u/Hopeful4710

In deep trance, a voice or persona can emerge with its own name, memories, emotions, personality and distinct sense of self. In past-life regression, we might call that "a past life." In mediumship, "a spirit." In trance channelling, "another consciousness speaking through me."

Yet the underlying experience can be remarkably similar.

Hypnosis clearly creates the conditions for these experiences, but that alone doesn't tell us what they are. It doesn't establish whether someone is accessing a past life, communicating with a spirit, or encountering something generated by their own subconscious.

So I wonder whether some of what we call past-life regression might be better understood as a form of trance communication, with the label depending largely on the framework we bring to it.

To be clear, I'm not saying the experience is fake. Quite the opposite. I'm asking whether we sometimes name the experience before we truly understand what's happening.

Hi everyone. I am hoping someone here can help me because I am at my wit's end.

I have been unwell for 16 years with an undiagnosed condition that affects a large part of my body. I have tried everything. Doctors, specialists, holistic medicine, energy healing. Nothing has worked. No one can tell me what is wrong, and the treatments I do receive fail to help any of it.

But it is not just that the illness is undiagnosed. It is that my path to getting help keeps getting blocked in ways that feel deliberate. A routine scan gets lost in the system. A referral never makes it to the doctor. An appointment disappears off the computer system. Medical equipment used to try and diagnose me malfunctions and brings up random error codes that no one can fix. This has happened over and over for years. It is not just bad luck. It feels like something is actively preventing me from getting answers or treatment.

I will not lie. This is what brought me to the spiritual path. I started using divination tools like oracle cards, a pendulum, and dowsing rods to try and find answers. At first it helped. But over time, the messages became misleading. I would get carrot stick type answers that made me feel a breakthrough was coming soon. Something good was just around the corner. But it never materialised. I consulted mediums too, and they brought through positive messages, but it was the same pattern. Hope built up, then nothing. The fall from that hope is always so high.

I have also had negative, mocking, and contradictory answers from my divination tools. I would ask a serious question and get told "yes" to something terrible, like God is punishing me or I will never get healing. I switched from addressing "spirit guides" to only calling on angels of God. For a few days it seemed better. But then the trickster learned to impersonate the angels too. I would ask if I was talking to an angel and get "yes," then ask if it was a bad spirit and also get "yes." It constantly changes its identity to keep me confused.

I have had intrusive blasphemous thoughts about God, Jesus, and my guides. They come out of nowhere and upset me deeply. I have prayed to God, Jesus, and the angels for protection. I have used holy water all around my house. I wear a cross and a quartz necklace. I have lit candles and asked for help. But it is still happening.

I have also noticed that electronics malfunction around me wherever I am. Phones glitch, devices freeze, and things break for no clear reason. It happens too often to be coincidence.

I also see spirits and have been able to for a few years now. An example of what I see are light orbs of different colours and shadows that move intelligently. Some people say all shadow looking spirits are evil, but that does not seem to be my experience when I have consulted with mediums. Or am I interpreting everything wrong in what I see? I genuinely do not know anymore.

So here is my question. Is this more than just bad luck? Is it possible that I am being played and manipulated on a spiritual level, and that this manipulation is also affecting my ability to get medical help? I became spiritual because I was let down on every other front. But now the spiritual seems to encompass it all, like higher powers are at play controlling aspects of my life. I do not know what is real anymore.

Has anyone else experienced this kind of repeated blocking of medical help? Has anyone dealt with a trickster spirit that impersonates guides and angels and also seems to affect the physical world? How do you cope when you feel like you cannot trust any spiritual communication? Did you have to give up divination entirely? And how do you tell the difference between a shadow spirit that is harmful and one that is not? Any advice would be deeply appreciated.

Thank you for reading.

Greetings. I am not a Hermeticist, but I have been exploring various traditions in search of understanding.

I was born with a rare congenital condition that has taken my youth from me. I have spent years navigating medical dismissal, lost opportunities, and daily exhaustion. I am drawn to the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus, but I have some questions I hope someone here can help with:

1. How does Hermeticism understand congenital illness? I know karma ("the Law of Compensation") is recognised as one cause of disease, but are there other causes - astrological, biological, or otherwise? (I am wary of "past life punishment" explanations.)
2. How does the Hermetic path guide someone to live with ongoing physical suffering- not escape it, but be with it? How does one become the "strong and wise" mind that "rules its stars" when the body feels like a tyrant?
3. What does the Hermetic path look like for someone with chronic illness who cannot perform elaborate rituals and has very limited energy? What is the smallest, most accessible daily practice?
4. This may be sensitive: I have found comfort in praying to Hindu deities. Can that coexist with exploring Hermeticism, or does the path require a purely philosophical approach?

I ask with sincerity and respect. Any insights would be deeply appreciated.

Thank you.

I hope it is alright to post here as someone who is not Muslim and not a Sufi, but who has been exploring various spiritual traditions in search of understanding.

I was born with a rare congenital health condition. It has taken most of my youth and prime years from me. I have spent decades navigating medical dismissal, lost opportunities, and the daily exhaustion of living in a body that struggles to keep up. I have searched across many traditions for some understanding of why a soul would enter the world with such profound physical limitation right from birth.

I have found some comfort in Hindu devotional practice - particularly praying to Lord Ganesha and Lakshmi Mata- but I am also deeply drawn to the mystical heart of Islam. The poetry of Rumi, the concept of the Beloved, and the idea of finding meaning within suffering have touched something in me. However, as an outsider, I have many questions and would genuinely appreciate guidance from those with more experience.

My questions are these:

1. How does Sufism understand congenital illness and disability? Is it seen as a trial from God, a form of purification, or something else entirely? I am particularly wary of interpretations that frame suffering as punishment, as that has often felt dismissive and added guilt to an already heavy burden. I have read that Sufism places human vulnerability at the heart of the spiritual journey, since it participates in our condition as servants and allows for the emergence of God's power and presence among us. Could someone expand on this?
2. What guidance does Sufism offer for how to live with ongoing physical suffering? Not how to escape it, but how to be with it day after day - how to cultivate patience (sabr) and trust in God (tawakkul) when the body fails constantly? Rumi wrote that "pain is a treasure, for there are mercies" and that sickness can be a means of remembering God. He also wrote that "the wound is the place where the Light enters you". These words bring me some comfort, but I struggle to embody them in my daily life. How do Sufis practically live this teaching?
3. This is the question I am most curious about: What does the Sufi path look like for someone with chronic illness who cannot travel to a shaykh, cannot sit for long periods in meditation or dhikr, and is simply trying to survive each day with some measure of peace? Is there a place on the path for those whose bodies limit them? I have read that Sufis believe calamities can be a blessing that leads to attaining divine love. How does one open to that love when the body feels like a prison?
4. Finally, and this may be a sensitive question: I have found genuine comfort in praying to Hindu deities. As someone exploring Sufism, is it possible to hold both- to draw near to God through the mystical traditions of Islam while also maintaining a devotional relationship with deities that have brought me comfort? Or does the path of Sufism require letting go of all such attachments? I ask this with sincerity, not with any intention to offend.

I ask all of this with deep respect. I am not looking for quick fixes or easy comfort. I am genuinely seeking wisdom - something I can sit with, reflect on, and perhaps find a way to carry this weight more lightly.

Thank you for reading, and I would be truly grateful for any insights, teachings, or personal experiences you are willing to share.

I have a question for those who have crossed over and come back, particularly anyone who received clear revelations about the nature of physical suffering.

I was born with a rare physical health condition that has deeply impacted my life. I lost most of my youth to this illness, and I have spent many years searching across spiritual traditions for some understanding of why a soul would enter the world with such a profound physical limitation right from birth.

I am not asking for medical advice or generic platitudes. I am asking for direct, experiential insight from those who have been to the other side.

During your NDE, were you given any understanding of why people are born with congenital disabilities, chronic illness, or significant health challenges? Specifically:

• Was it explained as karmic residue from past lives?
• Was it presented as a choice the soul made before birth?
• Was it shown as purely random or biological, with no deeper spiritual meaning attached?
• Was it framed as an energetic imprint or something else entirely?

I am also curious: did you receive any guidance on how to be with this kind of suffering while still in the body? Not necessarily how to heal it, but how to carry it with some sense of peace?

I have wrestled with the "why" for years, and I have heard many theological explanations from various traditions. But I am particularly interested in what was shown to you, rather than what was taught to you.

Thank you for reading, and if you are willing to share, I would be genuinely grateful for whatever insight you received on the other side.

There is a question I keep returning to, yet I cannot find an answer that satisfies me.

I have endured something very prolonged and very difficult with my health; I will not share the exact details. But the recurring theme is that I have not yet had healing for this condition and it has been a situation that has been a battle ongoing for many years.

In other religions and spiritual beliefs, it might be labelled karma from a past life, or sin, or punishment from the Gods, or simply being on the wheel of Samsara. But none of these sit well with me. They seem to simplistic.

What does kemeticism teach about this type of situation?

Is this a spiritual test? Is it meaningless suffering?

I am not in crisis. I am simply tired and looking for wisdom from those who have wrestled with the same thing.

There is a question I keep returning to, yet I cannot find an answer that satisfies me. If we are called to be honest, open, and good, and if we genuinely try to live that way through circumstances that would test anyone, why does it sometimes feel like these are the exact qualities the world punishes most consistently?

I have endured something very prolonged and very difficult with my health; I will not share the details. But the recurring theme is that every time I have been open and honest, it has been used against me. And yet I keep choosing honesty, because I do not know how to be otherwise.

Is this a spiritual test? Is it meaningless suffering? Is there a tradition or perspective that has genuinely helped anyone here sit with this question without needing to resolve it?

I am not in crisis. I am simply tired and looking for wisdom from those who have wrestled with the same thing.

I am just curious as to which one people recommend. I see all different kinds, and I am not sure which one to get. Ideally, I would prefer just a plain Anubis one that only features him on the front of it.

Indoors I like my brightness set to below 50%. But depending on the phone, I have to have it set between 25-35%.

I only ever have the brightness up above 50% outside.

What do people here do for spiritual protection?

Are there any specific things any of you do to protect your spaces, yourself, your home, spiritual encounters?

I have had my fair share of spiritual encounters through mediumship, so I'm just curious to know what different things people do. Perhaps I can learn something new.

Can anyone recommend any ?

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Thank you.

I have been living with a severe, treatment-refractory digestive condition for many years. My body does not respond to any medical treatment I have tried. I require central lines for nutrition, but my lines fail repeatedly with no physical cause found despite extensive testing. I have spent years in and out of hospital, unable to work, socialise, or live anything close to a normal life. My quality of life is very low. I have no effective treatment or relief for my symptoms.

I have explored this situation spiritually for a long time. I have asked my spirit guides directly whether my suffering is for reasons such as karma, lessons, growth, ascension, or punishment. I have been told no to each of these, but no explanation has been given for why I am going through this.

What I am seeking now is clarity. Is there a spiritual understanding of my situation that I have missed? Am I meant to simply live without answers? Or is there something else I need to understand about my path?

Thank you.