I thought I had contacted some higher power. I assumed that the higher power was the basis for the religions I had studied, but that the message had become garbled through the years. A few months passed. I read about Buddhism and found it interesting enough to read further. Koans are almost pure nonsense, carefully crafted to destabilize your mind.
Meditation is effectively a form of sensory depravation.
I got the holy ghost. Underneath the cultural framework, the two experiences were identical. Since I was getting my religion from books, not cultural immersion, It was far easier for me to see this. Those of you who haven't had the experience don't know how strong it is. I thought I was experiencing something important.