Atheists,pantheists,can you help?

Question

O.K. Something happened to me last night while just thinking.First let me tell you,I do not drink nor do drugs,at all.I have always considered myself "stable"No meds,so no need to joke.O.K.Last night,as I was laying in bed contemplating the cosmos,infinity,things I always dwell on.Suddenly,although for that period to me,time had no meaning.For a period,I became aware of everything,past,present,future.I could sense,feel every other piece of matter and energy in the universe.Crap.It's hard to put into words.It wasn't particularly religious in nature.I don't feel like I saw god or anything.Just for a period,I was a part of everything.That is the best I can put it into words.I cannot any longer remember all I knew at that moment,just that it was everything.I have always been a very feet on the ground atheist.I do not understand what happened.Has ANYONE ever experienced anything similar?I haven't even told my spouse yet.I don't know what to make of it.Again,no drugs or alcohol involved.

I made the name up solely to ask this one question.Don't want people to think I am crazy.But the question is serious

Thanks to all of you.It wasn't lucid dreaming.I have done that.This has me quite "freaked out"I am in my 40's and nothing similar has ever occurred.At least I know I am not the only one

Answer 1

Yes... that sense is the object of meditation. Look up 'satori'.

Then, read "How To Meditate", by Lawrence LeShan.

It sounds like you took 'the path of intellect'.

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P.S.: I looked at some of these answers. It was not an OBE. It was not a 'hypnogogic state'. It was not a hallucination.

It is possible to recapture the experience through meditation. The trick is to train yourself such that when you DO it, you don't NOTICE that you are doing it. Once you NOTICE that you are doing it... poof... gone.

Good luck.

Answer 2

Four things are important as you describe this.
1. You were in bed. This suggests that you were in a relaxed state of mind & body.
2. You were contemplating "infinite things," which implies that you were in some way meditating.
3. You "became aware of everything ...", which suggests that you were entering a trance state, similar to hypnosis. Such a powerful experience has been described repeatedly, and it is not unusual or unnatural.
4. You can no longer remember all that you then knew. This is a common experience following dreams. Your dreams occur in a part of the brain that does not have ready access to long-term memory. Therefore, unless you consciously concentrate on the dream after waking, it does not file itself away in our biochemical memory banks for ready recovery.

Given the fact that you are a biological organism, and you have experienced something common among other humans, I would suggest that you simply observed yourself in a trance-like dream state, with partial wakeful awareness. The sensation of oneness with the universe is hardly unique, either. Many people can retain that sensation in wakeful moments via meditation and concentration training.

Don't worry. These experiences do not offer testimony for either insanity nor for religious experience.

^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^ ^v^

Answer 3

I have felt that many times and with most of those cases I wasn't on drugs either. The feeling is complete ecstasy, as if the universe were one big guitar string that you're perfectly in tune with. It only happens in times of complete calm and no mental distractions. It also has always happened when I'm on the verge of sleep. I attribute it to some sort of semi-conscious pre-dream state.

I know I wasn't suddenly "part of the universe" any more than I was before or after the feeling so I attribute nothing magical or supernatural to it. You just felt overwhelmingly happy. It's chemistry in the brain. Try to reproduce it so you can feel it more often because it's a nice place to be, isn't it?

Answer 4

Don't worry. You've experienced something profound to you. Whether others believe it or not is irrelevant. What is important is how it affects you and what you do with the experience. Does it make you grow? Good. Make you ask questions? Great!

What you felt was the connection that everything shares. At least that is my opinion. We are taught so diligently that we are separate individuals that we ignore or lose our ability to feel that connection. I have felt it for what seemed like a split second, and then it was gone. The "flavor" of the experience has stayed with me even though the details are gone. And you're right. It wasn't particularly religious, but I believe it humbled me and gave me a more spiritual nature. I felt the connection with everything (and, like you, no drugs, mental disease, or alcohol). I no longer am quite as self-absorbed as I may have been. Share it with your spouse if you feel your spouse is open to it. But don't be disappointed if they don't share your enthusiasm/awe at the experience. It's one of those things that until you do "see it for yourself," you have no frame of reference to understand it.

Good luck and good journeys,

Asha

Answer 5

Some believe there is a 'river of thought' (for lack of a more definitive term) that flows out from the creating force, which contains all knowledge without respect to time or space, and that at that narrow window of time between conscious and unconscious we may sometimes be able to access it. Carl Jung talked a little about it in his theories of dreams and the unconscious self...

it's the place epople search for during meditation, etc.

Answer 6

This kind of thing can happen to you when you think deeply about infinity and such. Happened to me once but I've never been able to recapture the experience. I wouldn't worry too much about it if I were you. The human brain is an extremely complex and subtle organ -- nice to see that you're taking better care of yours than I ever did.

Answer 7

I do it all the time in deep meditation. I suppose that's what some people refer to as nirvana or enlightenment.

Sensory deprivation is a good way to clear the way for an experience like that.

Look up floatation tanks online.

Answer 8

I'm not an atheist or pantheist, but my beliefs are a little of both.

I believe there is a force that sort of underlies everything in existence. This force can be tapped into different ways, though most often through religion. It could be that force that you tapped into.

Answer 9

Read the last chapters of "The End of Faith" (Sam Harris). He explains how humans should explore meditation and spirituality (which exist no doubt) without resorting to any supernatural dogma. Very deep stuff.

Answer 10

Have you read the Celestine Prophesy? Your experience is similar to one described in there. If you can get hold of a copy you might find it interesting! This may be the start of a spiritual growth spurt. I wish you luck for the journey.