I spent my Friday reading more on higher state of consciousness and discussing with a lovely friend about various aspects of the same - what not we discussed... from ancient times, to present, to traps and the actual practices, and where all one can make mistakes, and how to be back on the path.
Came across this wonderful article by Sri Sri Ravishankar, and felt like sharing a few important points from the same here:
The higher state of consciousness is somewhere in between the waking, sleeping and dreaming states. Here, we know we "are" but we don't know "where" we are. This knowledge that I "am," but I don't know "where" I am or "what" I am, is called Shiva. This state gives the deepest possible rest that one can experience. And one can achieve this through meditation.
Cosmic consciousness perceives the whole universe as part of oneself. When we perceive the world as a part of us, love flows strongly between the world and us. This love empowers us to overcome the opposing forces and the disturbances in life.
One just needs to learn the art of letting go. The confluence of knowledge, understanding and practice makes life complete. When you grow into higher states of consciousness, you find that you are no longer thrown off-balance by different situations and disturbances. You become strong yet soft -- a delicate and beautiful individual capable of accommodating different values in life without any conditions. As your consciousness opens and the whole system gets physically, mentally and spiritually elevated, your life truly becomes worth living.
Read the complete text athttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/higher-states-of-consciousness_b_1090486.html