Agnostic, Female 23, Roanoke, VA

"I had a spiritual moment when I saw this in real life, makes me think there is a g-d, or at least an almighty, I don't relate masculinity with beauty, so g-d must be female."

Methodist, Female 24, NOLA

"Is it weird that this is also what I think of when I think of the perfect granddad? Plus a little Bill Cosby. Maybe i get God and "granddad" confused."

Agnostic, Female 26, Roanoke, VA

My most spiritual experience did not occur in a church or temple or Mecca, but rather in the Pacific ocean. I was in a small dingy boat on the water in Maui when a female humpback whale approached. She and her calf swam gently underneath the boat. I watched them glide from one side to the other, right below me. Then the mother gracefully rose from the water right next to the boat to get a look at me with her giant eye. There we were looking eye to eye with an equal sense of amazement and curiousity about the other. It was such a peaceful, yet powerful experience. This beautiful animal was larger than life, but yet I felt safer and more at ease than perhaps ever before. In that moment, I felt a sense of freedom from all of the trivial worries of human life. I felt protected by something much bigger than both the whale and myself. It semed we were both supposed to be right there, right then. My eyes welled up with tears of happiness and wonder.

I'm not sure whether I can ever come to terms with the idea of one God or even many gods. I don't identify with the teachings in the Bible or the rules of Judiasm. I don't pray. But I know that during that one point in time, I was a part of something I can never quite grasp, something that is impossible to define. To me, that whale embodied all of the Christ-like characteristics -- patience, wisdom, kindness, healing and love. To me, God would look just like her.