How do you explain a spiritual experience that felt completely real but turned out to be wrong?

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping to hear thoughtful perspectives from people who have experience with meditation, ayahuasca, astral projection, psychic phenomena, or other forms of spiritual practice.

Several years ago, while I was living in Mexico, I participated in two meditation sessions. I believe I was given ayahuasca beforehand to induce the altered state, although I can't say with complete certainty.

During both sessions, I entered what felt like a profoundly altered state of consciousness. I repeatedly heard the word "Source," even though I've always thought in terms of God rather than using that terminology.

While in that state, I felt as though I was receiving messages. Some of them were very specific:

• I was told about an investment that would supposedly perform very well, but it ultimately did not.
• I received what I believed was a message from a close friend who had "passed on," thanking me for my friendship in this lifetime. I had lost touch with him years earlier, but I eventually located him—and he was alive.
• I received messages that my grandmother would pass away within one year of the meditation and that my aunt would follow her. The predicted timeframe came and went, and neither event occurred.

At the time, these experiences felt absolutely real. I wasn't questioning them while they were happening—they carried a profound sense of certainty and authenticity. Yet every specific prediction or factual message ultimately proved to be incorrect.

I've spent years trying to understand what happened.

For those of you who have experience with ayahuasca, deep meditation, psychic phenomena, astral projection, or other spiritual practices, how do you explain experiences that feel undeniably authentic in the moment but later turn out to contain false information?

Do you view them as symbolic rather than literal? A mixture of genuine intuition and imagination? A psychological phenomenon? Spiritual deception? Something else entirely?

I'm not looking to argue for or against any particular belief system. I'm genuinely interested in hearing how people with firsthand experience or knowledge interpret experiences like this.

Thank you for taking the time to share your perspective.