What does it mean to experience the Divine? That’s a very difficult question to answer. The experience of the Holy One is deeply personal. When the experience is new for someone, it can be confusing. But over time, it becomes familiar.
Spiritual writers over the ages have used various images and metaphors: a mansion with many rooms, an interior castle, a ladder that ascends, an inward journey, underground water, and an ever-flowing stream.
As someone whose spirituality has been formed and given shape by Christian metaphors, I’ve come to understand God from metaphors used by Jesus. Jesus described God as a father, a daddy, who would do anything he could to assure that his sons knew they were unconditionally loved including when one son squandered his inheritance and the other son was filled with resentment for the family. Jesus also described God as a woman, a baker, who slowly kneaded yeast into dough. He also compared God to a shepherd who foolishly leaves the herd to find the lost one. All these metaphors describe a deity who does everything imaginable to get our attention and be with us. Perhaps this is why John the Evangelist boiled all the images and metaphors to one statement: God is love. John went on to explain that those who live in love live in God and that God lives in them. That’s it! The essence of the experience of God: love living within us.
I need to be clear that these are metaphors describing God because the experience of the Divine is very difficult to put into words. My own experience is something of a paradox. When I sit in quiet prayer and meditation, I often have a sensation below my rib cage, slightly above my gut. This is the area of the solar plexus. The sensation for me is warm and heavy. It radiates upwards through my chest and at times seems to flow over my shoulders. That’s the physical aspect of my experience. When I am mindful at that moment, it seems as though something opens within me that is limitless and deep, grounding me in a profound reality. At the same time, my mind seems to be elevated above me and my mental connection seems to be outside of the limits of my body. That’s as much as I can explain of my conscious awareness at that moment. But there’s something else. There is an awareness of a presence. I know that I am not alone. The presence which I experience is warm, caring, healing, compassionate and vaster than I can imagine. I experience as both intimate and transcendent. There are no words. But in those moments, I understand that I am present with the Holy One and the Holy One is present to me.
To what degree is my experience similar to and different from the experience of others? I cannot be sure. When I read the writings of mystics and speak with friends who also have maintained spiritual practice for many years, I discover that their experiences are in some ways similar to my own. Yes, I suspect that my experience is largely influenced by the Christian tradition, but I have friends who are not Christian who have discussed similar experiences.
I am fully aware that neurology can explain a great about what I experience. But I choose to believe that there is something more at work that is greater than neurology. It’s not that I don’t accept scientific evidence or have some kind of belief that faith is better than science. Instead, what I understand as my experience of God has resulted in growth and fulfillment in every aspect of my life. I’ve found that resentments pass from me, compassion toward myself and others increases, that I’ve experienced greater happiness as well as a deeper sense of joy. I am more aware of things around me and better able to accept people as they are. Above all, there are times when it’s as though I can feel the change occurring. It is nothing less than transformative.
As n ordained minister, I am frustrated that Christian churches fail to facilitate these deep experiences of God. Organized religion is largely content to talk about God but avoids experiencing God. But having this deep experience is the heart of the spiritual life. Therefore, I am glad that people find places to nurture this deep experience even if it’s at their local health club learning the basics of breathing and stretching which is part of yoga.
The experience of God: for me, it is the experience of a Presence deep within me which I encounter in silence. This encounter has brought about transformation in my life and enabled me to live a happier and richer life.
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