Spiritual Presence

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^ Perhaps

There's a thought

At church I have felt the prescence of the Holy Ghost-the Holy Ghost the breath and wind of God's third attritube.
I am very sensory tested at level 2 and sometimes go above this.

An article has stated that people with autism can have increased somasensory perceptions and it could explain why may be perhaps some autistics may be have enriched spiritual experiences.

Research by Ingela Visuri in 2018 found that autistics have increased somasensory perceptions which lead to increased supernatural experiences. See below for basically in a nutshell was they argued-
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2153599X.2018.1548374

“non-autistic group participants, and current research suggests that unusual somatosensory experiences are prevalent in the autistic population.”

More research later in Autism and Religion in 2023 found the below-
“We dispute the assumption that individuals with ASD are inherently less religious and spiritual than the neurotypical population. Religiosity is possibly expressed differently in ASD with unique spiritual experiences and beliefs (“gifted, visionary, and truth-seeker”).
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10453845/

I've always wondered why I couldn't feel anything in church despite my very best efforts. It's not that I can't experience music very intensely, for example, and I know that music is used by megachurches in particular to manipulate people. But the music used in those churches doesn't do anything for me. It's just fake to me.

I wonder if I had attended a Catholic church that sung Renaissance polyphonic choral music like Palestrina if that might have had a different effect on me. I discovered that music independently and love it and can see how it might evoke spiritual feelings to people, it's very powerful music.



Old Catholic cathedrals are also marvels of architecture that are extremely visually appealing to me, a stark contrast with the boring megachurch auditorium.

All of this makes me wonder if I had been born into a Catholic family if I might have come out still religious. Personally, I'm glad that didn't happen. I can appreciate old Catholic music and cathedrals from my position outside, away from the toxic beliefs.

Hi Harmonie
Have you been baptised and received the gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Was you sensory sensitive growing up, hypersensitive or hyposensitive. Being so I think could perhaps increase spiritual perceptive awareness.
There are many gifts of the Holy Spirit and if you have been baptised and received the gifts of the Holy Spirit perhaps you may be better attuned to something not so dependent on a spiritual presence like the gift of knowledge or wisdom.
I have read also that some people with ADHD can have a different experience of hypersensitivity than some autistics.

Interesting. I can relate to your being unable to "feel anything" (I guess you mean anything spiritual?) in church when they play music. But then I'm not a believer (while I presume you are?), which would explain it in my case but not in yours. I absolutely love good religious music, and the sheer beauty of it, plus a feeling of "if only it was true" often makes me very tearful. There are some religious songs that I play just because they're so good, but I daren't perform some of them in front of an audience because I can't sing properly when I'm crying. I got similarly weepy when I saw the film Cold Mountain, which had a scene in which there was a lot of evil being done and one of the victims said "This can't go on, God won't allow it." The root of that feeling seems to be an intense sense of sorrow that we don't have somebody up there watching our backs.

But why a believer would be emotionally open to music but not "spiritually" open, that's mysterious to me. As I say, in my case it's not surprising at all because being secular and therefore feeling that there is no soul, the only meaning I can assign to the word "spiritual" is that it's a synonym for "emotional," but for a believer the meanings of the two words must be different.

My emotional openness to music, even religious music, strongly suggests to me that this notion in scripture that atheists are so because they've hardened their hearts against God is wrong. I think it's a shame that atheists and believers don't understand each other, and that it's a particular shame that so many of them, theists and non-theists, insist they do when they don't. I think I understand believers partly but not completely.

I gather I was baptised as a baby, but it would have been just a sprinkling of holy water, not total immersion or anything so intense. Never noticed any gifts of the holy spirit. I don't remember the event, but I guess I wouldn't be secular if I'd had such gifts.

Hi everyone
Hope you are well. I am came across this article today on a story of someone who is a gifted artist and feels that their art work is inspired by the Holy Spirit. I mentioned before in a earlier post how the Holy Spirit most probably can support people with their talents and fill them in with the Holy Spirit when they are doing work for God especially. I liked this story as it is about the Holy Spirit supporting people with their natural talents to highlight God outside of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit.

I have pasted it in case you cannot read it without subscribing. If you play around the website you can download it if you grab it in minutes say on Microsoft Edge.
‘My art is a miracle - it’s inspired by the Holy Spirit’
https://www.premierchristianity.com/tes ... 48.article

‘My art is a miracle - it’s inspired by the Holy Spirit’
By Kate OrsonKate Orson24 October 2023 3 min read

Maxmillian Ciccone has been widely lauded for his unique style. But having had no formal training, the Italian artist insists his talent and anointing comes from the Holy Spirit. A new renaissance is coming, he says

Maxmillian

When God thought about me, he thought about an artist. I believe my artistic gift is from him.

When I was young I drew a lot but never thought of making it a career. At age 21, I was wild, really extreme. I drank and took drugs and had started doing things that were really wrong. I was always with different women.

A supernatural encounter
Like most Italian families, ours was Catholic in name only. Then, one day, a Christian friend shared the gospel with me. I immediately perceived that it was the truth. At the invitation of my friend, I started going to prayer meetings. Normally I’d be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but strangely, whenever I went to a prayer meeting, the effect of the substances I had taken completely vanished. Instead, I always felt a sense of peace and lightness. It was supernatural. The sense of peace would accompany me the whole night so I thought: Maybe this really is God.

After that, I started reading the Bible and going to church. I also immediately started to preach the gospel, even though I knew very little. My radical nature, which had previously been used for self-destruction, was now used for God’s purposes instead.

Around the same time, I tried to go to art school, but always found closed doors. At first, I thought God might call me to be a pastor or an evangelist. But then the Holy Spirit started revealing that art was a spiritual calling for me. Over time, I understood that my art is a miracle. It doesn’t come from human teaching, but from the grace of God.

Restoration
God showed me that I needed to develop my skills to the very best they could be, and also have an understanding of the history of art. I began painting between eight and 15 hours every day. God showed me how this would initiate a new movement of the restoration of true art, not modern art. This would be a pioneering artistic movement, a new way to see and do art.

The critics can’t understand my style because God put an anointing on my life

God’s calling on my life bore witness in my heart. Since God is creative, he gives us creative ideas which then become reality. God has imparted an anointing on me, giving me the ability to paint like the masters of the 19th century.

Now, when art critics and historians come to view my work, they ask me: “What time period are you from? Where did you study?’’ They were used to recognising where a painter had studied. The critics can’t understand my style because God put an anointing on my life. I haven’t done any formal study.

When I first got engaged to my wife, Ada, God began to speak to me about moving to Florence, in Tuscany. I was born and raised in the south of Italy and had no interest in these places. But when God calls, it’s because he has a project in mind. We put everything in our car and drove. We had no money, only that guarantee from God.

There was a monk, Savonarola, who was martyred in 1498 because he stood against the corruption of the Catholic Church. He prophesied: “You will be the Florence that will reform all of Italy. Here will begin a renaissance that will spread everywhere. Florence needs to become the new Jerusalem, a lighthouse. A point of reference of which you can look at. To begin the purification of the whole world.”

Savonarola didn’t have complete understanding of the vision at the time. He destroyed a lot of valuable art and that was wrong. But Savonarola was saying God would send a spiritual, or artistic, revival. God’s purpose is to bring a new renaissance. This is not the renaissance of the Medicis (the wealthy bankers and popes who helped fund the Renaissance). This rebirth is built by God. It’s incredible, and its prophecy is coming true.

We moved to Montevarchi, near Florence, 17 years ago. I now teach at the largest art school in this part of the country. People have moved to Florence to study my techniques. God is causing this revival with young artists. I’ve met people with double degrees, really amazing careers, and they’ve left everything to come and dedicate themselves to art. Their lives have been completely turned upside down by God.

Last summer, I opened my own studio and gallery. It brought a lot of curious people because it says: “ingresso libero/free entrance” on the door. People come in and they’re like: “Wow! This is what I’ve been looking for.” It was God’s strategy to do it this way. God’s presence is in this place. The Holy Spirit has reached many people who’ve walked through the doors.

Right now, I have a small studio. But I believe it’s God’s plan to give me a larger structure; an art academy with a gallery that the public can visit. We have spent four years fasting and praying, trying to find the right place in Florence. Everywhere was too expensive or just not right. We have finally found an apartment in the Basilica Di San Lorenzo, a renaissance church. Our apartment happens to be located over the tombs where the Medici family are buried. God has a great sense of humour!

Before the end of time, God wants to restore all things. This restoration will be used to bring more people into the kingdom. With my gift, I can reach people in the artistic world. These are people that, for example, a singer will never reach. God needs his children to wake up in different fields of society – art, politics, finances, film – so that the gospel can arrive in that field, too.

Maxmillian Ciccone was speaking to Kate Orson. Find out more at maxmiliancicconefineartstudio.it

I thought I would post this video as well. This woman is actually talking about her being supported with natural talents as well and speaks that the Holy Spirit is leading her to do so.