Blurts & Spasms

In answer to Quora question: "Why do you think spirituality and/or awakening is real?"

Thanks for the A2A.

Simply put: from personal experience. Sure, reading scriptures from many different religions has been a helpful way to frame or contextualize my spiritual experiences...and to guide me into new horizons of spiritually being...but without those fundamental experiences of "spirit," I don't know that I would have been drawn to those scriptures or have had them resonate so strongly for me. Of course, there could be alternate explanations for some of these experiences, as neurology is trying to elaborate for us, but not for many others. Also, I must recognize that I have certain sensitivities and patterns of perception and cognition that some of my atheistic friends do not have - and this has meant that I accept spiritual explanations for certain events in my life, where they do not. These sensitivities are also why I describe myself as a "mystic" instead of as a "spiritual person" or as "religious," because descriptions of mystical gnosis throughout literature across many cultures is the closest thing to what I have experienced - just as agape is the best definition I have encountered for the consequences of that gnosis arising in my thoughts, feelings and actions. A poem from Hafiz or Teresa of Avila shapes words around the ineffable movements of my soul. Also, in a way, I would tend not to use the word "think" regarding these conclusions, but rather "intuit" or "sense" or "know" in a multidimensional way.

Mysticism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)