Experiences in Childhood

[Guest guest]

>> At times I thought I could 'hear' the sound of all creation. I tell

these things only as an example of what I think was a child being able

to practice meditation without ever having heard of it and without any

direction from any person...I also think that the wondrous

side-effects of this in the form of expanding consciousness and

accompanying visions help me also to believe that I had tapped into

That. What do you think of this? <<

Several people mention childhood experiences in this digest (933). I

also had experiences as a child and in my early teens, though I think

of mine as more "western" and "primal." Regardless of what cultural

context is associated with these experiences, I do believe they

happen, and to children or young people, for a numer of reasons.

One could, of course be, that the spontaneous appearance of spiritual

and visionary experiences might simply be the remembrance or

awakening of a soul to its true nature (well, this would always be

part of it in any case, I believe). What I mean is that the soul

chose a body that would manifest the conditions in an almost

automatic way, simply because that was how that soul chose to return

to the awareness. I am thinking that this might have been the case

for Michael.

Another reason is that trauma (illness, or in my case, abuse) may

bring the experiences forth. Although, in my own case, I also had

early remembrances of being on the astral plane (I remembered it as

the 7th Level), a beautiful place with grass and trees and fountains

and wonderful "people" to talk with. (I remember this as one of my

earliest childhood memories.) I also had out-of-body experiences,

"heardangels" and celestial "orchestras" singing and playing, and

other experiences. Some of the most profound were spontaneous

experiences of feeling One with Everything. This was a very physical

experience, but also emotional, spiritual, etc., on all levels.

Sometimes I would feel as if there were a v-shaped opening in my

head, and the Divine Energy would enter there, and my energy would

mingle with It, and I felt very intense feelings of Connectedness. In

my early 20s I had the experience of hearing the "music of the

spheres," the Universe singing. It is indescribable, though I did

writing of some of these experiences in my early songs. (My

songwriting has always been an ongoing reflection of my spirit, and

the way the songs happen is that I am in an open space, and they just

flow through me.) Later, when I began to read about shamanism, I felt

that paradigm fit many of my experiences. It also fit because shamans

are often people who have been through some type of physical,

emotional, or psychic trauma, and they begin to shamanize as a form

of healing. They become healed healers. I have already spoken of my

childhood, so I won't go into it again here, but I do believe that my

experiences were provided as gifts, as were my art and music

abilities, so that I could survive and make sense of what happened to

me. They (art and music) also became a way that I could express my

experience of the numinous and share it with others. I feel I am, to

an extent babbling a bit incoherently, but I hope that the seed of

what I'm attempting to say is clear. Shanti ~ Linda