Leonard Jacobson:  Question: I once woke up in the middle of the night and understood all. I was all.  I knew like I have never known before or since, that everyone in my life was an aspect of me. There was only I.  My mind was totally quiet and yet I knew. It lasted but a couple of hours. How can I be in this state always? Is this what being present is or enlightened? Does this happen when the mind is totally quiet for a long period of time?

Another time in the middle of the afternoon after meditating, I felt a joy that was not so intense and for no reason at all! It was bigger than love. I couldn’t help but smile. It too, passed a couple of hours later. Was this being present? I love your teachings. They speak to my heart and quiet my mind. I would like to permanently live in this state of joy.  I never felt like that even when I was most in love.  It was free and for no reason.

Leonard’s Answer: The experiences you describe are awakening experiences. They are peak experiences. You awakened into the truth of life, and the truth of who you are. It is the enlightened or awakened state of consciousness. It is a blessing beyond imagining. It is what is revealed at the deepest levels of Presence when your mind is silent and you are fully present and available to what is here now.

t is transcendent of your mind and ego. And it is natural that joy would arise out of the silence. But the moment you ask how to be in this state always, you are taking yourself into the future. You are bringing the mind and ego back into play, which will disconnect you from the very experience you are trying to hold onto. From the perspective of one who is awake, there is no always. There is only now. To remain fully present and awake, we have to release our involvement in the past, including peak experiences, and be available to what is present now, even if it is ordinary.

I usually tell people who have had experiences similar to yours to regard it as a blessing to be grateful for. It is as if God had said to you, “I am going to give you a taste of the truth of life. I am going to give you a taste of the truth of who you are. I am going to give you a taste of the Eternal. It will last several hours, and then it will go away, because I then want you to do the work. I want you to bring consciousness to all the ways you are pulled out of Presence and truth. I want you to discover how to function in the world of time, and yet remain fundamentally present. I want you to become a Master of your mind and ego. Otherwise you are not truly free.”

Being present is always instant. You cannot be present a moment from now. Arising in Mastery of your mind and ego is a process that occurs over time. It is a process of integration of the awakened state. I reveal how this is accomplished in my latest book, Journey into Now. It involves coming into right relationship with every aspect of yourself, including your ego. It involves transcending judgment. It involves releasing emotions repressed within you from the past. It involves bringing the human dimension of you that participates in the world of time into alignment with the Godly or Eternal dimension of you, which is your true nature. I describe it in my book as a two step dance of awakening.