This past Saturday I spent a day at the Rhine Research Center in Durham, North Carolina. Paul Radamacher, Director of the Monroe Institute in Virginia, played some CDs designed to induce expanded consciousness. That expanded consciousness might be as dramatic as an out-of-body experience, or it could be a slight time distortion. My own experience was of near timelessness–in the last session, which lasted 45 minutes, I felt as if only a minute or two had passed. It was similar to waking up after anesthesia, but I did not fall asleep during that final session (I cannot say the same for the others!). The sense of relaxation was such as I have never felt before. My wish was to be able to talk with my friend Karen B., who died in May of 2010. So I prayed that “With Thy permission, God, could you allow me to see and talk to my friend Karen today?”
Although I did not have an experience of Kar during the sessions, I did have a dream that night. I was walking beside Kar, and I put my arm on her shoulder, which was strong, muscular, again (she had been an athletic woman). We sat down, I looked into her eyes, and she talked about her friends who still lived–I do not remember the content of the conversation, only her love and concern. I prayed, “God, why must she stay dust–could You keep her this way and bring her back to earth?” Kar looked at me with a look of such love and concern that it felt as if my grief was breaking her heart. It was a sense of unconditional love engulfing me.
I do not know whether my experience was just a dream or an actual visitation by Kar. All I know is that I felt comforted when I awoke, and I was thankful to God for allowing such an experience. Mass was especially meaningful as I contemplated the resurrection of the dead.
One question about methods of “expanding consciousness” is whether they are compatible with Christianity. I would say that they are as long as they do not lead a person away from orthodoxy and as long as a Christian is only using the experience as a means to an end rather than as the end itself. Some people worship the experience or the method of gaining the experience, and this is a form of idolatry. No one should boast about a transcendent experience, but instead use it to build the faith of those with doubts, and in the case of my experience, to give comfort to those people bereaved of Kar and to those people in general who have doubts about an afterlife. Any transcendent experience is a gift of grace by the permission of God, and God should be praised and thanked for His precious gift. Experiences should also be tested by the light of Scripture, Tradition, and Reason to make sure that they are compatible with the fundamental doctrines of Christianity. With these precautions in mind, I would recommend the Monroe Institute’s programs or other programs for “expanding consciousness” for traditional Christians as long as they are used in the proper way, and with the realization that any transcendent experience remains the gift of God’s grace.
Related articles
- Bob Monroe, OBEs, & ‘Mapping the Territory’ (labofevolution.wordpress.com)
Oct 09, 2012 @ 20:58:59
“Top neurosurgeon ‘spent six days in heaven’ during a coma”
http://au.news.yahoo.com/latest/a/-/latest/15068392/top-neurosurgeon-spent-six-days-in-heaven-during-a-coma/
teaches neuroscience at Harvard University
forthcoming book: “Proof of Heaven, A Neurosurgeon journey into the Afterlife”
“I’m not the first person to have discovered evidence that consciousness exists beyond the body,” he said.
“I know full well how extraordinary, how frankly unbelievable, all this sounds.”
“But as far as I know, no one before me has ever traveled to this dimension (a) while their cortex was completely shut down, and (b) while their body was under minute medical observation, as mine was for the full seven days of my coma.”
Oct 09, 2012 @ 21:02:41
John, I actually heard him speak at the Rhine Center in Durham, NC–I regularly attend their events. His talk was quite impressive.
Oct 26, 2012 @ 00:22:02
Amazing, and I very much enjoyed reading this. Thank you, You may be interested in my blog? http://www.dog2spirit.wordpress.com some events which happened after the “death” of my dog. They are quite interesting
Oct 26, 2012 @ 02:04:32
Thank you so much for the link to your blog. You have been truly blessed. I have had experiences surrounding two pets: my cat, Sam, whom I saw clearly sitting on the other side of the bed one night after he died, and my childhood dog, Fuzzy–a few years ago I was back in my home state of Tennessee at a place near where Fuzzy died, and a white Spitz that looked just like him crossed the road, went into a yard he often went (to see the neighbor’s dog). When I looked in the back yard of the place, he was gone.
I cried as I read your post–to lose a pet is such a painful thing–yet was happy that you have been graced with your dog’s presence. I re-read my own post about Kar–very emotional as I look at photos of her sitting on a bookcase. I know she still is my friend, even if we are separated in media res, we shall see one another again in aeternitas.