"You may wonder: What is this experience of the Presence of God truly like?
When I asked this question to my young granddaughter, Emunah, she said simply: 'The presence of God? Yes, I remember… I was on a hike, walking in nature.' She stretched her arms out, her voice tone changed, there was softness in her eyes, as she continued. 'It felt like: I love the whole world so much, I want to hug all of it in my arms. Everything is good. Everything is so peaceful, so quiet. What could ever be wrong? I was crying and laughing at the same time.'
...For some people the Divine Presence has been felt as a sense of warmth, exultation and euphoria...
Experiencing the Divine Presence has been described as feeling marvelously alive with a finer energy coursing through, with every cell, every particle of our being vibrating with vital energy. It is like being immersed into a greater Power, connected in love and compassion to every soul in this world, blessing them with the boundless blessings flowing from Infinite Realms. Many realize that this Infinite Presence of eternal Love is ever waiting for each of us to merge with its flow of immense eternal compassion.
For me this feeling is an overwhelming sense of wonder, gratefulness, awe, complete safety and inner peace. It is a state of profound stillness, feeling deeply cherished and loved, honored and protected. In those moments the true nature of my life situation becomes crystal clear. Compassionate guidance reveals to me a wider, more expansive, luminous, loving perspective that helps me live in greater joy. There is also an inner voice which clearly suggests the next practical steps to take in my everyday living. At other times I have become aware of a pristine, transcendent Light. It is very real, penetrating my innermost self, infusing, purifying and cleansing. It steadies me with a sense of strength and balance. A deep certitude fills me, a wondrous knowing that all creation is supported and held in the loving care of an Eternal Power, a Power filling the whole universe with goodness, with beauty, with harmony and with ever flowing life. This Power supports all existence in oceans of love and bliss.
...There has been many unique opportunities in my life to be present when people were gathered together with their attention on profound, heartfelt prayers or meditative focus. In these moments, there is a palpable change in the atmosphere – the ineffable sense of a sacred Presence enfolding all those present. It is a sense of oneness, being embraced by this infinite Force, this intensely alive, transforming, empowering Presence that is regenerating and healing us.
In those sacred moments our stress and fears simply melt away. There is a yearning to dedicate ourselves to God’s service, to honor the voice of our soul, to listen to our heartfelt promptings toward kindness and toward courageous, creative action. The soul beauty of others, their precious uniqueness, suddenly reveals itself to us with a sense of peace and compassion. We are awed, humbled and grateful, totally engaged, totally devoted to this infinite, loving Presence that created all."
-Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, "Experiencing the Presence of God", on JewishOutlook.com
This non-mainstream Jewish Rabbi interprets "Shechinah" as a female aspect of deity. She describes her spiritual experiences with Shechinah.
"In workshops on Shechinah that I have conducted during the last few years, I find that men and women, Jews and non-Jews, carry concepts, feelings, and images of the Shechinah within them. Again, in most people experience precedes naming the energy or having a knowledge of her characteristics as presented or expressed in the Jewish sacred literature. Interestingly enough, when we share these experiences, we find that individuals 'know' or uncover most of the traditional characteristics of Shechinah on their own. The most common experiences are of light and radiance, which is consistent with the writings of many Jewish scholars who describe her as a great light which shines upon all God's creatures. Many writers consider her the light of creation itself or the place of the primordial light.
Some people's experience of Shechinah involves hearing a voice or feeling a great warmth. For myself she is most present on Friday nights after I light the Shabbat candles; that is when I hear her speaking to me. At other times I feel she is present when I begin composing songs with words that address issues or people I care about. During these times, usually in the forest or at the ocean, a great sense of joy overcomes me, and all ordinary problems fade alongside the bliss I feel. On other occasions I have experienced myself falling into a great soft whiteness that is her embrace, as if all the down feathers in the world were in a single pile waiting for me to fall into them. My favorite image came when I saw her 'dressed' in stars and the planets. Her size was beyond imagination, and her celestial 'diadem' was made up of the heavens. I was overwhelmed."
-Rabbi Léah Novick, "Encountering the Schechinah, the Jewish Goddess", from the book "The Goddess Re-Awakening: The Feminine Principle Today", edited by Shirley Nicholson, p. 211-212
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