Are adrenaline rushes the real cause behind the "Holy Spirit" experience?

[WellbeingSeeker]

Doing my own independent research, I've noticed a clear pattern of religious people reporting feelings and sensations that they usually describe with expressions such as "waves of electricity", "fire", "heat", "burning all over", among others. I've heard expressions like these mainly from individuals in Pentecostal and Charismatic circles.

For illustrative purposes, here are some example video clips from individuals describing their first-hand experiences: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O.

Also, here is a quote from a very descriptive testimonial posted on Charisma Magazine:

Quote

[...] In an instant, the Spirit of God gave me a single word in tongues to speak out, and as I repeated it, more words erupted through me. The power of the wonderful Holy Spirit enveloped me as what seemed like waves of electricity and what I can only describe as God's love and power washed over me. It seemed as though a spotlight exploded out of my mouth as I spoke in tongues, with my arms and hands surging with tremendous currents of electricity as the waves of power washed over the rest of my body as I loudly spoke in tongues, feeling immersed in His Spirit. [...]

Source: https://www.charismamag.com/spirit/revival/32085-this-is-what-it-looks-like-when-holy-spirit-s-electric-power-sweeps-over-you (cached version)

Reviewing literature about these experiences in Google Scholar, I came across a paper published in 2014 by Julia L. Cassaniti and Tanya Marie Luhrmann titled The Cultural Kindling of Spiritual Experiences (https://doi.org/10.1086/677881). In this paper, there is a very interesting claim made by the authors. Here are two quotes:

Quote

 

The “Holy Spirit” experience, for example, is a concept often used to describe an event in which someone feelings an intense surge of power sweeping through their body like electricity, or what we would call the bodily affordance of an adrenaline rush.

 

Quote

 

These three phenomena—cataplexy, or the loss of muscle control; adrenaline surge, as if electricity is shooting through the body; and emotional surge, when someone experiences intense, overwhelming emotion—are examples of physiological phenomena that are common to all human bodies but unusual enough so that people can remember the moment independent of a specific label.

 

In other words, these authors are essentially claiming that the overwhelming feelings reported by religious individuals, typically described with expressions such as "waves of electricity", "power", "fire", "heat", "burning all over", etc., would be nothing but physiological symptoms produced by sudden and intense surges of the adrenaline hormone released into the individuals' bloodstreams. However, the paper offers no evidence to justify this claim. Moreover, a quick research into adrenaline rushes shows that they play a big part of the body's fight-or-flight response, which is an evolutionary adaptation that gets triggered by situations that we perceive as dangerous, such as horror movies, extreme sports and similar, which to my layman understanding would make no sense in a typical religious worship setting.

So, is it factually correct that adrenaline rushes are the ultimate cause behind the dramatic spiritual experiences reported by individuals in Pentecostal and Charismatic circles?

Edited August 31, 2020 by WellbeingSeeker
fixed a couple of links

[purerogue]

I don't think I get any surges of electricity during adrenaline rush and I get in confrontations daily, but you can get them during mediation and other practices, so i would say it is something different. 

Edited August 31, 2020 by purerogue

[WellbeingSeeker]

@purerogue  Any idea what else could be the cause then? I've noticed many individuals in Christian circles report having these feelings and sensations when someone else lays hands upon them (as if some sort of energy transfer were taking place, which reminds me of the concept of Shaktipat in Hinduism).

[Artsu]

No, the holy spirit is the cause of holy spirit experiences.

Unless it is not actually the holy spirit. It could be something else spiritual.

[WellbeingSeeker]

23 minutes ago, Artsu said:

No, the holy spirit is the cause of holy spirit experiences.

Unless it is not actually the holy spirit. It could be something else spiritual.

@Artsu  That would imply that spirits are real though, with the corresponding earth-shattering implications of that statement.

Edited August 31, 2020 by WellbeingSeeker

[seeking_brilliance]

Even if adrenaline rush is a by-product of this phenomenon, it does not mean it's the cause. Probably closer to backdooring kundalini energy without the practices

[purerogue]

5 hours ago, WellbeingSeeker said:

@purerogue  Any idea what else could be the cause then? I've noticed many individuals in Christian circles report having these feelings and sensations when someone else lays hands upon them (as if some sort of energy transfer were taking place, which reminds me of the concept of Shaktipat in Hinduism).

Intense emotions, they can make you feel like there is surge of electricity going trough you, you feel way more energized.

When it comes to touch,if your senses are very active, you  should be very sensitive when someone touches you, which again could make you feel all sort of things.

That's my take on this.

 

Edited September 1, 2020 by purerogue

[WellbeingSeeker]

1 hour ago, seeking_brilliance said:

Even if adrenaline rush is a by-product of this phenomenon, it does not mean it's the cause. Probably closer to backdooring kundalini energy without the practices

@seeking_brilliance  do you know what are the physiological symptoms that people experience  during kundalini awakening or shaktipat? Do people feel "electric currents", "heat", "fire" or anything similar to the "Holy Spirit" experience of Pentecostals / Charismatics?

[purerogue]

Yes heat , fire  and electric current are often talked about in kundalini circles. 

[Artsu]

5 hours ago, WellbeingSeeker said:

@Artsu  That would imply that spirits are real though, with the corresponding earth-shattering implications of that statement.

Of course spirits are real.

What on earth?

Ugh...

[PopoyeSailor]

Here is a channel whom is currently going through kundalini activity:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCz1XJrEItAE-RxKAGngsIkg

 

Here is a channel of someone who attained enlightenment through kundalini:

https://www.youtube.com/c/craigholliday/featured

 

Here is a book by Gopi Krishna whom also attained enlightenment through kundalini:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/91210.Kundalini

 

Some of his experiences explained:

https://realization.org/p/gopi-krishna/krishna.awakening.html

 

Here is one of the oldest websites on kundalini whose website owner El-Collie Said to have committed suicide because of kundalini:

https://www.kundalini-gateway.org/awaken/index.html

 

It is the most potent and most dangerous way to enlightenment.

Edited September 1, 2020 by PopoyeSailor

[WellbeingSeeker]

On 9/1/2020 at 0:04 AM, Artsu said:

Of course spirits are real.

What on earth?

Ugh...

@Artsu  sounds like you have personally witnessed the spirit realm?