I saw this statement today. What do you think? Do babies have religious experiences?

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I don't think we are "born" with beliefs in the supernatural. I just think we are "born" without doubt and fear.

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May your awareness be perfection

I dont think that we are "genetically programmed to believe in the supernatural" - true, there are several places in the brain which have been shown to be active when - for instance - Carmelite nuns are asked to re-live a previous spiritual experience: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0830075718.htm - instead this may well mean that we have a natural (an innate) ability to communicate with a consciousness which is not necessarily our 'own'.... that we can, if we wish - immerse ourselves in the pool, rather than merely dipping a toe in.


Peace, Love, & Light

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"An object is perceived, or not perceived, according as the mind is, or is not, tinged with the colour of the object. "
Patanjali - Sutra 4:17

...who first argued that the soul is naturally religious? Update the jargon and write with elctrons on a piece of silicone instead of witha reed on parhcment, and human thought evolves remarkably little.

I think that religion is a social construct -- in its specific manifestations -- but that the underlying impulse remains. And that underlying impulse is, I think, the pervasive feeling that what we "see" (percieve empirically, or deduce rationally) is not all there is. Some people feel this more intsely, and it leads them to other, alternate, states of perception.

Others seem to feel it very little -- or say they do not feel it -- and cannot appreciate it in others.

I think that attributing this to genetics is not, in the end, much more convincing that attributing it to Divine will. Both are merely conjectures and not fundamentally provable.

"Be seeing you..."

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Grassaf, Eolas

Someone once told me that babies and small children were more spiritually advanced than their parents but through the inability to communicate or share these insights babies eventually develop and adopt a parent's understanding of religion and GOD as they grow older but I still get a kick out of the occasional mother or grandmother who relates their stories about these children who have an active acquaintance with "imaginary friends".

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"There is one thing that organized religion is not qualified to teach and that is an individual's purpose."-GOD

I agree Cardero. I believe that kids can teach us much more on the subject spirituality than we as parents. I have learned a great deal from my kids, and questioned many of my concepts since then. When I answer their questions, I rarely act from an authority position and always invite their own thoughts.

In this way we both grow and learn...together : )

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May your awareness be perfection