Mystical experience

[Poltergeist]

Ever had any direct experiences of God's presence? Mystical experiences, that is, as one usually says. The question equally addressed to Christians and pagans.

[Psychonaut]

Ever had any direct experiences of God's presence?

Yes, many times. My early training in Yoga and other psychonautic systems allowed me, rather quickly, to begin consciously (temporarily) altering my fundamental doxic overlay of "the world." This void was filled by various means. Either method generally resulted in the restriction of all intentionalities to a single focal point: a specific deity. In this altered state of consciousness, many deities of many pantheons appeared to reveal themselves to me.

[Mrs. G]

I have had several things that have happened in my life that I could not explain. I believe that the supreme power above that had a hand in them. I am grateful that that supreme power was there to bring me through it.

[Liffrea]

Depends what you mean.

I “step out” of the loop at least once a day, sunrise, sunset, listen to the wind in the trees, moonlight on my pond, my breath in cold air. All these are mystical, I consider how improbable things are, how extraordinary, how much is just taken as granted, how much nonsense we fill our lives with.

But I guess you mean divine, then possibly I have. I’m sceptical, not about divine “forces” that I believe emanate through out the various planes of existence, but about my ability or significance to experience such things directly. I have had a couple of powerful dreams, and not just involving babes and vegetable oil (don’t ask) but involving messages, symbols, images that I find hard to explain and to put into context, the more strange in that they are quite mundane, one dream took place in my garden (I was in the garden in my dream not asleep in the garden) the other when I was out walking in the hills. They stuck with me because I don’t generally remember dreams and these were “odd”.

Other experiences tend to come when I practise runic meditation, I use four runes usually and I have managed to “lock” my mind at one level. The best/worst experience I have had was when I “felt” like I was being held at a level, it scared the hell out of me and I didn’t meditate for a while after. Was it me or something, I don’t know, but I’m cautious about this.

[Gooding]

My way of mindfulness is a technique I learned when I was a Christian and altered in various ways during my Celtic Wiccan,Shaiva Hindu, Shin Buddhist, Asatru/heathen educations.I sit in silence, quiet my mind, focus on my breath and take notice and dismiss random thoughts while focussing my mind on myself and my enviornment. Then, I dismiss any idea of a "self" and focus on the interconnectivity of the Universe. Then, slowing my breathing, I just exist, imagining a great flood of water in my room, in the house, over the world, while in my mind's eye, I look "up" to the starry expanse of the Milky Way and I ascend until I "see" a shimmering light from above "descending" upon me and I embrace the light, slipping in to it and feeling a profound sense of peace until my mind slowly dims the light, I take a couple of deep breaths, release a sense of Gratitude into the Universe and That Which Is Beyond and subsequently have a great day!