Encounters with the Divine

When most people are asked if they have ever had a transforming encounter with the Divine, they usually answer, "Oh no. Nothing extraordinary like that has ever happened to me!" They feel that such experiences are reserved for the saintly or blessed. However, the Divine does come through to us in so many ways, both subtle and astonishing. Once we take the time to become aware of the invisible forces that guide us, we can see how Divine intervention has touched our lives on many occasions.

Since we are one with God/Goddess, it is impossible to separate ourselves from their influence. Any sense of separation is an illusion, for they exist within each one of us as our Divine nature, higher guidance and spiritual potential. Through awareness, we can see the many faces of God/Goddess manifesting through ourselves and others, as well as throughout the natural world, weaving a magical pattern from the threads of events and experiences in our lives that lead us into our destiny.

Encountering the Divine Within

It is deep within, through meditation, dreams, and prayer, which we are most likely to experience the Divine in an intense and transforming way. During these altered states of consciousness, our focus is shifted away from the limits of the physical world and centered within the realm of spirit. The encounters that we experience during these shifts in consciousness are just as real as anything that occurs in our outer life. We are multi-dimensional beings, existing simultaneously within the physical world and the realm of spirit. During dreams and deep meditative states, we are most closely in touch with our essential self. We move through the dimensions of spirit wherein dwell our spirit guides, angels, and images of the Divine. It therefore stands to reason that those who meditate regularly and pay attention to their dreams are likely to have more direct encounters with the Divine than those who don't. In the East, where meditation and spiritual practice are a way of life, mystical experiences are not viewed as extraordinary occurrences but as the expected result of dedication to their spiritual path. Until recently, here in the West, such experiences were thought of as extremely rare and believed to happen only to the "chosen" few. However, in light of the current Spiritual Renaissance that is taking place within our culture, more and more people are experiencing these inspiring and transformative encounters.

Dreams of the Divine can be extremely powerful, closely resembling a Near Death Experience or subtly masked in symbolism and spiritual imagery. Often the Divine will appear to us as a wise old man or woman, a great master, or an archetypal image, representing our currently held belief system. One thing all such dreams have in common is that they leave you with a deep and abiding sense of peace, joy, and well being. Over the years, my dreams have brought me many inspiring visitations of the Divine. One of the most powerful was an encounter with the Goddess that was very much like a Near Death Experience.

In the dream, I left my body and I was drifting upward into the light. I felt completely at peace, as if I didn't have a care in the world. Then, I saw the Goddess before me in a swirl of sparkling colors. It was as though everything was Her and I was returning into Her light. I was filled with an incredible feeling of joy! I called to Her saying, "Take me! Take me!"

She smiled, showing me a picture of my daughter, and said, "What about her?" As soon as I thought of my little daughter I was instantly drawn back into my body and I awoke.

Sometimes a God or Goddess will come to you in order to help you to reconnect with your cultural, spiritual heritage, to tell you your soul name, or to awaken within you hidden gifts or knowledge. One unique encounter came to me in this way. I had a dream several years ago in which a wise old woman was doing a Tarot reading for me. She looked intently into my eyes and said in a voice filled with sincerity and power, "You are Awen or Awena of Gwydion and the Goddess Don." Then she turned over a Tarot card. I saw that it was the Ace of Swords. She stared at me again, intense and unyielding. "Fire, power, change," she continued, speaking as though she was relaying a very important message and wanted to be sure I understood. "That which has started cannot be changed or avoided even if you wanted it to."

Then her voice grew softer, and as I was straining to hear what she said, I woke up. This was one in a series of dreams that led me to reconnect strongly with my Celtic heritage and the spiritual beliefs of that culture. However, this one was particularly intriguing to me, as I had never heard of the name Awen. I began to search through books on mythology, Celtic myths and legends, unable to find a reference to that name. Finally, I ordered a book on Welsh names. When the book came, I opened it randomly right to that page! In the book it said, "Awen or Awena: Divine Inspiration" (which is another meaning for the Ace of Swords)!

Divine interventions often come to us as intuitive feelings and impulses that keep us from harm or guide us onto the right path. Everyone has experienced this at one time or another in their lives. Perhaps a sudden impulse to go somewhere has led you to find an answer that you had been searching for or to make a beneficial connection. Maybe a feeling of anxiety or a voice of warning within has kept you from becoming involved in a bad situation. Sometimes you simply feel inexplicably drawn to a particular person, place, or object that ends up having significant personal meaning to you. Listening for the voice of the Divine within and heeding its messages can make our passage through life so much easier!

Outer Manifestations of the Divine

It is important to remember that you are one with the Divine and may draw upon this source of power and wisdom at any time. Ask for the guidance you need and then remain open to the many ways in which it may come through to you. Your answer may come through a person you meet, a book that comes into your hands, an event you are invited to attend, or countless other ways. Remain receptive and aware so that you recognize your message when it arrives. When immediate guidance is needed, it often works well to quiet your mind, focus on God, Goddess or a spiritual master, and randomly open a book. Choose a book that has some spiritual significance for you. Many people get messages this way from opening the Bible, or A Course in Miracles. I have a little book called The Sayings of Yogananda that works for me every time!

We often act as Channels of the Divine for one another, through an impulse that moves us to unusually kind and helpful acts or to say exactly what someone needs to hear.

Signs come to us when we ask for them, sometimes in unusual or unexpected ways. For example, one time I lost a necklace that was very special to me, not only for its value, but also for its spiritual significance. I asked the Goddess to please help me find it. I looked everywhere I thought it could be and then finally gave up. Later that day I went out to my car. As I was getting in, my purse broke and the latch rolled off down the driveway. While looking for that broken latch, I found my necklace!

Sometimes the solutions to our problems come through in a flash of Divine inspiration, as in this next story:

My husband was struggling with a stressful situation at work. His inability to find a solution to the problem was causing him much anxiety and worry. He asked God to help him find the answer, and then fell into a restless sleep on the couch.

I had lit a candle for the Full Moon that night and left it burning on the hearth. I usually blow out my candles before going to bed, but this night I forgot. Earlier that evening I had found one of my daughter's earrings, a little rhinestone cross, in the carpet. I casually hung it on the side of the glass candleholder so it would not get lost. Later that night my husband awoke. The room was completely dark except for the glow of a single candle on which sparkled a tiny jeweled cross. He was filled with a sense of Divine presence and suddenly, the solution to his problems flashed into his mind!

These sort of "coincidences" happen often, sometimes putting obstacles in our path to guard us from danger or to keep us from moving in the wrong direction. Other times, setting up circumstances that help and inspire us. It is not unusual to find that, through a series of seemingly unrelated events, we have been guided to find exactly what our hearts have been searching for.

Outer experiences of the Divine are not always so subtle or easily dismissed as chance. Some can truly be called miraculous, as in the following example.

A friend of mine had a baby girl that was born with a broken heart. The poor little thing had to undergo a heart operation while she was still an infant. During her long stay in the hospital her mom stayed with her as much as possible, but she could not always be there. Sometimes she would arrive at her daughter's hospital room to find her in the arms of a sweet old nurse named Mary. The baby, who was in constant pain, always seemed to rest so peacefully in the old woman's arms. Once the child was released from the hospital, my friend wanted to go back and thank the nurse for being so good to her daughter. She asked where she might reach the old woman, but no one at the hospital had ever heard of her!

The Need for Direct Experience

Our Divine parents are with us always. We need but open ourselves to their influence and allow their power and wisdom to flow forth into our lives. When we close ourselves off from this higher guidance, we feel lost and alone, abandoned in a world of meaningless struggle and conflict. This is the "dark night of the soul." It is only through reaffirming our connection to the Divine that healing begins to take place. Psychology alone is not enough, nor is an intellectual understanding of religious doctrine or spiritual laws. It is only through our own direct experience of the Divine that we can transcend the dark night of the soul and emerge into the light of Self-Realization. No one can do this for you, but it is not so hard to do it for yourself. All that is called for is to move through your life with awareness. As you call upon the higher forces that guide your life, while remaining open to the many ways in which they may come through, you will be amazed at the results! An inner transformation will begin to take place, bringing with it a deep and abiding faith that can be gained in no other way but through your own direct experience.

It is important to realize that no one else is closer to God than you are. Although others may be able to teach and assist you in spiritual opening, you need no intermediary between yourself and the Divine. Readings and counseling are only constructive if they help you to strengthen your own connection with spirit. As the old saying goes, "Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach him to fish and feed him for life." When you depend on someone else to get all the answers for you, you are denying your own spiritual inheritance. In truth, we are all channels of the Divine, with access to the guidance and wisdom which is a part of our higher nature. God has many forms and faces that express through each of us in a unique way according to our special talents and abilities. When we honor our creativity and self-expression, we are honoring the heavenly muse within. When we comfort another or say exactly what they need to hear, we are acting as channels of Divine love and healing.

Through meditation and focusing on our higher nature, we can strengthen this channel and allow the energy, wisdom, and love of God/Goddess to flow more easily through us. As you begin to pay attention to the Divine at work in your life, you will be surprised at how often your feelings guide you to say the right thing or to be in the right place at the right time, or how often just to "know" something that you don't remember consciously learning. The more you meditate and focus on the spiritual side of your life, the stronger it will become. Your psychic sense will open naturally as your consciousness expands. What we call psychic ability is as natural to us as any of our other senses. It is a glimpse of our Divine nature — that which cannot be explained in physical terms. Just as working out with weights will strengthen your physical body, meditation will strengthen your spiritual body.

Honor the Gods as you meet them, both within the temple of your soul and outwardly, in the eyes of others and in the magic of life. Allow yourself to be transformed and uplifted by their wisdom, healing, and grace.