Adam - "Why wait till you die to be enlightened?"
09 06
Since '92 I've practiced Zen Buddhism and its sitting meditation. In the Summer of '96 I was part of an intensive meditation retreat. One night while meditating with the group, I slipped into a kind of meditative-sleep (for how long, I don't know) and awoke to find myself in the vast silence of emptiness (as we call it). No thoughts, and I could not feel my body, and couldn't tell if I was breathing (it was not an out-of-body exp. as it is generally known). Suddenly this Force, this Presence, appeared in front and above me! and descended upon me. And as It descended and for some time It covered me completely, hugged me, and nurtured me thoroughly. It was in and around me and I knew something inside was being changed, though I didn't know what. I remember feeling beyond pain & joy, feeling just utterly free & released. And then as my eyes looked up & across the meditation hall, laser beams of unbelievable energy flowed out of my eyes, so much so that I swore ! ! others in the room could feel it. The power was indescribable! Gradually the Presence disappeared.
For a good week afterward I barely slept because I was so energized. The Force was inside lingering just below the surface, and I could tap into it. I also had a greatly increased desire to deepen my spiritual training. This was a huge turning point in my life. I never was the same.
By the way, you might be interested to know that I shared this experience with my Zen teacher at the time. He said that his teacher (who died in 1971) sometimes comes to him while he is meditating. And his teacher will rest his hand on top of the head of my teacher.
These experiences (I call them initiations), and others, are not generally known outside the mystical traditions and their practitioners. But I thought you'd appreciate the thought that clinical, physical death is not necessarily required! There's a Zen saying, "Why wait till you die to be enlightened?"
For a good week afterward I barely slept because I was so energized. The Force was inside lingering just below the surface, and I could tap into it. I also had a greatly increased desire to deepen my spiritual training. This was a huge turning point in my life. I never was the same.
By the way, you might be interested to know that I shared this experience with my Zen teacher at the time. He said that his teacher (who died in 1971) sometimes comes to him while he is meditating. And his teacher will rest his hand on top of the head of my teacher.
These experiences (I call them initiations), and others, are not generally known outside the mystical traditions and their practitioners. But I thought you'd appreciate the thought that clinical, physical death is not necessarily required! There's a Zen saying, "Why wait till you die to be enlightened?"
