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The person, suddenly, without warning, has a sense of being immersed in a flame. . . . At the same instant he is, as it were, bathed in an emotion of joy . . . ecstasy. . . . Like a flash, there is presented to his consciousness a clear conception (a vision) in outline of the meaning and drift of the universe. . . . That the foundation principle of the world is what we call love.
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He went on to say that people who had the experience of illumination were at first alarmed by the vision, wondering if it were a symptom or form of insanity. He then pointed out that all of the world's great religions and spiritual practices are based on such "insane" visions, which challenge our everyday concept of the nature of reality. How, then, asks Bucke, shall we know that this sense of cosmic consciousness is not insanity, but truth? He answers that the characteristics of illumination are universal to all who have experienced a temporary entry into cosmic consciousness. They include self-restraint of the ego, a sense of love for all of life, an awareness of an all-pervasive connectedness to others, and an acceptance of the teachings of other people throughout history and from other cultures who "have passed through the same experience."16 |
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I find Bucke's descriptions of the effects of illuminations to be remarkably similar to the life-changing aftereffects of near-death experiences (NDEs) on people's lives, which are described in many recent bestselling books. Some researchers who study people who have had near-death experiences perceive NDEs to be one of a family of related mystical experiences that serve as catalysts for spiritual awakening and development. NDE researcher and author Dr. Kenneth Ring believes that such experiences are actually evolutionary mechanisms thrusting us forward, toward a higher state of consciousness for all humanity. Melvin Morse, M.D., who wrote about his research with children who had experienced NDEs in the book Transformed By the Light, and Kenneth Ring, author of Heading Toward Omega, have found the experience of light "to be the keynote event of the near-death experience, the element that always leads to transformation."17 |
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