What is a Spiritually Transformative Experience?

Examples of Mystical Experiences from the Bible and Today

Having a Mystical Experience is often the way we first become aware of the Enchanted Cosmos. Mystical experiences are also sometimes called “Spiritually Transformative Experiences,” (STE) and they can take many forms. They are transcendent events where we touch a greater reality. They can happen intentionally, through such mediums as meditation, drugs, or religious practices. They can happen unintentionally, through such things as dreams, moments of relaxation, or periods of crisis. While I prefer the name “mystical experience,” I use the term “STE” as well. If one believes as a Christian does, as I outlined last week, that our consciousness exists separately from our body, that there are other dimensions to reality, and that there are non-physical beings who inhabit these dimensions, mystical experiences should be considered normative.

Mystical experiences are unlike most experiences in that we return from them changed. The American Center for the Integration of Spiritually Transformative Experiences (ACISTE) writes, “An experience is spiritually transformative when it causes people to perceive themselves and the world profoundly differently: by expanding the individual’s identity, augmenting their sensitivities, and thereby altering their values, priorities and appreciation of the purpose of life.” Experiencers find they must reassess their sense of reality which, depending on the experience, can then impact their marriages, their professions, and more. Sometimes experiencers return with new psychic gifts which they need to understand and manage. In fact, there is often the need for a period of integration of the experience, to make sense of it after the fact. Integration can last for years. In the short term, STEs can be stressful. In the long term, they are seen as gifts.

As a priest I am privileged to hear sacred stories from people in church. As soon as I make it known in a parish that I am open to such experiences, numerous people sidle up to me and quietly let me know about some extraordinary event they’ve experienced. Usually, they have never shared it with anyone outside of their immediate family, and sometimes not even that. They fear being seen as weird or crazy. Fortunately for me, they are open to speaking to a priest, but only if I let them know ahead of time that I am a safe, supportive, and confidential listener. Our pews are filled with such people.

There are many different types of STEs, or mystical experiences. Some examples include:

After-Death Communication (ADC)

This is the most common type of mystical experience. It can be as simple as suddenly and inexplicable smelling your deceased grandmother’s perfume and feeling her love. Or you are thinking about your deceased father, and just then his favorite song comes on the radio. You sense he is reaching out to you. Or it could be a vision with a message. Or it could be hearing a deceased loved one’s voice. Or a vivid dream one night of your deceased loved-one communicating with you. There are endless versions of this type of STE. Love continues after death. We continue to love people and they continue to love us in return, even those who are no longer in their physical bodies. There are numerous ways for them to communicate with us and share that love across the veil.

For a scriptural example of a deceased person communicating with a living being, here a deceased spirit appears to Job, asking questions.

“A spirit glided past my face; the hair of my flesh bristled.

It stood still, but I could not discern its appearance.

A form was before my eyes; there was silence, then I heard a voice:

‘Can mortals be righteous before God?

Can human beings be pure before their Maker?” - Job 4:15-17

In this next passage, John tells faithful Christians that spirits will appear to us. Not only that there are different kinds of spirits, but that spirit encounters are natural and expected.

“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God.” - 1 John 4:1

Here the long-dead Moses speaks to the living Jesus at the Transfiguration.

“And Jesus was transfigured before them… Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him.” - Matthew 17:2a, 3

Divine Entities Encounters (DEE)

This is when one has an encounter with a Divine Entity, perhaps an angel, an arch-angel, a saint, Jesus, God, the Holy Spirit, or others. They may come to us in a dream or in waking reality, usually to share important information.

In this next passage the child Samuel is serving in the Temple when God speaks to him. God tells him important news to share with Eli. We later learn that God continues to speak to Samuel throughout his life, and as a result he becomes a great prophet.

“Samuel was lying down in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was. Then the Lord called, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ … and Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening. Then the Lord said to Samuel, ‘See, I am about to do something in Israel that will make both ears of anyone who hears of it tingle.’”- 1 Samuel 3:3b, 4a, 10b, 11

Here the Angel Gabriel appears to Mary to tell her that she will bear a son and he will be called Son of God.

“In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.” - Luke 1:26-27

Earlier in his life Paul was a Pharisee, seeking to kill Christians, when he has this encounter with the post-ascension Jesus. As a result of this mystical experience, this conversation, and several other events, Paul completely changes course, becoming a Christian himself, and spending the rest of his life proclaim the message of Jesus.

“I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and my companions. When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’… I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The Lord answered, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.’” - Acts 26:13b-14a, 15

Nearing-Death Awareness Experiences (NDA)

This is when one has an encounter with the transcendent realm as one is approaching death. For instance, when my grandmother lay on her deathbed, the day before she died, she looked up at a corner of the room with joy on her face and said, “Look at the angels! Don’t you see the angels?” Other people nearing death have been reported as seeing their parents coming to get them, or friends, or Jesus, or they smell roses, or hear music, or they see a different realm open up on the other side of the room. This is very comforting to those about to die.

In this passage, Stephen is attacked by an angry mob, but just before he dies, he has a vision of God and Jesus in the heavens. He is comforted by what he knows is waiting for him after the stoning.

“They became enraged and ground their teeth at Stephen… ‘Look,’ Stephen said, ‘I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!’ But they… dragged him out of the city and began to stone him… [and] he died.” - Acts 7:54b, 56, 58a, 60b

Near-Death Experiences (NDE)

Contrary to the title, this usually happens when one actually dies. It happens after physical death, when a deceased person is then brought back to physical life seconds or minutes later. If they are brain-dead in a coma, it could be days. But during the time that they are dead, these people have a brilliant encounter with a transcendent realm. This is called an NDE. Usually, the encounter is very positive. Occasionally it is not, although the quality of their life in this realm is not what determines that. A common NDE experience will include traveling through a tunnel, meeting other deceased loved ones, meeting divine entities, having a life-review, and much more. Then they are told it is not their time and they must go back, or they are given a choice as to whether or not to return to physical reality. Time does not exist in this other realm, so the duration of the event is not related to the amount of time they are dead.

Out-of-Body Experiences (OBE)

This is when our consciousness separates from our physical body, and travels at will through time and space, including encountering other conscious entities. While we walk around on earth, our body and our sense of self seem to be one thing, but in reality, they are two. Our soul, our consciousness, is a separate thing from our physical body, although they are intimately connected. During sleep and at death, however, the two separate from each other. An OBE can be either voluntary (astral projection) or involuntary (as in sleep or death).

Here St. Paul is speaking about himself having a spiritual experience which involves being out of his body. Or at least it seems that way to him, but he hesitates to state it outright. He appears to have had an OBE.

“I know a person in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven – whether in the body or out of the body I do not know; God knows.” - 2 Corinthians 12:2

We know from this next passage that Jesus was nowhere near the fig tree; he was a long way off. Nor could Jesus have known anything about it, nor anything about Nathanael, yet he speaks as if he had been present not only for the fig tree encounter, but for all of Nathanael’s life. Jesus says, “I saw you.” And Nathanael is obviously blown away at what Jesus knows. Being physically present at one location, while having your consciousness present at another location, is a hallmark of an OBE.

“When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, ‘Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!’ Nathanael asked him, ‘Where did you get to know me? Jesus answered ‘I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.’ Nathanael replied, ‘Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!’ Jesus answered, ‘Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree? You will greater things than these.’” - John 1:47-48

Shared-Death Experiences (SDE)

This is when those who are present at the death of another, go through the transcendent death process together with the one who is dying. They may remain in their body, but see many of the same things as the one who is actively dying. Or their consciousness may separate from their body and they themselves, along with the dying person, will experience the tunnel, see other deceased loved ones, or even receive the life review of the one who is dying. Eventually their consciousness returns back to their body, while the one who is dying completes the death process.

Unitive Experiences

From the organization Spiritual Awakenings International, a unitive experience is described as “A feeling of union, communion, or direct connection with God, the Divine, the universal consciousness, or with the universal life force; a feeling of one-ness; an experience of merging into the oneness of all things; a feeling that ones self is united with the entire universe, or connected with all creation; sometimes a feeling of unity and merging with another person, a scene in nature, or with our planet.”

In this passage from John, Jesus articulates the unitive experience for which we all are destined. Oneness is the goal.

“On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.” – John 14:20

In this passage, Paul shares his unitive understanding of the truth of Christ, a description which seems to be more than simply an intellectual description, but comes from the heartfelt poetry of personal experience.

“for in Christ all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” – Colossians 1:16-17

In this passage, the prophet Elijah comes to experience and know God, not through verbal communication, nor through the physical manifestations of earthquakes or wind, but in the oneness and emptiness beyond all, a sound of sheer silence.

“Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind, and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake, and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire, and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.” – 1 Kings 19:11-12

Mystical Experiences are the portals to the Enchanted Cosmos. The Bible itself is written by people who’ve had such experiences and wish to share the truth and wisdom they have learned.

https://aciste.org/about-stes/what-is-a-spiritually-transformative-experience-ste/

https://spiritualawakeningsinternational.org/mystical-experiences/

All Scripture quotes are from the New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Image is from a painting of the Transfiguration by Giovanni Bellini, c. 1490