Knock Knock Knockin On Heaven's Door! - Story by an Atheist

Throughout my 24 years I've experienced many miracles, religious revelation like dreams both personal and worldly. However, my skeptical stubbornness and logical arrogance towards religious faith, and the concept of God rather keeps me on the sidelines of taking the so called "Leap of Faith".

I've kept many of these stories to myself over the years and I think it would be good to unload the story for a review. My logical mind tells me that "These are mere dreams and results of my active imagination" and yet my irrational mind believes that there is more to it, and keeps making the inquiry into my logical archives with the statement of "You've seen, experienced and touched what few only dream of". That is usually when I tell my irrational mind to simply "Go back into your corner and that we are not having this conversation!".

The lovely song by Bob Dylan seems to be appropriate for this story, dream and experience. So please be kind enough to press play and continue reading the story of the dream that I have experienced which usually turn most people towards religion. However, this Atheist is still not 100% sure he should!



I do not know the country, the city, the day nor the time. I awoke in a war torn country wondering the rubble streets, seeing men and women cry over the bodies of their dead children and loved ones. To see life gone in an instant like a camera flash is a truly horrifying realization of the value we put on life. The sun was barely up and the sky was grey with hits of light, as I continued wondering the streets I saw a carriage blown to pieces and a dead white horse that was pulling it laying there. It was all torn up by the cuts from what seemed like shrapnel, I guess a bomb or an air run that occurred during sometime here.

I then heard a prayer in a language which sounded Arabic coming over the hill, as I climbed the hill I began to see a tower and when walking up to the building I saw a destroyed Mosque. As I began to clear the rubble from the front of the door the stones, the wooden beams, I felt the wind blow and it gently brushed my cheeks. It almost felt like a Mother's touch when your mum put's her hands on your cheeks and kisses your forehead when you were little. When prying the door open I made it over the rubble and began to climb the tower, it had a spiral stare case leading to the top.

While climbing these endless stairs I heard singing echoing through the tower, upon making it to the top I began to see what seemed like a fog - I thought to myself "Is it clouds?" and yet maybe it was the top of the tower burning, but it wasn't on fire when I saw it climbing the hill. However, I came upon a gate and the singing was echoing through out this floor, it was as specially louder on the other side of the gate.

I tried looking for a knob or anything to open it, yet it was simply shut and when I pushed against it there was no budging what so ever. So, I started knocking on it and kicking it and saying "Hello anyone here?", the light on the other side of the fogged gate was golden, white and just beautiful.
I then sat down in front of it with my legs crossed wondering "What now? How do I get in?" and then I felt the same wind as the one outside while I was clearing the rubble in front of the door. The wind came from the direction of the other side of the gate and after that gentle same feeling I heard a voice as if almost in the wind say "Not yet, there's still work to do". I then felt like there was a rope or a cord around me, and it yanked me back all of a sudden I was out of the fog.

I then found myself looking at the ceiling that was like a dome, as I got up outside the windows I saw the sunrise it was beautiful and below I saw a city. It almost seemed like Jerusalem, part of me wondered why I was in Jerusalem and yet another part of me almost as if said "Enjoy the beautiful sunrise".

So, this was my weird story of a dream that I experienced, I'm not a religious man although I should be. I do not favor one religion over the other, because to me, I believe somehow they got the story wrong. My rational mind knows it's a dream and yet my irrational mind wants to believe it was more, but my arrogance and stubbornness does not want to take "The Leap of Faith".

Let me know what you guys & gals think

a reply to: TheChuckster

I felt the wind blow and it gently brushed my cheeks. It almost felt like a Mother's touch when your mum put's her hands on your cheeks and kisses your forehead when you were little.

Meat-Eating orchids forgive no one just yet.
Cut myself on angel hair and baby's breath.
Broken hymen of your highness, I'm left black,
Throw down your umbilical noose so I can climb right back...

originally posted by: RAY1990
a reply to: TheChuckster

I felt the wind blow and it gently brushed my cheeks. It almost felt like a Mother's touch when your mum put's her hands on your cheeks and kisses your forehead when you were little.

Meat-Eating orchids forgive no one just yet.
Cut myself on angel hair and baby's breath.
Broken hymen of your highness, I'm left black,
Throw down your umbilical noose so I can climb right back...

Huh?

a reply to: TheChuckster

honest reaction? wicked dream, bruh. and...uh...dont do drugs. wink.

2nd

originally posted by: TzarChasm
a reply to: TheChuckster

honest reaction? wicked dream, bruh. and...uh...dont do drugs. wink.

2nd

Actually, I don't drink, smoke or do any drugs

a reply to: TheChuckster

All religious imagery comes from the cathedral of your own mind.

originally posted by: TheChuckster

originally posted by: TzarChasm
a reply to: TheChuckster

honest reaction? wicked dream, bruh. and...uh...dont do drugs. wink.

2nd

Actually, I don't drink, smoke or do any drugs

your brain produces drugs naturally. the best drugs, naturally. wink wink.

a reply to: TheChuckster
Seger did a better version . And I like Guns n Roses also. In fact , the latter may be the best version.
As far as a Supreme Being goes , I would not be posting right now without one. Been "Knockin on Heaven's Door" for about 3 years now.
That long dark cloud that was comin down , may be dryin up in the light
Peace

a reply to: TheChuckster

My rational mind knows it's a dream and yet my irrational mind wants to believe it was more, but my arrogance and stubbornness does not want to take "The Leap of Faith".

Imagination and dreams are fine. Your rational mind indicates that much of what passes for "faith" has already been debunked, exposed, and pretty much shot down. So rationally, if you take "the Leap of Faith" you will likely land in a place which for all outward appearance is not different from atheism.

That's just my opinion.

a reply to: TheChuckster

What you wrote reminded me of lyrics from Nirvana's Heart shaped box.

I quoted them.

In your dream that softness and caress you explain so vividly from the wind (babies breath)
The obvious destruction ( angel hair)


I don't know, I guess you could associate any song to any dream or any dream to any religion or any religion to any life!

The key to life is understanding and the key to understanding is?

I'm blabbering i know. But dreams are blabber and just like verbal blabber a dream can inspire you to greatness or it could be nonsense.

Personally I think you want a bit of god in you, I mean who wouldn't he's all fuzzy and warm

On a more serious note, keep a dream diary. Chase your musings. You clearly have a leaning to religion I'd half hazard a guess and after all one man's dream could be another man's revelation.

Heck you could be the next Messiah After all Jesus seemed pretty adamant we are all God's children. I see what I see, do you see what you see?

a reply to: TheChuckster

Like I posted in the thread where you linked this one, you might be telling yourself things you already believe.

I had a lucid dream when I was in my early teens where I was laying on a cloud while colors and music washed over me. It was heavenly. Unlike you, I took the leap of faith, only to be yanked back out of it by out of body experiences.

Decades later I stumbled upon Robert Monroe's books. They seemed to fit better than any other religion I had ever read about. They don't really answer much but at least the experiences described there where something that I was familiar with.

a reply to: RAY1990

Usually the criteria is at age 30 seems to be the common age for spiritual maturity Jesus, Buddha etc. Hahahaha

But, I'm not religious, which is what is confusing my rational mind. As to why would my mind begin to make a leaning, searching and connections for God/Religion?

The key to life is understanding and the key to understanding is experiencing life's lessons, and within every good or bad experience is a lesson and thus that is life to grow in wisdom.

Hahahaha, rather not play the Messiah card look what happened to the last one It did remind me of this song!

The key to life is understanding and the key to understanding is experiencing life's lessons, and within every good or bad experience is a lesson and thus that is life to grow in wisdom.

a reply to: TheChuckster

But one will always experience until one's dying breath. A lot of people speak of perception like they have learned from what they've seen, yet always explain so eloquently their point of view.


I always found that Simon and Garfunkel did good religious songs... Hello darkness my old friend.

Haha tbh you seem like a good chap and by all means you can learn about religion on ATS if you wish, it's actually a really good source if you probe the right minds. At the end of the day no time will constraint you and you're personal path to wherever you may be going, so keep that in mind if you choose to go down the path of faith and also keep in mind the humour you have and the fact that the only crap written in stone is the crap a human gestated.

Logic can't be trumped by feelings, feelings can't be trumped by fact if they are strong enough. You seem the reasonable type so in the grandness of nonsense I say to you. Seek a cause that you would never alienate and defend it like Jesus would a leper, many religions exist and your demands outweigh them all.



It's always about perception

You remote viewed another person's life or possibly death. It's happened to me a few times, and the more emotional the setting like a war, the more likely the connection is to happen, and of course more memorable. It feels like a radio broadcast of sorts, a crossing of similar frequencies just for a few minutes, you being the receiver and someone else being the transmitter.

As far as god goes, I'm an atheist too, but that smallest of demographics. I believe, nay I KNOW, that we not only survive physical death and reincarnate here or on other planets as we choose, but that we're immortal.

The body is a shell and not at all necessary to the mind and consciousness. I just refuse to worry about what created everything, given that EVERYthing is quite large and our brains and knowledge are by necessity finite. To think that a god would have created us in it's image, rather than the other way around (we created god in our image, quite the humble trick, huh?) is spiritual childhood. I'm sure the reality is something more along the lines of E=Mc3 and we just have to play with the equations a bit more...

Congratulations on your vision and by that I mean not only the dream you wrote about, but your enlightened state. It's rare, isn't it?

Welcome to that small club of people who have experienced something extraordinary that they cannot prove, as Ingo Swann said.

I am fascinated by how many people have a dream or an experience, and immediately attribute it to the human concept of God. We really don't have a clue how the system works, or even if there is a system. As I have said before, if one wants to believe in god, I can understand that actually, having been there myself for a very long time. But at least realize, there is NO religion on earth that represents that god, nor do any of them have a copyright on said deity, except in their own deluded minds.

Interesting dream, btw.