Describe your spiritual experience

[Venonat]

Hey, just wondering who out there has any kind of spiritual / religious experience(s) and if you could share what happened and what it was like. I wish I could start off but I don't have any stories but I'd love to hear yours. This is open to all religions and beliefs, all are welcome.

Thanks!

Edited April 5, 2011 by Venonat

[alphafemale]

I pray you will soon & surely have an expierience that will confirm for you beyond any doubt The Lord is Real. He is in charge, & never will give to you more than you can bear.

I have so many many things in my life, beginning in about 1991 in (the former ) Yugoslavia, to this very day. Ask God. Ask HIm for what you will. Those who wait upon Him are never dissipointed.

[Venonat]

I pray you will soon & surely have an expierience that will confirm for you beyond any doubt The Lord is Real. He is in charge, & never will give to you more than you can bear.

I have so many many things in my life, beginning in about 1991 in (the former ) Yugoslavia, to this very day. Ask God. Ask HIm for what you will. Those who wait upon Him are never dissipointed.

I want to hear your experience(s), if possible. Edited April 5, 2011 by Venonat

[s_laurel]

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Edited April 5, 2011 by s_laurel

[Venonat]

Anyone?

[libstaK]

Hey, just wondering who out there has any kind of spiritual / religious experience(s) and if you could share what happened and what it was like. I wish I could start off but I don't have any stories but I'd love to hear yours. This is open to all religions and beliefs, all are welcome.

Thanks!

Spiritual experiences are intensely personal as a general rule and subject to criticism and conjecture when shared, also they rarely convince anyone of anything.

Most of mine relate to dreams that have come true and through that have told me without a doubt that I am not on this journey alone and someone has a vested interest in keeping me informed about what will impact me the most in my future and whether I am in a good or bad frame of mind with my intentions, I don't take for granted that I will be advised of all things and have no such expectations but I have a lot more faith than I started with and boy has that moved some personal mountains in my life.

[Venonat]

Spiritual experiences are intensely personal as a general rule and subject to criticism and conjecture when shared, also they rarely convince anyone of anything.

Yeah, I forgot how harsh people can be sometimes, even me. While I may not follow any organized religion, I am not an Athiest. I am Agnostic and consider myself a spiritual person. If someone would like to PM me their experience instead of posting it, that would be awesome too!

Most of mine relate to dreams that have come true and through that have told me without a doubt that I am not on this journey alone and someone has a vested interest in keeping me informed about what will impact me the most in my future and whether I am in a good or bad frame of mind with my intentions, I don't take for granted that I will be advised of all things and have no such expectations but I have a lot more faith than I started with and boy has that moved some personal mountains in my life.

Thanks a lot for sharing that! This is exactly the kind of stuff I'm looking for.

[Mr. Miyagi]

For myself, my biggest spiritual experience was when I realized that I honestly didn't know if there was a God or not. I was going through the motions. When I discovered Buddhism in my mid twenties I began to meditate on this, among other things, Loving Kindess, death etc... It's all connected. Understanding Anatta, Dukkha, Samsara, The Eightfold Path etc.... All connected. True understanding of one cannot be attained without true understanding of the other etc... this isunderstanding is not static, but always in flux based upon our lives from moment to moment. This is a topic for a different thread. I'm rambling, sorry. This understanding comes with the realization that not only do I not know whether a God exists or not, but that It doesn't matter either... and that's ok.

Thanks for reading.

[jaguarsky]

OK, I got one for ya. On the night of the massacre at the Branch Davidian Compound I was dangerously angry. I was angry with Koresh, the women who allowed themselves and thier children to be used and especially angry with our government for instigating the entire fiasco. I decided to meditate on it, hoping I could find some rationale for what had happened.

As I was meditating I felt myself floating. Not in a physical sense, more of OOB type thing. I was in darkness but soon felt the presence of beings around me. Eventually, the light was bright enough that I could see and I found myself in the company of several women of various ages all dressed in what I can only describe as togas. They were leading me down a corridor of alabaster. The walls were intricately carved but because of the dim light I could not make out the exact nature of the artwork. Eventually these women led me to a small circular room and without speaking, led me to the center of the room and left. As I stood there in the dim light the floor began to move upward and I found myself in a very large circular room also made of alabaster that opened onto a beautiful landscape of trees, grassland, flowers and a stream. The air was warm and pleasantly scented.

As I stood there in awe of the beauty of the vista I noticed a soft glowing shape beginning to take form at the edge of the "patio". It grew brighter and brighter and I began to feel so much love; a kind of contentment that I have never known in the real world. I began to cry. The light, now formed the general shape of a female, but it was so bright that I could not really look directly at "her". I also have to say that the form did not appear solid but swirled and moved like fog only very bright.

She asked me why I had come. Through my tears I said that I did not understand why such terrible things as Waco had to happen, how could mothers allow thier children to be killed. The entity then pointed to a statue off to my left that I had not noticed before. It was of a man in the greco-roman style. The stone however was covered with mold and pitted. It looked rotten and ready to crumble. "Do you see this?" She asked. Before I could answer she stroked the arm of the statue and the mold and rotten parts began to fall away. Soon, the statue looked new and beautiful; then it bacame flesh, smiled at me and walked down into the trees, out of sight.

"I don't understand." I said.

"My hand is in all things." I was told. "There is nothing that happens that I do not see. There is nothing that exists that is beyond saving." She then asked me did I understand. I said no, not really. She explained that again that her hand is in ALL things.

I thought about this for a while and asked if it was all part of a greater plan. She said no. But everything can be learned from, thereby making it purposeful if we choose to see. She asked me if I had seen the statue change from its earlier form to that of a young and vital man. I had. "Then," she said, "you see that there is nothing that cannot be changed for the good."

At that, she turned away from me as if to view the scenery and I found myself, with a thump, back in my room. I still could feel the overwhelming love. I was still crying. But, I was not angry anymore. I didn't really understand the things that I was told. Well, not completely anyway, but I did understand that all things happen for a reason, that everything is connected and it is up to us to either change things or learn from them. I am not to judge. Those are the things I felt. I am not sure if I got the message right.

So, that's a spiritual experience that I had. Don't know what else to tell you. BTW, when I referred to the entity as a she it is because I felt the love of a mother, not of a father. I don't really have any preconceived notions of what divinity is. Perhaps she was only my higher conciousness speaking. Maybe that is what God is. I am not arrogant enough to make that call.

[libstaK]

OK, I got one for ya. On the night of the massacre at the Branch Davidian Compound I was dangerously angry. I was angry with Koresh, the women who allowed themselves and thier children to be used and especially angry with our government for instigating the entire fiasco. I decided to meditate on it, hoping I could find some rationale for what had happened.

As I was meditating I felt myself floating. Not in a physical sense, more of OOB type thing. I was in darkness but soon felt the presence of beings around me. Eventually, the light was bright enough that I could see and I found myself in the company of several women of various ages all dressed in what I can only describe as togas. They were leading me down a corridor of alabaster. The walls were intricately carved but because of the dim light I could not make out the exact nature of the artwork. Eventually these women led me to a small circular room and without speaking, led me to the center of the room and left. As I stood there in the dim light the floor began to move upward and I found myself in a very large circular room also made of alabaster that opened onto a beautiful landscape of trees, grassland, flowers and a stream. The air was warm and pleasantly scented.

As I stood there in awe of the beauty of the vista I noticed a soft glowing shape beginning to take form at the edge of the "patio". It grew brighter and brighter and I began to feel so much love; a kind of contentment that I have never known in the real world. I began to cry. The light, now formed the general shape of a female, but it was so bright that I could not really look directly at "her". I also have to say that the form did not appear solid but swirled and moved like fog only very bright.

She asked me why I had come. Through my tears I said that I did not understand why such terrible things as Waco had to happen, how could mothers allow thier children to be killed. The entity then pointed to a statue off to my left that I had not noticed before. It was of a man in the greco-roman style. The stone however was covered with mold and pitted. It looked rotten and ready to crumble. "Do you see this?" She asked. Before I could answer she stroked the arm of the statue and the mold and rotten parts began to fall away. Soon, the statue looked new and beautiful; then it bacame flesh, smiled at me and walked down into the trees, out of sight.

"I don't understand." I said.

"My hand is in all things." I was told. "There is nothing that happens that I do not see. There is nothing that exists that is beyond saving." She then asked me did I understand. I said no, not really. She explained that again that her hand is in ALL things.

I thought about this for a while and asked if it was all part of a greater plan. She said no. But everything can be learned from, thereby making it purposeful if we choose to see. She asked me if I had seen the statue change from its earlier form to that of a young and vital man. I had. "Then," she said, "you see that there is nothing that cannot be changed for the good."

At that, she turned away from me as if to view the scenery and I found myself, with a thump, back in my room. I still could feel the overwhelming love. I was still crying. But, I was not angry anymore. I didn't really understand the things that I was told. Well, not completely anyway, but I did understand that all things happen for a reason, that everything is connected and it is up to us to either change things or learn from them. I am not to judge. Those are the things I felt. I am not sure if I got the message right.

So, that's a spiritual experience that I had. Don't know what else to tell you. BTW, when I referred to the entity as a she it is because I felt the love of a mother, not of a father. I don't really have any preconceived notions of what divinity is. Perhaps she was only my higher conciousness speaking. Maybe that is what God is. I am not arrogant enough to make that call.

Thank you that was a beautiful special thing to share

[Venonat]

Interesting, two meditation experiences already. Thanks! I should start practicing more. I know there are physical benefits also but I usually end up falling asleep, heh.

Edited April 5, 2011 by Venonat

[+Link of Hyrule]

I've had what might be described as spiritual experiences. But for the most part, to describe them would be intensely personal and provide no real interest for anyone who is not me. But I will share with you something that happened to me that is spiritual in nature.

When I was a kid (don't know how old exactly but younger than ten, at a guess from memory) I once was playing ball games with my brother. Unfortunately at one point we hit the ball in such a way that it landed on the roof of the granny flat in our backyard. We were both disappointed and my brother decided to go inside and play other games. I, however, was still infatuated by the ball, so I grabbed my dad's ladder and took it out the back to climb. I got the ball on the roof, and as I was coming down, my dad came out in a.... shall we say, agitated state (it's not exactly safe for me to do what I did). The first thing my dad asked was about my brother - apparently he saw someone holding the ladder while I was climbing. Except I was alone, my brother had gone inside. I was the only one climbing the ladder. And being a young and silly kid I did not consider the chance that the ladder may fall.

So if my brother was inside, who was holding my ladder? Sure, my dad might have been hallucinating. But I believe him and think he was not. I can't say who it really was who was holding the ladder, but I do fully believe something out of the ordinary happened that day (and if such an extraordinary event did not take place, I believe my life might be over already).

~ Regards,

[Venonat]

I've had what might be described as spiritual experiences. But for the most part, to describe them would be intensely personal and provide no real interest for anyone who is not me. But I will share with you something that happened to me that is spiritual in nature.

When I was a kid (don't know how old exactly but younger than ten, at a guess from memory) I once was playing ball games with my brother. Unfortunately at one point we hit the ball in such a way that it landed on the roof of the granny flat in our backyard. We were both disappointed and my brother decided to go inside and play other games. I, however, was still infatuated by the ball, so I grabbed my dad's ladder and took it out the back to climb. I got the ball on the roof, and as I was coming down, my dad came out in a.... shall we say, agitated state (it's not exactly safe for me to do what I did). The first thing my dad asked was about my brother - apparently he saw someone holding the ladder while I was climbing. Except I was alone, my brother had gone inside. I was the only one climbing the ladder. And being a young and silly kid I did not consider the chance that the ladder may fall.

So if my brother was inside, who was holding my ladder? Sure, my dad might have been hallucinating. But I believe him and think he was not. I can't say who it really was who was holding the ladder, but I do fully believe something out of the ordinary happened that day (and if such an extraordinary event did not take place, I believe my life might be over already).

~ Regards,

Spooky! Thanks for sharing.

[White Crane Feather]

Interesting, two meditation experiences already. Thanks! I should start practicing more. I know there are physical benefits also but I usually end up falling asleep, heh.

Yes. That is most definantly your best start. Early mornings are best after you gave already slept, but it is still early. Empty mind meditations done in a reclining not sitting position. make sure you have covers over you, you are slightly warm not hot, not thirsty with an empty bladder.

Whatch out! Follow that advice on a regular basis and you are in for a paradime change

Edited April 6, 2011 by Seeker79

[libstaK]

Interesting, two meditation experiences already. Thanks! I should start practicing more. I know there are physical benefits also but I usually end up falling asleep, heh.

The capacity to fall asleep in this state is not negative but over time once it is controlled is the key to the real benefit, a good meditative state is right on that border between the waking and sleeping state when the body is perfectly relaxed and the mind has quieted, I wonder if that is how the "Twilight Zone" was coined?

Anyway, you have every reason to recommense practise, I have lost count of the number of times in our group the newbies have started snoring but over time they just don't anymore, interesting huh.

[IamsSon]

As an officer in the U.S. Army, I was stationed in Panama for over three years. Our next door neighbors when we lived off post became good friends. He was a newly ordained minister and she was a naval officer. We helped them celebrate their first wedding anniversary very casually in our apartment. During the evening she decided she wanted popcorn, so he and I decided to go down to the 7-Eleven across the street to get some.

As we were walking through the dark parking lot a short man walked up on us from between two cars, we never saw him until he was right in front of us and he was mumbling something. My friend looked at me and asked me "What is this guy saying? You speak Spanish."

Before I could tell my friend I had not understood the guy, the man spoke up and said, "I speak English. I'm an American." The guy was fairly short, 5'2", at most. He was very skinny, like someone who had gone without eating for some time. He had a 6" long white, waxy thing almost like a small beehive growing out of his left ear and another smaller one growing out of his right nostril. And he was shaking; his whole body was constantly shaking. He was holding this brown paper sack and it was constantly rustling with his shakes. He was obviously going through some sort of withdrawal.

My friend, "John" (who had played college basketball and was over 6'6" leaned down to the guy and asked, "What do you need?"

The guy looked at my friend and said, "I need some money to buy a cup of coffee."

John looked at him and told him, "We were just going into the store to get a couple of things, why don't you come in with us and you can order some food from the Deli. We'll pay for it." The guy looked very nervous and said the store manager did not like for him to come into the store. John, just waved that off and said, "Hey you're with us, and we are going to pay for some food and other stuff, you can come into the store." And even as the guy was still protesting John just swept him along with us and before he knew it we were walking into the store.

At almost any time John and I would have caught people's attention, a 5'10 Hispanic American walking with a 6'6" African American will catch people's attention. Now add a skinny 5'2" obvious drug addict rattling a paper sack and only the circus could have competed with us. We walked to the back of the store--as every eye in the place tracked us--where the Deli was located. The whole time since we had walked into the store John had been talking to this guy, asking him where he was from what he was doing in Panama, etc., and the guy was starting to tell John his whole life story about how he had stayed in Panama after he got out of the Army so he could be with his girlfriend and could party, how she had used him for his money and had kicked him out after the money ran out, how he needed to get some "stuff" to think straight again... everything! When we got to the Deli counter John asked the guy, "Carl" what he wanted. Carl told him he just wanted some coffee, but John asked me to order him two sandwiches also. So as I went to the counter John asked Carl if he could pray for him. Carl said yes, he really needed prayer.

As I finished placing the order, John called to me and said, "Come on Iams, we are going to pray for our friend Carl!" I looked at John like he was crazy.

All I could think was, "This is not happening! He is not asking me to pray in the middle of a 7-Eleven! I can't believe we're actually going to do this!" But as I came back to them and John laid one hand on my shoulder and another on Carl's, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, I realized, "Yes, we actually are going to do this," so I put my hand on Carl's other shoulder, and reached up to put my other hand on John's shoulder.

And John prayed. And it wasn't a soft quiet prayer it was in his full deep voice: "Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for your love. We praise you for your mercy. We come before your presence now to ask for Carl...." As he prayed I could hear people muttering and getting agitated, I heard some woman call out to the manager, and I heard him coming toward us calling to us.

I broke away from John and Carl and intercepted the manager. He knew me and I told him, "We are only here because we have ordered some food and are waiting for our order. As soon as we pay for it we will leave." By this time John had finished his general prayer for Carl but continued in his deep voice to ask Carl if he wanted to be freed from his addiction. Carl said yes, and John told him that the only way he could be freed was to turn his life over to Jesus Christ, would he like to accept Jesus as his savior. Carl said yes, and John proceeded to lead Carl through "the sinner's prayer." The manager had finally backed off and I rejoined Carl and John.

By the time I rejoined them, Carl had accepted Christ, and I thought we were about done with the prayer.... I was wrong. John gripped my shoulder hard and began to ask the Lord to free Carl from demonic possession! Right there in the middle of 7-Eleven!

Suddenly I felt a cold ball hit me square in the chest and begin pushing against me. This cold ball was trying to push me away from John and Carl. I gripped both their shoulders hard and joined John in prayer commanding demons to leave. i don't know how long we did this, but at one point I felt as if I was leaning so far back I should be falling, but I was being held up against the push of the cold ball. Slowly the pressure from my chest lessend and i was able to get firmer footing. John's voice was getting quieter and he was almost sobbing. But what I noticed most was... the silence. The whole time I had known Carl the incessant rustling of the paper sack had been there, now it was gone. John said, "In His name, Amen" and I openned my eyes. The guy who stood in front of me resembled Carl in the clothes he wore and in the stuff that grew out of his nose and ear, but other than that he seemed to be a different man. He was no longer shaking uncontrolably and he seemed completely sane. His eyes were clear and when he spoke his speech was completely clear and understandable. The guy at the Deli called out and we got Carl's food. The guy who walked out of 7-Eleven was not the same one who had ambled in pushed by John. He thanked us both with a smile on his face and walked away.

We saw him several days later. He had waited outside our apartment building hoping to see one of us to let us know he had called his parents and they were sending him a ticket so he could go home. He no longer had that growth in his ear and nose; it had fallen out by itself.

[Victoroddo]

My spiritual experience 

I've had what might be described as spiritual experience, so profound that it completely changed the way I viewed reality and I can honestly say hand on heart this is 100000% true with no stretch of imagination, this happened exactly like this. 

It was early 2016,  we had just moved house and I went through an insane amount of stress,  I kept having strange emotional outbursts almost hysteria at times caused by anxiety, it was during this time that I turned prayer as it was the only thing left to do, I’ve always had a distant approach to religion having been robbed of a pleasant childhood so simply turned my back on faith because of this.

one particular evening on the 22nd Jan 2016, I developed what could only be described as the feeling you get as you are ready to cry, I remember the spot in my bedroom where I was stood, I looked at a piece of paper which I had scribed several weeks before “ask and it shall be given unto you” (long story but result of reading Earl Knightingale and Napoleon hill book.  In that instant my perception of reality changed in an instant, I was able to see this plain from a whole new perspective, in a way I have never and likely will never again,  it was as if someone had lifted a veil and let me see/feel the true nature of reality.  I wish i could explain what that was but there are not really any words to describe it,  i likened it to unconditional love, a knowing and a connectedness that cannot be expressed by words or explained by anything of this realm.  

It was truely beautiful, a very clear message was also given to me, it’s all going to be ok, its all going to work out and I felt an embrace from whatever entities presence I was in, it was like I was given a cuddle from god herself.

i couldn’t only submit to the feelings I experienced that evening and I simply crumbled to its power, saying “I understand” “I can feel you” and just cried for around 5 minutes as I felt energy rushing around my body, emanating from my chest and sweat profusing from my body.

When it subsided I was completely drained, dripping in sweat and my arms felt as though I had just done a hard arm workout.

i tend not to tell people about it as the few I have told looked at me as if I was mad, but I know what I experienced and I have never quite been the same since. 

Only one other thing since then I have had intermittent muted tones in both ears, it doesn’t happen all the time but I’ll occasinally get one which will sound like it’s a very high pitched temporary tinnitus.  I’m not sure if I have unlocked something or wether I’m just more sensitive to energy since it’s happened but it was truely life changing. I just wish everyone could experience it, as there would never be another war. 

 

[Susanc241]

My mum was in a coma in hospital and as it turned out just two days away from dying.  I had been sitting by her bed for over an hour, mainly in silent contemplation.  It was time to leave and as I started to walk away I paused at the end of the bed and looked at her and had the strangest feeling I was witnessing my own death.  As that thought formed, the room suddenly receded, sounds faded away and I 'saw' the cosmos and understood all there was to know and understand.  Almost as suddenly everything became normal again and what I had learned, I knew no more!  I just can’t explain it any other way.  This was 20 years ago now and I still remember it clearly.  It has crossed my mind I might have been seeing what my mum was experiencing but until my time comes I am not going to know, maybe not even then.  My inclination is that there is nothing after death, just as we are not conscious of anything before we lived.  This experience hasn’t changed that belief but ...............

[Podo]

I opened a tight tin once and cut my hand.