I recently had a spiritual experience. Our family was gathered on the coast of Oregon and one evening the area was enveloped in fog. I felt drawn to the fog and so I walked through the fog down to the ocean. I stood by the ocean and recited aloud Carl Sandburg’s poem “Fog” and then recited “Sea Fever” by John Masefield. In that moment, I felt deeply connected to the ocean and to the fog. I wish I could hold onto that experience.

Over the years in my work as a psychotherapist who affirms the importance of the spiritual, many folks shared spiritual experiences with me. Some I could relate to. Others not. Some like my own experiences had to do with God. Others not.

I found an interesting article in Psychology Today from 2014 by Larry Culliford in which he identifies 8 types of spiritual experience. You might find the list helpful in laying claim to your own spiritual experiences:

Awareness of a patterning of events or what Jung called synchronicity, i.e., meaningful coincidence. I recall one such experience. I was preparing to go back East to spend some time with my dying mother. On my last day of work, a young woman came in to seek help dealing with her dying mother! At first I thought that was too close to home and perhaps I should refer her. But I chose to sit and listen. As I listened to myself, I realized the thoughts I shared were most helpful as I prepared for my own time with my mother. I met with that woman one more time a month later. By then, both her mother and mine had passed and the conversation had proved helpful. We both were at peace.

Awareness of a presence of God or a presence not named. The strongest sense I have had of the presence of God was on the morning of June 2 1983. That was the morning I woke up and felt the time had come for me to face my addiction to alcohol. But that energy did not come from me. It was and is the strongest experience I’ve had of grace.

Prayer being answered. For me, prayer is a slippery slope. I pray for my family every day and thankfully they are safe and well. But I have also dealt with unanswered prayer as have most of us.

Sacred presence in nature and a sense that all things are one. This was my experience on the coast of Oregon. There have been others. I recall my wife and I hiking in Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park. the setting was profoundly beautiful such that my wife said “I feel like singing.” We stood together and sang “Amazing Grace”. My wife the point up and we saw some hawks circling as if in response to our song. In that moment, I felt deeply connected to the birds, the canyon, and to my wife.

Awareness of the presence of the dead. Recently I had been diagnosed with melanoma. As I sat trying to address my fears, I felt some peace come over me. In sharing this with my wife in trying to understand it, my wife said “Today is your Mom’s birthday” and I did feel her calming presence.

Awareness of an evil presence. When I worked at the state hospital in South Carolina, I saw a video of a man who believed he was possessed by demons. Most of his narrative sounded more like mental illness but at one point his teeth chattered like when one is very cold, the kind of chattering you can’t do consciously. When he stopped, he said “That was Satan.” I never liked getting into looking for Satan in people’s issues. But when I think of that man, I wonder.

You might notice that the experiences I shared did not happen in Church. Spiritual experiences may happen for some within the context of religion. By and large, for me they have not. However, I do believe any spiritual experiences I have had (with the exception of that man in South Carolina) have been gifts from God. They have been there all along. Sometimes, like Jacob, I missed them such that I resonate to his words: “God was in this place and I, i did not know it.” So I must continue to work on paying attention.

Reflection: Feel free to share any spiritual experiences and/or your understanding of spiritual experience.