A place for individuals grounded in depth theory and academics to share non-rational experiences of the Divine or the imaginal realm. (Dreams and dreamwork should be shared in The Twilight Zone.)
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  • Something is different lately. I'm hopeful and, even, happy, seemingly for the first time in a decade. At around age 48 my life fell apart--both parents died, divorce, serious health issues, job loss . . . you name it, and it fell away, one after the other. It went on so long that I had come to believe that personality had changed at my core--I had transformed into a Sad Sack. Something has happened, though. Around early November of 2010 I turned a corner and seemed to come alive again in some very deep way. I think of it as numinous because it is so illogical. My outside circumstances are not substantively different, but I am seeing them through different eyes, eyes that are hopeful and vital. It's not just me. Several of my friends has commented that I'm just, well, different. This is the numinous in its every-day attire. I want to really take notice of how the numinous shows up in the ordinary.
  • Sitting by the fountain - three squirrels run by in a straight line and play that way in the garden. A fourth circles the three in a type of parallel play. Three became four - squirrel brings a reminder that for wholeness both work and play need to be balanced. My morning nudge from psyche.
  • Your soul vision persists, even as you try to describe it in words--pure poetry! How beautiful, Ed. Two things struck me as I stepped into your experience: It is like a waking dream--might you continue it by reentering it in an Active Imagination and engaging with different figures a la Aizenstadt's DreamTending or Jung's Red Book? Perhaps the electric piano and stained glass windows (or the front pew, or the empty church) would have further insight to offer about your destiny or life in general. Also, it struck me that the keys of a piano are black and white--if it were my waking dream, I might be curious about the symbolism, relevant to all the dramatic divisions that exist today (think: Republicans/Democrats, for example). Perhaps an offer to release these distinctions to glean the golden thread beneath. Just thoughts as I live vicariously off your experience. Thank you for sharing your intimate experience of the Divine--we all benefit.
  • I am meditating in an empty church, sitting on the front pew. I notice my reflection on the side of the black electric piano. My frame is backlit by light coming through the stained glass window behind me. Although I cannot see my features in the reflection, there is a warm invitation in the darkness within the lighted frame of head, shoulders, and chest. I feel invited to contemplate body, mind, spirit, and soul without the ego of eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hair, and skin. An affirmation is also felt in that the reflection is created as light and dark merge into form on the side of a piano, an instrument most powerful when it plays to and from the soul. I find peace and joy in the reflected form, and a sense of gratitude.
  • I would need to come back as my master - oops, my dog. :)
  • So you did!!! LOL! I still wouldn't mind being a dog... Come to think of it, there have been moments... Haha!
  • No, I didn't say I would return as a dog; I said I would return as the servant to my dog, Gabrielle!
  • Doreen and Ed, Yes, I agree that everything natural is filled with its own particular intelligence, as well as beauty, terror, dark, light... Human beings the most intelligent? I shudder to think... Ed, I had to stop for a moment and remember the pattern of Hummingbird flight...wow! You're right - I'd never noticed it before! I'm also taken with the sound...that deep fluttering, that I can now identify from such a great distance. Yes, fiercely independent, but Hummingbird taught me how to accept a hand up when it was offered. :) And, yes, we should all be so lucky to return as a beloved dog!
  • Gabrielle - my air animal is the hummingbird! Thank you for your love and blessings on the opening it offered to you. The hummingbird's wings form the infinity sign when it flies, and they are very independent creatures. You?? :)
  • Oh, my goodness, Gabrielle--As you spoke of Hummingbird's clear acknowledgment of your kindness, I was brought to tears. This and other such stories bring home to me that nature is very intelligent, even though our science only measures dimensions of human intelligence. Someone else has already said this on the site--I'm no longer sure that human beings are the smart creatures on the planet. Sometimes I have imagined that--if there is such a thing as reincarnation--I'll likely come back as the servant to my dog, Peaches!
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Honoring the Numinous in Everyday Living

Based on an unusual and compelling dream, I recently performed a ritual wherein I declared into the ether that I want my intuitive skills to fully integrate and be expressed within my very rationally-anchored life as a businesswoman. Toward that aim, a small action I took was to begin memorizing poems that have heart for me. Two months ago I began doing this on my twice-daily walks with my dog. Immediately, I noticed two things: 1) poems that wanted to be memorized seemed to pick me. That is, I…

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Have a numinous experience to share?

I have posted a few of my sacred experiences here before, but I'd like to share another now that may or may not be what many would call a numinous experience. I have not forgotten in in almost 40 years, because it was remarkable to me then. What would you call an experience like this?   The year was 1972, and I was 19 years old.  It was 4 o’clock on a Friday afternoon, and the radio DJ said it was 106 degrees when Margaret and I began the hour drive up the mountain. Summer classes at Fresno…

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Importance of Numinous Experience in the Alchemy of Individuation

In response to Laura Winzeler's comment about Murray Stein's article, entitled: “On the Importance of Numinous Experience in the Alchemy of Individuation,” I thought it would be cool to post the article here. Dr. Stein was kind enough to grant permission, so check it, below:   “On the Importance of Numinous Experience in the Alchemy of Individuation ” Murray Stein, Ph.D. In a letter to P.W. Martin (20 August 1945), the founder of the International Study Center of Applied Psychology in Oxted,…

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The Numinous and Addictions

(Sorry for the double post. I wanted to start a discussion and not add to the previous older thread)   I was inspired by something Ed K. posted in another thread last night about seeking the numinous in/through/because of/instead of our addictions (I paraphrase based on what I am working with) and went off on a google search ending up at a great article by Murray Stein. It's the first entry under "Articles". “On the Importance of Numinous Experience in the Alchemy of Individuation ” That's…

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