by Del Hungerford

This experience came about right after my new book, “Accessing the Kingdom Realms” was published (2018). It’s all about revisiting a previous encounter to glean more understanding from the original experience. I talk about that process in the blog post Beavers and Scrolls. 

For the entire month that I was deciding which encounters to include in the book, re-engaging those experiences, choosing a cover, and working with the editor, my daily engagement experiences focused on sitting with Jesus and Papa on a park bench. My head resting in their laps, I could feel the energy flowing from them into me. It seemed odd that I would spend an entire month like this but I knew there was a plan. Not only was I re-engaging the experiences in the book but it seemed simultaneously, I was sitting with both Jesus and Papa in two separate encounters but the same location at the same time. To my human mind, that didn’t quite make sense. Brain Fry!

What’s a heart garden? It’s a place of deep intimacy in the core of your being where you commune with the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). You can spend time with all three of them separately or together. You share your innermost thoughts with each other and, you can even plant things! There’s an experience in Accessing the Kingdom Realms where I get to plant one of my favorite trees. But for that story, you’ll need to purchase the book. Without further babbling on, enjoy this addendum to my stories from Accessing the Kingdom Realms.

My Personal Heart Garden

I step into my heart garden, into the presence of The Father, who allows me to call Him "Papa," and Jesus. I see myself with both of them at the same time but yet we’re not together. I understand this to be separate realms. I see it but lack understanding in how it works.

Then, without notice, the two scenes come together where Jesus and Papa both get up off the bench at the same time. My Camperdown elm tree in the garden is now almost as large as the ones on the U of I campus. For a moment, I wonder if this time lapse from when I first planted this tree in my heart garden until now is an actual representation of when I was in college through the current time. My heart garden Camperdown elm was close to the size of the Camperdown elms on campus when I was attending college in the early 1980’s. It seems that the time in the spirit covers the time in my life from about 1980 through the present.

The Camperdown elm is one of my favorite trees. As students, we'd stand under these trees when it rained outside and we were waiting for people. I find it interesting that things we delight in tend to show up in our heart garden!

“That whole time of your life, you were covered by My love.” He whispers softly into my ear.

He continues, “And, you saw it play out before you in the spirit while resting your head on our laps… Yes, the Camperdown elm tree in your heart garden was close to the same size as the ones by Ridenbaugh while you were in college."

I think about this for a moment, remembering how much we enjoyed those trees. Even then, they were like umbrellas.

Jesus sees my delight in this memory and continues, "While resting your head on Papa’s chest for a month under that tree in your garden, it continued to grow and cover you. It’s a representative of how the Father’s love covered you… even during the time of your marriage.”

“I understand and appreciate this pictorial lesson to help me feel the constant and deep love of the Father.” I reply while leaning against Jesus’ chest as He gives me a great big bear hug.

Shutting my journal, I sit amazed at how seeing myself in the spirit for a whole month was about covering the last forty years of my life. I know there’s something significant to that and as time goes, I’ll understand more.

(Journal entry from 2016)

The lesson in this

As in the book, I’ll provide a lesson here. This encounter was short, sweet and to the point. What I garnered from it was how the Camperdown elm (one of my favorite trees) in real life mirrored what I’d planted in the spirit. Then, over time the “covering” it provided in the spirit also mirrored the covering and protection I received during a nearly 40-year span in my life. In the book, I got to plant one of these majestic trees in my heart garden, right by the bench where I usually sit with the Trinity and those within the cloud of witnesses. My heart garden seems to be a favorite hangout!

When you read the book, you’ll find many references to my marriage. A failed marriage is tough to work through. If you want to read about that experience, my book “…But Words Will Never Hurt Me: A Story of Overcoming Abuse” is available on Amazon. My understanding of why this situation continues to come up in my encounters has everything to do with continued healing. Papa wants us to be whole and when things from our past negatively affect us, it’s difficult to move into all that He has for us in the next season of our lives. Basically, he “reveals to heal.” So, when you see junk from your past come up in your encounters, Papa is generally showing you a gentle way into healing.

What really struck me about this encounter? When you go through junk in life and wonder how you lived through some of it, it’s nice to know that Papa was right there beside you providing a protective covering. It was up to me to see that protection and take a hold of it. Sometimes I did and sometimes I didn’t. You can bet now that I know more about how this all works, I’m probably going to have that constant anchor point of a Camperdown elm tree and what it represents for me in my life! With that, I planted a Camperdown elm in my back yard in 2011. Unfortunately, that tree is no longer with me because the State of Idaho built a highway over that property. No need to fear, I have another Camperdown elm to replace it!

What Does YOUR Heart Garden Look Like?

Imagine your dream home. There are rooms, a yard, possibly a garage or carport, and in many cases, gardens. You may live on acreage completely surrounded by forests. If you could live anywhere in any house, what would it look like? Imagine that place with all the amazing things outside! Would it be a ranch? What about a castle? What rooms would you like to see in it? What will the outside look like? Come on! Get your imagination working so you can picture in your mind what this all looks like!

Some people think this stuff is crazy but if you think about it, God shows us stuff based on what we know. In the Bible, Jesus taught in parables. Those were stories that people could relate to. Those stories provided images that came attached with a lesson. People understood what was being said because Jesus knew how to bring everything down to their level of understanding. Therefore, why would Jesus not do the same thing now? God did the same thing in the Old Testament. God speaks to each person right where they're at. Of course, there are times we don't understand everything but as we dig deeper, understanding comes. 

We can all visualize houses and what they look like. Many teachers use homes to describe the body because there are many parts that come together. As an example, in the New Testament, it says that our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. It's a dwelling place where we meet with God, just like the Israelites did in the Old Testament. Our body is literally the "house of God." Each of the various sections (spirit, soul, and body) has a specific purpose or purposes. This is likened to the different gateways of the spirit, soul, and body. Each gateway sits within the spirit, soul, or body. To learn more about that, check out my Mountains, Gates, and Castles course.  

Now, imagine your being (spirit, soul, and body) is the temple, which is like a house. Visualize what that looks like with all the surrounding areas. This might be a good time to journal what you see, hear, sense, and feel. There's always going to be a peaceful place for "rest." For many people, it's a garden. Now, visualize a perfect garden that fits your tastes. It includes your favorite vegetables, flowers, trees, etc. This place is in your heart, thus, the words "heart garden." It's that intimate place where you commune with God from the very depths of your being. It's the "holy of holies" of your being where spirit resides. 

ACTIVATION!

It's time to explore your personal heart garden! There's enough explanation above to get your creative imagination started. I suggest that you do this as often as possible and each time, build upon what you saw and experienced before. You read how that worked for me so now it's your turn.

• Get into that quiet place where your wrapped in Perfect Love and feeling the emotion of gratitude. It's important to be in this place as you sanctify the imagination.
• See yourself with Jesus, or the Father. Even if you can't see them, sense them. Or, just do it by faith. Many times, I saw nothing but did it anyway simply by faith. Eventually, more comes but you have to be consistent and persistent.
• Visualize the most beautiful garden you've ever seen. What is it you want to see in a garden? What should be planted there? Look around and see where those things are located.
• Where is Jesus? Is there a place where the two of you can sit? If so, go take a seat and begin a conversation with Him.
• Notice the things in this garden, which is really your heart garden. You are creating it as you imagine it. Write about it so you remember what's there and where things are located. It may not make sense now but in the future, it might. 
• Somewhere in the garden is the River of Life. It's what "waters" everything in your garden. Next to the river is a bench where you can sit with members of the Trinity to have conversations. Be sure to have your journal with you during these times.
• You'll begin to notice certain things are in certain places for a specific reason. You may be asked at some point to bring things to your heart garden like I was with certain scrolls (Beavers and Scrolls blog post). 

NOTE: This can go on for a long time over periods of years. Although it may seem silly, the point here is to practice being in that intimate place with the Trinity. It's where you build relationship beyond what's in the Bible. You hear, sense, feel, and see in real time what the Lord is saying to you. The imagination can be a wonderful tool that's a launching pad to discovery. I bet every time you read the Bible, you get a picture in your mind of what you're reading. If you can do that, then this isn't so silly after all. The key is to enjoy the journey!

Happy Practicing!

Del

by Del Hungerford

We begin by asking the question... what is "ascension?" To many, it's a new age word that has nothing to do with Christianity. If you think about what it involves, there's really a better word for it. I call it the "come up here" principle as described in Revelation 4:1 where John was invited by the Lord to see into the future. Many believe John literally went into the heavens for this encounter or that Ezekiel did the same thing when he saw the wheel in Ezekiel 1. Who knows for sure HOW it happened but... there are clues to better understand.

Here are some truths that we do know:

• God (Yahweh) is as close as the air we breathe. (Acts 17:28)
• WE are the temple of the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor. 6:19)
• We are seated with Christ in heavenly places. (Eph. 2:6)
• We are IN Christ and He's in us. (2 Cor. 5:17, Galations 2:20, Colossians 3:3)

Now, let's put this together to describe "ascension." Since our bodies are a living temple where the Holy Spirit resides, we must remember that in the Holy Temple, there was a holy of holies. That's where the priests went before God once a year to atone for the sins of the people. Our personal holy of holies is in our heart. Many are now calling that place either the "castle of our heart" or the "garden of the heart." Science says that the heart is a greater thinking organ than the brain. When we refer to our gut instinct, that's also a reference to the heart. It's the most intimate part of our being where all life comes forth. Without the heart beating, life ceases to exist. 

In The Cloud article, I give a definition of ascension. Here's what that article says...

I asked AI to provide a spiritual definition of ascension. I was told  that "in spiritual contexts, ascension generally refers to a process of awakening and transformation, where one moves from a state of limited awareness to a higher consciousness and connection with the divine. It's often described as a journey of self-discovery and spiritual evolution, involving shedding old patterns, integrating different aspects of oneself, and aligning with one's soul purpose." 

AI can be hit or miss but in this case, it seemed to spell out ascension quite nicely. Notice the words "awakening and transformion." This occurs first when we become a Christian (salvation). Sadly, this is where many believers stop the process. From here, we move from the limited state of awareness (our natural mind within the soul), and turn inward to the spirit where we step into our "God Consciousness." Instead of simply self-discovery, as AI puts it, we learn who we are in Christ. Communion is FOR this purpose and helps us understand our identity as Sons of God. The above definition also mentions "aligning with one's soul purpose." Well, that's hard to do unless we're seated in Christ (from our spirit, not the soul) in heavenly places. Christ did it first. That set the example for us to follow. He went ahead of us, showing the way to our "inHimness" with God. The final stage is the Perfection of God.  

We are seated in Christ in heavenly places. That heavenly place is within you - in your heart. We are IN Christ and He is in us. I call this "in himness." Acts 17:28 also tells us that God is as close as the air we breathe. Well, the last time I checked, I breathe here on earth so that must mean God is literally inside me because that's where my breathing begins. It's just common sense. We've tried to spiritualize this WAY too much. 

Look at the picture of the Holy Temple. Now, visualize your body as this temple. The Ark of the Covenant represents your heart. It's the place of great intimacy with the Trinity. 

I propose that the word "ascension" actually refers to turning into the very core of your being - into your heart where you meet with God, just like the priests did in the Old Testament but in a physical temple. The new age movement calls this a higher level of consciousness but the part they are missing is that God is the Creator of all things, including our consciousness. How can we function properly unless we include Him in the process? Most new agers function from the soulish level of "self" rather than partnering with God in the spirit. 

The temple became a part of our being upon the death of Jesus. Remember when Jesus said to the disciples that the Holy Spirit was being sent? Not long after that, the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed (A.D. 69). This was a sign that the temple is now WITHIN us. When the veil in the temple ripped after Jesus died on the cross, that was the moment He fulfilled what was spoken in the Old Testament. The problem (just like today) is that the "old guard" didn't recognize the shift in seasons.

At that time, they were shifting "ages" from Aries to Pisces. (An "age" typically lasts about 2,000 years.) Pisces is represented by the fish symbol, which was the beginning of the church age. Have you ever wondered why Christianity uses the fish symbol? Aries was the sign of the bull, which was also very prevelant in the previous age. Remember the golden calf at the time of Moses that Aaron built while Moses was on the mountain. Have you ever wondered why it was a calf and not a lamb or some other animal? The ancients understood the ages. What we call the Zodiac is really the Mazzaroth, which tells the story of creation. It was corrupted into what we now call "astrology" in the 1950's. But, we'll discuss this further in another post.

The point here is that WE are the temple of the Holy Spirit and that when we "ascend," it literally means we are going into our living temple into the the holy of holies (our heart) where we learn of the mysteries of God. From that position, we release it in the natural realm. This concept can be difficult to understand so that's one reason many of us use the picture of a mountain to describe it. I'll put that picture below as a visual for you.

Our heart is the inner part of the mountain where we meet with God. The outside of the mountain represents the three parts of our being - spirit, soul, and body. At the top of the mountain is our spirit, which is supposed to release direction into the soul, which then flows down to the body. In a sense, this is a circular thing where the flow comes from the inside to the outside, much like the toroidal shape science uses to describe how energy moves. Hmmm.... Does this mean science is finally catching up to what God has been saying all along?

My Journey of Discovery

When I first started my journey into deeper intimacy with God, I had no idea it would take me into uncharted territory. When I say that, for years, I said the standard, “Father, come down here and meet with me” that I was taught in church. However, over time, I began to realize that if we’re the temple of the Holy Spirit and God is as close as the air we breathe, He’s already here. My problem? I wasn’t looking in the right places. In Revelation 4:1, why did God tell John to “Come up here” to talk with Him?

In a nutshell, I learned that as a Son of God (no male or female in Christ), I can live an “ascended lifestyle.” What exactly is that? I’ve coined the phrase “come up here principle” which means that my focus is on spending time with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit “up here,” where I see things through the spirit rather than in the natural. John even says throughout scripture that he was “in the spirit.” If he could do it, so can we. We do this through our imagination – it’s how we “see” in the spirit. For the longest time, I didn’t know how to do that. I practiced and practiced and practiced daily seeing with my spiritual eyes. As with all things in life, the more you practice, the better you get at something. Seeing in the spirit isn’t a gift. It’s part of what we can all do. For some, it comes very naturally. That wasn’t the case for me.

In the two other books of the series (The Call and the Torch and the Sword), the rest of the story is told. The overall gist of the books focuses on repentance, humility, and a deeper understanding and relationship with God. I had all but forgotten about the books until I began to have similar experiences. That’s when I pulled them back out and read them again with my spiritual senses rather than physical. I encourage you to get the books and read them if you haven't yet done so. They will open your eyes to many of the things we talk about in NW Ekklesia. 

Learning to live “from heaven to earth” takes practice. Oh, and did I say that it takes practice? The age-old teaching based on gifts has nothing to do with this principle. I never functioned in any of the spiritual gifts so there’s nothing special about what I do. I practice and practice and practice ascending into the depths of my heart where I’m seeing things from a heavenly perspective rather than our normal run-of-the-mill boring life. Somehow, I managed to stay away from much of the negative "churchy" stuff because I always had a sense that God is good… ALL the time. No, I didn’t understand everything that happened but in most cases, I chose to see how God used a situation to help me mature. My most recent experience with that involved losing my home to the eminent domain process. That story is for another time… but, in case you're interested, I tell about it in my latest book, Transforming Mindsets. 

Living an ascended lifestyle is simply focusing on being in the presence of God through the “come up here” principle of being with Him in the kingdom realms of heaven via our personal temple. Yes, there are lots of amazing things that I see but those all direct me to Him… Yahweh… God… my Creator. In that place of the ascended lifestyle, I get to know the persons of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. Just like best friends, we sit and talk about many things. I watch and learn, then “do” myself. Not only do they want to get to know me but I learn about their desires, too. Friendship goes both ways. It requires two to make a relationship work. If I’m always going up saying, “God, I need this!” and never spend time getting to know Him, that’s no different than writing a check for goods. There’s no relationship involved in that at all!

How do we learn to live an ascended lifestyle? You guessed it… practice! If seeing in the spirit is difficult, go into the blog posts on this site and look for the one about seeing in the spirit. I created my own exercises, similar to what I put in the blog post. I journal and write what I see, hear, and sense even if it doesn’t make sense. Check it for scriptural accuracy later is my best advice. If we second guess what we’re writing, we’ll often miss the good stuff. If we ask God to give us bread, He’s not going to give us a rock. There’s no need to be concerned about deception when our hearts are pure and our goal is intimacy with Yahweh. When our eyes are on Jesus, they aren’t on the enemy. Who cares what the enemy does anyway! As they say in the book Teaching With Love and Logic, ignore the bad behavior and focus on the good. We learn best by focusing on the good things, not the bad. If there’s still concern, decree and declare a sanctified imagination and go for it!

Below is a recap of my version of an image that Nicolas Acuna shared with a private group as he talked about ascension, which is really different levels of consciousness.  There are 7 levels of ascension. They are also  7 levels of communion with Christ through our consciousness. This is often done through deep meditation where we are "in the mind of Christ." That's difficult to do when we have an expectation of what something should look or be like. 

First, we look at a version of the image he shared in the meeting that I revised based on my own revelation of the process....

Nicolas' (my version) image helps us visualize what the process looks like. Jesus was ALREADY in heaven seated in His heavenly position and functioning in the "Allness" of God BEFORE he chose to come to earth as a physical body. 

In His heavenly position, He's Christ 

In His earthly position, He was Jesus 

Scripture says we're seated with CHRIST, not in Jesus. This is the resurrected Christ who is bringing the fulfillment of who he is as fully human and fully God. This is one reason he came to earth to "redeem" us. We can't be seated with Jesus because that's not his full identity. When we "ascend" seated IN CHRIST into the heavenly places through our consciousness (our inner self that resides in our holy of holies), we rule and reign as Sons of God. We begin the ruling and reigning process with self, then family, then our neighborhood, community, and so on. Just like a child, when we show a certain level of responsibility in one area, we're given more. This is what the parable of the talents demonstrates. (Matthew 25:14-30)

You shall know them by their fruit

If you don't know which level of consciousness (ascension) you're functioning from, look at the fruit in your life. What level of love (or fear) do you reside in? How are people around you affected by what's coming from within you? Do you see positive change in your life? How have things moved forward over the last year or even several years of your life? How is your overall health (spiritual, emotional, and physical)? The answers to these questions determine the level of fruit you're bearing that can also determine which level of ascension you're engaging with. 

At which level on the above chart do you "commune with" daily? This goes beyond the body and the blood that we take on Sunday mornings in church. This is interacting and partaking with the very essence of the resurrected Christ who has ascended into heaven. It's FROM that position, we see, hear, sense, and feel the very heart of God where we entrain (attune to) His very thoughts. It's from those thoughts we are co-creators. This is sonship at its highest level as we go through "kingdom school." I talk about that in my Maturing as a Mystic series. The workbook that goes with it has several examples. The incarnate level on Nicolas' chart is like Kingdom Grade School. The top level is like Kingdom Graduate School.  We choose which level to function as we mature from being spoon fed to co-creating with Christ. 

As you'll hear in many articles by those within NW Ekklesia, the "ascended lifestyle" is all about functioning from our positions as we're seated in Christ. From there, the lessons in co-creation begin as we mature into different levels of authority. This takes time, a few mistakes, and a good amount of practice. The ascended lifestyle isn't a gift - it's a lifestyle that requires daily practice. Like anything else in life, the more you do something, the better at it you get. So, let's move on to an activation!

NOTE: Even Nicolas spoke in the meeting that the imagination is a starting point for the ascension process. This is why Jesus taught in parables. He used things the people understood. So, sanctify the imagination and then go for it!

Activation!

Here's another activation based on a teaching I heard from Ian Clayton. As usual, I took the teaching and created an activation that would help me understand the concepts of living an ascended life. It started out with stepping into it through the "Law of Faith." I believe that I spoke this daily for at least a year until it was deep within my spirit. Again, it's about practice as I renewed my mind to align with God's truth and character.

Here is that declaration. Say it as often as you feel led to. 

Yahweh, I come by faith, stepping through the veil into the kingdom of Your presence here on earth. I turn towards Your presence and embrace Your presence and Glory. I turn towards you with my spirit, soul, and body. I fold them around you and embrace You with my heart, mind, and will. By faith, I engage the Law of Faith and come under its government. I receive the full measure of what I have to receive through the Law of Faith. I'm sanctified by the Law of Faith. I receive increase. The Law of Faith presides over all that I do and the supply of God moves through me. As I stand in Your presence, I release the Law of Faith to funciton in and through me. Yahweh, I open the gate of Love and allow that to flow towards You. Father, I ask now that you'd release the River of Glory from the throne of Your presence inside of me. In your presence, by faith, I receive all from you: All the kingdom promise, purpose, destiny, dominion, power, authority, sanctification, all that's on my scroll for me to live here on earth and all the mandate - everything, Father! I receive the ministry today of all the angels that have been assigned to me, my family, my Ekklesia, my entire country, the planet, and the universe - that have been loosed to madate and fight for me on my behalf. Father, I walk by faith, I stay in Your presence and recieve all my angelic assistance. 

Enjoy your ascension journey!

Del

by Del Hungerford

What many call the "ascension" process is nothing more than learning to see in the spirit with the eyes of your heart through the vehicle of your imagination. In a sense, the word "ascension" is misleading because we're not actually ascending to be with God. Why is that? The Word says that in Him we live, move, and have our being. (Acts 17:28) That indicates He's with us all the time. The Bible also says that God is as close as the air we breathe. (Psalm 145:18 and Acts 17:28). Therefore, it appears that ascension is merely another term for looking inward to your heart and meeting God there. He's in us and we're in Him.

People use the word ascension to show that we're stepping into what I call the "come up here" principle. I think they came up with this definition to show how it's different than standard church teaching. It's a reference to Revelation 4:1 where John is invited to visit heaven (really more than an ascension). The gist of ascension is to see things from a heavenly, not earthly, perspective. We can't do that unless we visualize any circumstance through God's eyes. That requires letting go of everything we think we know or humanly understand. This includes what we read in the Bible and have been told about what it says. There are as many interpretations of scripture as there are people alive. Therefore, how do any of us know which interpretation is the one coming from God's heart? Which one describes the true character of God? Sometimes that answer leads us to a good description. 

With the introduction now complete, we continue with the seeing in the spirit theme where I get to tell you another story followed by another activation! Once I began this journey, God knew I needed a physical healing. I was asking Him to show me how to be healed. And of course, He answered but not in the way I expected. My questions led to Him showing me that I had to deal with some past junk, including generational things that have kept me in an uncomfortable place. 

In this next experience, I run into a “man of old” in the heavenly realms. I never learn who he is but I do know that he came to show me an area of my life that was clouded over, keeping me from “seeing” the blessings that God has for me. It’s also fascinating that now that I’ve helped write the book, “Accessing Your Spiritual Inheritance,” I’m getting many opportunities to work through some stuff in my life. It’s all for the purpose of bringing me to a place where I can indeed fulfill what’s on the destiny scroll of my life.

With that, here’s the story…

The Cloud

I see what looks like a foggy and dense cloud before me. Out of the midst of the fog walks a tall figure. I can’t tell who it is but I watch as the figure approaches. I can tell he’s a man, very large in stature and regal. I wonder if he’s an angel or …?

“I’m here to show you things you’ve asked about,” he says, motioning for me to follow him. “I’m one of the men of old,” he continues, answering my thoughts.

He’s more serious than others I’ve met so I don’t dilly dally any longer. The moment I step to follow him, he turns and starts to head back into the cloud. He then motions for me to walk beside him. After doing so, we continue in silence, walking deeper into this dense cloud. It’s so thick, I’m almost choking. It’s not a bad thing, I sense. The texture seems different than what I’ve felt before. I still don’t like it because I can only see the path we’re on.

I watch it as we continue to move further down the path, deeper into this fog. I begin to sense a heaviness that isn’t good. But, even in that, I know this is for me to understand something.

The cloud begins to dissipate and I can now see a clearing ahead of us. Before me is a beautiful lake with the most amazing color of blue. I see rocks on the bottom of the lake and mountains in the distance. Turning back, I look at the cloud.

“Was I not able to see what was in that cloud because I haven’t been ready to see it yet?” I ask.

“You are correct,” he says, turning back to view the cloud with me.

“Am I to assume it’s because of my own heart that needs purification and healing?”

“Yes,” he answers, turning to look me in the eyes. After a bit more silence, he adds “You are now seeing the other side of that cloud – the result of what it’s like once you’re able to see and then deal with what’s in the cloud.”

“I understand,” I respond. “Would you have not brought me here if I’m not in a place where I could take care of that now?” I question.

“You had to see this first to know what’s in the cloud. When people allow hurts to stay in their hearts, their vision is clouded. That’s why you felt choked up. It wasn’t a bad thing, as you assessed, because you sensed freedom would come out of it.” He responds, looking at me more intently.

I can see the kindness even though his voice seems a bit formal. Pondering for another moment, I ask “It has to do with my marriage, doesn’t it?”

“And, do you know what would have caused that cloud to cover your vision?” he prods.

“I allowed Todd’s words to be my thoughts. I believed what he said about me more than what God said about me” I answer.

There’s no hanging my head over that one! I know and understand what I did but hadn’t really thought about the effects of it until now.

He lovingly looks at me, making sure that I understand.

“You’re right – I did that and didn’t even realize it’s what I was doing.” I respond.

“I would know a little about that,” he adds. “In my life, I, too, dealt with a similar situation. My job now is to help others see their mistakes in this so you can be free now and not have to live with the results of those choices while you’re still on earth” he offers.

I know what I must do… I step aside for a moment and look to the north, where I sense the Throne of God is located. I speak out a repentance prayer and thank God for washing me clean with the Blood of Jesus. I then take a moment to kneel and worship. My friend stands beside me as I walk through this process.

After a bit, I stand and feel compelled to turn around and look back towards the cloud. The cloud is now gone and I can see we’ve walked next to a beautiful, flowing brook in the midst of a beautifully treed forest. The pathway is well worn but still beautiful with pebbles and gemstones worn into the path.

“See!” my friend says. “Once you unclog your vision, you can see what was meant for you. Now, speak redemption into those years,” He further instructs.

Continuing to face the direction we came, I boldly begin “In the Name of Jesus, I speak and decree over this point of my life and say all that was lost is now redeemed. I declare words of hope, love, patience, and kindness. I say that a bright future is planted in the place of what I’ve just dug up and discarded. I say there’s hope for my future. Father, I plant seeds of Your desire in the seedbed of my heart and I water those desires. May your desires be my desires as I water them.”

Looking back up, I see the mountains in the distance have changed. They are closer and brighter. Quickly, I begin running towards them…

(From a journal entry in 2016)

At this time, I still have no idea who this “man of old” was. But, I have a feeling I’ll be seeing him again. As mentioned above, I find it fascinating that as I begin to walk into newer and deeper intimacy with the Father, I get to clean up more of my life. I no longer dread those times because I know going through the purification process brings me to that deeper level of intimacy. So, there really is a moral to this story. I would venture to say that when we allow the things that have held us back to be cleaned and redeemed, there truly is freedom to move forward.

Because this story includes what many call an "ascension," we'll move onto the definition...

Ascension Definition

NOTE: This section added in July of 2025

I asked AI to provide a spiritual definition of ascension. I was told  that "in spiritual contexts, ascension generally refers to a process of awakening and transformation, where one moves from a state of limited awareness to a higher consciousness and connection with the divine. It's often described as a journey of self-discovery and spiritual evolution, involving shedding old patterns, integrating different aspects of oneself, and aligning with one's soul purpose." 

AI can be hit or miss but in this case, it seemed to spell out ascension quite nicely. Notice the words "awakening and transformion." This occurs first when we become a Christian (salvation). Sadly, this is where many believers stop the process. From here, we move from the limited state of awareness (our natural mind within the soul), and turn inward to the spirit where we step into our "God Consciousness." Instead of simply self-discovery, as AI puts it, we learn who we are in Christ. Communion is FOR this purpose and helps us understand our identity as Sons of God. The above definition also mentions "aligning with one's soul purpose." Well, that's hard to do unless we're seated in Christ (from our spirit, not the soul) in heavenly places. Christ did it first. That set the example for us to follow. He went ahead of us, showing the way to our "inHimness" with God. The final stage is the Perfection of God.  

In a very recent teaching, Nicolas Acuna spoke in a private meeting where he talked about the "ascension" process. Figure 1 is my rendition of an image he shared. I took the image to my strategy room where I sat across the table from Jesus and we discussed the meaning of this image. From there, I created Figure 2, which shows the process on the Star of David. I have to thank Meta AI for creating these images for me. 

Some of my wording is changed from what Nicolas first posted on screen. Like anything else, once we begin to get our own revelation, we'll understand more of what God is saying to us. In the first image, it's and upward movement from lower consciousness to higher consciousness. As we are crucified with Christ, we're at the standard church level. Once we step into that resurrected position in Christ, we go up another level of consciousness - or "ascend" to a greater level of understanding and maturity. Nicolas' seven key levels of ascension are:

1. Incarnate Individual - one who has walked through the salvation process.
2. Jesus Crucified - one who has been crucified with Christ (through understanding and parcitipating in regular communion).
3. Jesus Resurrected - one who has risen with Christ (through understanding and participating in regular communion).
4. Christ Sits in Heavenly Places - one who is seated on the throne of their life IN Christ to rule and reign over everything in, near, and around them (both heavenly and earthly).
5. Created Before the Foundation of the Earth - one who understands and functions from a higher conscious level of awareness of who they were before they were on earth. This is where the co-creation and greater awakenings begin where we "study" the co-creation process as Sons of God. Welcome to Kingdom College! 
6. All for and in the fullness of Christ - one who begins to understand the deep mysteries of God that then manifests those realities in the world (and heavenlies) around them. 
7. The Allness (Perfection) of God - one who is fully alive, functioning, and living (probably from that immortal position) as a fully mature Son of God. (This needs more exploration)

Jesus (in his humanity) was seated in heavenly places with the Father after his ascension into heaven. Christ is Jesus' heavenly position while Jesus is His earthly position. Christ was created before the foundation of the earth. He was already the fullness of himself with God before the beginning. The "allness" of Christ is the foundation and perfection of God. Christ CHOSE to come to earth, knowing what He was going to go through so WE could ascend with Him to "relearn" and understand our identity, callings, giftings, mandates, blueprints, etc. given to us "at the beginning." 

Even though Christ existed "before the beginning," He had to come to the earth in human form as Jesus, which essentially meant He went from the top of the pyramid down. He received the revelation IN HEAVEN while "in God" before the beginning of time. From there, He brought that revelation DOWN to us! Once we receive salvation, we begin to follow Jesus' lead as we, too, understand the process and are then seated with Him in heavenly places. However, this must come from the spirit, not the soul. This "awakening" is way beyond human understanding! We tap into who we were before the foundation of the earth, just like Jesus did. We follow His lead and while seated in Him, we learn through the ascension process. 

In Figure 2, I felt led to look up the platonic solids again and then realized that the Star of David has all seven points from Nicolas' diagram. Hmmm... seven represents perfection. It's simply another way to look at the process but in a circular manner. Hebrew thinking is circular where the beginning is the end and vice versa. Nicolas' version creates a picture of the up/down process, which helps us understand the "upward" definition of ascension.

Recap!

Basically, ascension is about stepping into a deeper level of consciousness as we're seated in Christ. We do this from our heart (where our spirit resides). We let go of any personal understanding and are prepared to hear, see, sense, and feel what directly comes from the heart of the Father. We were given an imagination for a reason. Therefore, we often get pictures or see things that make sense to us. God reveals Himself to people based on what they know and understand, just like Jesus did when He spoke through parables. The people understood what He was referring to. Why should God be any different with us? It's a matter of choosing to listen or be stuck in our current understanding. As we let go of pre-conceived ideas, thought patterns, mindsets, traumas, etc., we go higher up the ascension ladder. 

One of the best ways of beginning the ascension process is through meditation. It's simply taking time to focus on the goodness of God and stepping into that place of being seated in Christ. We'll do that through an activation below...

Imagine going up stairs into the heavenly (kingdom) realms. Visualize a door at the top of the stairs. Look around for Jesus. If you don't see Him right away or sense His presence, proceed to a space that you enjoy, perhaps a garden or a workshop. More than likely, what you do see is what you're creating in the heavenly realms. God loves you so much that He wants to see your dreams fulfilled so he'll direct you to the very spot you've created in your dreams and visions. If it's not a garden, what is it? How does this place represent something familiar to you? What do you see? Does it mean anything to you? Are there things you've never seen before? If so, try to describe them. If you sense anything, what?At any point you feel awkward, get back into a place of rest and peace. Wrap yourself in a cloak of Love and allow Jesus to hold and comfort you. 

Begin journaling what you see, hear, sense, and feel. The goal of this "ascension" is for greater intimacy with the Trinity. That can only happen when you spend time with them. How do you do it? Well, the Bible is a good launching point but in this case, you SEE yourself with the Trinity somewhere. Where that place is may be different for everyone. It's based on your desires, personal experiences, etc. Think of what you like to do, your career, things you're knowledeable in, etc. It's those places where God often talks to us because He knows we'll understand Him. For me, it's often through music that I learn more about His truths. If you're a carpenter, I bet He'll speak to you in a language that has something to do with carpentry. Be open and prepared for the unexpected and don't explain away things that don't make sense.

Since my experience was about being shown things in my life that "clouded" my thinking, it might be a good place for you to start by asking some questions. Sit in that quiet place once you've reached it. Either write some questions down prior to beginning or write them down now as they come to you. I ask things like, "What do you want me to see today Lord about things that may be holding me back or clouding my vision?" However, don't ask the question if you don't really want the answer. Be prepared for thoughts to come completely from left field. Those are the ones to really pay attention to. 

You'll notice that I write in a narrative style. That may not happen for you. You may get fragmented thoughts, phrases, or even sentences that you have to put together after the fact. Like any mystery, we don't always get all the information at one time. Dig deeper for answers and you'll get them. Ask the right questions and be prepared for answers you may have never considered. At times, be prepared to go back another day right where you left off. Sometimes the experiences happen in "chapters" where we move from one thing to the next in a progression. Do keep in mind that you can direct when this occurs. When you ask for bread, does God give you a stone? Therefore, if you ask God to show you things about your life, He will tell you. You just have to learn how to listen. This is one reason why it's important to carefully weigh the thoughts that come from left field.

Most of all... enjoy the journey!

Del