That the church doesn't present a community that's acceptable to everyone could be expected, there's a lot of variation among people. That it doesn't address reality is a side effect of faith. If my friend, call him Joe (story posted below: Thursday, February 26, 2009), had consulted the church about his experience, he could have been admonished about the hubris of bragging about miracles, or told that what seems real to one person may not seem so to another, or advised that it was a sign from god & to pray for guidance, or recommended to drug rehab. (depending on how sane he appeared to be). I find it refreshing though that they probably wouldn't have accused him of lying, just because they don't expect to be lied to (though that makes them pretty gullible targets for anyone w/ a profit/power motive).

So when cultivating miracles, one doesn't just resolve that one will occur and then label something odd as miraculous. Oh no-no-no! One must The Force generate. That's no shit.
One must self discipline have:

• Have you ever wondered why Monks or the Catholic clergy are expected to be celibate? It's a time honored method for cracking loose of convention, selfish or otherwise. The sexual imperative is a real motivator of perspective. You can either go with it & become it, or use it as a reminder that there's a kind of parallel universe that has no use for it. I admit I have no idea how they use the energy they accumulate, there are more and more rarified levels of bureaucracy in the church, each w/ it's own arcane rules. My suspicion is that they've inadvertently messed up the natural course for dealing with it, what w/ angles and devils and permission from higher up the chain of command, and then there's the Sith & all those alter boys... I'm pretty sure though that it's not just grandstanding for the sake of the rustics, they must know something's going on. My guess is they've forgotten that a lotta sex depletes personal power, and some folks that are required to be celibate, for bureaucratic reasons, maybe shouldn't be teaching children.
  
• Fasting works.
  
• Scheduled meditation (a kind of prayer), say at 8 PM every day. Randomly, maybe not so much.
  
• Running, Jogging, walking, crawling, etc.
  
• Regular cold showers. (hair shirts?)
  
• Gypsying, Walkabouts, Pilgrimages.
  
• Other cultures have other methods that I can only guess at. Nomadic people have ritual dances & songs for locating game, only performed when food is short and there's no other option (see #2). Joe had some experience with ritual dances, and songs, they're usually private intellectual property. They work, but one needs permission to use them. For example, the Hopi Rain Dance.
  

All evoke a greater or lesser degree of controlled desperation, and beg the question "why am I doing this?" The answer should be "for my people", anything else will develop into a distortion and Sasquach you will become. Countering the influence of witches was the churches defining project for at least several hundred years, what w/ "the horned god" & all representing evil.

So this is Joe's recipe for what to do when you're stranded in a strange town w/ no money or contacts. Before you go door to door trying to sell your body or your $300 camera for gas money: fast for 3 or 4 days. Something will come up. Works every time & saves on food too.

See, all this assumes personal power equals faith, so faith can corrupt perception because events may be expected to accommodate needs. (i'nish Allah). Then when an evidence based event occurs, such as through scientific procedure, it can appear to be irrelevant or even inimical to faith. With that perspective, the church would be wise to organize the freelance shamanistic tendencies of the parish to preserve some semblance of peace & sanity. But to declare it all evil if it contradicts ecclesiastic policy is hypocritical, it's a human birthright, get over it.

Sasquach
Ok, now the point: Say there was a group of people that became so fluent with the exercise of their personal power, that they could exist outside of society. They would have to either look like everyone or else avoid people altogether (or both) kind of like the illumanatti (this would explain the hairy 8 foot tourists in bermuda shorts). But say this group split off thousands of years ago & never bothered to keep up holiday cards w/ the Muggles. It's said that a society of Big Foots couldn't exist because the scattered gene pool, (based on "sightings") would make sexual encounters virtually impossible. Whoever presented that argument has obviously never tried celibacy for very long, or considered the area that could be covered by a person w/ motivation and a 6 foot stride. True believers will now go outside and howl for 5 minutes.

Are You Friends With an Atheist? An American profile
The State of Atheism Address
There’s a new power in America - atheism
How to Spot Atheists and Report Them to the FBI
"I don't know that Atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God."
-President George Bush (aka "a Uniter, not a Divider")
symptoms of schizophrenia
Religious majority doesn't understand atheist views (Michigan State Univ, statenews.com)
New Research Suggests Key to Happiness is Gratitude—and Men May be Locked Out (George Mason Univ.)
Seattle's Version of the Atheist bus projects (friendlyatheist.com)