Dr. Gayle Civish PhD
Personal Spiritual Experiences
Posted PSEs
PSE1
Sara
My grandmother passed away in July and I have felt her presence ever since. I have been receptive to signs and there it was in the middle of nowhere a rose carved into a tree. My grandma's middle name was rose and a shared name in our family. It was a beautiful reminder of her and felt like it was placed just for me to remind me that it will all be ok.
PSE2
Christie
When I was 13 in 7th grade, I had a friend who is now my soul sister. We were connected psychically. She and I are still connected in this way. I will think of her & she will text or call.
PSE3
Dr Robert S Cave, author of Strange Quest.
My mother passed away in 1995 after fighting the ravages of lung cancer. Several years later, I was lying in bed reflecting on my work day. I noticed a small red orb, about the size of a grapefruit, slowly moving from the end of my bed around to the nightstand next to me. As I stared at the orb. I found it to be mesmerizing. My next awareness was with my mother. She took me out-of-body to a higher spiritual realm. We were both sitting next to each other on the top of a very high building with our feet hanging over the side. I immediately began to freak out! She looked at me in a very loving glance and said, “I have come to show you how easy it is to leave when your physical body dies.” She took me by my hand and we were flying through space effortlessly. What a feeling of freedom…knowing that our Soul/Spirit lives on. A wonderful gift.
PSE4
Rebecca
When I was twelve, my Aunt Carey and I shared a bond so deep it felt unbreakable. She would often tell me how much she loved me and how she dreamed of living long enough to see me marry. One night, as I was drifting off to sleep, the unmistakable scent of her perfume filled the room. I froze as the bed sank slightly, as though someone was kneeling beside me in prayer. My heart raced, but the sensation wasn’t frightening—it was warm, almost comforting. I called out to my mom, telling her Aunt Carey was near. She had always joked with my mom, teasing that if she ever passed, she’d tug at her legs to let her know she’d crossed over.
The next morning at breakfast, my mom shared something chilling—she’d woken up to find her legs pulled off the bed, as if someone had gently tugged her down. Later that morning, we received the devastating news: Aunt Carey had passed. I felt a bittersweet privilege in what I believe was her spiritual farewell, a final act of love to say goodbye. To this day, I feel her presence as one of my guardian angels, watching over me with the same love and protection she always gave. Aunt Carey, I love you forever—you will always be in my heart.
PSE5
Joy
My mother-in-law and I had no love for each other. No matter what I said or how I acted didn’t bring us closer…at a time when our children were young. We didn’t speak for months. When she was passing, I sat in her hospital room wondering what I could have done differently. My husband stepped out of the room to speak to a nurse. As I was praying for her I looked up and seen her essence in the corner of the ceiling. She said, “Get my son home, I don’t want him here when I pass. By the time you get home, my son will get a phone call informing him of my passing.” I related my experience to my husband on the way home. Thirty minutes later when we arrived at the house, the phone rang. Things happened exactly as she said. I am extremely grateful to her for showing me that aspect of her soul as she was leaving this realm. Her spiritual communication with me was the key to opening my ability to talk with my own Spirit and help others to receive messages from loved ones on the other side. The experience taught me that once we leave the body, all of the ego stuff dies too!
PSE6
Phila
I have come to think that after someone dies, their spirit remains here and manifests
itself for a time. After my husband was killed in a car accident, and I was gravely injured,
I was walking up to a doctor's appointment. Two friends accompanied me.
On the way into the office, Jamie, one of my friends, and I both noticed a man coming out the door. I did not see his face, but recognized something familiar about him. Jamie saw his face, realized it was Bob, my late husband. As he walked to the parking lot, his image faded and disappeared. When I went in for my appointment at Urgent Care, the doctor who saw me was Bob's physician. He is now my doctor.
PSE7
Sara
My grandfather was an avid coin collector. Whenever I travel to remote places I find change. It makes me smile every time I look down and see change. I keep each one in a special piggy bank as a souvenir of my travels but also a reminder that he is always with me and encouraging me to get out to nature where I am most at peace! Photo is of me on a remote muddy road where sure enough a penny was found!
PSE8
Larry
Back in the early 1980's, my job exposed me to strong personalities and a lot of bias. To contrast this environment and other personal injustices, I started cross-country skiing. This pursuit took me to a favorite area, the Sierra Nevada mountain ranges near Bishop, CA. But for one particular trip, I decided to go in the summer, but this time I would visit the White Mountains (Inyo Nat. Forest), and see the Bristlecone trees. This ended up being a very rustic trip. The campground is very basic. I had brought the necessary camping equipment, but minimal necessities. I wanted to rough it. By the 3rd night, I found myself observing nature more and more along with the wonderful night sky. By the 4th day, I had an epiphany of what I needed to do, accompanied with a strong, joyous feeling. The joy I was feeling was intoxicating. I determined that I needed to get back to my true interests, which was the natural environment and architecture. Being surrounded by all this natural beauty (even sage has its beauty in the summer), I now found myself mentally stronger with a better sense of self worth - both personally and professionally. After one more day in the White Mountains, I was ready to make big changes.
PSE9
Linda
When I was 6 years old, my parents received a piano for an anniversary gift. And it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. My grandmother gave it to my mom for her because she’d always wanted to learn how to play the piano, but they were too poor. My grandmother bought it for my mom and dad. My brother wanted to take lessons. He was two years older than I was. He got to take lessons and I didn’t. I wanted to take a lesson, but they said I was too young. After about a year my mom got tired of fighting with my brother about practicing. He wanted to play, but he didn’t want to practice. She let him quit. And I said, if he’s quitting, can I start? My mom talked to the choir director who was the piano teacher. The choir director knew me from being in the little kids choir. And she said, if she wants to and it’s not a matter of money, let her. So I finally got to take lessons and I was so excited. I had heard my brother play, so I was able, by ear, to play back what he had played. I wasn’t really learning the music. Not being really stupid, she caught onto that and put me in a different book. So it was all music I had never heard before. Oh my gosh, I started struggling. I wanted this more than anything I had eve wanted, more than candy, more than ice cream, more than the little boy down the street. I just couldn’t get it.
I was really struggling with the written assignments. There’s a note on a linen you have to identify and put the name of the note on the line underneath the note. I just couldn’t get it. I remember one night. I remember I was sitting at my little desk in my room. I was just frustrated to tears. I started crying. I put my head down on my on my desk and I started to pray. I just prayed to God. Please let me learn this. Please let me know this. I was too young to know about bribing God. When I lifted my head from the desk, I knew it! I knew it all! I knew everything! I knew the note names. I could do all my exercises. I went back and corrected the ones I had done. I knew it. It’s not like I could sit down and play like a virtuoso, but I knew the music instantly, just like that. Answered prayer.
I ran to the living room with my music. I know it. I got it! I prayed to God. God answered my prayer. My father started talking to me about coincidences. My mom started talking to me about mental blocks. These people who took me to church every Sunday. And led the youth group. And were the ushers and coordinated the Christmas pageant. Totally denied the spiritual experience I had.
PSE10
Issac
At seven years old, I dreamt of becoming a hairdresser. My father, however, dismissed my aspirations, declaring it an unsuitable career. Dejected, I internalized his disapproval, burying my dreams deep within. Years later, I found myself successful yet unfulfilled. The echoes of my father's words still haunted me, a constant reminder of my stifled dreams. Driven by a desire to reclaim my lost passion, I decided to compete for a scholarship at a prestigious hairdressing academy in New York City.
Despite the lingering shadow of my father's judgment, I poured my heart and soul into the competition. I channeled years of suppressed longing and frustration into my work. When my name was announced as the scholarship winner, I felt a surge of liberation. I had finally taken back my power, silencing the echoes of my father's disapproval.
The journey, though challenging, had led me to a place of profound self-discovery.
PSE11
Jon
I do mostly Hindu practices, worship, meditation. They've always been durning the ritual or meditation. It felt like my body was shaking all over as I was sitting there. I look up towards the ceiling or something. I know I am still in the room. I don't lose my consciousness. I don't know how to describe it exactly.In some ways it's a joyful, ecstatic kind of feeling. Also it seems uncontrollable. I don't know if it would differ from mystical experiences, something in there felt like connected to a higher power, not really connected to my normal self-consciousness. It was probably awhile before I had the same experience again.I had the desire to re-experience the same thing again. Now it happens more often and is still kind of the same roughy.
PSE12
Albert
I was at a crossroads in my life. I was very happy being a teacher at a high school in Florida, but I also wanted to move on. I felt it was time to move on. I had always wanted to go to graduate school and complete a graduate degree. i had a master's degree, but I always knew I wanted to be a university professor. The experience I am about to share with you is an experience that propelled me to. make the final move. I was really befuddled over where to go to school. I knew I wanted to be a historian, but I wanted to go to a place where I would also be able to incorporate my interest in the history of religion in a meaningful way that didn't denigrate religion. In so many academic departments religion isn't taken seriously. I wanted a a place that had a really good track recording the history of psychology. I was really interested in psychology of religions, in particular, the history of the movement of Freud and Jung. That was not an easy thing to pull off. A lot of anxious, emotional and stressful energy was involved in making the decision.
And one night when I least expected it, I had a dream where I saw a map of the eastern seaboard. I could see on the map of Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. Next thing I know from that dream image, I'm on a bridge and I am going over the bridge. And the next thing I know, I see the map again and way up in northern New Jersey, there's a blue light. There's a blinking, really beautiful royal blue light and it's saying, Albert, you really better pay attention to me! And next to the map it says Drew, which is bizarre because Drew isn't even a city. I was just baffled by the dream. The following evening I just couldn't let it go. I went to the public library and grabbed one of those Peterson guides to programs in the humanities. Honestly, I had never heard of Drew University before. First thing I did was grab one of those AAA maps. I couldn't see Drew anything on it, so I wondered if it had to do with this head trip I had been on about where to go study. I wondered if there was a Drew College and lo and behold, there was a Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. I looked it up and I realized they had two people on the faculty who specialized in the history of psychology.Eventually I found out that they had many more than that. They had a number of them specializing in Freud. A few had been specialists in psycho-history.
I called the administration's office in the graduate school and wondered if I could construct an interdisciplinary doctoral program. They said "yes".
It was like " Oh my God!". My reaction was like "Wow!" It was like as if I went to sleep and out of the blue I got the answer. It freaked me out.It really did and in some ways it was comforting to know there is some kind of intelligence out there. For the next few days, my mind was just in a state of wonder and awe. If I hadn't gone to Drew, I wouldn't be doing what I am doing now. It was the perfect place for me.