The vast majority of humans go through life without ever experiencing Reality beyond what the ordinary dualistic mind projects. Bound tightly by the ego-centric mind, they live their entire life stuck in mediocrity, mostly struggling for this or that, while experiencing a few fleeting joys. One of the things that I hope to accomplish in this life, is awaken in you a passion for the supreme, for the highest, and to that end, I think having an enlightenment experience or two can go a long way.
Enlightenment experiences are glimpses of that aspect of life and your being, which are beyond time, space and self. These enlightenment experiences come in infinite variety, and in addition to giving you deep insight into the true nature of reality, they also inspire you to live life at your highest potential.
Seeing the truth of singularity makes you question the nature of duality and thought, while experiencing the utter freedom of these states, makes you question the value of your attachments. So how can we go about facilitating these experiences?
Enlightenment experiences are not subject to your will. They occur when there is a shift of awareness beyond the ego-centric mind and life can be defined as an opportunity for setting the stage for such shifts to take place.
Some of the best tools for creating such a stage are without a doubt Meditation, Yoga and Pranayama (Yoga Breathing Exercises). But, in this article I want to share with you a very simple and key tip, which I have noticed through personal experience, helps create the situation that is conducive to enlightenment experiences occurring.
This simple method is that of napping. Yes that is correct, you read it fine, napping. I have noticed time and again, that when napping during the day, the phase between wakefulness and sleep invariably opens the doors to infinity.
It does not matter where you nap. On the bus to New York, on the sofa, in bed, does not matter. The key factor is for you to maintain your awareness as you drift off to sleep. If you can do this you are in for a treat. So try to remain alert as sleep comes and see what magic takes place. It is not even necessary for you to chase enlightenment experiences. Invariably we all end up napping at some stage due to whatever reason and when that happens, treat it like an opportunity to break through.
I want to mention here that you can have similar results with simple nighttime sleep as well. Although, the probability of a shift in awareness is less than napping, the phase when the ordinary wakeful mind is diminished and sleep is yet to come, is a very conducive time to penetrate the veil of the dualistic mind.
In addition, if you can develop a habit of meditating prior to sleep, this transitory phase and overnight sleep itself can become a very spiritual, precious and cherished time for you. One of the key aspects of developing this ability is discovering in which position you cannot sleep easily. You can then use that knowledge to give yourself a better opportunity to practice this technique on a nightly basis. It is well worth the effort.
Anmol Mehta
Author Bio
Anmol Mehta is a Yoga & Zen expert. His Free Guided Meditation Techniques & Kundalini Yoga Website offers the Learn How to Meditate | Free Beginner Meditation Class and many Free Yoga Exercise Videos.
