It helps to have other devotees thinking and practicing the presence around us. Reminding us in our sadhana. I like your last post here. I’ve had similar experiences to what you described above. Life is never ‘normal’ again after those moments. We always think of them and want to be in those states of ecstasy again, and so we make every attempt to align our lives in that direction.
With me, it is not like that. I've had about 8-10 years, where what you said held true - but it slowly passed, or faded.
I found, that the energies in the body work by themselves, so no effort on our side needed. It took a while for me to realize that.
Your accounts certainly are of interest to me, since in some ways they parallel my own. I have ‘fallen’ before, it is much easier to slide down a hill than to retrace your steps upward again. However, i never forgot the experience of no thoughts and the bliss that followed ( at a SRF convocation) as well as the opening of the heart 💜 chakra by Amma, as examples. And even though I live more in balance with the body today, and find it in some ways more mentally safer for myself and those around me….I recognize that there is a state of transcendence that we can embrace again, somewhat like being in a divine embrace as recognized in retrospect. There is tremendous protection in the continuity of spiritual practices designated by true Masters. And I am a living example of surviving certain death by miraculous intervention. I’m talking about dangerous high blood pressure that has been miraculously cured and given three years to live from melanoma stage 4 and beating all odds and a terrible car accident in which the events were manipulated by a higher power that actually changed the scene and the cars operating ability. Not by my own doings, but a higher power, that has decided it is not yet my time for a transition. Pray for grace constantly because it can intervene to counter all appearances.
I distinctly remember remember Brother Turiyananda of SRF and some of the messages he related to me, which have also come true in my life. I asked him once how he decided to became a monk, and his response will always be strong in my memories and future actions. He told me that he was lost once in the Swiss Alps, and it was getting close to dark. He explained you don’t live in those woods at night, it is way to cold. He made a plea to God; ‘God if there is anything you want me to do this life you are going to have to help me now.’ And he felt a large push in a certain direction that led him out of the woods to safety. Sometimes we can’t help but to have a lasting gratitude for that kind of support, protection and guidance. So how could I ever forget how my life has been spared by a force beyond any doctor or human capacities? Believe me Brother there is nothing to be egotistical about such events. I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my life, but why torture myself by continually reviewing them? There is one I haven’t made, and that is; no matter how many times you’ve done the wrong things, always come back to your spiritual practices, there is definitely grace provided by keeping to our sadhana.
