Your Experiences of Heaven/Mystical Experiences

[ButterflyWoman]

I have split this from the Hell thread because it deserves it's own thread, and it was hardly noticed on the other thread.- CF

what did you experience? please post it.

Let's see. This was over twenty years ago and yet I remember it with absolute clarity. I was not particularly spiritually aware, although I've always had a fair degree of natural awareness (didn't know what it was or what it meant, though). I have, however, always been aware of (that which I perceive as being) God.

I was lying in bed, drifting off to sleep, probably praying, which mostly means talking casually to God about whatever. At that time in my life, it probably wasn't anything very enlightened (I was young and fairly material-bound). All I can say for sure is that I definitely was in bed and drifting in that "in between" state.

Next thing I knew, I was... elsewhere. There was no passage of time, it was "eternity in a moment". It's a very strange sensation the first time you experience it, the knowledge that time doesn't exist (I think it might be a bit like being weightless; the absence of something you've felt all your earthly life is very hard to describe).

Anyway, there was a golden white light, just a sort of sphere of light. Very bright, but in no way blinding. No heat. In fact, the quality of "light" is not even the right word, because "light" is something that exists in the material world. This was "like" light, and that's the closest approximation there is in material terms. I knew it was God, the Source, Brahman, whatever name you care to use. There were others around, sort of in an orbit around the light. We were aware of each other, but it didn't matter that they were there. There was no interaction between us, though I suppose there could have been if we'd wanted to communicate....

The thing is, facing the Light was pure bliss. It was like being bathed in peace, in love, in anything good you can imagine. Nothing mattered but the Light, and being in Its presence. (Which is why any others around weren't interested in communicating with each other; gazing on the Light, basking in the glow, was completely and perfectly satisfying in all ways and there was no need to communicate with anything or anyone else.)

There was communication with the Light, in a way I can't describe. A little like ripples of... sort of like thought, but nowhere near as crude as that. It was almost like... a bit like telepathy, but again, that's too crude a word. It was instantaneous, effortless, no words or emotions in the way. Perfect understanding, a perfect exchange.

I don't know how long I was there. It could have been hours of material time, or only a few seconds. Time didn't really matter, wasn't a factor at all. It was eternity in a moment.

I also don't know why I had the experience. I think there was some communication exchanged that my "true self" (higher self, soul, whatever) to which my ego was not privy. What that might be, I don't know.

Some people have said that I had an NDE, but there was absolutely no reason why that would have happened. I wasn't even ill, and the next morning I woke up like normal. I didn't "nearly die". I'm sure it was an OBE, and it was not initiated by me. At that time in my life, I didn't have even a clue what OBE was, astral projection, any of that. I was young and dysfunctional and while I was spiritually somewhat aware, I was really pretty clueless and material-bound, as I said. I can only assume that God had a reason for giving me that experience and making sure I remembered it. (For all I know, I've been there since and just don't recall it.)

So my personal view of "heaven" is simply that it is the presence of the Source. That is more satisfying and perfect than anything people can imagine with their egos. I long to go back there. I sometimes come close when I meditate, and I get flashes of bliss in my everyday life (that's a new development, and I absolutely love it and am deeply grateful), but I've not had another conscious return to that Presence. One day...

This, by the way, is another reason I don't fear death. There's nothing to fear.

[CFTraveler]

I too have ideas about this stuff...BUT i'd much rather hear what you guys think about it.

some of you have had mystical experiences, as i have. what did you experience? please post it.

I'll post mine if you post yours.

I split the topic but it didn't quite make it the way I wanted it to look, so sorry.

[Psychotronic]

Mystical experiences can be a product of conscious work with psychic states, mostly in trance state. But the understanding of some memories or parts from life are mystical too. Sometimes we can spontaneously have a "mystical view" or we can some time live with this abstract view. This views were mostly guides in my life.

[CFTraveler]

What I'm looking for is the description of a peak/mystic experience you've ever had, not the theory behind it. If you've had one, please describe it as you experienced it.

[Psychotronic]

I described my experience in "oneness with universe". It can be mystical experience and maybe it is one of my biggest experiences. But I would say, that mystical experiences-thoughts are entire part of life. Many people have mystical experiences and they don´t know that. Somebody think, that mystical experiences can´t become in fully awake psychic state in physical.

[ButterflyWoman]

If you've had one, please describe it as you experienced it.

I've had lots of them, actually. Not all involved a heaven type thing. In fact, I think the one up there is the only one I can think of that involved anything heavenly.

I had my first mystical experience when I was four or five years old. I was in church. It was "big church" (as I called it) rather than Sunday School, which I liked much better (hey, arts and crafts, what's not to like?), and I can't remember why I was there that day. I was standing there and I looked up at the big, very plain, wooden cross (this was a mainstream Protestant church) and I was suddenly surrounded by a golden white light, just glowing all around me. I just knew it was God. It didn't last very long, but it left a permanent impression on me.

I just sort of assumed that everyone had that sort of experience in church (in fact, I had them elsewhere sometimes, as well, but that was later on). I was sort of surprised when I found out that mystic experiences are actually not common, especially not in that particular denomination (very straight-laced, not at ALL charismatic, very orderly, etc.).

I appear to be a natural mystic/shaman type, according to the reading I've done on mysticism and religious ecstasy and so forth. I'm not big on labels, but it's kind of nice to know that I'm not just a random kook. I'm a special kind of kook. (And God can talk to crazy people as well as to sane ones )

Oh, and I'm not a church-goer any more. I haven't got any particular issues with churches, per se, but organised religion is not my thing at all and hasn't been for years (I tried it again as an adult a while back and while I can appreciate some of the rituals, it's just not that worthwhile for me to bother getting up on Sunday morning).

[Psychotronic]

Yeah, emotions - views from childhood are beatiful. Mystical experiences are very important crossroads in our growth. We can have similar views in childhood to get more understanding and it is an impulse to have open mind too.

[Caelrie]

I had a near-death experience when I was a small child. I was in the hospital and I remember being in horrible pain, especially in my head. Then the pain seemed to recede like I was being carried away from it on an ocean current, and everything was dark. I saw a light in the distance and the current was carrying me towards it. I got to the light and touched it, and everything went white.

I found myself on a beach with a man I hadn't ever seen before. It was so beautiful, all white sand. There was a little hut there. At that point I started remembering things. It's hard to describe the process, but I have a pretty decent analogy. You know how sometimes you stopped reading a book for a long time, and one day you pick it up again and turn to your book mark? You don't remember much about the book at all, but then you start reading and within a few paragraphs it all comes back to you. You remember the whole story up to that point, whereas only seconds before you didn't.

Well it was like that. In that instant I remembered pieces of former lives, a lot of the time between my last life and this one. I recognized the beach as one of my favorite places in that realm and the hut as mine. On the ground close to us was a round reflecting pool, made of white marble. The man urged me to look into it and saw a quick review of my life so far. Since I was a small child, there wasn't really much to see.

He then explained to me that it wasn't time yet, that I was just visiting and that I'd remember all of it. He told me times ahead would be hard, that my mom was about to die and my dad wouldn't be able to keep us (my brother and me). Then he hugged me and I was back in my body, in extreme pain again.

[Psychotronic]

Do you think you were percieving memories from last life? It could be unconscious protective mechanism - NDE. I think it has relationship to healing body, and to ignore pain.

I had not NDE, but I had very helpful experiences in critical season of my life - 2 months of mystical thinking. It was something strange, I remember childhood again and I could see my whole life with overview and understanding. Every day it was another mystical thoughts I had this 2 months. It was crazy era, my mind was totally confused and was unconsciously receiving mystical understanding. Now I am compacted with full power.

So, mystical sphere of thinking is something we use, if we want to change our lifestyles to something more ...

[Caelrie]

Do you think you were percieving memories from last life?

No, I was there. The things the man told me came true as well. 3 years later my mom died and we were shipped off to my uncle.