What was one of the most profound spiritual experiences of your life? @ecoTrain Question Of The Week
Spiritual experiences have basically defined my life. Arguably the most important spiritual experience of my life was at 11 years old, when I first accepted Christ inside of me. If this experience had not happened, it’s hard to know whether following experiences, ‘deepenings’ would have happened at all.
Today I want to take you all back with me to a particularly profound spiritual experience in my early 20’s, one that changed my life drastically and geographically. From an outside perspective, such as that of my parents, this would change everything.
First, let me introduce myself to you, my 20 year old, drunken unicycle-riding self.
I went to the university as a passionately conservative patriotic farm boy from Wisconsin, ready to study Economics and change my stars, to be a good citizen and make money.
Over three years of university my eyes were open, my conservatism crushed by Howard Zinn, my patriotism crushed by books like Lies my teacher told me, my passion crushed by these new revelations about how the world really worked. When I read Confessions of an Economic Hitman I gave up my dream of becoming a Foreign Economic Advisor.
I spiraled into depression and despondency. To try and spice up my college experience I pledged a fraternity in my fourth semester, Tau Kappa Epsilon, the only fraternity on campus that was rumored to still haze, and I wanted to see what was up. I met some of my greatest friends through that experience, but shortly before initiation the fraternity that I was almost a part of was suspended for hazing.
In my third year I lived in the now defunct Tau Kappa Epsilon house, with my non-brothers. Near the end of the third year I was now failing classes, had completely lost interest in all but a few of my courses, and most depressing of all I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.
One day, near the end of the semester, my roommate received some plants flown in from South America, and told me he would be using the stove for the next 24 to 36 hours.
Two days later he had indeed finished using the stove, and the tea he prepared was black and viscous. To the drinker it would cause a purge, either vomiting or diarrhea, and then….something magical, supposedly.
We had barricaded ourselves in our apartment, throwing the furniture up against the door, blocking the exits in case things got crazy but, after vomiting, all I wanted to do was get out of there. I scattered the stacked furniture and leaped through the door as soon as it would open, ran down the stairs and ran out the front door across the lawn.
I saw rows and rows of these types of buildings. That afternoon I wandered throughout the residential back half of Whitewater, Wisconsin, a tiny university town whose main service to the university was housing.
But that day I saw through the housing; I saw cages, storage units filled with garbage collected throughout one’s life. I noticed that the older and more established a person because, the bigger cage they needed to fit all of their stuff. I was repelled by what seemed to be a repulsive consumeristic focus on life, precious life. All I could see was stuff, and it was suffocating me. I had to get out.
I dropped out of university. After two months of summer work, I purchased the cheapest plane ticket to South America I could find, a fare from Texas to Bogotá, Colombia, and hopped on the greyhound bus, crisscrossing the country in a make-shift farewell tour. I was nervous and I think by crossing the country on a bus before leaving for South America I was somehow extending my run way for my life’s journey.
My subsequent life was nothing like what I expected or packed for. I had imagined backpacking across a great continent, Colombia alone proved more than a match for me.
Over the next years I would continue to deepen my spiritual experience, both aided and unaided, and gradually I found my calling in life. That one experience that day in Whitewater helped me take a leap of faith, head out into the world in a time of crisis, and find myself. I took a lot of flak at that point in my life from those closest to me, especially my parents, but even they have come around.
Thank you for reading this part of my story! As always questions, comments and complaints in the comment section!
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Thanks a lot for sharing @ecoinstant!
I had my first experience with psychedelics when I was 17. I wrote about it on my introduction post.
That experience changed me completely and made me appreciate life in a whole new way. I became more empathetic and sensitive after it and it made me find my passion, mycology.
When I was 18 I took LSD with a friend in the middle of the forest, and out of nowhere he pulled the book "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran and started reading it. It was such a profound and random moment and I feel that day also changed me in some way, I can't really tell how but I know it did. I feel I care less about what people think about me since then and I can be more myself.
Those two are probably the most spiritual and profound moments in my life.
That's on my bookshelf!
I updated with the ecoTrain link, @fabulousfungi would you consider republishing a version of that story as part of ecoTrain's question of the week?
Sure. I will do it tonight.
Cheers!
Cheers!
River of life meanders in ways unknown to us. Ultimately all experiences move us towards the Divine. Good to know you found your calling. That is a difficult quest - to understand and find one's calling. Good share :)
upvoted :)
Finding a deep love and losing it to circumstances brought me closer to God. A kind of spiritual awakening :)
thank you for supporting my artwork "Arlington Row" :)
I've always admired people like you, who at the spur of the moment could completely change their life. Thanks for the story :)
This is quite inspirational! I am glad you found your purpose in life and have made your life more meaningful. It takes quite a lot of courage to understand why you are here and then to pursue that purpose by building your life around it. It is not easy. What's upsetting is that quite often the ones you feel are closest to you don't support you easily in your ventures. Sometimes they do come around like in your case but sometimes they don't. And sometimes you find support and love in places you never thought you would have. But I am happy things are working out nicely for you now.
Wow great story, thank you for sharing! ♡