Spiritual experiences that changed your life

YES!

It is the very essence that governs your physical being and your entire material existence.

Isn't that also matter...
isn't your body just spirit...
why even bother with the separation?

it's all spirit and it's all matter at once... ☕

Adam Ross4 said:isn't that also matter...
isn't your body spirit...
where does this need for separation even come from?

everything is spirit and everything is matter at the exact same time... ☕

That’s an intriguing theory, though I find myself wondering where the living element fits into that equation.

It’s all happening simultaneously—the material and the spiritual are intertwined, much like how you can't have the shadow without the light; one simply cannot exist without the other. The presence of one necessitates the existence of the other.
I wouldn't necessarily label that "separation," but rather a process of discernment—distinguishing what is what—though dwelling on those distinctions feels like a redundant exercise that doesn't change the core reality.
To me, my body isn't the spirit itself, but rather the temple that houses my spirit.

Taroth said:let’s exchange our experiences...
has anyone else experienced something that fundamentally shifted their perspective on the world?

One of my earliest memories surfaced when I was about twelve or thirteen years old—vivid recollections of a previous life.
It carried the heavy scent of a war nearing its conclusion... the sound of train cars... we were being transported somewhere... the looming shadow of death. I was just a child, yet I was Jewish... haunted by the visceral sensations of suffering and passing away.

😘 I was perhaps sixteen at the time; maybe our paths crossed, though sadly, I didn't make it through.

rowdydrifter7 The user said:Interesting theory. Just wondering... is there anything actually alive in there?

Live. 🤔 I don't get it...
Everything is alive...

"Dead matter" is nothing more than a hollow physics term. Everything is alive. 🙂

rowdydrifter7 said:It all happens simultaneously. The material and the spiritual—they’re intertwined. You can't have one without the other. One simply cannot exist without the presence of its counterpart.

Everything’s happening at once, yet it all feels exactly the same. 😉
They don't hold each other accountable. It’s pointless. They're two sides of the same coin. 😉
Fair enough. I see we’re operating on completely different wavelengths here. This topic isn't exactly winning any awards for being easy to debate, either.

Yes, everything is vibrant and alive.

Go ahead and try making that argument when you're looking at a piece of IKEA furniture. 🙂

But then again, you're part of that living essence too.

The underlying theory or philosophy might differ, but in my view, it's the actual practice we apply to the world that truly carries the weight.

rowdydrifter7 said:Sure, go ahead and say that about a piece of IKEA furniture. 🙂

😬

Maybe it looks dead, but it’s breathing...
It all comes down to perception. If you kick a chair, it isn't going to bark at you. But that doesn't mean it isn't alive... it just functions differently. 😉 😁

Adam Ross4 said:isn't that just matter too...
isn't your body actually spirit...
so why even bother with the separation?

it's all spirit and all matter at once... ☕

From an absolute perspective—sure—but that doesn't really apply to us, except maybe in theory. Someone might grasp the concept intellectually, but that isn't the same as lived experience. If you truly experienced that, you could, say, travel at the speed of light and pop in and out of existence whenever you felt like it.

Besides, if that were part of your actual reality, you'd have total control over your emotions, thoughts, and everything else.

Taylor Campbell4 said:Timozes might grasp it intellectually, but he lacks the lived experience. Someone who actually knows this through experience could, say, travel at light speed or vanish and reappear at will.

traveling at light speed🙄
My own experience suggests spirit and matter are one and the same...
I fail to see any connection between traveling at light speed and that concept...

Taylor Campbell4 said:Also, if it weren't part of your experience, you wouldn't have control over your feelings, thoughts, etc.

But why? 🤔
I mean, where are you even getting these claims from? 😕 I don't see any logical link to what I said—that matter equals spirit.

Taylor Campbell4 said:From an absolute standpoint, sure, but it doesn't affect us—not unless we're operating purely on an intellectual level. You might grasp Timotheus intellectually, I guess, but it isn't part of your lived experience. Someone who actually *knows* it experientially could, say, travel at light speed and pop in and out of existence whenever they felt like it.

Also, if that were part of your actual experience, you’d have total control over your feelings, thoughts, and all that stuff.

Man... I'm not gonna go as far as saying you're talking nonsense, but... I have a feeling that you're talking nonsense... 😁

Like... capping the spirit's speed at the speed of light? And honestly—speed—what even is that? 😬

Or talking about (material) "appearing" and "disappearing" as if it's some purely spiritual thing... whatever. 🙄 😛

"Spiritual" experiences that actually changed you

having sex in the backseat of a car—with snow piled up knee-deep outside 😳

Man, they really missed the mark. They didn't mention that a mystical yogin could step into a river in one spot and pop out anywhere else in the world. 😳 🙏 😎 😍 😬

bluemason3 said:man, it’s crazy how they missed the point—they didn't mention that a mystical yogin could step into a river in one spot and pop out anywhere else in the world😳 🙏 😎 😍 😬

Like, you step into a toilet in Chicago and suddenly you're floating in the Black Sea😬

boldsailor2 said:like you walk into a bathroom stall and end up floating in the Black Sea😬

Lord have mercy, this is pure anarchy and I'm definitely going to hell for laughing at it.🙂

😁

bluemason3 said:I mean, damn, since they clearly didn't get it—they failed to mention that a mystical yogin can enter a river at one point and pop out anywhere else they want.😳 🙏 😎 😍 😬

So what, does swimming upstream or downstream count as some kind of mystical insight or something?😁

frozenangler9 said:So, what, is knowing how to swim upstream versus downstream some kind of mystical secret or something? 😁

YOU’RE GOING TO BURN IN HELL
AVA:🙂

brightgardener40 said:Come on, if you're up for it, tell us about what happened. I'm dying to know.

I haven't been around much lately, so sorry for the late reply...

I don't want to ramble too much, because when you try to put feelings like this into words, it’s so easy to lose the thread.

I was just walking. There were plenty of people around. For some reason, I closed my eyes. Even then, I could still see everything happening. I’d open them—everything looked normal. I’d close them again—same thing (not exactly identical, but it proved I wasn't hallucinating; everything I saw with my eyes open, I saw with them shut too).
At one point, I felt myself leaving my body. It was like drifting up, maybe three or four feet off the ground, just hovering there. I could see myself and everything happening around my physical body. The world looked a little different than how I see it now, and I just *knew* everything happening in the physical world without anyone telling me. I could feel if someone was scared, or happy... I could feel everything. No one had to say a word.
It's really hard to find the right words for what I went through. If anyone else has had an experience like this, maybe you can help me explain what it felt like...

Nicole Hayes3 The user said:Haven't been around much lately, so sorry for the late reply.

I'd rather not go there. In situations like this, you can easily lose your train of thought while trying to put what you felt into words.

I was walking. Crowds everywhere. For some reason, I closed my eyes. I could still see everything happening. Open them—vision's normal. Close them again—same thing. It wasn't exactly identical, but I know I wasn't hallucinating. Everything I saw with my eyes open, I saw with them shut.
At one point, I start leaving my body. I drift up about ten or twelve feet, hovering there, watching myself and everything around me from above. The world looks different from that vantage point. It’s like I suddenly have an intuitive grasp on everything happening in the physical realm without anyone saying a word. If someone is afraid, I feel it. If they’re happy, I feel that too. No explanation needed.
Hard to put words to what I felt. If anyone else has been through this, try explaining it to me.

Would you call that moment being part of some "collective consciousness"?
It’s something like that, if I recall correctly from reading his autobiography a long time ago—how he described Yoganand.

shakti9 said:Do you think you were actually tapping into that "collective consciousness" during that moment?
It feels like that's exactly how Yoganand described it back in his autobiography. I remember reading something similar a long time ago.

I honestly think I was. What did Yoganand say about it exactly? That it was collective consciousness?

Greetings, everyone!
This fascinating topic caught my eye, prompting me to step forward and contribute my own thoughts to the conversation. Spiritual experiences? They certainly exist, and they are profoundly different from our physical encounters with the world. To my mind, they encompass everything that isn't merely a product of our intellect, our senses, or our physical bodies—those elusive moments we can never quite define, yet which we feel with absolute clarity.
These spiritual encounters manifest in various ways; we have already discussed examples ranging from astral projection and vivid dreams to metaphysical insights and even certain feminine energies. However, there is a singular common thread weaving through all of them: they serve as a gateway to self-awareness. The depth of these experiences directly dictates the intensity of the transformation within ourselves, because in any such moment, at least one facet of our being becomes illuminated. That is where the true value lies. If an experience results in us leading a more honest, more fulfilled life, then it has truly been a spiritual one.
But what, fundamentally, constitutes a spiritual experience? As the name implies, it is an encounter with the spirit within us—a direct touch of our very essence, a brush with our true authenticity. Because of this unique nature, no two spiritual experiences are ever identical.
As for the experience that changed me? It was an experience of pure self-awareness. Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it didn't actually change me, but rather revealed to me the parts of myself that remain unchangeable.
Regarding the concept of spirit versus matter, I agree that it is a term born of dualistic consciousness, but there is a massive difference between accepting that as a theoretical truth and actually living through it as a lived experience.