Have you ever had an experience that you can’t quite explain? You may know in your heart of hearts that it was an important experience, but you just can’t make sense of it.
Sometimes in the midst of our mundane lives we find ourselves wrapped up in experiences that defy conventional explanation. These experiences may come deliberately through practices like meditation or chanting. They may arise in the form of dreams. They may happen spontaneously. They may be religious, mystical, psychic, supernatural, or paranormal in nature.
In the wake of these kinds of experiences it’s not always easy to reconcile or integrate them into our lives. Here’s a helpful way to start processing these kinds of experiences.
I call it BE WISE.
B: Be with it.
When you find yourself in the midst of the experience try to just be with it. Analyzing an experience while it is happening tends to quicken and diminish it. Try to accept the experience for what it is. There will be plenty of time later for analysis.
E: Express gratitude.
When you’ve “come back,” take a moment to Express gratitude for the experience. This can take any form that you wish.
space: Give yourself a bit of space.
Take a breather. Take some time after the experience ends before jumping into analysis. This will help the experience ground itself in your body and consciousness.
W: Witness the experience.
Allow your witness consciousness to come to the forefront. This is the part of your consciousness that can recall the experience and separate out its components. This is a non-judging, non interpreting consciousness.
I: Identify the components of the experience.
How did this experience affect you? What are your thoughts about the experience? How did the experience make you feel? Did you notice any sensations in your body? Were there other beings involved in the experience? Was kind of experience was it (spiritual, supernatural, paranormal)?
S: Synthesize the experience.
This is the time to work out what meaning you take from the experience. How does the experience fit with what is happening in your life right now? Does the experience tie to or reveal anything in your past? How do those identified components from before interact with what you are thinking and feeling now? How does it speak to your physical experience and spiritual experience right now? What does it have to tell you?
E: Express your experience.
Tell someone else. Make a painting. Write a poem. Post it to your blog. Express the experience in some way that you feel comfortable with. Getting it out of your head and into the world makes it real and leaves you with something tangible to reflect upon.
I hope that you find BE WISE a handy little tool for working with your spiritual experiences. Like all tools, it won’t fit for every experience, but there isn’t any harm in trying it out.
So try it out now and post your experience below.
