Ever had an amazing, outrageous or awe-inducing spiritual experience? Maybe one that offered insight into spiritual truth or greater awareness of how the Divine works within these four dimensions we seem to live in? Good for you! Amen! Perhaps most who read material like this have had such experiences. Here is a quote from someone who has too:
“To me, my 30+ years of study, plus the revelation experiences… make me (temporarily) different or “special”…. whether anyone likes or believes it. So, I’ll come right out and say it: I see myself as a brash corporal, or perhaps even a drill sergeant, amongst mostly privates. Arrogant? Presumptuous? Egotistical? Know-It-All? Perhaps, but Jesus was a general amongst privates, too. SPECIALNESS IS TEMPORARY, so get over it, please. I seem to know far more than I’m given credit for.” – Spiritual commentator on the interwebs…
Allllllrighty then!
Revelation experiences are Divine gifts. Amen.
Who are they for? First and foremost, the recipient.
Revelation experiences are like finger prints… totally unique to the experiencer. Each of us is totally unique, and so revelation communicates in ways perfectly suited to one’s unique needs. Revelations speak in the language most easily heard by their recipients. And the form they come in can be quite startling. How wonderful! Yes! What a marvelous gift of the Divine! Because of this unique and intensely personal aspect, they are often seen as “special.” And they are! (For you…)
Revelations also have a universal quality to them. They occur quite naturally within consciousness whenever blocks to them have fallen away. They could not be understood at all if they didn’t share attributes common to general understanding and perception. Thus, there is a commonality to them. It’s as if, in broad strokes, revelation always contains the same basic content, even though that content is served in forms that make it personally understandable to the unique individual receiving it. Simply put, universal love takes many forms.
Sometimes revelation is considered a rare, precious achievement; that makes one outrageously special, different, and uniquely qualified. But here’s the thing…
Every soul on the planet – every one – has either had a revelation experience, or is going to have one… which makes revelation a lot like learning to walk.
When you learned to walk, it totally changed your world! It changed your outlook, allowed you to see things you never had before, and to understand your world better. It allowed you to navigate the world more effectively, be more independent, and often allowed you to use your other talents and abilities even more than you could before. Learning to walk was an amazing life-altering shift! Wow! What a game-changer!
Learning to walk, like revelation, is also something everyone is destined for, eventually.* So, yeah… it’s a real game changer for every person that experiences it but also something that is a totally natural, ordinary occurrence in human growth. Everyone is going to walk. Can you imagine how absurd it would be to act arrogant about… walking?
And what would be the reasonable way to treat those who are not walking yet? Who are crawling? They’re probably having a pretty good time exploring their world this way… as it is, after all, the only way they know how to do it. Which is exciting after all… especially when compared with just lying there wiggling arms and legs! Omigod! Remember that?!? Crawling was an awesome revelation by comparison!!
So… these crawlers… Shall we berate them? Loudly tell them how blind and foolish they are? Point out their stupidity?
Will this help them learn to walk?
Those learning to walk… Let us celebrate their first steps! They will take them when they are ready. Not before. Let us take joy in their standing on wobbly legs… lend a gentle hand to hold onto… and console when they fall and bump their heads. Let us stand at the far end with open arms and say… “Come! Come! You can do it!! And encourage… again and again and again… as they practice their steps. In due course, they will walk, and forget all about this. Just like you.
*Stop nitpicking. 🙂 It’s just an analogy!
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© Copyright 2014 Jonathan Van Valin
An acquaintance (Paramahansa Yogananda student) once told me “It’s so hard for me to fly like an eagle when all I’m surrounded by is stupid turkeys who only exist on land.”
Having a foot in both worlds can be challenging at times…e.g., responding appropriately to any situation at hand. Level confusion is a thing.
Lisa… I can relate personally to the “growing pains” of spiritual development. It sounds like you may be able to relate as well. Sometimes it takes awhile for a new experience to settle in and become integrated, rather than remaining an outlier event that is largely dissociated, even if remembered clearly. My hope is simply that we can lay judgement aside from those that are also finding their way, and lift them up as they try to unfurl their own wings. This is an act that helps us fly as well, and so the whole flock ascends… 🙂 – Jonathan