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Shalom Simeon,
Very good to hear from you. Although you grew up Conservative, I do relate to your path. Very much.
I did not experience a vision of Jesus but I did have a formative mystical experience at age 13. The movie Jesus Christ Superstar had just been released. I went to see it with a friend. The scene regarding Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane was poignant and powerful. Well, after discussing (arguing?) with G-d, Jesus sings out (beautifully, I might add): “All right! I’ll die! Just watch me die! See, see how I die! Just watch me die!” And then it happened. Suddenly, the music changed and classical oil paintings of the crucifixion flashed one after another on the screen over about 25 seconds. And, with that, I experienced my first mystical experience. I really ‘got’ it. It was an incredibly powerful experience that I will not even try to put into words. All I can add is, I was never the same from that point on. It was a mystical coming-of-age experience.
Thank you for sharing, and thank you for allowing me to share this important formative life event with you.
Nicholas (my baptismal name)