Has this ever happened to anyone else?
Yep, similar thing happened to me. It's very hard to describe, along the lines of a "spiritual awakening", you describe it very well.
One of our members describes it as magical, and he doesn't know "how" it works either, just that it does.
Good enough for me, sure beats the hell out of living "the other way'. KWIM?
It's good to keep an open mind. I believe in the "collective consciousness" concept as well.
Thanks and God bless us all,
Coyote