Experiencing Samadhi

                                                                                  By

                                                                          "G"

             Samadhi n. Hinduism, Buddhism:  The highest stage in meditation, in which a person experiences oneness with the universe. -The Random House Dictionary of the English Language -

            Background: As a teenager I was a serious, logical, science/engineering person, with no need for religion. At 19, while in college, I read the The Scarlet Plague, a science-fiction novel by Jack London. It described a worldwide plague that rapidly killed most of the people on Earth. That got me thinking that everything dies, from people to the universe. I went into a depression, for I saw no purpose to life. The only thing that kept me from suicide was the thought that I had nothing to lose; I might was well stick around and something good might turn up!

            I continued in college, doing what people expected me to do, but I was emotionally (and spiritually) empty. I graduated. At age 22, in Detroit, 1972, in my second engineering job, things came together. I was enthralled by a perfect society as described in the novel 2150 AD. Albums by the Moody Blues were thrilling in their spirituality. I had my own place...

            Then, every night for 2 weeks I experienced images, wonderful images, swirling. I'm floating in space and see stars, so bright, colors. And where is the Earth? I have floated away from the Earth. I'm really in space. There's no direction that I can figure out. Every direction is as good as every other. I'm myself but I'm not on Earth. I'm right here, but the Earth is not.

            I look over in a direction and see a star. It's bright. It's really bright. I imagine myself closer, wanting to be closer, closer. Boy, the heat from it, it's bright. Ah, it's dazzling, blinding. But I'm not dying. There's life to it. Its so bright, brighter, so bright. White all around. Everywhere there's white. I feel love. It's so bright, it almost seems like I'm in the star. I am! I'm inside of the star! Can you imagine that? All of this brightness all around. Energy. Good feelings. Oh, inside! I never thought I would be inside of a star, but it's happening. It's here. So right and comforting. Joyous. Immensity, intensity beyond words.

             It's something I've never experienced before. So strong, out of this world. The bliss is so strong that it becomes painful. I force myself to open up to its mighty current. I'm really looking at God! What does God look like? Looking closer I see --God is me! I am God! There can be no separation, no duality. I and the Father are one! Infinite love, infinite bliss! Totally wonderful. It's here right now. I'm so thankful, thankful to the universe for letting me experience Self in all its fullness. After a while, though time is irrelevant and meaningless, I settle into ordinary, but contented, consciousness.

                                                                                  - Finis -