What Do We Do With Experiences We Cannot Explain?

It seems like a pretty safe bet to suggest that it's likely that almost everyone who reads these words have had some form of "experience" that they simply couldn't explain, at some point in their lives.

Today, I'm not necessarily interested in exploring what those experiences might have been, as I am interested in learning what you did after you had them. Was there anybody you could talk to? Did you not say anything to anybody for fear that you be thought crazy? Did you confide in anybody? What was their response? Regardless of the final choice, how did you feel about it?

Because I am a minister as well as a counselor, I often get clients who come to me and want to know whether it's okay to talk about an "unusual experience."

Naturally, I'm very open to that because I also know that having something happen to you and not feeling safe to talk about it with anyone can severely affect your mental health in the long run. I also recognize that the real question they are asking is whether it is safe for them to confide in me.

In most cases, I hear stories from people about "things unseen" that they are absolutely certain took place, and almost definitely changed their entire outlook on life.

Hearing such stories serves as a poignant and tangible reminder that our world can be a very inconsistent place.

Consider this: If a person walks into a room full of people and claims to have had "a conversation with God" we nod and call them religious. If the same person walked into a room full of people and claimed they "had a conversation with the ghost of their mother" we shake our heads nervously and wonder whether they're going crazy.

From a purely functional perspective the two experiences are almost identical, with the big difference being that "religious experiences" are publicly sanctioned as part of religious practice, but "supernatural experiences" are not and tend to be viewed as the domain of the mentally unstable.

Which brings us back to the original question posed in this post: who can you talk to when you experience something you can't quite explain?

Sadly, a lot of people do not have anybody they can talk to for fear of being judged and being thought mentally unstable... even though they are perfectly functional in all other aspects of their lives.

Why do we have such dichotomies? And why do we tolerate such dichotomies?

Ultimately, most people are very uncomfortable when confronted with the unknown. Spiritual experiences are definitely a part of the unknown.

From my perspective, what we need more of in our world is "emotionally safe spaces" where people can openly share their experiences without fear of judgment and retribution. My guess is that we would have a lot fewer mentally unstable individuals out there!

Thanks for visiting and Bright Blessings to all!

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