My Encounter With God

would have been in 1959 or 1960. At that time I embarked upon this youthful meditative search, I understood God as a Cosmic Consciousness. I was sitting on the floor of a loft that was located in the garage that my father had built in the backyard of our home in La Habra,

California, having taken a break from practicing my violin. While in a meditative state, I was instantly transported in to a mystical realm where I found myself (or at least my consciousness) moving through “a space like cosmos” or at least a space like realm - ie. This realm was experienced by me as a dark void if you will but without such heavenly bodies as stars or planets and I was moving through it trying to find that Cosmic Consciousness.

At some point I noticed and then was in the midst of what appeared to be a field of pulsating lazar-like lights, something, upon reflection, I might describe as pulsating and sparkling golden-hued energy. I understood that this phenomenon was somehow connected to the Cosmic Consciousness that I was seeking, though I was not sure in what way and was therefore was quite curious.

It was then that I “encountered” a definite, distinct, separate from myself, and bounded consciousness or presence. When I say I encountered, it is an awkward way of saying that my spirit-self recognized that it was responding to and resonating with a definite presence external to my personal consciousness. I should clarify that I didn’t “talk” to this presence as in the exchanging of words or thought, or even see a shape.

The communication and the awareness were solely internal, located at the depth or core of my spiritual-self, and that I experienced this “meeting” solely within my spirit/heart, and not apart from to it, or “out there”. At the same time, I clearly perceived that the

Alice Fleisher Meditative Search in my youth 4/26/2016 presence was “out there” and quite external to me. It was certainly clear to me, even at that time, that I had not conjured up or created this presence, that it was substantial, and it certainly was not something that I could have remotely concocted even in the far reaches of my imagination (remember, I was approximately 12 or 13 yrs. of age and did not possess an intellectually astute or matured personality).

What was even more astounding was my response to this encounter, for from the core of my being, a genuinely overwhelming and indescribable outpouring of joy and elation burst forth within my spirit, as though a part of myself had been woken up or been activated from a heretofore dormant state and I was immensely happy.

I guess I could say that I had achieved a connection to God and I instantly “fell” or exploded in love! As well, there was no time gap between the meeting and my visceral response. Rev. Moon once described encounters of this sort in this way (I’m paraphrasing): If you feel the kiss of God, your heart will feel like it wants to jump out of your body.

(End of paraphrase) - Yup, that was what it was like! I concurrently “felt” God, while at the same time “I” objectively recognized that “I” did so, and “I” was figuratively speaking dancing for joy because of it. I just “knew” at a primordial level that I had “met”

or been touched by a presence that was overwhelming, grand, incredible, awe-inspiring, and amazing; and my euphoria erupted instantly, without any tie to my intellect. It wasn’t as thought I was overjoyed because I ought to be, my response went quite beyond the realm of thought or cognitive reflection. A way to describe this awaking from a musicians perspective would be that the tuning fork that was God and the tuning fork that was my spiritual-self began to resonate with each other, It was truly a uncommonly powerful and overpowering visceral experience that was burned into my consciousness and that I can return to in an instant in my spirit even now, some 50+ years later (and am currently doing

Alice Fleisher Meditative Search in my youth 4/26/2016 so in the process of writing this reflection, in my probably bumbling attempt “describe” the breadth and scope of that experience) and one which left an indelible impact on my person.

I certainly didn’t “understand” or cognize the nature of this God, I was not given any deep or astounding wisdoms or revelations, nor did I “see” the complexity of the universe and the cosmic reality. Instead, I was given what might be characterized as a brief snapshot, or a taste of God and what it would be like to be in a relationship with God. And I wanted more!

From that point, it has become an insatiable drive, desire, and push within my spirit to extend that encounter into infinity and with constancy. I think the purpose behind this experience was to give me a target destination that I could then progress towards. This makes sense, because my sole purpose in that childhood meditative search was simply to determine if God existed.

I can unequivocally say that my experience certainly fulfilled that stated purpose. Since that time any encounters in my ever progressing relationship with God have not been nearly so dramatic, but rather occur on a more quiet and introspective plane/realm, where I am able to immerse myself in the vibration and presence of this being

(experiences that I might describe as something like the humming with God, if you will). At those time, in my prayer life or meditations or when I turn my spiritual senses inward, my spiritual self periodically tunes into God, and then typically I again turn outward and get on with the process of my daily life. But, He (or They, because in Unification

Theology we understand that God contains both masculine and feminine attributes) is never actually separate from me, meaning that God presence is constantly connected with me though I’m not always aware or “conscious” of Their Presence. These communications are both mental (in that I am mentally aware that I am resonating) and yet always occur at a primal and extra-mental (is that even a word?!) level.

Alice Fleisher Meditative Search in my youth 4/26/2016

Dear reader, I am quite aware that this attempt to describe such a visceral experience with the presence of God is an uncommonly difficult thing to attempt to do and so I offer this reflection with the caveat that, should it fall short of satisfying the reader’s expectations, you have my sincere apology. For me, the greatest outcome from this flawed attempt at documentation would only be that it encourages the reader to undertake their own investigation and cultivation of a relationship with God.

If that outcome can be realized from this small attempt to convey my experience, than I will be at peace. I can only add that any and all efforts made in this direction will be so worthwhile and I am convicted that the benefits will surpass any difficulty or hesitation that a searcher may encounter or carry within their hearts.