What is a Spiritually Transformative Experience (STE)

[Giulia]

An experience is spiritually transformative when it causes the experiencer to perceive him/herself and reality in a profoundly different way: this usually involves an expansion of the individual’s identity and an intensification of sensitivity, often leading to altering the experiencer's values, priorities and appreciation of the purpose of life. A STE may be triggered by surviving clinical death (such as in an NDE), or by otherwise sensing an enlarged reality.

There are many types and names for experiences that can share common features and trigger spiritual transformation: near-death experiences (NDEs), near-death-like experiences (NDLEs), out-of-body experiences (OBEs), visions, spiritual emergencies, awakenings, kundalini, enlightenment, exceptional human experiences (EHEs), pre-birth memories, past-life experiences, nearing death awareness (NDAs), after-death communications (ADCs), empathic or shared death experiences, peak experiences, etc.

STEs can be called transcendent, transpersonal, mystical, spiritual, religious, paranormal, parapsychological or ecstatic experiences.

We have created this section of the site to include all STEs that do not specifically belong to the experience categories listed above and we encourage experiencers to share their story here.