What’s a spiritual experience? A spiritual initiation? What’s a structured or spontaneous initiation? Contemporary or traditional? This article explores the answers to these questions.

A spiritual experience is a moment when a person is at one with the Universe or God or all life. Then it’s gone. A spiritual initiation could come to a person in different forms: a dream, vision, or journey. Whether structured or spontaneous, it can create a permanent, positive, life-altering change for the initiate.

Distinguishing Spiritual Experiences from Initiations

Let me further distinguish a spiritual experience from a spiritual initiation. In their book, Indigo Adults, Jaffe and Davidson explain, "A spiritual experience is a moment of a wide consciousness, or a connection to something higher. Perhaps you'd call it your higher self, your soul, the masters or angels or God. For a moment your consciousness was elevated to another level. Then you lost it again." (Jaffe and Davidson, P. 216)

A spiritual initiation instills a permanent change. By spiritual initiation I mean an experience – sometimes planned, sometimes not and often out of the person's conscious control – that causes a permanent shift in consciousness along with a shift in mood. With this definition, I would include in this category my dream when the scream turned to music. I went to bed frustrated, depressed and scared; after I experienced that scream turning to music in my dream, I awoke calm, peaceful, and ready to go to work on my book proposal. Although I lose that inner calm from time to time, that initiatory experience certainly changed me for the better. This was a spontaneous initiation.

Bhola Banstola, from Nepal, is twenty-seventh generation trained in the Khaas Shamanic Tradition. Regarding initiations, he said, "An initiation is a beginning." Bhola is a college-trained anthropologist and herbalist; he lives in Europe.

SPIRITUAL EXPERIENCES

For some time people in the West have been hungry for spirituality. Spiritual experiences certainly give people that; they are filled with awe, hope and are uplifted. But those experiences don’t last according for Jaffe and Davidson.

Here are several examples of spiritual experiences that are much more common than spiritual initiations. See if you have had a spiritual experience.

One man told me when he was six, he had a high fever and was in a coma. During that time his grandmother who died before he was born, visited him. He doesn’t recall what she said, but he felt connected to her and to the spirit world his whole life.

Another person was camping and sleeping under the stars. At one point she felt one with all life. It was thrilling.

When another person was healing from a severe car accident, she was told she would never have use of her arms and hands again. One night, Jesus came and put his hand on her arm and told her: You will completely recover and have full use of your arms and hands. She had hope. That was 25 years ago and that all came true.

Sitting in the pew of one of Europe’s cathedrals, another woman shared: I felt overwhelmed with the presence of God. I wept with joy.

These examples brought joy and hope and fulfillment but did not create a permanent change. Perhaps you have had one or perhaps several. Even though they have lasted a moment, or an hour, or several days, they do not last.

For more information, look for Jill’s upcoming session on my spiritual podcasts