Thanks for another good chuckle, Boaz. You never fail to come through.

Your "scary/amazing" experience does not seem at all out of place in such a gathering.

>>I always find some person who has had some kind of spiritual or psyhcological experience which either scares me or amazes me<<

Let's face it, if your Christian stand had been Roman Catholic, you would have been able to tell the story of how one woman cured another of cancer, fifty years after having died. Not satisfied with that, she repeated the feat, on a different woman, some forty years later.

Spooky, eh?

And puts the Lauren story into perspective. Unless of course the Laurens' patient got up and walked - your brief summary didn't tell us.

So, now you have our attention, what is the point that you are leading up to?

It can't be just another "there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy". That would be silly - we all know that already.

But thanks for the giggle, imagining you among all those earnest hippies.

Wikipedia provides a credible list:

"Exhibitors include the Hare Krishna devotees, the Aetherius Society, Christian groups, Buddhist groups, Astrologers, Tarot readers, vegetarians, vegans, Tai Chi groups, the Anthroposophical Society, Reiki and many other New Age groups."

That's scintillating company, right there.

Did you wear a suit and tie for the event?. C'mon, you can tell us...

I expect these people were there too.

http://www.centreformindbodyspirit.com/

"The Centre for mind, body & spirit features a wide variety of crystals, incense, essential oils, organic skin and hair products, candles, cards, jewellery and giftware."

As I have said on many occasions, I am very comfortable with the fact that there is a large group of human beings for whom simply "being here" is insufficiently interesting, and who require that little extra bit of personal reassurance to make sense of their lives.

Bless.

But it's also the case that they all seem to come with a demand that you buy some form of "giftware".

Odd.

Ummm Boaz/polycarp/agir, I presume you're saying all this was a "dream" you "supposedly" had. Is that correct? Or did you really "not" have that precise dream (with all the accompanying precise details)?

Come on Boaz - - - - tell the "truth" when answering my 2 questions.

My suspicions are that you did NOT have that dream with all it's detail. My suspicion is that you MADE IT ALL UP in order to use this thread as a vehicle to publish, yet again, your non-Christian agenda. An agenda based on the far right wing USA fundamentalist religious movement that you follow so rigidly. Folks, these people are about as Christian as the Pope is Muslim.

People, everytime Boaz/polycarp/agir starts a thread it's a good idea to consider why he "really" started it.

Oooh *Boazy,* look at all these poppets being mean and picking on you, stamping on the flowers, and throwing rocks .. LOL

..

*Foxy Loxy* appears to be a very genuinely nice person though doesn't she? I mean, you don't necessarily have to agree with what she is saying but her manner is soothing, relaxing and graceful, nonetheless. I seem to recall *Examinator* also finds this an attractive trait. ;-)

..

As for some of the raucous mob, well, if I were you I'd take satisfaction in the likelihood that they would not have nearly as much fun if they didn't have you to "peg stones" at. LOL lagi.

..

Hmmm .. I love Freo. We have all kinds of witches and faerie shops in Fremantle. Beautiful art and craft, crystals and stones, yes .. many fine and beautiful things. I like it and find to gaze on these things very soothing, especially after too much time in front of a 2D screen, and to inhale all the wonderful essences that induce subtle state changes.

..

Of course, from a psychiatric perspective people can after experiencing an emotional trauma such as the loss of a Loved One, incur false memory to the extent of getting a few key facts a bit scrambled along the time line i.e. her mum had already died before the dream and then it would appear to be quite normal.

..

If in reality she did indeed experience some form of, what's the term, precognition, then that indeed would be rather remarkable would it not? I have met a lot of people who have claimed these sorts of experiences but yet to have some one describe the experience in advance and then for it to actually take place.

..

Of course, some people have a far more pictorial kind of consciousness, and coupled with a particular belief system, one can quickly begin to interpret everything through that particular set of "rose coloured glasses." T.B.C.

Dream On:

>> I have met a lot of people who have claimed these sorts of experiences but yet to have some one describe the experience in advance and then for it to actually take place. <<

I have personally experienced events for which I have no satisfyingly scientific explanation. However, not one of them proved god exists or that Christianity is the one true religion. Just that there is a lot we don't know yet.

To claim that one's religious beliefs are true and everyone's else's mere fantasy is the height of arrogance, yet that is what all the formal religions do and then expect others to suspend disbelief in the absence of proof.

Here's the deal, I don't proselytise, can Boaz/Polycarp/AGIR return the same respect to others?

*Severin* interesting, and I am in the same boat with you on that one, and concur completely. *Brother Boazy* what say U?

..

I just looked up the word "Hallucination" on an online dictionary:

" ... a sensory experience of something that does not exist outside the mind, caused by various physical and mental disorders, or by reaction to certain toxic substances, and usually manifested as visual or auditory images. ... "

I think there is probably better definitions than that however ...

I was interested that the person you recount alleges to have heard a voice crying "Lauren, Lauren, Lauren."

My dreams are all soundless. I only get picture. And I usually dream when just before becoming conscious, and that usually as my brain is waking me up to have a "p!ss" or "snap a grogan."

If I'm in a particularly deep sleep, like say I've drunk too much "wooblah" the night before, my brain usually throws a nightmare at me to wake me up, like getting chased by sharks, big cats or if my brain gets really cranky with my non-responsive lethargy, will chuck up an Exorcist film image like the possessed Reagan, all likely connected to me being a somewhat stressed child due to feuding, divorcing parents and being left alone to watch too many horror films and graphic natural history.

It's interesting that these "memory crystals" (for want of a better term) remain with me still and are likely activated upon secretion of the relevant neurochemical in an all too familiar way.

..

Coming back to it, to perceive sound as if it originates from the external environment or the same with images, but for them in reality only to be perceptible to the person experiencing them, is of course a common thing with people afflicted with so called "Schizophrenia."

..

That's not to say of course that all people who have such perceptions have a mental illness, however ..

Dear DreamOn,

I like your nickname.

My previous post wasn't meant to be profound
or wise or even clever. I was simply in a reflective
mood today. I blame it on the weather. Monday's
are my days off, and today was the kind of day
when the trees in the garden were desperately
trying to hang on to their modesty against a macho,
loud-mouthed wind. It seemed like a good day for
spring-cleaning my mind, and doing a bit of
dreaming as well.

If you haven't watched the DVD, " The Imaginarium of
Doctor Pernassus," I highly recommend that you do.
I think you'll enjoy it, starring Christopher Plummer,
Heath Ledger, and others. It's magical!