Crookston

A SPIRITUAL AWAKENING

Scott Crookston

I had what I’m now convinced was a spiritual experience way back in the 9th grade, and I think it may have come about as a result of a conversation I had with a friend of mine. We had been discussing religion when he made a statement that didn’t make a lot of sense to me. He told me that he didn't want to go to heaven, and when I asked why, he said, “I think I’ll be bored up there!” He didn't see how heaven could be heavenly when you could master everything.

Something happened shortly after we had that conversation that I still remember as though it had happened yesterday. I sensed something kind of weird to the left of me while practicing a few tunes on the piano at home, and the moment I focused my full attention on it I felt a tidal wave of pure, unmitigated, intense peace and joy. I never experienced anything like it before, or since. My fingers kind of froze in one place on the keyboard, and this most extraordinary sensation continued to flood my senses for at least 15 seconds. I can't begin to put in words how wonderful I felt. It seemed like every molecule in my body was vibrating with this raw pure feeling of peace, happiness and commitment.

I remember thinking at the time, “Where is this coming from?” I couldn’t think of a thing that could’ve brought it on, and I knew it couldn’t have been brought on by what was on my mind at the time. Usually when I have a happy thought or feeling it's connected to an event or memory or something! But this experience wasn’t like that, it was totally unexpected, and totally disconnected from anything that I was doing or thinking at the time.

I absolutely revelled in this encounter, which far surpassed anything I’d ever experienced before … by a factor of infinity. I felt it start to leave through my right side, and the moment I knew it was gone I got up off the piano bench. I could actually feel the energy moving away from me, and I followed it over to the wall. To this day I still have no idea what it could have been. I do know this, the next time I saw my friend I told him that I didn't think he would be bored in heaven, and I remember thinking that if heaven is anything close to the feeling that I experienced, it's worth absolutely anything it would take to get there.

I've never used a hallucinogenic or stimulant of any kind, but I am still absolutely certain that people who have used them to achieve whatever feeling they were striving for, couldn’t possibly experience the wondrous sensation that I experienced when that energy entered my body. It was so intense and peaceful, all at the same time. I don't know how to accurately describe it … it felt like all of a sudden my body was not in the same place. It felt like I was immersed in something that I had never felt before. It felt very physical and not just in my mind. My whole body became a receptacle for pure joy. Everything was wonderful, euphoric, and it seemed like I could feel everything in the universe.