Mystical Experiencer: Man in his early sixties
Submission date: February 26, 2023
Current location: United States
Age at time of experience: 58
I woke up to use the restroom and when I went back to bed. I began falling asleep yet retained my consciousness (aka a lucid dream or beginning to drift into sleep). At this time, since I was already amid worshiping God, I surrendered my spirit to Him. I felt my soul’s physical departure from my body. I sensed being lifted out of my bed, upward then into a void blackness.
This out of body experience was accompanied by a sense of full surrender and trust in God. When I should have feared the absolute void, I gave my full trust to God. A vision began to form and slowly I found myself floating near the ceiling of a large cathedral. A priest was consecrating the Holy eucharist and a choir which was not visible to me was praising God, singing “How Great Thou Art”. As I joined the choir, I felt a unity with God that I never felt before. What I felt was an infinite sense of love and oneness with God. It was as if I was a single atom but felt the immensity and power (expressed as love) of an infinite sun. When I say infinite, I truly mean I could not put a measure to this – it was expansive, overwhelming yet I felt I was completely at home. I was infused and saturated with God’s love and wonder. While as I experienced this all the answers in the universe were known, yet now it’s impossible to impact a fair facsimile of what actually took place.
There are no human words to impart how I felt. At the same time, I received some infusion of knowledge but not in a rational sense. I learned that God’s love and mercy is infinite in depth and time and for my soul too understood that it has loved God and been love forever as well. I praised God throughout this experience and could have continued doing so forever. But then my vision dissipated slowly, and I became fully conscious. This was a glimpse into I think the 4th or 5th mansion as described by St Theresa of Avila. A glimpse of heaven. Truly a gift I will never forget, but also a slight foretaste of what I hope will greet my soul and when I die. I want to stress that this was a gift following an invitation. Had I not entrusted my soul to God, I would have awoken. But I did and I received an infusion of grace I could never earn on my own merit. I will say I understand God’s presence cannot be fathomed with our human minds and it’s no wonder people who have passed on temporarily don’t want to return. It’s as if you are blind then given a view of the sunrise over the ocean – then your sight is taken away. Our physical bodies are so limited in this way. This was a “red pill” awakening.