Aura & precognition, what's your take?

[Tsa-la-gi Nation]

As a result of the wishes of my wife & my new daughter's dedication (baptism), I have started to go to church for the 1st time in many years. I drove to my ancestor's home church to dedicate my daughter to the church a month ago & during my visit, I reacquired my late grandfather's shotgun that was mistakenly given away over a decade ago. Without any way of the pasture knowing this, the pasture preached about his grandfather's shotgun as being priceless. He then turned to me and named the make of my grandfather's shotgun and pointed at me. I thought is was an uncanny coincidence. Now last week, in a totally different church, in a totally different state, I witnesses what could only be described as a person's aura. A missionary was speaking about her time & work in South America & (to me) she started to glow. It looked like a shadow, but in all light instead of dark. During her sermon, she asked everyone to come to the alter. I did & the vision when away for a few moments & then came back & she was glowing blue around her body about an inch & light around her past the blue about 4 more inches. At one point, she was glowing white a full foot over her head. Again, this is what I saw.

Now, anyone who knows my post, knows I'm far from a bible thumper. My wife wants to try to raise our child in a church environment & I'm open minded about trying it, but I did want it to be my family's (historic) denomination. Now I've had a few experiences with "ghosts" in my life, growing up in Fredericksburg (a civil war town), but this is something I never experienced before & I wondered if anyone else has had any similar experiences? Has anything like this ever happened to you (in or out of church)? If you are a skeptic about such experiences, what's your take on this? I don't claim to understand what was the cause of such experiences, but I cannot deny what happened & I find it strange to have 2 experience in church in 3 Sundays.

[Threlizdun]

Coincidence, misinterpretation, and descriptive storytelling within a powerful environment evoking strong reactions within you.

[Wind in the Willows]

Coincidence, misinterpretation, and descriptive storytelling within a powerful environment evoking strong reactions within you.

Pretty much.

[Vazdania]

Its an interesting concept (the aura) Does it exist? Science can't answer that.

[MERIZoC]

Neither are real. Precognition is simply coincidence at the best of times, and an "aura" is nothing more than an effect caused by something along these lines.

Skeptics such as Robert Todd Carroll contend that people may perceive auras because of effects within the brain: synesthesia, epilepsy, migraines, or the influence of psychedelic drugs such as LSD. Other causes may include disorders within the visual system provoking optical effects. Eye fatigue can also produce an aura, sometimes referred to as eye burn.

(From Wikipedia)

[Ifreann]

There are nigh countless mundane explanations for the things you experienced. There was no magic afoot, no gods whispering in a pastor's ear.

[Blazedtown]

Never experienced aura but I've had some hints of precognition. I have dreams on a semi regular basis that later come true. Its never been anything important, just boring everyday things. Like I had this dream one time about crawling around on my hands and knees looking for a sheet metal tool. This was back in high school, before I became a plumber. I've also dreamed sitting on a couch listening to two of my friends talk about dirt bikes in a room filled with smoke. A few months later, I was sitting at my buddy's house listening to them talk about dirt bikes in his living room while we sat around smoking.

[Ifreann]

Its an interesting concept (the aura) Does it exist? Science can't answer that.

Hey look, you cued up that stupid "Can't explain that" meme.

[Ifreann]

Never experienced aura but I've had some hints of precognition. I have dreams on a semi regular basis that later come true. Its never been anything important, just boring everyday things. Like I had this dream one time about crawling around on my hands and knees looking for a sheet metal tool. This was back in high school, before I became a plumber. I've also dreamed sitting on a couch listening to two of my friends talk about dirt bikes in a room filled with smoke. A few months later, I was sitting at my buddy's house listening to them talk about dirt bikes in his living room while we sat around smoking.

Weird, you said "precognition" when what you obviously experienced was run of the mill coincidence, plus some drugs.

[Margno]

Yes, I've had experiences like that, but a word of advise: anonymous political message boards are the wrong place to be talking about this. You're just gonna get ripped apart by the rampaging internet hoards.

[The Orson Empire]

I have never seen an aura before.

[The Orson Empire]

Yes, I've had experiences like that, but a word of advise: anonymous political message boards are the wrong place to be talking about this. You're just gonna get ripped apart by the rampaging internet hoards.

Indeed. There are many atheists and anti-theists on these forums, and they will rip anyone who is religious apart.

[The Serbian Empire]

Neither are real. Precognition is simply coincidence at the best of times, and an "aura" is nothing more than an effect caused by something along these lines.

Skeptics such as Robert Todd Carroll contend that people may perceive auras because of effects within the brain: synesthesia, epilepsy, migraines, or the influence of psychedelic drugs such as LSD. Other causes may include disorders within the visual system provoking optical effects. Eye fatigue can also produce an aura, sometimes referred to as eye burn.

(From Wikipedia)

LSD is one helluva drug according to Robert Todd Carroll.

[Blazedtown]

Never experienced aura but I've had some hints of precognition. I have dreams on a semi regular basis that later come true. Its never been anything important, just boring everyday things. Like I had this dream one time about crawling around on my hands and knees looking for a sheet metal tool. This was back in high school, before I became a plumber. I've also dreamed sitting on a couch listening to two of my friends talk about dirt bikes in a room filled with smoke. A few months later, I was sitting at my buddy's house listening to them talk about dirt bikes in his living room while we sat around smoking.

Weird, you said "precognition" when what you obviously experienced was run of the mill coincidence, plus some drugs.

To have the exact wording play out is a helluva coincidence.

[Ifreann]

Yes, I've had experiences like that, but a word of advise: anonymous political message boards are the wrong place to be talking about this. You're just gonna get ripped apart by the rampaging internet hoards.

A debate and discussion forum is certainly the wrong place to come if what you want is unthinking assurance that what you saw was some kind of special magic.

[MERIZoC]

Neither are real. Precognition is simply coincidence at the best of times, and an "aura" is nothing more than an effect caused by something along these lines.

(From Wikipedia)

LSD is one helluva drug according to Robert Todd Carroll.

Not just according to him:

Visual effects [of LSD] include the illusion of movement of static surfaces ("walls breathing"), after image-like trails of moving objects ("tracers"), the appearance of moving colored geometric patterns (especially with closed eyes), an intensification of colors and brightness ("sparkling"), new textures on objects, blurred vision, and shape suggestibility. Users commonly report that the inanimate world appears to animate in an unexplainable way; for instance, objects that are static in three dimensions can seem to be moving relative to one or more additional spatial dimensions.

(Also Wikipedia)

[Margno]

Yes, I've had experiences like that, but a word of advise: anonymous political message boards are the wrong place to be talking about this. You're just gonna get ripped apart by the rampaging internet hoards.

Indeed. There are many atheists and anti-theists on these forums, and they will rip anyone who is religious apart.

It's not just these forums, and it's not really atheists specifically. These sorts of boards are just kind of the worst possible cross section of humanity and it's not a good idea to talk about anything important on them, because you will inevitably get flamed out of your mind if you say anything remotely controversial.

[Tsa-la-gi Nation]

There are nigh countless mundane explanations for the things you experienced. There was no magic afoot, no gods whispering in a pastor's ear.

Wiki lists over 75 different makers of shotguns. The maker of my grandfather's shot gun isn't even american. Hell of a coincidence. All of the family that I have left in the town of that church are below ground, so it was literally impossible for him to know anything about it. I'm not claiming it was god or magic, but I can't explain it one time, let along "countless" times.

[Benuty]

Precognition was excellently used and portrayed as conflictingly human in one of my personal favorites "The Minority Report".

[Ifreann]

Weird, you said "precognition" when what you obviously experienced was run of the mill coincidence, plus some drugs.

To have the exact wording play out is a helluva coincidence.

Or faulty memory, which is a rather more plausible explanation than you somehow having the power to see the future in dreams. But if you really do believe you can dream the future there's one million US dollars just waiting for you. Let us know how it goes. Tell the Amazing Randi I said hi.

[Scomagia]

Indeed. There are many atheists and anti-theists on these forums, and they will rip anyone who is religious apart.

It's not just these forums, and it's not even really atheists specifically. These sorts of boards are just kind of the worst possible cross section of humanity and it's not a good idea to talk about anything important on them, because you will inevitably get flamed out of your mind.

You know, I'd always thought genocidal warlords and totalitarian tyrants to be the worst possible cross section of humanity. Good to know that humanity's worst element can be found here among a majority middle-class, college educated forum.

[Margno]

It's not just these forums, and it's not even really atheists specifically. These sorts of boards are just kind of the worst possible cross section of humanity and it's not a good idea to talk about anything important on them, because you will inevitably get flamed out of your mind.

You know, I'd always thought genocidal warlords and totalitarian tyrants to be the worst possible cross section of humanity. Good to know that humanity's worst element can be found here among a majority middle-class, college educated forum.

Nope. It's definitely the internet.

[MERIZoC]

Precognition was excellently used and portrayed as conflictingly human in one of my personal favorites "The Minority Report".

Please tell me you're joking.

[Blazedtown]

To have the exact wording play out is a helluva coincidence.

Or faulty memory, which is a rather more plausible explanation than you somehow having the power to see the future in dreams. But if you really do believe you can dream the future there's one million US dollars just waiting for you. Let us know how it goes. Tell the Amazing Randi I said hi.

I'm not saying I can. Its nothing provable, just an occasional feeling of deja vu that corresponds to dreams. I didn't claim to be psychic.

[Scomagia]

Yes, I've had experiences like that, but a word of advise: anonymous political message boards are the wrong place to be talking about this. You're just gonna get ripped apart by the rampaging internet hoards.

Indeed. There are many atheists and anti-theists on these forums, and they will rip anyone who is religious apart.

I'm a skeptic, I'll rip apart anyone who's using faulty logic and magical thinking. Religious, irreligious, it doesn't matter.