dangerous but because of the way the person is using them.

Perhaps a person using them for fun might be in no danger but my mom wanted to contact dead relatives, espcially my dad and see the future(did I say that my mom was unstable?) Maybe it was just wishful thinking on the part of my sister and I, afterall we were terrified of my mom(although any desire to hurt her would be unconscious) or maybe there is potential evil in using such devices in the manner that my family was.

By the way, you mean I probably won’t warn the lottery? Darn, there go my plans for retirement.

 

[KarenNC]

as for the “think horses not zebras” where did you get that from it sounds familer

It’s a common quote, usually related to medicine, as in “when someone presents with symptoms, first look for the most likely problem, not the most exotic, even if it is something you just learned about in your medical text.”

All in all, I am a very prosaic person (my husband calls me “Earth through and through” ) That may be part of the reason I have never been really moved by Wicca. In my mind, any guidance/communication from my Deities is usually going to be in a much more subtle form.

I also do not think that humans quite simply have enough power to do things like compel the attendance of Gods at a ritual (invite, certainly, but not compel) or that if one forgets to “dismiss” the Watchtower of the West a hurricane will descend upon the city or not doing the ritual exactly right will alter the space-time continuum (and, yes, I have heard such claims). In my view, frankly, in the overall scheme of things, what makes any given individual that important?
My view is that it is more about piety, relationship/reciprocity with my Gods, and intent.

My own experience was much less dramatic. We were setting out on a long road trip and it is our common practice to pour libations to Hermes before doing so. In the bustle of packing we forgot. We had to run a couple of errands on the way out of town including dropping some books off at the library.

My daughter started saying she was hungry and my husband went to get an apple for her out of the cooler when we stopped at the library. The first one he picked out had a large rotten spot. So did the second (he had just packed these an hour before and did not notice any problems). He dropped the third one and it fell under the car, proceeding to roll uphill to the exact center of the vehicle. We were both getting incredibly frustrated, then looked at each other and realized we had forgotten to pour libations. He immediately took the diet dr. pepper he had been drinking and went off to the side to pour libations. After that the trip went much more smoothly.

Now, did Hermes intervene to cause these things to happen so that we would pour libations. I don’t know. Can I “prove” objectively that He did? No. Did things start going smoothly because we took a moment to calm down and focus and to believe they would? I don’t know. Was it all a big coincidence? I don’t know, but it certainly seemed to us and was interpreted by us as a religious experience. Our participation in the ritual certainly had a beneficial effect on our situation.

 

[Carrie_Andrews]

No, you’re praying to what you believe is the one true god. If he doesn’t pray to the god you believe exists, it doesn’t mean he’s praying to the devil you believe exists.

Sorry it took me so long to reply, once I couldn’t use the search mode I lost this thread.
Just because someone believes one thing and another person believes another, it doesn’t mean that there is more then one truth. The truth is the truth, it’s not one true for me and a different for you. There is One true God. I hope someday you study all religions in depth, as I did when I was much younger. Though study and life expeirence I have knowledge of the one God of all, The creator of the universe and of all matter. He isn’t a figment of my imagination or an illusion created by the devil, which many people believe through ignorance(usually through no fault of their own, just haven’t been exposed to the truth.)
Did you test your faith as I suggested to see if it is surrounded by confusion?

 

[Valke2]

I had a dream that I was alone in a desert. This was a few years ago. In my dream I was dying. Then God opened up the heavens and I was given manna.

When I woke up my pillow was gone.