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Originally posted by cloudyday
So for people who are convinced their spiritual experiences are real, what convinces you? I was reading about schizophrenic delusions and those sound similar to my own experiences except that my experiences are brief and infrequent.
Originally posted by cloudyday
So for people who are convinced their spiritual experiences are real, what convinces you? I was reading about schizophrenic delusions and those sound similar to my own experiences except that my experiences are brief and infrequent.
Originally posted by BioStatistic
reply to post by cloudyday
Schizophrenia is a mental disorder. Being a disorder means it interferes with what is considered normal cognitive and emotional function in a person. There are multiple manifestations of the disorder, but they all point to an interference with daily life and function. Basically, it's harmful.
I will admit, some delusions are somewhat similar when paired with spiritual experiences, but with one major difference. Most spiritual experiences don't interfere with daily life or function. Often, these experiences empower someone to be a better person and actually can encourage increased participation and positive interaction with one's life.
LOL that being said, I guess it's all depending on your frame of reference, and what you would like to perceive either or both as. If they're the same, what we call a mental disorder could be someone misinterpreting a spiritual experience or having one that overwhelms them. On the other hand, a spiritual experience could just be a nice version of a delusion. You make a very good point. I had never really thought about it. Maybe people with schizophrenia are more in tune with another aspect of reality and just aren't equipped to process that amount or type of input.
Seems like a good toss up to me. I'd like to think the experiences I've had are positive and spiritual. They have lifted me up and empowered me to strive to be the person I am today, and I am grateful for them. I guess what I'm saying is...from my perspective, the two are different from each other.
Originally posted by cloudyday
So for people who are convinced their spiritual experiences are real, what convinces you? I was reading about schizophrenic delusions and those sound similar to my own experiences except that my experiences are brief and infrequent.
Originally posted by WarminIndy
reply to post by cloudyday
Good question. I can say this, my father and one of my brothers both suffer Paranoid Schizophrenia and I have seen what it does. I can also say the many times of spiritual experiences I have had has made me wonder if I was suffering mental illness myself.
The thing with Schizophrenia is that it is never gone, spiritual experiences come and go and usually we can find witnesses who have experienced the same thing. Some people may pass that off as the power of suggestion or mass delusion, yet in all the instances of supernatural or paranormal phenomenon, usually they were experienced individually and only talked about later among the people who were around.
If you have enough presence of mind to investigate what is causing the event, then you probably are not Schizophrenic. Schizophrenia is a phenomenon that occurs solely within the mind of the sufferer. Supernatural and paranormal occur outside those who experience it. I mean it affects from the outside of the mind of the individual, so they do experience those things with all the five senses.
I will relate one experience I had from my childhood, that to this day I still remember it as though it just happened.
I was a sickly child prone to high fevers. One evening I was in bed with a fever that I had all weekend and my parents were not so caring to get medication for me. Well as I was lying there with the fever, I was getting more thirsty and called out for some water to drink. I heard my mother telling my brother to go get me a glass of water and he brought it to me. I drank some of it and was dizzy so I laid back down for a few minutes. After a few minutes I sat up again to drink more because I had put the glass on the side table. I reached for the glass and it was gone and I called out again for him to bring it back. I then heard my mother ask my brother if he had gotten me the water yet, and he said no, he had not brought me any at all and he was doing it now. But, I had taken water and drunk it.
People might say that was a fever induced hallucination, and it might have been, but I know that I had touched the glass of water and tasted the water, and felt the relief of the water. Call that what you will, I know what I experienced.
Originally posted by icepack
reply to post by 85303
i think i remember similar conditions, like there is a "fight" in the head. maybe its the classical angel devil sitting on each shoulders.