Soul Games

[iowan woman]

Soulforce Gang,

I am not trying to make a religious statement with this thread, only post my experience as a way of sharing and opening up a dialogue.

Sometimes I find myself having the most exciting adventures as my body sleeps. I have noted this all my life but it was not until I learned how to mediate almost three years ago that I understood I was having out of body experiences. As a teen until I learned meditation I would fight this if it occurred on the cusp of sleep - I thought I was dying. AS a child I had out of body experiences that began with me rolling summersaults out of my body. Those were very frightening as they were accompanied by visions that I remember to this day, almost 40 years later.

I am a mystic (whatever that means, I don't put much stock in it as it relates to me) but I don't think that my experience is unusual; I think lots of people are aware that their soul stretches out of their body as their body sleeps.

Last night I had the most amazing out of body adventure, the second time this has happened that I remember. I was on my knees before bed in agony to G-D for things going on in my life, for things I am not facing down yet...while nothing in my life has changed, G-D later tickled my soul while my body was at rest:

Last night during an out of body, I was aware I was waiting for a friend, whoever that might be, and...I can't convey this the way it happened but - G-D began pulling my soul in wild zips across the location where I was waiting for my friend. I began laughing uncontrollably; I could actually feel the pull, up and down and back and forth, like a mother/father tossing a beloved child.
My friend arrived and did not notice anything odd because as souls we can move like that but I said: don't you see, I'm not doing this! and then my friend understood and had a good laugh as I went flying back and forth.

When I got up to use the restroom I lay back in bed, very happy and almost afraid to go back to sleep because I could still feel the very strong pull of G-D on my soul.

[andrewlittle]

Originally Posted by iowan woman

Soulforce Gang,

I am not trying to make a religious statement with this thread, only post my experience as a way of sharing and opening up a dialogue.

Maybe you're not trying to make a religious statement, but you are indeed making a spiritual one. And, judging by most reactions to other spiritual statements on this site, I can't imagine anyone objecting, anyway.

I have no personal experience with which to process what you have stated, which is some ways makes me envious. I don't even remember my dreams - having learned to block them when very young in order to stop the trauma of repetitive nightmares.

My mother, however, despite consistent attempts to deny it, is also a mystic. So the concept of mysticism is neither foriegn nor problematic for me. There have been mystics within and outside of the church throughout history - some have been regaled and some ostracized. I find nothing within my beliefs or religious tradition with which to judge - so I choose to accept, instead.

I think G-D can and does use means to communicate and mobilize us that many of us cannot - or choose not to - understand. I would love to hear what these experiences mean to you in the deeper spiritual sense - although having your soul tickled by G-D, in and of itself, is really a very deep experience. The image you portrayed of feeling like a beloved child tossed by a loving parent is, in the least, wonderfully affirming. I hope you hold on tight to that memory, if nothing else.

[scott snedeker]

Originally Posted by iowan woman

Soulforce Gang,

I am not trying to make a religious statement with this thread, only post my experience as a way of sharing and opening up a dialogue.

Sometimes I find myself having the most exciting adventures as my body sleeps. I have noted this all my life but it was not until I learned how to mediate almost three years ago that I understood I was having out of body experiences. As a teen until I learned meditation I would fight this if it occurred on the cusp of sleep - I thought I was dying. AS a child I had out of body experiences that began with me rolling summersaults out of my body. Those were very frightening as they were accompanied by visions that I remember to this day, almost 40 years later.

I am a mystic (whatever that means, I don't put much stock in it as it relates to me) but I don't think that my experience is unusual; I think lots of people are aware that their soul stretches out of their body as their body sleeps.

Last night I had the most amazing out of body adventure, the second time this has happened that I remember. I was on my knees before bed in agony to G-D for things going on in my life, for things I am not facing down yet...while nothing in my life has changed, G-D later tickled my soul while my body was at rest:

Last night during an out of body, I was aware I was waiting for a friend, whoever that might be, and...I can't convey this the way it happened but - G-D began pulling my soul in wild zips across the location where I was waiting for my friend. I began laughing uncontrollably; I could actually feel the pull, up and down and back and forth, like a mother/father tossing a beloved child.
My friend arrived and did not notice anything odd because as souls we can move like that but I said: don't you see, I'm not doing this! and then my friend understood and had a good laugh as I went flying back and forth.

When I got up to use the restroom I lay back in bed, very happy and almost afraid to go back to sleep because I could still feel the very strong pull of G-D on my soul.

By definition, it was G-D as you put it.

No doubt, because your belief in G-D is (to you), the reality of Her existence.

You just allowed in a little of how much She cherishes you!

And More is coming!

[paul]

Hi Iowa,

Though I cannot substantiate it, I have considered that we might indeed go on adventures while we sleep. There was a time in my life when I tried, not to hard, to do that while awake.

There are a few bible scriptures that have always intrigued me because they allude to the spirit leaving the body:

Ecclesiastes 12:6 (gotta read the whole chapter for context)

"Or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern"

The scripture is talking about death. Some who believe they leave their bodies consciously speak of a "cord" that connects their spirit to their body. That "cord" is "broken" at death. If that is what the author is refering to, I think it's kind of curious that the author knew of such things. How?

Colossians 2:5
[I]"For though I be absent in the flesh, yet I am with you in the spirit..."[I]

That one seems pretty straight forward to me. Why couldn't the author have meant this quite literally?

Then the following one sounds a bit like what you describe of being "pulled."

II Corinthians 12:2, 3

"I knew a man...(whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knows) such an one caught up to the third heaven."

I have never heard these things discussed much in Christian circles.

[iowan woman]

Andy,

You wrote that you learned to block your dreams. I think kids who have a call, as you obviously did, have heightened sensitivity. My boy used to dream about the world ending; some of his nightmares correlated to things around him but some of it stemmed, I think, to his love of this planet.
We are a world in trouble. I was aware of that on some level before I was very far into grade school.
When we are kids we are closer to our eternal souls.

You asked what being a mystic means to me. I don’t know; it is not a call I chose. I am a traditional mystic I think. I get very angry with G-D, I would rather be a woman who got to sit on a fence every day and look out over an Iowan field, four seasons of the year. I want normal things I don't have and maybe never will.
I think part of my call is to tell, which is painful but healing.

I talk to G-D and know that G-D is there. Something miraculous happened to me when I was given a first level transfer of Reike, an ancient Buddhist method of natural healing that a Dr. Usui was gifted access to through a vision after a life spent in search. There are church groups using this natural method to minister to their communities. If I wrote about what happened to me you would think I am a nut, so I will hold back. I have never heard of anyone like me. My soul awakening, I can say now looking back, was very comical.

Being a mystic, at this point in my walk, is very lonely. It is about healing, beginning with my own. I guess I have been collecting my experience. I have a very strong soul call to advocate for gay equality in marriage, adoption, etc.; I have felt that for more than 20 years but my life never supported my desire to be active. I know I have a call to advocate for the healing of three traditions whose wars are destroying the world. This call spans my life, experience has deepened it and given me a right to speak. Maybe someday.

I am very uneducated, my undergraduate degree is missing a paper and a one hour filler. I studied English and History. I come at what I learn as if a student of literature; I look for the mystery that is revealed and do not take it all literally, though my mystical experiences in the early stages of my awakening convinced me that the Bible stories are based on fact.

I contradict myself constantly - other than knowing some certain facts (about human dignity, worth, etc.) I am open to always learning something new and being mostly wrong (but about human worth, dignity, etc.).

I don't think that G-D is done talking to us humans.

What do you mean, your mother is a mystic?


Scotty,

I hope more G-D tickling is coming. Thank you for your post. Was it a He or a She? I don't know, all I know is: It wuz the boss of me.

smiles



Paul,

I have heard about the silver cord. I don’t know many of the details or the theory around out of body. Mostly when I meditate I am aware that my spirit is moving, I feel soothed, but I don’t normally have any big event. I have visions sometimes; I often don’t understand what they mean until time passes or not at all. I just write them into my journal.
Sometimes they just mark my way.
The experience of visions comes after the meditative state is reached. The writers of the Bible often talk about visions. Some of my visions have come to me out of body. I don’t remember hearing much about any of this in any of the many churches I attended, but I know it is an ancient tradition that is universal.

And it is very good for your health, unless you are a mystic.

I look at this quote by Rumi differently that I did at the beginning of my walk:

They fall
and falling
they are caught.

[andrewlittle]

Originally Posted by iowan woman

I don't think that G-D is done talking to us humans.

What do you mean, your mother is a mystic?

Well, now, I won't be able to do justice to my mother's understanding of herself and her relationship to God and the universe, but I will attempt a little of what I can understand.

My mother has always longed to be "normal", despite the fact that normalcy bores her to tears. In her words as best as I can remember, she says that she feels as if there is a breach within her between the purely physical and the invisible/unknown/spiritual universe, between rational thought and spiritual revelation, between the comfortable compartments of "real" world and the world of faith.

My mother is deeply intuitive, and dreams in vivid detail. She feels people and things in very intense, intimate ways. She is deeply affected by the psyches of others.

In her later years, after suffering debilitating bouts of depression - usually associated with periods of denial - she has intently studied the Kabbalah and Eastern mysticisms, despite being deeply faithful to her Christian background.

There's not much else at this point that I can put into words, since it's not my experience per se, other than to say that my mother is a lover of all human life who seems to bear a heavy burden for her love, but loves none-the-less because she can do nothing else.

Probably doesn't make much sense - coming from a Calvinist.

[iowan woman]

Andy,

Your description of your mother reminds me of something I read recently about the mystic feeling G-D's pain, which I relate to. It does make you very depressed. Being a mystic is a call that is too deep to avoid but is not really one that anyone should look for.

There is a difference between what I dream and when I have visions, and my visions are almost three-dimensional. I wonder if she knows that experience. I also sometimes get a birds eye view that zooms into a location. The colors are crisp.

I have to run get my laundry.

I wish I knew your mom.

[iowan woman]

I read recently in a skim through a book that a mystic is traditionally taken out of the world (retreats) for a period of several years and then moves back into it with a purpose. I had my soul awakening in 2005.

I am scared. I am getting ready to do something very hard, that is why I am in agony and maybe why G-D tickled my soul.

I will need your support. I hope you all will be there for me as I wait to see what happens.

[andrewlittle]

Originally Posted by iowan woman

I read recently in a skim through a book that a mystic is traditionally taken out of the world (retreats) for a period of several years and then moves back into it with a purpose. I had my soul awakening in 2005.

I am scared. I am getting ready to do something very hard, that is why I am in agony and maybe why G-D tickled my soul.

I will need your support. I hope you all will be there for me as I wait to see what happens.

You have mine. I will PM my email address to you. I check it regularly during the day. Should you need support, and there aren't people on the site at the right time, email me. I will do my utmost to respond quickly.