Today, you can now find the print version of “The 8th Demon: A Wicked Numinosity” on most sites. Here is a link to Amazon.

And, a lot of people want to know what Numinosity means. Here are the definitions I included in the book:

1. Of or relating to a numen; supernatural.
2. Filled with or characterized by a sense of a supernatural presence: a numinous place.
3. Spiritually elevated; sublime.
4. Arousing spiritual or religious emotions
5. Mysterious or awe-inspiring — Latin numen, divine will
   The term numinosity isn’t too well-known beyond the academic study of religion and anthropology. In a sense numinosity is like the more familiar term luminosity. But numinosity refers to a subtle, spiritual light instead of an outwardly visible light such as the luminosity of the moon. While numinosity and luminosity may coexist, they remain somehow different.
   Urban Dictionary

Something numinous has a strong religious quality, suggesting the presence of a divine power. When you enter a temple, church, or mosque, you might feel as though you’ve entered a numinous space.
Numinous comes from the Latin numin- meaning “divine power.” This word also comes from numen, a word used to describe the spirit or divine power characteristic of a thing or place. However, you don’t have to be in a strictly religious environment to experience something numinous; you might see the beauty of a painting or the melody of a song as numinous — if they communicate a spiritual vibe.

Definition from vocabulary.com

If you stop and think, you can probably recall a moment in your life when something was so overwhelming awe inspiring, you felt a flicker of the divine.

When I was about 8 I had such a moment. My family lived on a 62 acre farm in Blanchard, Louisiana. My father and mother owned four houses: our house plus three rent houses. My house sat on the main road leading from Blanchard into Texas. We had a huge front yard and across the road was a vast undeveloped forest. Our house had only two bedrooms and when my sister got married and moved out, I finally got my own bedroom at the age of 7.

My bedroom was on the front right hand corner of our house overlooking the front yard. There were several huge trees in the front yard. Once in mid spring, we had the windows open for the cool night air. We only had one air conditioner in the living room. Our windows were the old fashion heavy wooden panes with glass that was slightly undulating.

One morning I awoke just before dawn. I turned over in my huge bed and tucked my elbows beneath me looking out the open window at my front yard. There was a mist on the dew covered grass and in the distant shadows still lingering under the trees I saw the green flickering lights of fireflies. In the huge tree in front of the front porch I heard birds chirping so quietly their voices barely echoed across the yard. Dew dripped from the wisteria vine the encircled the tree like a huge python. Daffodils and spider-lilies had sprung up across the yard. The cool, moist air was alive with these fragrances. A deer stepped out of the woods across the road and sauntered into the front yard followed by two small spotted fawns. A rabbit sat nibbling the fresh grass.

Something came over me and I felt as if time stood still and I was pulled into a moment of absolute peace and contentment where I could feel the design of God unfolding in front of me. It would be decades before I identified that experience as a “numinous” experience.

Have you ever had such an experience? If so, share them with each other. In this time of quarantine and restless paranoia and fear, we could use a quiet, peaceful touch of the Master’s hand; a reminder that God is still in control and all will be well!