Georgiansilver- I understood immediately what you meant by the apple analogy...but it proves nothing beyond the tautology "if you knew what I experience, you'd know what I experience."

If I take a drug like is in some 'sacred' mushrooms for certain Indian tribes and have a mystical experience, all I can say is.."I had this internal experience" It does **NOTHING** for those who do not choose to eat mushrooms...and might not give them the same experience if they did!

You are essentially saying, "It is necessary to choose to believe in order to believe" ...but for those of us whose concern is less about 'comfort' and 'enlightenment' and more about practical testability, there is little to be gained by 'deciding' to believe.