by Dana Taylor

So long 2023! It was….fun. My intuition told me it was going to be a challenging year. The winter atmospheric rivers that roared through the Santa Cruz mountains made simple things like getting to the grocery store and safely home again a major accomplishment. By the end of March living on the edge of a river had gone from charming to alarming. Without solid plans, but with faith in my heavenly guides and earthly friends, I moved my belongings into storage, and lived in several locations over the ensuing months. I had many adventures along the way, with old friends and new. As I look back on the year, one of the highlights was finding my way to Spiritual Awakenings International (SAI).

SAI was founded in 2020 by Dr. Yvonne Kason and Robert Bare, two people well-known in the community of Near-Death Experiencers. (See my review of Lessons from the Light by Dr. Yvonne Kason.) They felt led to provide a global community for people who’ve experienced a variety of Spiritually Transformative Experiences (STEs). From the Spiritual Awakenings International website:

“Spiritually Transformative Experiences” is an umbrella term for a broad range of spiritual and paranormal experiences of consciousness, that all tend to cause a spiritual awakening and gradual expansion of one’s range of consciousness. All types of STEs tend to transform experiencers’ values in a more spiritual direction and propel an increased desire to be loving, ethical, and of service to others. Dr. Kason defines Spiritually Transformative Experiences into 6 major sub-types:

• Mystical experiences;
• Near-Death Experiences (NDEs);
• Other Death-related STEs such as: Deathbed experiences/End-of-life experiences; Death-Watch/Shared-Death experiences; and After-Death Communications;
• Psychic/intuitive and out-of-body experiences of many types;
• Kundalini / Spiritual Energy Awakenings
• Inspired creativity

SAI sponsors monthly guest speakers and Experiencers Sharing Circles. I began watching the presentations, both live and on their SAI YouTube channel. The quality of the presentations impressed me. When they put out a call for an administrative volunteer, I felt that little intuitive nudge, “go for it.” I responded and soon found myself in training with Dr. Yvonne Kason on a weekly basis as their YouTube administrator. Getting to know Dr. Yvonne and the other SAI board members has been inspiring, energizing and just plain fun. Their individual spiritual journeys are the stuff of novels. Together they share a sense of the Awakening of humanity. So many stories, so many people having extraordinary spiritual experiences. SAI provides a global community for them to come together.

This Saturday, February 3 is the Experiencers Sharing Circle on Zoom. People from around the world show up and are divided into small groups. Each Zoom room has a trained leader. Participants can share any Spiritually Transformative Experience, usually for about five minutes, each time around within about 40 minutes. There isn’t crosstalk or counseling, but sharers find comradery and acceptance. Some people simply listen if they aren’t ready to tell their story. If you are interested in attending, register at the SAI website to receive the Zoom link on Friday. All SAI events are free with donations suggested to cover administrative costs. You can register HERE.

This weekend I’ll be joining the Sharing Circle from my two-bedroom cottage in the redwoods of Boulder Creek, CA. My wanderings ended in September when fortune smiled upon me, and I secured a house near my daughter and her tribe of five. I have friendly, helpful neighbors, should the weather cause some calamity. For moment, I am settled, snug and looking forward to the year ahead. I hope you are also.

Register for February’s Sharing Circle at https://spiritualawakeningsinternational.org/event/sai-experiencers-sharing-circle-february-3-2024/

Bright Blessings, Dana