You might well think that this is a remarkable story; that through transformation a life should change from misery and hopelessness into real life where there is protection from the machinations of being ‘of the world’ – depression, anxiety, and so forth. That transformation is so powerful, helped by many visionary experiences, not least meeting Jim Overbeck in person and then reading the incredibly challenging works he has written.
The Start of a Journey
It was in the late 1970s, whilst I stayed on in Durham where I had studied physics at the university, that I first heard rumours that there was this ‘psychically powerful’ person who sometimes turned up, but because of negative rumours about him, I had no desire to bump into him. However, during a few months, hanging out with my two friends, I was introduced to Mark, who turned out later to be one of Jim’s friends. Mark was outwardly striking in that he had extremely long, dark hair and wore a long scarf; being in a room, in his presence though, it was quickly clear that this was a person unlike any other I had ever met. There was such a palpable sense of intelligence and integrity about this young man that I felt curious to know more about him.
I saw him a few times, occasionally meeting in cafés or at parties. He mentioned Jim and I guess the experience of spending time with Mark and feeling safe in his company, being befriended by him, I lost any prejudgements that had formed about Jim. When my two friends were going to visit him in Birmingham, I asked to come along and gladly was allowed.
A Unique Encounter
Along with my two friends, I walked into the flat where Jim and his wife Sue lived. There was a warm welcome and we were soon given hot cups of tea. It all seemed very normal. That’s where it ended, as soon I began to realise the place was adorned with psychedelic posters and had an unusual tiled ceiling that seemed to go on in all directions. Then there was Jim who was showing us some recently-taken photos whilst getting to know us. I had this feeling that would not go away that I already knew him.
It appeared as if this personality was somehow present in Mark Allen! I had never seen that before. It was like meeting Mark’s father, there seemed such an incredible likeness. There was the same intelligence and confidence, and I also noticed I felt safe – I always found trusting others hard – and I sensed a deep warmth from Jim. I felt that he had a big heart and his other friends, including Ralph who were there, seemed gentle and kind. They seemed to really love and respect one another; far from how people usually were.
Later, a party got going and other smiling people arrived bringing wine and chocolates and the evening warmed up. I noticed the dado rail had begun to move in waves as if it were no longer solid, and other parts of the room including the walls were now slowly vibrating! If you saw something like that, would you be frightened? I would usually say that I would, but it was as if everyone else thought this absolutely normal. They were enjoying talking and there was no sense of threat.
Jim had ‘the chair’ a large leather swivel chair in the centre of the room, and was the life and soul of the party. The conversation revolved around him and his exploits. I heard remarkable snippets of amazing events that had been witnessed by Jim and those around him and the party became quite eventful too!
I became aware I could see through the walls and ceiling, and light streamed into the room from a portal that had opened in heaven above. The next thing, I heard the buzz and crackle of electricity, as the Spirit of Christ entered and moved towards Jim, who was talking across a table to a friend. I heard Jim say something like “It’s quite simple really”, and then was unaware of where the crackling had gone.
I don’t know what you, who are reading this will think of this, but if this part sounds like something straight out of the Book of Acts in the New Testament, I would agree with you on that!
Meeting Christ – witnessing the Hypostatic Union
Around 1985, when traipsing around the various jewellery wholesalers I was walking on a main road into Nottingham with a business partner, not particularly thinking about God. Suddenly it seemed as if I was walking on the bottom of an ocean and on the surface was a being of light that appeared to be two-dimensional. This was funny, as I wasn’t looking at the sky above my head – I was looking straight ahead.
Next thing, I felt something warm land on me and it was as if Christ stepped into me from behind. That is when I noticed in the cloudy sky, one cloud that stood proud of all the others, and the rays of golden light that shone and moved about in a way that indicated the source was moving quickly around behind that cloud.
I also noticed that I seemed to be wearing sandals and my feet shone golden too. I was now wearing a flowing robe and had the biggest smile on my face!
I felt completely well and happy – no aches nor pains anywhere in my body.
The experience lasted probably no more than 20 seconds, but my understanding of it is that I experienced the Hypostatic Union of God and man. I was deified.
One cannot meet god as a mere mortal, but in the Holy Spirit, you are lifted up to be divine and immortal in order to be able to see divine visions.
An Ongoing Relationship
I am not intending here to write a book, so I will move many years on from this first meeting to when Jim’s book was published. “The Autobiography of God Almighty” seemed a strange title, and that told a story of how this man had personally met Jesus Christ and had his life transformed. He had been gifted with high intelligence from the start in life, although he had also grown up in terrible circumstances. The book was very difficult for me to read, delving deeply into theology and philosophy and I had to research topics that were important which I knew nothing about. The rest I worked out by remembering my own experiences and reading contextually. Some things were from the Bible too.
There were many crazy things written in there, like some of Jim’s visionary experiences, but I had by now some of my own, and this is now my normal too.
I read Jim’s book over and over, and just like reading the Bible, each reading provided new layers of meaning. I seemed to become more articulate and intelligent myself – I realised I could argue the finest points – something that had been a particular difficulty of mine. I also developed an ever-improving relationship with God, whom I thank for revealing himself in Jim, others and myself. I qualified to work as a counsellor, overcoming my years of depression and now I help others. Few realise who sits with me in the counselling room, although just as we are transformed in the presence of God (as Vladimir Lossky writes), my clients do the same. The frequent visions I see as people are brought forth in the flux of becoming continue to enthral me.
I am still in awe of Jim and his meeting Christ face-to-face too. Jim and his friends know the books to read that describe how the divine is accessible to us “humans”, and to me I am just reading about the things I have already experienced. However, life is for living and that is what is on offer here. I hope you will have a mind that is open enough and ready to receive God’s great gift of Theosis.
I remember the words of Spock to Captain James T. Kirk from one of the Star Trek programmes, looking at how worldly people behave: “It’s life, Jim, but not as we know it”. What you see depends on how you see, and the vision of God is accessible, so seek Him and find true life.