The religious/supernatural impulse is strong here ;>. This helped me. I posted it elsewhere but thought it could be useful for us in this post. The tendency is the result of our predisposition to assign intentional agency to phenomena throughout the evolution of our psyche for survival of the species. This is Dr. Shermer at the Oxford Union.
No.
Without testable evidence to support any supernatural assertion, I find no reason to be superstitious. In other words, I prefer reality to fantasy.
Do I beleive in a higher power? Higher than what? If I take on spirits, guardian angels, etc. it's like I'm still believing in gods or something. I need evidence. I'm not simply picking and chosing my imaginary friends. Doing so might give you "answers" but it is OK to admit that nobody has the answers. People that do are simply making things up.
I do not believe in One God. I do believe there is something that began this life here. If it was a Mother Nature type entity or an all powerful big bang, I have no clue. I do know something besides gravity holds us together and feeds life to us through the way the earth had evolved when the genetics of man first occured. Everything neccessary for humans to exist was provided. Can that ever really be considered an accident? I do believe the Bible is a great work of fiction created simply for controlling the masses. Who says early man was wrong when he worshipped the Sun and Moon and Stars. From the beginning, men were the warriors and women were the caretakers. What created that genetic need? Obviously I have more questions than I do answers. The people I know that have passed, passed with a smile and spoke of seeing people already gone. I don't believe it was drug induced because I know someone that could talk with the dead with some legitimacy and actually worked with Chicago PD to solve 2 different murders. It is not coincidence they all have the same experiences. I do think there is a cycle to life that does not end. No life cycle ever does actually end so something else must happen after we die. I think this could be hell and the universe keeps sending us back around until we get it right.
I think there’s a part of “us,” that knows a lot about us, and has a pretty good awareness of the world around us. In fact, they’ve discovered that when we walk into a room, a part of our brain scans the room and maps it out. Then, at some point, if something seems awry, our brains get a sense that something is wrong. Our brains seem to be quite adept at picking up on the intentions of others... if we pay attention to it.
So I think that there’s a part of us that is far ore plugged in than we realize, and if we learn how to listen to it, our lives might have a bit more guidance.
The best book I’ve ever read on this topic is: The Gift of Fear by Gavin de Becker.
[amazon.com]
That greater powers, forces exist that exceed any individual or human collective abilty, I would have no doubt. I am not sure what would be meant by a "higher" power.