Transcendent Experiences
Introduction
"The scent grows richer, he knows he must be near,
He finds a long passageway lit by chandelier.
Each step he takes, the perfumes change
From familiar fragrance to flavors strange.
A magnificent chamber meets his eye."
Inside, a long rose-water pool is shrouded by fine mist.
Stepping in the moist silence, with a warm breeze he's gently kissed.
Thinking he is quite alone, he enters the room as if it were his own
But ripples on the sweet pink water
Reveal some company unthought of..."
--Genesis, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway
I have seen God.
Or at least I think I have.
Ultimately only you can decide for yourself if these stories and experiences have any validity, or even value / inspiration for your own life.
I have decided to add this series of writings to the TCOY portfolio for the following reasons.
 | It is a regular feature of the emails I receive that people want to know "Who are you guys?", "Where did you get all this from?" and so forth. I am convinced that the material presented here stands or falls on its own merit, regardless of its source. But then that goes to the core of my very existential approach to mysticism and religion, an approach I realize does not appeal to everyone. |
| Since the web is so vast in its reach, I cannot possibly know the history or mindset of those who browse or dig deep here. So, in my own way, I am trying to adopt the Pauline approach of becoming all things to all people that I might by all means reach some. |
| I will freely admit that much of the material in The Church of Yahweh appears (on the surface) to be on the philosophical / theological / scholarly side. That can tend to make it seem a bit abstract and impersonal, whereas the truth of the matter, at least for me, could not be more different. Each and every single word in these writings is the result of my personal, immediate, oft-times life & death struggles to talk to God, and be able to hear Him. |
| Though it may not seem like it, my teaching IS my testimony. It's just that I've tended to focus on the results & answers, rather than the processes by which I have come to these conclusions. |
| The people my teaching / testimony has touched the most over the years (and I am speaking of actual life-transforming realizations), without doubt, have been those who personally know me. For millennia the human race learned almost exclusively in one-to-one relationships, be they parent-child, teacher-student, master-apprentice. And while the web can certainly convey thoughts, it is an aspect of what some sociologists have come to call "The Age of Missing Information"...body language, tone of voice, teaching environment, eye contact, encountering the teacher outside the classroom, all of these are lost in the New Age of Information Dissemination. Hopefully, for those who are interested, this series will put more of a human touch to this micro section of the Web. |
I only have one hesitation, and that has to do with the simple fact that this is not your "normal" testimony. Having reviewed my rough drafts, I think the thoughtful reader will be left with only 3 possibilities:
- This author has been touched by the Living God, seen & encountered Him in a variety of strange and glorious ways.
- The author is making the whole thing up just to be sensational.
- He is a deeply disturbed, nearly psychotic, and in need of serious, immediate help.
All I can do is declare that these accounts are 100% factually true to the best of my knowledge and recollection, to the point of legal-deposition-accuracy.
That really only leaves you 2 options. You decide.
I call this "Transcendent Experiences" because I will be focusing on those extraordinary events that have had a trans-normal, mystical, super-natural aspect to them. These have been the encounters with the Divine that have most deeply shaped my life.
The journey will get quite strange, Dear Reader.
And, as always, I look forward to your feedback.
