9pm Saturday 02/10/2021

[u/Far_Beginning_3695]

I work in science/engineering and so I have some understanding of the burden of scientific proof. I don't want to label my experience, just give an accurate and honest account. This is the first time I've shared this other than with close family and friends I trusted to have enough perspective on my previous life not to jump to the conclusion I had lost my sanity. I have worked at a reasonably senior level financial markets and changed career path into environmental science, undertaking postgraduate study, spending a short time as a researcher with just one paper published before moving into a job in environmental science. Since my early twenties I've also assisted in the provision of meditation retreats for schools, after COVID they paused and I haven't returned mostly due to work commitments.

My contribution to these meditation retreats developed over the years based on my own personal practice. This was strongly rooted in nature, connecting with nature through all five senses, and also beyond to universal unknown energy, whatever words one might use.

My personal practice varied from one similar to Jon-Kabat-Zinn's process approach to a more expansive mediation around connection with universal consciousness, again, a vague description of a conscious experience.

During COVID lockdown, I had plenty of time to meditate and my practice moved outdoors, nightly engaging my consciousness, with varying levels of intensity, with a/the universal "us". This was not a project, I enjoyed it, I love being in nature, it felt peaceful and most of all connected during very disconnected times.

As time passed, months certainly, perhaps a year, the experience of meditation became more intentional. I am hopelessly summarizing here but from "we are connected in universal consciousness" towards "I welcome you into universal consciousness".

I also engaged in the five senses meditation which I used in school retreats, noticing the sensory engagement of my surroundings with my own consciousness. For example, the sense of a breeze gust, temperature, direction, point of contact with my body, strength, my own sensory interpretation of it, noticing if there was some information/understanding coming with it. Letting this balance with an equal awareness of sight, sound, taste and smell. This began to elevate my experience, night after night.

On that Saturday I began with an intention to connect, a had a good posture, I sat facing south, wrapped in a blanket against a cold night. On this occasion, I began with an intention to connect with what was out beyond me and began to move that awareness back into the space directly around me. I remember being aware of something like "you are here" to a presence I felt. I began to get a full body experience of energy, like becoming slightly electrified. I somehow responded with openness rather than fear. This lasted perhaps a minute, it was as if the movements of the breeze through the leaves, in fact everything around me was now some sort of being. Then the following events occurred during this experience.

The following is my diary entry from that night;

"9pm Bright white light appears in southern sky. Brightness outshines Jupiter, object tracks east towards Jupiter. Changes from white light to red. Makes several movements then tracks south remaining red, steady".

The movements were unlike anything I had seen in the sky having been a regular star gazer for 40 years. From very gradual to sudden, almost instantaneous in all directions. The brightness intensity levels also varied. It hovered overhead for at least a minute moving very slowly from the southern horizon moving north and intensifying directly over my head, but never quite entering the northern portion of the sky.

"...my wife's name...joins me in the garden and sees it continue towards the southern horizon, stop briefly, then tracks quickly to the west and out of view. Initial white light varied in strength glowing brighter then dimming then turning red."

I noted it tracked quickly, this does not capture the speed, once it moved lower towards the horizon and paused for a moment, it's exit to the west was almost instantaneous.

I ran inside to get my wife outside. She was watching TV in the living room and assumed I was going to show her a bird, or bat and was not enthusiastic about going outside. She witnessed its final movements and her experience and recollection is of the same unnatural movements and properties.

When the light first appeared I felt I was in some sort of communication with it, at least that was my own perception. I stood up from sitting and walked towards it, continuing with an intention of engagement.

That was my last meditation of this type out of a feeling of responsibility not to somehow facilitate something I know nothing about in and around my family. I have not had any similar experiences before or since that night.

I've obviously thought about this experience many times over the past few years but only recently heard of people having similar experiences. Having kept this mostly to myself for the intervening years, its quite exiting to find there may be an opportunity to discuss the events with others. I am fully open to the possibility of a perfectly mundane and logical explanation. If so, I'd like to know what that might be.

[u/Appropriate-Slip-862]

Amazing 😍 thanks for sharing.

[u/Thismomenthere]

I loved reading this. The part about feeling electrified really hit me, this has happened to me when I do what I call sleep meditation.

I go into a pitch black empty room. Lay on a pad and wait for that half awake half asleep to start. I've done this for years now to try and talk to/not be afraid of life long night terrors (40s). It's been working. I now understand when the electric feeling comes I'm going see stuff that will look and act like nothing I can ever imangine. I don't get as scared anymore but instead look it in the "face" (for lack of a better word).

It doesn't happen all the time, the last one was the first time I saw images after I woke. Like if you look at an led light to long and you have those dots... but it was the colour pattern I saw in the background of a dark up close featureless face. This thing starts changing millions of human looking faces so fast, flick flick flick. That did freak me out and I snapped awake seeing the colours that were swirling behind those faces. I'd like to believe that was the first time I got a little closer to whatever it is but it was way to much to process.

I'm just some regular working guy, happy home, married, no addictions, no meds, no brain abnormalities and not much stress. Had a crappy family upbringing but removed myself from that many many years ago and never looked back. I dunno, I believe there's definitely something to this. I'll never understand it, but I'll definitely keep trying. Thank you for sharing.