Spiritual experiences that changed your life

Let’s swap some stories here..
Has anything happened to you guys—anything at all—that just made you start seeing the world through a completely different lens?

One of my earliest experiences goes back to when I was maybe 12 or 13... it was a memory from a past life...
It smelled like the end of a war was coming... train cars... us being moved somewhere... death was right there... I was young... but I was Jewish... I remember the agony of dying...
But I also had these realizations about why things happen... why certain patterns just keep repeating themselves over and over...

On one hand, nothing tangible has changed, but on the other, I watched the life fade from someone very close to me right before my eyes... ever since that moment, everything has shifted... my perspectives, my way of life...

Ever since I finished reading that incredible book by a guy from Brac... you know, that Awakening one...

What about the other side?

Everything they just changed? It’s going right back to how it was before, just you wait! 🙄

Kyle Nelson2 said:let's exchange experiences..
what exactly happened to you all from "the other side"—those moments where you started seeing the world through entirely different eyes?

One of my earliest experiences dates back to when I was about 12 or 13—memories of a past life...
it smelled like the impending end of a war... train cars... us being moved somewhere... death felt imminent... I was young... but also Jewish... memories of the agony of dying...
but also insights into why things happen... why certain patterns just keep repeating themselves...

How do you perceive it from that side? From which side specifically?

Who knows, maybe everything has happened to me at some point. I wouldn't say I'm one of those hyper-sensitive types, but for some people—the ones who are incredibly observant—every single moment can be something that hits them hard and changes them forever.

In my case, if I had to pick the most striking things—the ones that truly shifted my perspective—it would be visiting Sai baba—that experience with Sai baba,
followed by the several times I had the chance to feel the blessing and energy of Maitreya, which is most palpable during the lectures of Benjamin Crem, along with equally powerful energies from other masters. And lastly—though not any less significant or intense—transmission meditation has been changing me. Specifically, the energies flowing through me during . I really wish I could participate in that more often than I currently do.

There are other bits and pieces in my memory—various incidents and experiences—but I'll save those for another time.

Those are the main energetic shifts (since everything is energy, after all), though there was plenty of other stuff too—like that time I went to a lecture in Washington, D.C.; there were massive crowds everywhere, just a total sea of people. It was actually quite wonderful 😁

PS: Kyle Nelson2, how can you be sure a dream you had is actually from your own past life and not someone else's?

So, what's actually the difference between a spiritual experience and a non-spiritual one? To me, they feel pretty much the same. 😉

I was sitting here thinking about it, trying to dig up some kind of "spiritual" moment from when I was a kid, and this one memory popped up:

I was five years old, playing with marbles (you know, those little glass spheres with the colorful swirls inside 😁). I was obsessed with them—just wanted to know what was actually going on inside, how they felt under my fingers, if they were soft or hard... I wanted to feel it all, but then I realized that if I smashed them, I’d just destroy the thing I was admiring. I wouldn't even learn what I wanted to know because it wouldn't be the same thing anymore...

I figured out that it was this tiny little "universe," and the best way to learn about it was through careful observation without messing it up by breaking it... so I spent a good chunk of time just "meditating" on that little, colorful, happy universe. 🙂

And, I don't know if that experience changed me or if I was just born this way... but I'm still like that... I observe, I try to grasp and understand things without physically interfering, whenever possible. Some people might call me lazy... what a joke... 🤣 😬

If you actually want to change as a person, you need more than just willpower—you need the luck and the blessing of being initiated into the right kind of spiritual practice by an enlightened master.

It’s easy to talk the talk, but true character is revealed when things get difficult. The longer you can stick to meditation without breaking focus, the better the results and the bigger the shift in consciousness. Blessings to everyone out there!

goldeneagle2 said:If you really want to undergo a genuine transformation, you need more than just willpower. You need the right timing, a bit of luck, and the blessing to be initiated into a legitimate spiritual practice—like meditation—by an enlightened master.

But hey, true character is revealed in the struggle. The longer you can sit in uninterrupted meditation, the deeper the impact and the bigger the shift in consciousness. Blessings to everyone!

But here's what I'm wondering... does the one doing the initiating actually have to be "embodied"?
I mean, are we talking about a physical person, or something else entirely?😉

For any real transformation to take place, a person first has to face their own reality—they need to grasp exactly where they stand, what they actually are, and who they've become. Only once that realization hits does the genuine hunger for change emerge.
And if they want to see things through to the end, they have to walk away from every dogma and every teacher they've ever followed... they have to pivot toward their own intuition and lean into self-trust. To find that life within themselves. That’s when the shifting happens. That’s when they finally realize there isn't actually anything left to change.

That doesn't mean, of course, that someone can't navigate all of this alongside a master...

Best...

Ever since that trip to Medjugorje, my life hasn't been the same. You just... you finally grasp certain truths and realize what actually matters in this life.🙂

The biggest shift in my life was having my first child. That’s when I realized I wasn't the center of my own universe anymore; everything became about that little person I loved without hesitation (and that happened three times over, and I still feel the same). I always compare that feeling to divine love—if our human capacity for love is just a shadow of His, imagine how massive His actually is. I'd give anything to catch a glimpse of that, even for a second.

brightgardener40 said:The biggest shift for me was definitely this whole earthly experience thing—specifically having my first kid. That’s when I realized I wasn't the center of my own universe anymore; suddenly, there was this little being I loved more than anything else (and yeah, that happened three times, and I still feel that way). I always compare it to divine love because if our human love is just a tiny shadow compared to His, imagine how massive His actually is. I'd give anything to feel even a glimpse of that.

Since you brought up birth (lol, talk about a ritual that requires some serious innate talent 😈)... I also felt like I was basically reborn after going through it. 😁
But... isn't it kind of awkward to talk about the whole birthing experience in front of people who are totally denied the chance to ever go through that kind of initiation? 😬

frozenangler9 said:Since you brought up birth (haha, a ritual that requires some innate talent 😈)... I also felt completely reborn after that experience. 😁
Isn't it a bit awkward to talk about the birthing experience in front of people who are hopelessly denied the chance to ever undergo that initiation? 😬

I wasn't talking about giving birth to a child as a spiritual event, but rather the birth of a child

brightgardener40 said:I didn't say giving birth was a spiritual experience, just the actual birth itself

Right... because kids are just pure love and have zero connection to childbirth... or physical reality at all... god forbid... 🙄

frozenangler9 said:Right... kids are just pure love and have zero connection to birth... or physicality... heaven forbid... 🙄

The actual act of giving birth wasn't pleasant for me, let alone some spiritual epiphany. I'm talking about children and the feelings they trigger, especially with your first. It’s an awakening of a whole new set of emotions I hadn't even touched before.

brightgardener40 said:the whole process of giving birth wasn't even remotely pleasant for me—let alone some kind of spiritual epiphany. I'm talking about kids and the feelings you have toward them, especially with the first one, because this whole new wave of emotion hits you out of nowhere.

But... does a spiritual experience always have to be (physically 😉 ) pleasant? 🤔

The act of birth itself is actually a perfect way to see just how relative physical (dis)comfort really is.

For me, that experience was pretty intense—and honestly, the discomfort was nothing compared to the massive shift in perspective... 😉

frozenangler9 said:So, how exactly does a spiritual experience differ from a non-spiritual one? To me, they feel pretty much the same. 😉

Well, then you haven't actually had a spiritual experience—because the difference is massive. The physical body is the polar opposite of the spirit, so you really can't compare a spiritual moment to a physical one.

Hannah Thompson2 said:then you clearly haven't had a spiritual experience, because there's a massive gap—the body is the polar opposite of the spirit, so you can't even compare spiritual stuff to physical sensations.

Oh sure, and I bet you typed that out while levitating over the Mojave Desert... oh, wise one! 😬

First off, this whole body vs. spirit dualism thing? Total fail. The body is—if you want to call it that—just one way the spirit manifests. If you think you can just sit in your physical skin and somehow bypass everything to experience "pure" spirituality, I guess you're just kidding yourself.

Once you actually wrap your head around the body—you know, matter, physical presence, laws of physics, math, all that—you've got enough data to build a picture of the non-physical side... the spirit. To me, that's just the most straightforward, natural path for us mere mortals.

And honestly, walking up to random people and just blabbing about your "spiritual experiences"... I don't know... it's just not really something you do with strangers. 😉

When my granddad was passing away, I was right there by his side, just listening to him talk about what it’s actually like—you know, that whole experience of crossing over, those paths you take. He was such a one-of-a-kind guy, honestly... just overflowing with love and compassion, and he had this incredible insight into everything. After hearing him describe it, I don't really fear death anymore; I've seen it firsthand, and it’s really just a transition from one way of existing to another. I miss him like crazy, obviously, but his death didn't just sever our connection. If anything, it taught me that love is something that exists and breathes forever—nothing can ever truly kill it.