RoseDancer Posted October 13, 2019 #1 Share Posted October 13, 2019 When I was younger I had some strange experiences that concerned me. At one point I thought I might be going mad. My stepfather suggested I go talk with his priest. The priest told me that he knew of other people who had experienced similar things. He asked if 'it' appeared a good or a bad thing to me. I told him, apart from wondering about it, it was helpful like guidance. He told me to keep thinking positive and to stay on what felt to me like the right path. I was young and did't take it particularly serious at the time but have always felt a guiding presence that I paid more attention to as I got older. I would be interested in your thoughts on this and have you ever felt 'a guiding presence' in any form? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bendy Demon Posted October 13, 2019 #2 Share Posted October 13, 2019 46 minutes ago, RoseDancer said: I would be interested in your thoughts on this and have you ever felt 'a guiding presence' in any form? Nope. Never. I was taught to rely on reality and real people and not feelings. Not that feelings are necessarily bad but they are never allowed in the drivers seat. Just my perspective. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlebrowndragon Posted October 13, 2019 #3 Share Posted October 13, 2019 (edited) Can you describe some of your strange experiences? As to feeling a "guiding presence", then yes, I definitely have experienced something. For example, nearly 20 years ago now I developed a sore hip. Naturally, I thought it might be caused by a bad hip joint and that I should go to the doctor with a view to exploring the idea of a hip replacement. I was quite worried about the whole thing, as you might expect. However, before long, I had a dream one night in which I was shown the image of a perfectly working hip joint. I took this dream, at the time, as advising me that there was nothing wrong with my hip itself. In other words, had the doctor suggested a hip replacement, I'd be putting myself through dangerous surgery for no good reason at all. I therefore decided not to pursue the matter at allow nature to take its course. My decision has been vindicated in that while my hip is still not 100%, it is very much better and it continues to improve, albeit slowly. In addition, I now put my "injury" down to being caused by severe stress, which I was experiencing at the time. I have had other dreams which I took to be advising me about e.g. health issues, and from which, when I followed the advice, I benefitted hugely. I also experience a guiding presence in other ways. E.g. I might be watching a film and a particular scene maybe jumps out at me. When I think about the scene and try to relate it to my life at that time, then it often contains advice regarding an issue that is of concern, or the answer to a question I'd been thinking about. Also, I have experienced what I consider to be too many coincidences to be attributed to the "purely coincidental". This includes something as mundane as finding a dvd of a film in a shop the very day after I had decided I wanted to buy a copy of that film. In addition, not only did I get the film, but it seemed as if I had been guided to that shop for the very purpose of obtaining the film. So, yes, I have had lots of experiences of a "guiding presence". In addition, if you read about adventurers e.g. Ernest Shackleton, they too often report a "guiding presence" which in some cases actually saves their lives or "arranges" for them to meet someone who will play an instrumental part in getting them to where they want to go. One Swiss adventurer I read about recently recognised that he had some sort of guiding presence which he called his General Manager, this because it performed the aforementioned functions I have described. Edited October 13, 2019 by littlebrowndragon omission 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
papageorge1 Posted October 13, 2019 #4 Share Posted October 13, 2019 1 hour ago, RoseDancer said: I would be interested in your thoughts on this and have you ever felt 'a guiding presence' in any form? I believe there are beneficent non-physical entities around us and influencing our thoughts. It is possible you are more 'sensitive' to these than most people. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittens Are Jerks Posted October 13, 2019 #5 Share Posted October 13, 2019 29 minutes ago, littlebrowndragon said: In addition, if you read about adventurers e.g. Ernest Shackleton, they too often report a "guiding presence" which in some cases actually saves their lives or "arranges" for them to meet someone who will play an instrumental part in getting them to where they want to go. One Swiss adventurer I read about recently recognised that he had some sort of guiding presence which he called his General Manager, this because it performed the aforementioned functions I have described. It's a coping mechanism, known as the Third Man Factor, and is not uncommon in traumatic or high stress situations. The unseen presence is not a guardian angel (or anything spiritual for that matter) but, rather, the creation of a human mind in need of comfort. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittens Are Jerks Posted October 13, 2019 #6 Share Posted October 13, 2019 1 hour ago, RoseDancer said: When I was younger I had some strange experiences that concerned me. At one point I thought I might be going mad. My stepfather suggested I go talk with his priest. The priest told me that he knew of other people who had experienced similar things. He asked if 'it' appeared a good or a bad thing to me. I told him, apart from wondering about it, it was helpful like guidance. He told me to keep thinking positive and to stay on what felt to me like the right path. I was young and did't take it particularly serious at the time but have always felt a guiding presence that I paid more attention to as I got older. I would be interested in your thoughts on this and have you ever felt 'a guiding presence' in any form? You might want to consider reading up on bicameralism, a hypothesis in psychology that argues the human brain once operated as two chambers: one that spoke and the other that listened and obeyed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoseDancer Posted October 13, 2019 Author #7 Share Posted October 13, 2019 47 minutes ago, littlebrowndragon said: Can you describe some of your strange experiences? Will come back to this one later. Thank you for all your replies. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
littlebrowndragon Posted October 13, 2019 #8 Share Posted October 13, 2019 13 minutes ago, Kittens Are Jerks said: It's a coping mechanism, known as the Third Man Factor, and is not uncommon in traumatic or high stress situations. The unseen presence is not a guardian angel (or anything spiritual for that matter) but, rather, the creation of a human mind in need of comfort. I guess that the obvious question here is: How do you know that the unseen presence is only a creation of the human mind? Are you speaking from a scientific point of view, perhaps? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoseDancer Posted October 13, 2019 Author #9 Share Posted October 13, 2019 (edited) "You might want to consider reading up on bicameralism, a hypothesis in psychology that argues the human brain once operated as two chambers: one that spoke and the other that listened and obeyed." "According to Jaynes, ancient people in the bicameral state of mind would have experienced the world in a manner that has some similarities to that of a person with schizophrenia. Rather than making conscious evaluations in novel or unexpected situations, the person would hallucinate a voice or "god" giving admonitory advice or commands and obey without question: One would not be at all conscious of one's own thought processes per se. Jaynes's hypothesis is offered as a possible explanation of "command hallucinations" that often direct the behavior of those afflicted by first rank symptoms of schizophrenia, as well as other voice hearers." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicameralism_(psychology) Ooooo, scary........ Edited October 13, 2019 by RoseDancer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoseDancer Posted October 13, 2019 Author #10 Share Posted October 13, 2019 1 hour ago, Bendy Demon said: I was taught to rely on reality and real people and not feelings. Not that feelings are necessarily bad but they are never allowed in the drivers seat. Just my perspective. I think one is either a thinker or a feeler. I think I'm a feeler. I avoid large groups because I seem to take on everyone's problems. I think I can go as far as to say I can feel their pain. Reading about how important it is to spend time with positive rather than negative people, optimists rather than pessimists helped some. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittens Are Jerks Posted October 13, 2019 #11 Share Posted October 13, 2019 47 minutes ago, littlebrowndragon said: I guess that the obvious question here is: How do you know that the unseen presence is only a creation of the human mind? Are you speaking from a scientific point of view, perhaps? I know the unseen presence is a creation of the human mind because SCIENCE. There is strong (and interesting) science behind the Third Man Factor, and the explanations behind the phenomenon range from bio-chemical reactions to misfiring brain activity. What is most interesting is that it is not a hallucination, but, rather, a part of us. Even more interesting is that the 'third man' is calm during a moment of crisis or trauma, capable of providing advice, comfort and/or support. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Desertrat56 Posted October 13, 2019 #12 Share Posted October 13, 2019 1 hour ago, Bendy Demon said: Nope. Never. I was taught to rely on reality and real people and not feelings. Not that feelings are necessarily bad but they are never allowed in the drivers seat. Just my perspective. Yeah, that's what my mom used to say. But then, she could tell you what people were feeling as soon as they walked in the door and even though she claimed it was "just body language" it wasn't. When my aunt was burning brush around the rabbit cage when they were teeanagers my mom was in the house and had no way to know my aunt needed help when one of the cages caught fire. My mom was right there immediately with the hose to put out the fire. She always showed up before someone said anything. Several times when I was an adult and something came up, she would be there. She lived 200 miles away and I hadn't called her but she would show up and help. So, what is reality? Do you really know what is real and what isn't? No, every one has filters and different ideas or thoughts about what reality is and it does not exclude the unexplainable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Desertrat56 Posted October 13, 2019 #13 Share Posted October 13, 2019 1 hour ago, Kittens Are Jerks said: You might want to consider reading up on bicameralism, a hypothesis in psychology that argues the human brain once operated as two chambers: one that spoke and the other that listened and obeyed. Psychology does not study the human brain, it studies human behavior. Neurology is the study of the brain and psychology is only barely a science. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittens Are Jerks Posted October 13, 2019 #14 Share Posted October 13, 2019 53 minutes ago, RoseDancer said: "You might want to consider reading up on bicameralism, a hypothesis in psychology that argues the human brain once operated as two chambers: one that spoke and the other that listened and obeyed." "According to Jaynes, ancient people in the bicameral state of mind would have experienced the world in a manner that has some similarities to that of a person with schizophrenia. Rather than making conscious evaluations in novel or unexpected situations, the person would hallucinate a voice or "god" giving admonitory advice or commands and obey without question: One would not be at all conscious of one's own thought processes per se. Jaynes's hypothesis is offered as a possible explanation of "command hallucinations" that often direct the behavior of those afflicted by first rank symptoms of schizophrenia, as well as other voice hearers." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicameralism_(psychology) Ooooo, scary........ Yes, scary based on that excerpt , but also reassuring when you look at it from the Third Man perspective. Humans are hardwired to survive and our brains and bodies will go into overdrive to ensure that survival. Rather than crediting some supernatural being with our survival, we should be crediting ourselves. The guiding presence you feel is yourself, in my opinion, and no one else. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittens Are Jerks Posted October 13, 2019 #15 Share Posted October 13, 2019 4 minutes ago, Desertrat56 said: Psychology does not study the human brain, it studies human behavior. Neurology is the study of the brain and psychology is only barely a science. Yes, and....? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Desertrat56 Posted October 13, 2019 #16 Share Posted October 13, 2019 2 hours ago, RoseDancer said: When I was younger I had some strange experiences that concerned me. At one point I thought I might be going mad. My stepfather suggested I go talk with his priest. The priest told me that he knew of other people who had experienced similar things. He asked if 'it' appeared a good or a bad thing to me. I told him, apart from wondering about it, it was helpful like guidance. He told me to keep thinking positive and to stay on what felt to me like the right path. I was young and did't take it particularly serious at the time but have always felt a guiding presence that I paid more attention to as I got older. I would be interested in your thoughts on this and have you ever felt 'a guiding presence' in any form? I have a lot of experiences with some seemingly outside, non-physical guidance. Sometimes when I think about it I think it is some part of me doing the guiding, a part of my consciousness that has a bigger picture perspective. Once when I worked at a job where we were all in cubes and for some reason someone mixed in a couple of people who did not work in our department in our rows I had a weird dream. First, there was a guy across the ailse from me who would ocme in at 7 and work until 4:30. He had been moved to our group because no one knew what he was doing and he had been on his own with very little suprevision, available to any manger who needed his skills. No one ever told him that in our department we were supposed to start work at 8:30 and work until 5:30. I didn't even know that was a rule and I had been in that group for 2 years. All the other groups allowed flex time as long as we picked hours and kept to those hours. Anyway, one of the interlopers complained because he and I would talk about non work stuff for a few minutes in the mornings before 8:30. Instead of telling us we were bothering her she went to our boss. That night I had a dream that I was at a party and everyone was enjoying themselves, talking, eating, jolly except the boss who was sitting on a couch glowering at me. The next day each of us (me and my cube mate across the ailse) was called in separately and told we were not allowed to visit and my cubemate got moved to a different ailse. Then those two interlopers complained about many other things so we complained that we could not work under the conditions they expected (almost all 20 of us) and they got moved to a different wing of the building. (the dream was my point but to make it clear that it was a "heads up" I had to tell the whole story). Many times I have had dreams like that. It is hard to decipher them but usually the actual people in the dreams are the ones that I need to pay attention to. I have also occasionally had a voice in my head that said something that caused me to react so that I did not wreck my car or so that I could warn whomever was driving to avoid a horrific accident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Desertrat56 Posted October 13, 2019 #17 Share Posted October 13, 2019 4 minutes ago, Kittens Are Jerks said: Yes, and....? So, what does a psychological hypothesis have to do with this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XenoFish Posted October 13, 2019 #18 Share Posted October 13, 2019 A subconscious nudge by any other name... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittens Are Jerks Posted October 13, 2019 #19 Share Posted October 13, 2019 2 minutes ago, Desertrat56 said: So, what does a psychological hypothesis have to do with this? It's relevance as a point of interest has already been made clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Desertrat56 Posted October 13, 2019 #20 Share Posted October 13, 2019 3 minutes ago, XenoFish said: A subconscious nudge by any other name... Right, but there is still no real explanation about where the subconsciousness resides. Is it in the brain or in the cells or in the ethers? You can't prove it is any of those places and you can't prove it is not in any of those places. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XenoFish Posted October 13, 2019 #21 Share Posted October 13, 2019 35 minutes ago, Desertrat56 said: Right, but there is still no real explanation about where the subconsciousness resides. Is it in the brain or in the cells or in the ethers? You can't prove it is any of those places and you can't prove it is not in any of those places. https://www.sas.upenn.edu/~cavitch/pdf-library/Solms_Unconscious.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RoseDancer Posted October 13, 2019 Author #22 Share Posted October 13, 2019 1 hour ago, Kittens Are Jerks said: Humans are hardwired to survive and our brains and bodies will go into overdrive to ensure that survival. Your thoughts on Soul Survival. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XenoFish Posted October 13, 2019 #23 Share Posted October 13, 2019 The thing is we can and sometimes do create mental constructs. People call them Guardian Angels, the Witch's Familiar, God's. These ideas act as a sort of pipeline to the un/subconscious. In chaos magick they're called Servitors. Anyway. It's no different than asking yourself a question and some time later getting that "Ah, Hah!!!" moment of realization. The same process can also generate subconscious nudging. You get moved by a feeling, it felt right, etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittens Are Jerks Posted October 13, 2019 #24 Share Posted October 13, 2019 9 minutes ago, RoseDancer said: Your thoughts on Soul Survival. What do you mean by 'soul survival'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freetoroam Posted October 13, 2019 #25 Share Posted October 13, 2019 4 hours ago, RoseDancer said: When I was younger I had some strange experiences that concerned me. At one point I thought I might be going mad. No one can possibly help you are advise you if you do not tell us what the strange experiences are? Please give us an insight so we know what we are working with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now