April 22, 2000
Concluding Remarks
Preparing this book has been a journey of its own. I've had a chance to make some observations about how my visions developed over time. They started slowly, just one or two a year. Two of the early ones, The Path and Heart's Desire, came to me as fully developed as any of the later ones. Apparently, I was quite open to receiving in those early days.
Between 1990 and 1995, I had a significant dry spell. For two years I had no visions at all. I wondered if I would ever have another vision. Beginning in 1996, my visions became more regular, more a part of my usual life. I started admitting to being a mystic in public, giving talks on having visions at several churches. Just claiming my gift seemed to help me relax into an ongoing receptivity.
Some visions signal huge, evolutionary changes in my life direction or understanding. The Path was my call to become a Religious Science practitioner. Heart's Desire helped to focus me on the value of my gift of vision. The three visions described in Mystical Relationships helped to confirm the spiritual nature of my new relationship with David Gordon. The Monolith was my first experience with the feeling of infinite peace, and the concept of simultaneous time. The Crystal Matrix gave me profound confidence in our radiant future. The Next Gentle Step helped me understand a deeper experience of love. Evensong,
my vision of living in the Heart of God, has led me on many new paths, every day, since I first saw it.
Some visions are gentle messages from Spirit to encourage and confirm my making good choices. Thank You for the Quilt, in Mystical Relationships, and The Angel are examples of this sort of vision. Others seem like minor course corrections, although they may be quite pointed signposts to another way to go. The Need for Battle is an Illusion is the best example of this type of vision.
Some visions just seem to be about my current life experience. They drop a new piece of information into the mix to help me teach or act from a place of greater wisdom or joy. Balance Point, Winter Trees, and Lining Up Energy each took me to a new level of intellectual understanding.
As you read the visions, you might notice how I received the same message repeatedly, in different ways over time. The Path and The Maze, within Mystical Relationships, both are powerful messages to "stop, relax and look up." The River, Gimpy Goose and Expanding the Circle all focus on learning nonjudgment. The Picnic Path and The Next Gentle Step each talk about an easier way to grow based on ease, rather than struggle.
The visions in this book are not inclusive. Some I simply neglected to write down. Some have come in sessions with clients, and are not appropriate to discuss because of confidentiality. Some simply feel too personal to me to disclose.
If you are wanting to experience the joy of connection to Spirit, I would recommend you begin a regular meditation practice. Some people hear voices, as I did in The Need for Battle is an Illusion, rather than seeing anything. These people are sometimes called auditory mystics. Some have kinesthetic mystical experiences, like my being 'shot through the heart with the love of God,' in The Next Gentle Step. I haven't included any of my purely kinesthetic experiences here, because they can be harder to describe in a way another can understand. For example, I can report once I giggled for 10 straight minutes because I felt total effervescent joy. I loved it. There isn't much more to say about it, though, because there was no cognitive content at all.
My advice is to honor whatever experiences of connection you discover. If you are given advice, try following it if it feels right. A feeling of grace or deep love helps me to distinguish a true vision from ideas I'm making up in my own mind. The more I value and talk about my visions, the more visions I have.
Make it a habit to write down any vision, voice message or powerful feeling you receive. In the moment, it always feels so powerful, like something I will always remember. But time has proved I do forget, if I don't keep a record. The other value of keeping records is you may revisit the feeling of the visions by rereading your reports. An added bonus is, if you collect enough of them, you, too, may discover yourself writing a book about mystical visions.
May you always feel connected.
May your path be lined with
grace, colors, and stars.
May you enjoy Heaven on Earth.
