It is a common practice to push the body out of its normal state to experience something that is beyond the normal. One of these methods is to either deprive the body of sleep or at a minimum, to force a change in a set sleep pattern.
Forcing the body to experience abnormal patterns requires it to open up its senses and to take in more information that would otherwise be filtered out and ignored. It does this in an attempt to "re-normalize" or make sense of its new reality.
The Sufi Whirling Dervishes use the act of spinning very quickly in a circle, almost like an ice skater who spins on their axis during a performance. This act of continual spinning forces the body to endure a sensory overload. This shifts the person's perspective on reality. Some say that it allows the person to connect to higher spiritual realms, to feel closer to God.
Around 2009, I participated in a three day Pagan fire circle ritual where we stayed awake from sunset to sunrise. During the ritual we danced, sang and walked around a huge bonfire virtually non-stop. It was at this event, after hours of circling the fire that I experienced two unexplainable phenomenon.
The first experience happened when a participant collapsed from being overwhelmed from an emotional experience they were having. They were taken aside to be cared for, and several of us gathered around to give support and to hold space for them. As I stood there sending love and support to them, another person reached out to place their hand above them to direct healing energy. Just as their hand was about 6 inches above the person, I saw a blue green shockwave of light illuminate around the hand and spread out in waves of this same light around the body. It was as if the person's hand had touched an energy barrier.
The second event happened as I was taking a moment to rest. I noticed a serene calm had fallen over the area. There was no wind and even the sound of the music and fire dancers had silenced for a few moments. As I looked around the fire circle encampment, I noticed there was a rope that had prayer flags attached every few feet.
While I was observing, I noticed that all of the flags on the rope had levitated horizontally to face the center of the fire circle. The flags slowly waved as if there was a slight breeze holding them aloft, but there was no wind and all flags faced the middle of the circle.
The fire circle experience demonstrated to me that there is much more to experience in the reality we live in every day. Oftentimes when someone experiences the extraordinary, they may chalk it up to being a fluke or that they must have misunderstood what really happened. Then, just as quickly, they forget about it ever happening. I believe this is our mind's way of discarding the anomalies in order to normalize our experiences, which makes us feel safer.
More recently, I had been experiencing over a week of not being able to go into a deep sleep. Oftentimes this is referred to as R.E.M. sleep. Day in and day out I would try to sleep at night and to take naps during the day. I would noticed large gaps in time passing, all while feeling like I had never slept or even closed my eyes.
I had been experiencing anxiety about life in general and my mind would not shut off and I could not transition into sleep. I tried breathwork, taking sleep aids, but nothing worked. Then on October 26th, 2023 I was lying in bed with my mind randomly going from one thought to the next, when a memory popped into my thoughts. The memory was of a video I had seen recently where the person was talking about the huge amount of change that is happening in the world. They spoke about the large energy shifts and even the full moon being abnormally intense as well.
The person told how people who are particularly sensitive (like me) are really being effected by this in a very harsh way. They said that we needed to accept these feelings as something that is part of who we are. We shouldn't fight against it or be upset, but rather, we should love it because we are capable of feeling these great energies. They said that not everyone can feel this and it is directly connected to our life's purpose.
As I recalled this video, I took a deep breath and said aloud, "I fully accept everything I am feeling as a part of who I am. I send love to these feelings and take full responsibility for how I feel."
It was just after midnight when spoke these words from deep within my soul. I could feel the words resonate within my body and I became aware that I had slipped into that, in-between state of not awake and not asleep. This is considered to be the alpha brainwave state just before sleep or when you are deeply relaxed.
I then had a sense of feeling an arm being draped over my waste and then a hand tapped or patted my lower back 3 times near my tailbone. At first I thought it was my wife. It was not unusual for her to touch my body in the middle of the night. But then, I realized that she was on the other side of the bed sleeping soundly!
In a matter of seconds, after realizing my wife had not touched me, a huge wave of energy surged through my body. The energy wave stared from my solar plexus and radiated out past my skin. The energy was then pulled out of my body, through my back, and it moved up and away.
Once this completed, my body felt completely relaxed and calm. I then closed my eyes and fell into a deep restful sleep for several hours. Ever since then I have been sleeping deeply with extraordinary dreams.
When I awoke the next morning, I recalled my experience and smiled. I remembered a familiar feeling during the moment of being patted on my lower back. It felt reassuring, safe and protective. I knew in that moment that it was my dad who had visited me, along with several other spiritual guardians.
I've had many other unexplainable experiences that I can directly attribute to being in an altered state of consciousness. The alpha brainwave state is just one of those places that allows the consciousness to be aware of more information and sensory input than you would if you were fully awake.
I believe that because I was ready to accept myself at a deeper level, my higher self along with my guardians and angels were able to clear or transmute this stuck energy. This allowed my body to finally relax and sleep.
It is said that the quickening of spirit is that which has the power to give life. When I consider the "life giving moment" of a quickening, I think about that moment in time that changes everything about how you live and perceive your life. I can think back to only very few moments that have had such an impact that I would consider them to be life altering.
When I felt the physical connection with the spirit realm (by being tapped on my back) this was a moment of quickening for me. It was also confirmation that we do have the ability to connect and communicate with the higher realms. We just need ask and to trust the information we are receiving and know that it is real.
When you feel that you need help in discovering how to get "un-stuck" from something that is holding you back, do the following. Take a moment to close your eyes, take a deep breath, and become clear about the emotions and feelings you have. The feelings are a good thing because they are a signal to you from your higher-self that you need to pay attention because you are out of alignment.
Make a commitment to yourself by speaking aloud acceptance of these feelings as guidance and then send them love and appreciation. Then ask for assistance from the higher-power that you know exists. Ask for help and guidance to help you heal or to give you clues as to your next steps. Then, pay attention to what is presented to you and follow that guidance. This can come to you in the most unexpected ways.
Dwight Raatz, Author, Personal Coach & Konsilisto
11/15/2023
Dwight is a writer, personal guide, life coach, and healer. He specializes in helping people on their path to truly knowing themselves, healing and removing blocks, and coaching them in achieving their goals for life and business. Click here to learn more.