Waking up — becoming conscious — can be confusing. You get pulled back and forth between your regular self — with its distractions, feelings, and ups and downs — and your soul self, which shows you how to live in bliss. You move from regular life, again with all the drama and feelings, and soul life, which is a steady infusion of pure love, peace, and calm. You get a taste of what’s out there, and then you get yanked back to Earth life.

This passage — where you can see bliss, taste bliss, and know bliss but not sustain it — can be one of the most frustrating times. But little by little, over weeks, months, or years, something begins to shift. You begin to experience bliss, nirvana, love, peace — whatever you want to call enlightenment — more often.

Then out of nowhere on an ordinary day, everything becomes extraordinary. You get out of bed, and instead of your normal crankiness as you move from sleep to moving about, you sip your coffee or tea and feel incredible. It’s as if your whole self is fully present and fully expanded.