What I mean by "direct experience" is that it was your experience. Not any one else's. Yours. Your unique private and personal experience.

We all tend to trust our own experiences, and how we choose to interpret them. That's why I don't particularly make it my business to cast judgement on someone else's personal experiences. I'm in no position to, not having had their personal experiences. It would be nice if other people would extend the same courtesy in return and not presume to judge my experiences or others' experiences (but they very often do not extend that courtesy...they'd much rather hector and abuse everyone else into seeing things their way...this indicates nothing but their own insecurity). Do not tell such people anything that is close your heart, because it's a bit like waving your hand in front of a hornet's nest. It's best not to draw the attention of hornets and of hostile, insecure people. They sting.

Messianic types like Mr Camping are so caught up in the imagined importance of their perceived mission that they risk waving their arms in front of all the hornets in the world (and a few of those hornets will willingly follow them too). That's a damn risky path for anyone to take in life. You'd have to have a pretty thick skin. He now says that the world will end on October 21st, so he intends to keep following his risky path. Better him than me. ;-)

If I thought the world was going to end (I don't think so) I certainly would not make my thoughts about it public! That's like painting a huge bullseye on your chest and saying, "Aim here."