Many years ago, I had a mystical experience...
I want to share my experience with you, in writing, for the first time anywhere, here on Steemit. This particular story is about a strange dream that I had more than forty years ago.
Come with me now as I relive my dream...
Mystic Mediterranean Hillside and Shepherd Boy
Photo courtesy of Camila Boff and http://unsplash.com
It is a beautiful, warm and clear day.
I am walking along a grassy, rocky hillside. Although this is not a time or place that I am familiar with, I have a very strong sense that I must be on a Greek island or peninsula, somewhere along the rugged coastline of the Mediterranean Sea. Sunlight glitters off of the water far below and white clouds drift lazily overhead.
Looking ahead of me, I find that I am following what appears to be a young shepherd boy, heading up the hillside. The hillside is steep, and so we are walking a diagonal, following the contour of the folds of the hill.
I can hear the shepherd boy chanting.
He is not singing, but his chant is rhythmic. He is repeating a series of phrases over and over again. The language is foreign to my ear, but his enunciation is clear enough. Listen with me as I try to concentrate on what he is saying:
"Ata, Ata, Archontos,
Ata, Ata, Echousi,
Ata, Ata, Archousi"
"Ata, Ata, Archontos,
Ata, Ata, Echousi,
Ata, Ata, Archousi"
"Ata, Ata, Archontos,
Ata, Ata, Echousi,
Ata, Ata, Archousi"
As I continue to follow him up the hill, I begin to take up the shepherd boy's chant. Gradually catching on, I begin to "get it:"
"Ata, Ata, Archontos,
Ata, Ata, Echousi,
Ata, Ata, Archousi"
"Ata, Ata, Archontos,
Ata, Ata, Echousi,
Ata, Ata, Archousi"
Now that I seem to "have it down," the shepherd boy turns and, smiling, nods to me as if to indicate that I've gotten every word just right.
Then I wake up.
While the scene and the words are still clear in my mind, I hasten to the nearby window ledge in my room. The dream is still vivid, and I do not want to forget it, nor lose a single word of the shepherd boy's chant. Taking a piece of paper and a pencil, I write the chant down, spelling the words phonetically as carefully as possible.
It is sometime around 1970 when this happened.
I'm living and working at the DuPage County Convalescent Home in Wheaton, Illinois. My friend Denny is a grad student at nearby Wheaton College.
I know Denny is studying biblical Greek, and so the next time I see him, I get him to dig out his Greek textbooks to help me figure out whether or not the words might possibly mean anything.
We're unable to discover any meaning for "Ata Ata." I suspect it may be just some nonsense syllables intended to fill out the chant, giving it some rhythm - you know, sort of like the "Dip dip dip dip Bomb, Sha-na-na-na-na-na" and other similar nonsense words in a rock song?
However, one at a time, Denny looks up and renders a trial translation of each one the remaining three unique words.
As each word is deciphered, I become progressively more amazed:
"Ata, Ata, Archontos,
Archontos - "They are ruled..."
OK, this is interesting...
Ata, Ata, Echousi,
Echousi - "They shed blood..."
Now this is getting a little freaky...
Ata, Ata, Archousi"
Archousi - "They rule..."
Wow! Knock me over with a feather! The whole chant suddenly makes perfect sense. It is the very picture of the endless cycle of human government:
"Ata, Ata, Archontos,
Ata, Ata, Echousi,
Ata, Ata, Archousi"
"Ata, Ata, Archontos,
Ata, Ata, Echousi,
Ata, Ata, Archousi"
The cycle of human history simply repeats, over and over again. What Francis Schaeffer called "Man's inhumanity to man." What libertarians and anarchists recognize as the illicit initiation of force. One human being presuming to rule and control another, followed by violent rebellion and "regime change."
Human History: A Never Ending Cycle of Wars
Photo courtesy of Brigitte Werner and https://pixabay.com
And so, What do I make of this strange experience that I had?
Was I somehow, in my dream, temporarily transported in time and space to a Greek hillside overlooking the Mediterranean? Did my subconscious mind just make it all up? I may never know in this lifetime. I don't believe in "special revelation." I don't think that God was talking to me in some particular way that day.
I do know that there is a great deal of mystery in life and the universe, and far more to the world than I can see or fully understand. Life is not only stranger than we imagine, it's stranger than we can imagine. If anything, having this experience has helped me to be less judgemental when others tell me that something strange happened to them. Been there, done that.
For now, I just chalk it up to "interesting."
I'll leave it to God to worry about and sort out what really happened. One day, I'll ask Him about it.
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