There is one particular state of consciousness that can change your life forever.
This moment can only be described as “ecstatic” in that you experience your connection to life expand significantly. In this moment you feel that life is full of beauty and sacredness, but this feeling and phenomenon is somehow objective and outside of your individual self. Theologian Rudolf Otto called this experience “numinosum.” But in this article we’ll refer to it as the mystical experience.
All throughout history, the mystical experience has been referred to as a “religious” or spiritual experience, where the few mystics that recorded their experiences reported it as a rapturous and undifferentiated sense of joyful unity with all of existence.
In a previous article I wrote about the experience of “Kenosis,” a word coined by Christian mystics to describe the state of “divine flowing,” and this closely mimics what it is like to have a mystical experience. In psychology the closest term that captures this mysterious state of being is Abraham Maslow’s description of “Peak Experiences,” and in nature-orientated cultures like the Australian Aborigines, mystical experiences have been called “Dadirri.”
The Candle in the Dark
The best way to describe a mystical experience might be with an allegory. The ancient Hindu tradition of Advaita Vedanta has an interesting one:
Imagine that you are in a completely dark room. You’ve been told that in this room lives a very large snake. As you sit in the room, you can see its silhouette and you feel great fear as you contemplate the potential for it to bite you at any moment. But one day there is a flash of light which illuminates the room and you see that what looked like a snake is in reality a rope. Although the flash of light was momentary, it gave you a glimpse of the truth. All of a sudden your long-held fear vanished entirely, and your experience in the room was never the same ever again.
This is what a mystical experience feels like: it is like a flash of truth that releases you from your limited sense of self and gives you a taste of a reality that somehow feels more real.
Plato recounts that Socrates had a similar allegory regarding the mystical experience: Suppose that you’ve been kept chained in a cave all your life. Behind you blazes a fire, and next to you sits a row of other prisoners. All that you and the prisoners know of life is the experience of watching the shadows dancing on the opposite wall to you, and the shared interpretations of what you see. However, by chance one day, one of the prisoner’s chains breaks and he escapes into the outside world. At first he is confused, overwhelmed, scared, but he also feels an immense sense of expansion, awe and bliss. He is aware that he is experiencing a larger, more complete and absorbing reality than what he could see within the cave; a hole in the hillside. His natural instinct is to return to liberate his fellow men, but after struggling back into the world of darkness and shadows his attempt to enlighten his companions is met with ridicule and incredulity as they accuse him of being crazy.
To some degree, we are all prisoners in the cave of our past experiences. Any worldview becomes a cave the moment it is taken for reality.
9 Characteristics of the Mystical Experience
Every person’s mystical experience varies in length and intensity. Have you had a mystical experience? Here are a few defining characteristics:
1. Conscious Unity
The boundaries of where you perceive your individual consciousness and identity (ego) to begin and end vanish. Instead you’re left with a boundless and infinite union with all that is around you.
2. There Is No Time or Space
With a lack of a definable identity or spatial recognition, your sense of time feels infinite. You go from perceiving time from moment-to-moment as a static individual, to perceiving it as a stream of eternal present moments.
Without time space is endless.
Because your sense of identity is gone, your ability to separate “your” (now non-existent) surroundings into individual “spatial” elements also disappears.
3. Objective Reality
Without a discernible identity comes a sense of greater “objectivity” as though you’re experiencing a much more intricate and profound reality. Everything doesn’t just feel perfect, everything “is” innately perfect.
4. Gratitude
Much of your ecstatic feeling comes from an immense sense of gratitude. This gratitude is an overwhelming sense of awe at “your” (now non-existent) insignificance in comparison to the vastness of existence.
5. Life Is Seen As Sacred
In fact, your sense of gratitude is so vast that you feel almost undeserving of having the opportunity to experience such a miracle. You develop a new sense of respect for the sacredness of life that allows you to be here.
6. You Understand Paradox
Our sense of self or identity creates duality in our perception of reality (“I” am separate from “That”). However, the moment this separation disappears, you’re left with a non-dual reality which your intellect finds paradoxical in comparison to what it is accustomed to.
7. The Experience Is Indescribable
The overwhelming magnitude of emotions and intuitive understanding you embody makes the attempt to even describe it feel limited by language and insulting to the depth of the experience.
8. The Experience Is Temporary
The very nature of a mystical experience is its transience. Eventually you end up returning back to your habitual way of life, but the experience changes something deep inside.
9. The Experience Is Life-Changing
After experiencing such a state, suddenly death isn’t as scary as it used to be, and the beliefs or ambitions that you once held to be so important immediately lose their meaning. In fact, the mystical experience often awakens a thirst to try to bring as much of that experience back into our regular day-to-day lives as possible.
The Mystical Experience Is Only A Taste
There’s a useful term in the Christian doctrine known as “Grace.” This word basically means that we receive mercy and love from the divine because it wants us to have it, not because we have done anything to deserve it.
Many people confuse having a mystical/spiritual experience with actually cultivating a spiritual life. To me, however, these experiences are brought by grace, but our appreciation of them is directly proportionate to our development of soulful maturity.
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If the grace of a mystical experience is given to a 10 year old child, they will no doubt feel the experience but the degree in which they experience it will vary compared to someone who has undergone maturation; the deep exploration of their psyche, and who has learned to live life from the seat of their soul.
For the child it will be a great experience that will eventually fade and become a distant memory. But for the man who has dedicated his life to cultivating soulful maturity; to tilling the soil of his soul, this experience becomes the seed that is prepared to blossom. This might be the very tipping point that leads to the ultimate spiritual awakening.
This is precisely why I emphasize so much the necessity of soulwork and the journey of soulful maturity. Without widening the gap through which we connect to Soul, the mystical experience has no deep long-lasting impact on us. But with it, we taste the fragrance and essence of eternity.
I always hear #”2 there is no time and space” and use to just beat my brain to connect that. I literally smacked my forehead just this moment-IGET IT! OMG I FINALLY GET THIS MEANING! Ah! Thank you so much!
I was drawn ito this website all because I was searching for an explaination of what happened to me a few weeks back. I had a terrifying encounter with my shadow self. It lasted for 3 days. I am deeply curious about what happened because i really cannot explain it. It happened during the supermoon. I was visited by an entity and it was playing with my emotions. Some say I had a gift of sensitivity towards energy beings, the only problem was that I wasnt emotionally mature enough since I had a lot of things bottled in. Thats why when I finally opened my 3rd eye and became awakened that thing attacked me. The whole situation was similar to what happened to jesus christ in the desert when he was being tempted. I prayed to God the almighty one for guidance and he answered me through vibrations.. he told me and instructed me on what to do and he delivered me from that entity that was attacking me spiritually. It was a life changing event, i see the world so much different now.. I needed guidance, but there is no one I can talk to about this that could really understand so I’m just gonna post this right here hoping someone might have a similar experience. I really thought I was going crazy but my girlfriend witnessed everything, and she said i wasn’t crazy at all, because she felt the entity as well. Before this all happened, I found a feather on my bed it was colored black and white if that means anything, i looked it up and it means “spiritual initiation”. The whole thing was an emotional roller coaster, i was unloading all emotional baggage in one night.. i really hope someone could enlighten me on what happened. It was an encounter with my shadow self both meditated by 2 beings one of low vibration and one with a high vibration. I can feel them. I’m a christian and my girlfriend is hindu, but i’m more of a free thinker since i believe all religions are basically the same just different methods on how to reach enlightenment. Anyway, if anyone is reading this and could offer some opinion, i would really much appreciate it since i am so really curios as to what happened to me. I really feel like a different person now, just like that in 3days.
I donno if to be happy or sad. I donno if it’s happening with me for what reason. But I’m going down and down and down. I think I’m regressing. I’m confused. I’m in traumatic mind. I can’t even explain. It’s like being helpless and crying, getting myself failed. I want to be a doctor but due to all this I can’t concentrate. I’m failed once giving the entrance exam. I’m trying again for it. I just want to do it. But this uncontrollable energy is ripping my head, my brain, my heart apart. I feel helpless. It’s like knowing all my enormous potential and doing nothing. My brain gets hang. I always loved spirituality and tried for kundalini awakening last year. This was for I thought it would increase my energy and concentration. When it didn’t (meditation) give result, I left it and concentrated on only studies. But when I failed, I lost my faith on me and from God. While the starting of next trial, I changed myself as the previous me wasn’t giving me benefits. From the last 3 years, I kept on experimenting on my self. I kept on filtering from good to bad then again good … Again bad. I thought I was evolving. But I donno what was I doing with my self. I think my feeling to be better day by day is killing me. I think I can’t live in satisfaction. I , from my childhood, am very highly ambitious. But I was lazy like everyone else. But my unending will to change myself is decreasing my abilities. Now last August 2016 , I was sleeping in my hostel. My roommate was home. N in midnight, I felt this intense energy blast out of my body . I thought it was dream. And told, cried on me to get up from such nightmare. I thought I would get in pieces. I saw the blast in the shape of eagle which centered on my bed. I got faint. I thought it was ghost. Help me!!!! Please I , can’t be a failure. I alwayz wanted to be a good person. Always wanted to sacrifice my life for the sake of India and world. I wanted to explore my spirituality. But now I just feel guilty of not going towards my dreams, my goals. That night I felt that I was going to burst. The next morning I got faint while doing Yoga. I was afraid . I thought I’m gonna be a psycho. I forgot to tell you that from my last 2 years, I wanted to be A Psychiatrist. But now I feel like. Crazy. I can’t see my ambitions clear. I can’t study, can’t concentrate. From my childhood, I used to think I am the source of energy to this world. I’m the one due to which this world works. I always felt an intense faith on my spirit. I feel so extraordinary that I can’t control the powers. Plzz help me or I’ll ruin myself, I’ll burn myself with my energy. Plzz don’t let me die of my energy. My whole body and eyes Burns. My body aches for no reason. Please show me path. I can’t concentrate. I feel like top the exams, I was an intelligent student. But from my last failure. All these things happening with me. This is not depression. I just … Help me.
Anyone.. plzz.. it’s where u can help.
If you are thinking that I maybe immature n not trying to keep calm. Then u didn’t get me. Cuz I’m trying to keep myself calm n concentrated from last 4 months. Each n every second, I tell myself that I need to be calm. I take deep breaths. I try to listen to my inner voice. I long for more breaths cuz I think I will suffocate. No Im not depressed cuz I feel happiness too. My most of the friends think I’m jolly which I am. I am funloving, I’m always bouncing. By inside.. I don’t know what hurricane is going. Ot will kill me. Is it my overthinking (which I know is not overthinking) or God!! I don’t know what to tell.
theriseofdarksoul@gmail.com
Thankyou as always for taking the time to write such an enlightening piece. I read this article 3 days ago. I had what I believe to be such an experience yesterday at work. It wasn’t quite as profound as others I’ve had but it still brought a smile to my face.
I was walking around the restaurant I work at with nothing to do but ponder and listen for anything my soul might be trying to tell me. Yesterday in particular I was wrestling around with the concept of how everything that is is everything that is and how every tiny molecule is in actuality all of existence. I pondered on how I myself could be everything that is known and unknown and yet know so little about even just what is known.
I found myself seeing myself standing in the room of the building I was in. I was in that room, of that building, on that street, of that block, of that town, of that city, of that state, of that country, of that continent, of that planet, in that solar system, in that galaxy, in that universe, in that reality. And then all at once I found myself looking back through eyes that for a split second didn’t feel like my own. It was like staring down the end of a telescope painstakingly for hours just to catch a rough glimpse of something so far away. Even that is not a suitable analogy but it is the best I have to offer when it comes to putting experiences of the soul into every day words.
I thought to myself in a voice not my own but not someone else that this was how it must be for creation to concentrate on a single aspect of itself for even the tiniest of moments. Or something like that. Can’t really describe that either. The feeling it gave me could only be described as bliss.
As always thanks for listening.
Maybe its just me, but funny enough even with people who may look at you as being crazy for even conceding you experienced something being the mundane, such experiences causes you to have pity for the paradoxical or at times fatal nature of mankind.I’ve always found myself, experiencing dark moments and then a powerful light pervades my being to remind me, there’s something more powerful in and outside of me, we see our being as spirit, soul and body, but one esotericist says another way of looking at it, I’m paraphrasing, ‘its the body in the psyche, and the psyche in the spirit, the psychic is to do with the experience and the spiritual/pneumatic is about the experiencer, so what I guess I’m saying is that the spirit isn’t some deeply hidden entity in us but we’re conditioned to think so, the spirit encapsulate all life within it but the centre of the spirit is our direct link to that higher sense of being which is hidden, that’s the challenge to either enhance the link or further dig deeply to discover what lies there, UNITY IS THE POINT, BUT DUALITY IS ALSO A NEED TO SEE THAT POINT, DEEP STUFF SO IN A SENSE EVERYTHING IS PERFECT IN PROPORTION AS MUCH AS IT IS IMPERFECT, I have posted about my own mystical experiences before I think, but yes, there is a sense of not feeling the same person after experiencing it, it might sound crazy, but I do find the Sun communicates to me daily, not in words just feelings, we are given the greatest gifts in life but many of us take it for granted and get lost in the earth bound, gutteral trapped experience, I rarely have to read whole books, just these experiences are worth a thousand books, well in my opinion, Nice article Sol, keep up the good work.
My experience lasted two weeks. I can only describe it as total inner peace and tranquility. As it faded I feverishly search for what I did or was doing wrong to lose that. Only to find that I had done nothing wrong or right. But that I was blessed with this amazing experience to learn a most invaluable lesson of balance. If we are unbalanced toward the ego we become victims of ourselves. If we are unbalanced toward the soul/spirit we ignore the daily necessities of life. Once we learn to balance both ego and soul we will then be able to live in peaceful harmony. The life we are all meant to truly live:)
I had a similar experience in May 1988. I felt as though everything had fallen into place and that all was perfect. I called it the ‘Nirvana State’ as that was the nearest I could think of to describe it.
There must have been a great collective shift occurring during that time as that’s also the date I chose to come into this world.
These experiences mostly remind me of what happens when a person’s mind is broken down after undergoing a long campaign of psychological torture and subsequent brainwashing.
Brainwashing cannot be compared to mystical experiences as it’s attempting to make you believe in something that is not your own experience.
Psychological torture may resemble it in that it is attempting to create within you an altered state of consciousness, but it is doing so in a violent way for other motives than to experience an ego transcendence.
The interesting question here is, why did your mind so quickly take you into associating mystical states with psychological warfare and manipulation?
I was interested to hear why you thought whoever wrote whatever they wrote wrote what they wrote. Lol. While my best guess would be the ego taking an extreme approach to trying to maintain it’s absolute supremecy over anything or anyone threatening to shatter it’s illusion of dominance in the relationship between ego and soul, I can only gather this from the small response you gave as the comment has been deleted. Why would you say someone would make a leap like that? Just curious if you don’t mind sharing your thoughts on this.
Hi, Sol and everyone! I’ve only had about 4 mystical experiences of two different “types”. The first type happens in nature. It feels like my mind opens and becomes part of the sky and beyond. More of a mental thing. The second type is more of an emotional thing. The first time it was a godly peace that seemed to come to me from outside my body. The second time, it was the same feeling, but seemed to be radiating from a core in my chest. When I read the words above in bold concerning grace, I felt such a thankfulness. I appreciate your blog Sol! Thank you.
Great.
Those experiences are just too majestic and too beautiful to explain. I am truly happy to read comments and experiences from others here, thank you for reminding me that I am not alone.
But I still don’t know how to live my life side by side with other people (my family for example). it takes so much courage and perseverance to stay true to ourselves and live the solitary path.
Thank you for this article Sol, I’m looking forward to read the next :)
Hello I had this right now
“the beliefs or ambitions that you once held to be so important immediately lose their meaning. ”
But I’m scared because I feel am suffering from depression because the things I desire like before does not make me happy anymore. I tried looking inside of me what is wrong but seems like I have no motivation at all to do anything just read about any article at this website and stare at wall thinking nothing.. If this is a mystical experience then so be it but if not then what is the problem? is this what they call awakening? or maybe am going crazy? can you help
Merci
Hola Chiqui,
“Awakening” is the final stage of our journey, transcending our limited identities permanently and living in this mystical state. But what you’re experience is a ‘taste’ of awakening, or rather, the deconstruction process that occurs when we intuitively start heading toward that direction.
Many refer to this as the “Dark Night of the Soul”, the journey when everything loses its meaning and we find ourselves almost in a trance like state searching for this mystical union to embrace us again. We plan on expanding on this topic soon in the future.
Warmly,
Sol
Thank you Sol,, Would you know how long is this dark night of the soul> Did u experienced this as well?
I have experienced a Dark Night of the Soul and for me it lasted about 8 years although I have students in their 70’s who are still going through it after 50 years so it varies from person to person and also the soulful maturity intensity.
I am also feeling the same right now. I am in a point where I begin to question everything that has been taught to me… I feel like I am stuck, not knowing where to go or what to do next because none of those around me would understand what I am going through… I need help.
Hola Laarni,
Due to time limitations we can only keep our personal mentoring with our immediate students but our whole work on LonerWolf is dedicated to progressing through our spiritual journey and leaving the Dark Night of the Soul.
hi Sol! I am actually a subscriber of LonerWolf… Thank you for the weekly mails :) it’s a graet help just to know that there are people out there helping others like me… Keep it up Sol! Bless you always.
How did you know it had ended for you? The number 8 means “New Beginning”…good for YOU Sol…
1 is new beginnings
Hi Sol and Chiqui…I have (am experiencing) The Dark Knight of the Soul (I believe), where there is a “shifting” taking place, things lose their meaning, life appears dull and unfulfilling and there is little (if any) motivation at all. Now more than ever I sense and or feel “empty” and there is no identity of who I am, what I like, enjoy or love per se…My question is Sol, does this vast emptiness come as a result of The Dark Knight of the Soul or is it the next step so to speak in coming out or gettting to the other side to Awakening? I hope I’m making sense here, do you understand my question? From what I understand about being “empty” is when a person is “surrendered” and or has simply come to the END OF THEMSELVES (the false doctrines, beliefs, bad behaviours, generational proclivities and societal expectations, etc.)…Now that the fals/shadow self has been exhausted there is room for Spirit (LIGHT) to FILL the temple with new wine (consciensness)…I was raised in a Christian family and I believe Jesus died on the Cross and rose again on the 3rd day (to shed light on my terminology). The bible says “And no one puts new wine into old wine skin…” Luke 5:37. Sol, what are your thoughts…???
Hola Shaun,
Thank you for your question. Using your own Christian analogy to answer your query, the water is still turning into wine.
The emptiness and dark night come as a result of the falsities dying, everything that once was important to you is slowly losing its value and meaning. You’re becoming an empty slate waiting to be reconstructed.
The fact that you’ve chosen a Christian analogy for this experience shows there’s still a few stands left of your former beliefs, identity and self. At the end of the journey you will see that nothing ever dies; the way I describe it is similar to in shadow work.
When you stand in direct light, your ‘self’ will cast a shadow. But if you stand in the shade, the shadow is not there. This whole experience is learning how to stand in the middle, in the shade, where your shadow is there but it is not constantly present. Everything is still there, but now, you are observing from a place of complete liberation from the light and also the darkness.
Thank you Sol!
Having had the very very rare opportunity of experiencing 5 such events over my 53 years, so far, I can honestly sate that they have defined my existance.
What they have given me, as a negative, is a sense of isloation and separation that I do not believe others feel; butI would not have it any other way.
To sense the pause of time, unity of existance, beauty of the divine and the realization that we spend so much of our lives “half asleep”.
Yes, the mystical experiences that I have had the greatest honour to have bestowed on me have defined who I am.
Sol, yet again an excellent post
It’s a double edge sword isn’t it Andrew? To have a taste of something so wonderful but also to some extent, so unreachable to so many.
It’s purely by Grace the first times but from what I have learned it can be achieved and experienced more often and more frequently with the right inner work. It may be isolating to feel you’ve touched so deeply into existence but at least we know there’s others who are sharing our path :).
Sol, yes, and I will not do the original version of this saying justice, but ………
“Once you have sensed the freedom and beauty of the meadow, how can you return to the barn….”
When I walk alone sometimes I feel like God is seeing the things around me through my eyes. It is like I am taking a video of what is happening around me, all the beauty and pain the world has, and He is watching. Aftef having the experience, I continue to explore the depths of my soul. Thank you for writing this.
Thank you for sharing your experience Enaira.
So very true!! I’ve had such an experience. It was powerful. I felt so much omniscient joy and power, and unmistakable royalty and being. I felt grace, forgiveness, a sharing of my thoughts and comfort. I felt that blanket farther than I could ever see. As you say, everything became sacred and fresh. The visit lasted three days, because I had been going through a rough time after lots of loss and felt defeated and had been counting every little blessing I had. So he came and stayed just to be with me for those days, and told me to stop killing myself with my guilt. That none of it mattered, only my future mattered. As unfathonably huge as he was, he like my company. Don’t ask me how I know what he said or thought. I don’t know. I wandered if I was going through some kind of mental thing. But I slept well, I was logical. Any he left like a wind that slammed the door, My transition was not immediate. But my life has gradually gotten better one step at time since that experience. If it was an illusion, it still worked to save me from misery. This is why I believe in God. But after that experience – I just know things, not in a psychic way. More like I think we were all imprinted before birth with what is right and wrong and the natural order of thing. Perhaps, he just lit that up for me. I understand humble yet powerful he is. How quietly he inspires. I think that nature one with God. Everything around us is the the picture of the perfection of his natural being. I could go on. It is something that I will remember for the rest of my days quite clearly. That huge being that I felt and but couldn’t see but flooded me with so much joy, I felt like my head was wide open and I wept with happiness. I couldn’t help. This being was so big and powerful and positive – Pure. An Invisible spirit but was definitely matter there. Sometimes, he visits again for a minute. I just know how it feels, that same as I know how everyone else around me feels. Now parts of scripture gets pieced together in miraculous ways. It proves my experience. I’m am not a literal believer of the bible. But there are things in there that true, when it describes Gods ways. He is very merciful and a being that I can trust will not hurt me or be harsh because of my mistakes. I think he was happy that I recognized him and he liked my company. I think that God visits a lot of down and out people. I am not unique. There are miracles everywhere if we look. It sounds pretty far out, but that is what my experience was, and I have definitely grown since. Thanks Sol for your wonderful article!
It’s these moments of blissful ecstasy that does make you understand there’s an intelligent Spirit guiding everything all around us. Gracias Deb for your warm words :)
Thank you. :)