![]() ![]() They feel better generally, more contented, usually less regretful about the past and less anxious about the future, and more engaged with life in their community and with nature. ![]() Whether they think of their experiences as coming through "God's voice" or in some other way (for example, "My conscience told me"), with time and familiarity, people grow to trust what is happening to them. The spiritual self can be thought of as somehow permanently attuned to the seamless greater whole of the universe, the sacred unity, which some people might choose to refer to as "God." A range of spiritual exercises or wisdom practices (notably including meditation, mindfulness practice, or "silent prayer") help a person gradually improve the shift from the mainly self-centered "everyday ego" towards the wiser, more compassionate and loving 'spiritual self'. On the other hand, spiritual experiences that are genuine and positive, resulting in wholesome thoughts, words, and deeds, may seem out of character, such that the person experiences the impulse as coming from somewhere other than who they normally think of as "me." I refer to this familiar locus as the "everyday ego." As a person grows in terms of wisdom and spiritual maturity, the less familiar source, what I call the "spiritual self" (sometimes also called the "true" or "higher" self, or even "the soul") becomes increasingly influential. Others, though, thinking in terms of demons, devils, djinns and Satan himself, might disagree but this is not a psychological interpretation, and I prefer to think that such an experience is unlikely to be authentic (although it still could be) whenever it occurs under conditions of stress or anxiety, of depression and other forms of mental ill health (notably as a hallucination during an episode of psychosis), under conditions of sickness and deprivation (hunger, thirst, fever, withdrawal syndrome, etc.), or through intoxication with alcohol or some other form of mind-altering substance, except perhaps when used strictly according to certain types of traditional ritual or other form of disciplined protocol. By definition, then, 'horrible deeds' can not be considered the result of authentic spiritual experiences. ![]() Spiritual experiences are more likely to be authentic if they happen to a relatively stable personality and are of benefit in some way to them, to others and/or to humanity at large, especially to the extent that these experiences can be called 'transformative', that's to say making a permanent difference for the better. ![]()
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