Sugar&Spice

Ok..so I'm not exactly sure what happened or even how to explain it.

I was just sitting at work when a customer came in and bought a part off of a machine. He is probably about 60ish and from a foreign country..not sure which one. Anyways he asked how old I was..and other questions along that line. He leaves. Then comes back in and asks if I will pray with him. I believe in God and I pray so I figured why not. Here is the odd part.

He holds out his hands and grasps mine in his. He begins to pray and as he is praying I notice my heart beat starts to slow down. Then he finishes and all of a sudden has goosebumps up and down his arms. And asked if my heart beat had slowed down. It was very odd and I really don't know what to make of it. Any guesses?

prosequence

Happens quite a bit when people pray. I beleive it's the pressence of the Holy Ghost. Pass it on!

__________________
And now here I stand because of you, Mister Anderson, because of you I'm no longer an agent of the system, because of you I've changed...

Giltwist

[random geek quote]
"Do you believe the Pilgrims were gods?"
"I believe they were touched by god"
-Wing Commander
[/random geek quote]

Seriously, though, Pro is right. Most people really don't get Quiet unless they are praying. I mean, yeah they can be quiet so that you can't hear them, but I mean on the inside. When you are Quiet, you can take a step outside of yourself and really appreaciate just how massive the universe really is. I'd say thats worth getting goosebumps.

Also, I am sure that its normal for your pulse to slow down during deep prayer. I mean, its essentially a deep meditation.

tiberry

Disclaimer: None of this questioning should be taken as an attack on your religious beliefs! My apologies if it sounds 'pointed', its just me...

Do you mean that literally? Do you truly believe that an apparition or some ethereal manifistation of God was conjured by the action of praying?

-or-

Do you mean in figurative terms that the "feeling" of being close to God or "one with God" caused the soothing effect?

No judgement implied one way or the other, maybe just a debate depending on your answer!

__________________
My life's work is to bridge the gap between that which is perceived by the mind and that which is quantifiable by words and numbers.

raeanna74

In prayer you are usually focusing on one thing. You frequently close your eyes and fold your hands to quiet them. Your body is quiet, your mind is focused, it has much the same effect as meditation. It is good physically for you if nothing else. Now as to him asking you about your heartbeat? Why did he ask THAT? It does make you wonder. I think it's facinating no matter what the reason for the experience.

__________________
"Always learn the rules so that you can break them properly." Dalai Lama
My Karma just ran over your Dogma.

prosequence

Both physical and emotional.
It's a regular occurance in many beliefs.

__________________
And now here I stand because of you, Mister Anderson, because of you I'm no longer an agent of the system, because of you I've changed...

thespian86

I agree with Pro. I find that prayer is not just an emotional thing, it's physical, your talking with God... Sometimes I feel as if God is holding on to me or touching my hands...

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EX: Whats new?
ME: I officially love coffee more then you now.
EX: uh...
ME: So, not much.

:::OshnSoul:::

It is, you could say, God. You felt the power within you and it was a rush of warmth and energy just flowing through your body, right? Oh, yeah.
I remember, when I got "saved" and was spiritually baptized at church for the first time, it was the most incredible experience. I lay there for 2 hours, completely still like I was in shock with my eyes closed. I was so relaxed and calm, I just felt incredible and re-energized when I got up.
I get that feeling when I have a spiritual epiphany, or feel the presence of someone's spirit (live or dead), when my husband and I are intimate......and the feeling of love and oneness in general......it is God's Touch- it's everywhere.

And prayer is powerful, it is thoughts put into motion- and what makes them go into motion? Energy. That's what you felt.

Harloquin

All of you should quit the bullshit, it has nothing to do with god or anything spiritual. The reason you had those feelings was probably because sometimes when another person touches you, you get that warm fuzzy feeling and you feel calm (human contact can be soothing). He knew your heart beat slowed down because the old man has pulled this trick with other people and vice versa so he knew how your body would probably react.
Quit believing in fairy tales.....

KellyC

Hey buddy! People have the right to believe in what ever they want, if it makes them comfortable, then let them deal with it. What they believe in does not in no way effect you so why are you getting so worked up about it?

__________________
Him: Ok, I have to ask, what do you believe?
Me: Shit happens.

:::OshnSoul:::

Harloquin- we all have our own opinions.
Please know that TFP is about respecting them.

Rodney

I was watching a documentary on human mating habits, and scientists had set up a big party with specially-chosen participants, some of who were wearing heart monitors and transmitters. When two people really started to hit it off, their hearbeats synched up!

What I'm saying is that two people in an intensely emotion experience can interact physically on many levels, in ways that aren't understood. Prayer, when combined with touch, might be as powerful in this way as physical attraction. Is the effect electromagnetic? Sometime else? Can't say.

But I don't think it's spiritual. Case in point: I once had an Episcopal priest touch me on the forehead in a blessing as part of a service and was profoundly affected. The feel of that touch lingered for an hour. Now I later came to know, at first hand, that this particular priest was emotionally abusive, actually mentally ill, and had a take on religious that was actively narcissistic (she was God's chosen; the rest of us should shut up and follow orders, or leave). She, uh, was definitely not a messenger of God, though she thought she was. So why did that touch have such an effect on me? Perhaps a combo of the ceremony, my state of mind, and two interacting electromagnetic fields.

All that said, I do believe in things like prayer, because I have seen it work. The thing is, I think that the power of prayer is independent of God, and in some cases even the belief in God. Knew a woman in her 70s who needed a serious operation. She got all her friends to pray for her and keep praying, and they got friends to pray. By the time she went into the hospital, she had hundreds praying for her. The operation went well, and she was completely without post-operative pain. Was off painkillers almost immediately, healed fully in record time. Was it God? Or do certain kinds of thoughts, properly focused, affect our reality by reaching down into some murky quantum sub-basement of reality and tweaking the equipment there in small but meaningful ways? The more that scientists learn about the universe, the weirder the picture looks. So I would not be surprised.

prosequence

Harloquin, we will pray for you.

__________________
And now here I stand because of you, Mister Anderson, because of you I'm no longer an agent of the system, because of you I've changed...

Rodney

No offense meant, but that statement can be interpreted as patronizing. "I'll pray for you" too often means "I'll pray that you learn to think my way, which is the only right way."

I've seen arguments between ministers in which one says "i'll pray for you" to the other, and the other turns beet red. Because it was used as a putdown.

If you're praying for friends who wants your prayers, tell them. It will comfort them. But if you're praying for someone who disagrees with you on ethical or religious grounds, just do it. Don't muddy the waters of your compasson by making -- by inference -- a statement that you, not he, have the hotline to God and Truth.

Because nobody's got the lock on God and Truth, even if they like to think so. A minister friend tells this story: a woman came up to him waving a book and said, "The Holy Spirit told me that you have to read this book." He replied, "Well, when the Holy Spirit tells _me,_ I'll do it."

prosequence

Rodney, you've read way too much into the statement.

As far as "No offense.." people usually only use this line when they are intending to offend you by something they say. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

__________________
And now here I stand because of you, Mister Anderson, because of you I'm no longer an agent of the system, because of you I've changed...

Rodney

Thanks, because I meant what I said. If I'd meant offense, I'd have left it off. Or more likely, not said a thing and moved on.

As for reading too much into the statement, that's a problem with text communication; we don't get the nuances that add extra meaning to the words. "I'll pray for you" can be said humbly, or it can be said peremptorily; hard to know which unless you hear the tone of voice, the expression on the face. You add credence to this point by musing on what I really meant by "no offense."

I apologize if I seem to have maligned your motives. But I hold to my original point that "I'll pray for you" can sometimes be perceived, rightly or wrongly, as a putdown when used to close an argument. I've seen it; a lot. And in this world, it is extremely important to make allowances for perceptions if you're going to communicate effectively.

CanadianCommie

physically, a state of prayer often changes the wavelengths in the brain. it is almost a half sleep.

However, a lot of the effects are learned reactions.

Most people feel something when confronted by some formn of prayer unless they choose to ignore those feelings.

I myself being ann athiest find myself feeling something from people praying around me, but I have long since realized it is simply a learned response- being from a christian family

WarWagon

Yep, prayer or just about anything relaxing is going to slow your heart rate. I could easily fire off a pistol inches from your head as your praying, and ask you afterwards "did your pulse just jump?" I'm willing to put money on it that it did. Doesn't make me a god by any means.

Esco

If you think it's God ... then it was. Situations like this are what you make of it. People can overanlyze it like crazy, but what you think is most important.

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The user formerly known as BlingBling

Jay Francis

Sounds like auto-hypnosis to me.

I'm seen stranger things at the Comedy Workshop with a hypnotist show.

My personal opinion is that prayer is begging and shouldn't be done under any conditions or situations. We have some deeply religious people in our office who have really dreary mind numbing jobs. They believe that if they pray, God will take care of them and free them from their awful jobs. I always wonder if maybe the guy who has created their dreadful jobs prayed to God to provide him with people who would do those jobs and his prayer was answered.