The foundation of my faith...

wrote the following:

Perhaps I can put some *empirical evidence* into the debate; When I was younger, I fell right into the "I don't believe in God, I have no proof" column of Atheism; my parents raised their kids as "Generic Christians" - they had no preference of denomination and didn't care which church we attended. Being an angst-filled teen, I denied that God was out there unless I saw something to tell me otherwise. Then, one night, I saw something...in person. At age 24, I observed my wife as she fell asleep; I was about to drop off myself, but hearing her breathing stop caused me to wake up. I was majoring in Psychology at the time and knew that pauses in breathing during sleep was normal, but as I counted off 30 seconds, then 45, I grew panicked; just as I was about to jump up, she shuddered, and then resumed a soft breathing pattern. I relaxed and settled back into my pillow. Then I heard a soft voice - not a whisper, it was spoken clear as normal speech, but softly as a whisper: "Hello". The hair on my neck stood up. But the scientist in me grabbed the opportunity; I answered...she replied. I asked if this was my wife (by name); she said no. The hair on my neck stood up again. I asked her name; I don't remember the answer, but she told me she was 13 (my wife was 23 at the time). Those of you familiar with the paranormal might try to test the idea that my wife's spirit was hovering just above the bed, so I did just that... With my wife laying on her side facing away from me, there was no way she could see the arm my head was resting on, behind her... I looked up toward the ceiling and waved... she replied, "hello." The hair on my neck stood up again. I tried to test whether I would get interaction if I touched or moved my wife, but doing this apparently broke the connection; she shifted and her breathing pattern changed...she appeared to be sleeping normally now. I pondered my experience, then drifted to sleep. Skeptics might dismiss this as my wife dreaming; but dreams are not interactive with outside people; she was not "sleepwalking" or engaging in sub-conscious activity, because that doesn't confer omniscience - you are still limited in what you can see, feel or touch, and my wife was prone with her eyes closed. Some might dismiss it as an isolated anomaly of behavior...but it happened again a couple weeks later. The next time it happened, my wife had a full-on out of body experience that I witnessed and guided her through; she described flying through clouds, seeing mountains and open sky... Knowing that her body was "open and at risk to be occupied" without certain protective meditations/prayers (if you believe in astral projection and the like), I eventually guided her back home by asking her to come back and asking her what she saw; she described seeing our roommate, sitting in his bed and reading ( a regular habit of his that I verified he was doing, as well as the time he was there)...when she 'returned', she shuddered a little and her breathing changed from very shallow and regular to a normal slow breathing - I gently woke her up and asked if she was dreaming... she said yes and described everything that she saw before; she was a little confused when I told her that she had described everything for me before, but after I explained, she mentioned that extrasensory anomalies ran in her family - her grandmother claimed to have ESP, but a few generations ago, no one would've taken that claim seriously... By then, I had seen my proof. There may or may not be a GOD, but I've personally witnessed that there is SOMETHING beyond our mortal world, that is occupied by consciousnesses of some kind, that, as far as I can tell, are friendly. This is why I no longer say that I am Atheist, but "spiritual and non-denominational". As I said, I'm a psychologist by schooling, so I know people can challenge what I say on several points: - The phenomena is not scientifically repeatable or observable on demand; - There are no corroborating witnesses This is why I never took our experience to anyone else; but what I saw is good enough for me. If you believe that what I described is sincere and not a complete fictional story, then it should be enough empirical evidence not to prove that God exists, but that something beyond here does...which is why I still think that far-right religious fanatics are idiots to claim to know what exactly is out there. I have faith because I possess the faith that I will meet that 13 year old girl I spoke to at some point in the future after I cross over, and I have faith that she will greet me with warm words and wondrous sights. My scientific approach to the experience verified what I saw and heard, so I have no doubts. I hope that my story will inspire other young souls to find their faith in their own way.