A conversion is a religious experience that changes a persons beliefs from one religion to another, there are three types of conversion with characteristics varying among them. Mystical experience however is a more extreme form of experience, which is not just seeing hearing or feeling someone but a deeper union with god.Non-volitional is a non voluntary conversion which is forced on someone. This usually means that the person is hostile to the belief they later come to hold, as it is forced it is not sought after either. God is usually involved by a direct action such as a voice or lights, which results in the conversion being sudden. The scale of these conversions are massive as they are dramatic and spectacular due to the intervening act by God.
An example of a non-volitional conversion is Saul / St Paul. Saul was well known before his sudden conversion for murdering anyone who followed the Lord, as he was hostile to the belief they held. As he was on his way to Damascus one day a dramatic and spectacular light fell from the sky and he heard a voice. This voice told him to go to the city, where he would be told what to do.
When he arrived at the city a man came to him to cure his blindness caused by God's intervening act. The scale of Saul's change was massive, this is seen in the fact that he changed his name to St Paul and completely changed his life around by preaching and following the Lord, despite not seeking the conversion.Volitional conversions however are looked/sought for usually because they have a sense of revulsion at their life, which means they are voluntary. As they are sought for they are usually gradual as it takes time to know what you are seeking, which results in the process happening over a long period time. Volitional conversions happen on a low key scale usually just within oneself, which represents a lesser change compared to on-volitional conversions.
Tolstoy's conversion is one of the more well-known volitional conversions. Tolstoy believed life was not worth living due to depression, this revulsion at his life lead Tolstoy to search for an answer, although he may not have known what he was searching for he sought after a conversion. This searching was carried out by Tolstoy himself without any intervening act by God, and was a gradual process which took many weeks. As Tolstoy searched within himself for the answer,it was a lesser change and happened on a low key scale including thoughts rather than sudden and dramatic lights and voices.
The last type of conversion is self surrender and every conversion has an element of self surrender as in every conversion there has to be a tipping point where the person gives in to the belief they will become to believe otherwise it would not be a conversion.C.S.Lewis' conversion centered massively around self surrender, as for months and months he rejected God who cam to him many nights with his beliefs. Over and over he rejected them beliefs until one night C.
S.Lewis reached his tipping point and accepted God coming to him. He got to his knees and began to pray, he had finally accepted God's beliefs and teachings, which resulted in his conversion.Mystical experience is on a deeper meaning then just feeling, seeing or hearing God. Mystical experience involves a union with God, in which you become one with Him. In the Upanishads this union with God is described as "rivers flow to their rest in the ocean and there leave behind them name and form, so the knower liberated from name and form, reaches the divine Person beyond the beyond.
" These experiences are universal and share common characteristics, despite the culture or religion in which they occur.Common characteristics are passivity (being passive) where the person does nothing but accept the experience, ineffability (beyond understanding) which means the experience defies physical description and at best can only hinted at, noetic quality (brings knowledge) which may bring insight, awareness, revelation, and illumination beyond the grasp of the intellect and are transient(temporary) although they seem to last a lifetime to the subject.St Theresa is a world-wide known figure for her mysical experiences. St Theresa describes herself as "stricken with inactivity" while in union with God. She refers to her soul being fully awake but herself "wholly asleep" in regards to things around her. She describes herself as "utterly dead" while in union with God, which symbolises the passivity in her experiences.
When asked how she can be so sure in respect to what she did not see, she replies that she is "powerless to answer", which means she is ineffable to answer the question . However she did understand that she "believed this truth in the most unshakable manner", which brought noetic quality to her visions. Although she had many visions, all were transient. While she was united with God, the time was "even shorter" then it actually was despite such religious ecstasy.
