Have you ever had a vision in your mind you thought was from God?

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Have you ever had a vision in your mind you thought was from God, perhaps pertaining to a certain decision you should make?

A very intense, realistic vision that brought you a sense of peace and closeness to God that seemed to be a sign?

Is there any catholic categorization of such a vision?

Should you ever expect things to turn out just the way in the vision? Is it ok not to follow it exactly or adapt if circumstances change? Should they not be taken literally? I may have a bit of OCD and am struggling not to deviate from this vision I had one inch. Is it ok usually to just apply the non-literal meaning of the vision? Although, how do you know if its my own mind vs God? Who could I even talk to about such things?

Any insight will be helpful, thank you
 
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Yes. It was an image of the crucifixion kneeling at the foot of the cross. Only Christ’s bloody feet were visible. Very dark.
 
I had a life changing experience that brought an intense joy and peace and a motivation to follow.
And for me, following means letting go of the experience and not trying to capture and hold it. Rather to progress in faith and let God continually transform life. With the cooperation of hard work of course.

And yes you must have a confessor or spiritual guide to bounce this off of. The perspective of others is crucial. Trust them whoever they will be.
 
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God is not subtle when He wants us to know something in a vision.
Look at His history of messaging people with visions.
 
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Since you mention that you’re struggling to sort through something in your own mind, and also may struggle with OCD, my suggestion would be to speak to both a trusted priest – and to your doctor.

In my experience, when the God of the universe wants you to hear something, He’ll make sure you hear it. It won’t be a circumstance of confusion, but clarity.

If you’re uncertain about whether something was “from” God, that – to me – would typically be a good sign not to assume it is. All the more so if you struggle with your thought-life already (OCD).

So, speaking to a trusted priest about your experience, and also possibly a doctor to explore potential OCD symptoms if they disrupt your life, would be my suggestion.

Then beyond that, perhaps getting familiar with Ignatian discernment techniques, to help you apply really concrete guidelines to the attention you pay to your internal movements, and how to learn to sift out what seems to be from God versus what isn’t?
 
I have also had dreams where (usually deceased family members) reassured or comforted me with their words/actions. I would say they were a combination of comfort from God in response to my prayers, and the ability of the subconscious mind sorting out the days events. There have been times where my “take away” led me to making correct decisions. Just recently I had been praying about a situation and as I fell asleep, I determined God wanted me to do X. I accepted it, even though it was not what I would have chose. When I woke in the morning, my first thought was to do Y, the complete opposite. Turns out Y was the best choice.
 
Just a comment but I believe when visions and such experiences are granted by God, they’re given for His purposes and at His discretion and are incomparably profound and the receiver knows at the time that they’re from Him, and not just a hunch or a dream, or imagination, etc. They can still be questioned since we must always be vigilant about the source of any such things but the understanding that the receiver has been contacted and communicated to by an external Being, not involving their own mind or will IOW, is quite cut and dry as I understand it.
 
I was in the city of Dearborn about 2 years ago (for my cousin’s wedding). As I got back to the hotel later that night, the Holy Spirit spoke to me very clearly. He said “No! don’t go to sleep! I want you to pray for unity in the church”.

“Drac, that could have been a demon”, you may say. No, because a demon would not want unity among christians, nor would he want me to perform a prayer that would lead to a deeper relationship to God. Secondly, I have asked the Lord if He was the one that spoke to me; and He said yes (multiple times).
 
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