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