When I contemplate epiphanies, peak experiences, or revelatory manifestations of the Divine, I assume these materialize solely in some sort of grand and magnificent form. After all, if the clouds don’t part in rapturous delight above my head to reveal a shimmering rainbow-colored sky filled with soaring angels all singing Beethoven’s Ninth, then it really doesn’t count as an epiphany, does it?
As desirable as this kind of peak experience might be, my humble experience with what I sense to have been epiphanies shows that these moments usually appear in far subtler and far more delicate ways. The few epiphanies I believe I have experienced have been fleeting and barely perceptible. They have appeared primarily during moments of creativity; through the reading of blog posts, literature, or Scripture; through the appreciation of natural beauty; a movement within a piece of music; strange synchronicities and coincidences; or snippets from nearly forgotten dreams.
I recognize these moments through the meaning they embody. This meaning immediately transcends the physical from which it springs and communicates through sudden insights or deeper intuitive comprehension. Yet these unexpected insights or intuition-based moments of understanding are often so faint I barely become cognizant of them.
I imagine I have been utterly oblivious to many peak experiences I may have had in the past – dozens, perhaps hundreds of moments of meaning have likely passed by me unnoticed. Maybe I failed to experience these epiphanies precisely because I was expecting parting clouds, rainbows, angels, and the glorious movements of Beethoven’s Ninth.
As with most things in life, it seems epiphanies start small, but with the proper effort, dedication, and patience, you might experience more of them and perhaps work your way up to “bigger or deeper” experiences over time.
As desirable as this kind of peak experience might be, my humble experience with what I sense to have been epiphanies shows that these moments usually appear in far subtler and far more delicate ways. The few epiphanies I believe I have experienced have been fleeting and barely perceptible. They have appeared primarily during moments of creativity; through the reading of blog posts, literature, or Scripture; through the appreciation of natural beauty; a movement within a piece of music; strange synchronicities and coincidences; or snippets from nearly forgotten dreams.
I recognize these moments through the meaning they embody. This meaning immediately transcends the physical from which it springs and communicates through sudden insights or deeper intuitive comprehension. Yet these unexpected insights or intuition-based moments of understanding are often so faint I barely become cognizant of them.
I imagine I have been utterly oblivious to many peak experiences I may have had in the past – dozens, perhaps hundreds of moments of meaning have likely passed by me unnoticed. Maybe I failed to experience these epiphanies precisely because I was expecting parting clouds, rainbows, angels, and the glorious movements of Beethoven’s Ninth.
As with most things in life, it seems epiphanies start small, but with the proper effort, dedication, and patience, you might experience more of them and perhaps work your way up to “bigger or deeper” experiences over time.
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