The validity of mythic experience?

Use this forum to discuss the March 2019 Book of the month, "The Unbound Soul: A Visionary Guide to Spiritual Transformation and Enlightenment" by Richard L. Haight
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promise10
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Re: The validity of mythic experience?

Post by promise10 »

Choosing to live was the most prominent turning point, nothing else would have mattered otherwise.
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Post by mmm17 »

In my opinion, his experience kept him from committing suicide, which was a thought that crossed his mind at the time.
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Post by thaservices1 »

timd wrote: 02 Mar 2019, 14:19 so this makes one wonder at their objective reality and whether they are simply subjective experiences that appear real because of their vividness.
but...is not all experience subjective?
"It is not the critic that counts..."
- Roosevelt
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Post by Anna Maria 86 »

I guess the most noticeable change was not wanting to kill himself anymore, don't you think?
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Post by timd »

Of course, that is noticeable but I know that many sensitive individuals entertain that notion more than once in their lives. Philosophically it is very easy to claim that all experiences are subjective. This point of view shows that it is sometimes an illusion because there are often events in life that are shared by many. An extreme example would be the experience of war. Violence around you and people dying may take on subjective reality, but the actual events are real and affect many, including an entire country or nation. The same could be said about natural disasters, and so the list could be extended infinitely. All mystical and even hallucinogenic experiences can be induced by electrically stimulating certain areas of the brain, which is where my skepticism comes in.
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Post by Aubrey Lewis »

In my opinion, the most glaring, noticeable change the author made in his life was choosing to live. Of course, all of us make mistakes in our life, both big and small, but that does not mean we should escape from the pain through death. It's choosing to live differently, and that is already one huge step.
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Post by Moddesser Elahi »

aolayide wrote: 02 Mar 2019, 04:38 To be honest, he made a lot of mistakes. Don't we all? And I beleive he was naive and was still trying to find himself.
The most noticeable change he made was when he decided to live instead of committing suicide. If he had succeeded in committing suicide, the revelations and dreams would no longer matter because, then, he would not have been able to complete his quest.
I also believe the same. He did not commit suicide and lead a spiritual path after that.
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Post by Moddesser Elahi »

PGreen wrote: 02 Mar 2019, 10:43 While he seemed to have many turning points, the one that I remember most was when he was depressed, suicidal, and lost all trust in himself. Then he heard a voice say he was free to do what he felt was right, that his life was full of purpose, and to be himself. He was transformed in an instant. I have found my own transformations to be much more gradual.
This incident was quite difficult for me to believe but this was something very noticeable in this read.
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Post by Moddesser Elahi »

Mely918 wrote: 02 Mar 2019, 14:07 What stood out to me was how after having that dream, he changed his mind about committing suicide. He decided to live instead. It's very powerful because even though he continued making mistakes, he chose to face them by choosing life. Maybe initially it would've been easier to not deal with anything and die instead, but the dream made him see the bigger picture.
I also think that this dream completely transformed the author and he took the path of spirituality with full force.
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Post by Moddesser Elahi »

Ekta Kumari wrote: 02 Mar 2019, 16:49 I think the most transformative decision of his was to decide to live instead of ending his life. From this point onward, he really changed his mindset for good and made a conscious decision to focus on the positives and build trust in himself.
This was quite an inspirational thing that the author did and can teach us a lot about keeping a positive mindset.
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Post by Beatus »

EvaDar wrote: 02 Mar 2019, 13:33
PGreen wrote: 02 Mar 2019, 10:43 While he seemed to have many turning points, the one that I remember most was when he was depressed, suicidal, and lost all trust in himself. Then he heard a voice say he was free to do what he felt was right, that his life was full of purpose, and to be himself. He was transformed in an instant. I have found my own transformations to be much more gradual.
My thought was similar. Mystical experiences can be instantaneous but it seems are more commonly born of gradual changes in beliefs. The turning point you mention is striking. Perhaps when one is suicidal the stakes are higher, so the transformation is more abrupt, necessarily. I can only validate my own experiences, but I have had realizations, in the form of words or visuals, appear to me that have altered my life in remarkable ways.
I would say that one of the biggest challenge that we encounter as individuals is to sort out out feelings, prejudices and misconceptions and find who we are and what role should we play during our consious existence in this Earth. I think the author's encounter with the vision did the trick.
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Post by Itskai88 »

When he choose life was a moment to remember and I am positive that he would never forget.
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Post by amjohnson13mommy »

I think that dreams are whatever you happened to have been thinking about before you go to bed. For example, if I have a dream about zombies trying to get me I figure it was because i was talking about how bad zombie movies are getting.
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Post by Quickstudy »

The mythic experience is what we all desire. However, most of us receive less overt communication from God. When he was at his ropes end, and given up on himself, he heard a voice, he could have dismissed the voice. But he believed, the words the voice and what it told him about himself. Maybe, we too hear that same voice coming from the people around us.
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Post by Melchi Asuma »

His visions were truly life-changing, which is why I think that the most pivotal moment of his life was when Jesus told him to 'find his bones. ' it made him change his entire life's outlook and aspirations which are the core of any person's decisions.
MA
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