During a recent at-home retreat, I opened my eyes after meditating and saw a fabulous golden sunrise. A candle was flickering on my altar and everything was bathed with an exquisite golden light. The whole scene was filled with both peace and a vibrating luminosity. I grabbed my phone to take a photo, but was disappointed in what I was able to capture of the moment.

This has happened to me repeatedly recently, especially out in nature, moments when I can readily see and feel the shakti-filled vibrancy, the tejas, the shining brilliant beauty. And I try to capture it in a photo, but it generally falls short. Perhaps my camera isn’t the best, or my photography skills are lacking. But as well, the camera can never capture what we can see from the deeper awareness of our Heartself.

You may have had at least glimpses of this experience as well. Many of us are overwhelmed by the beauty and vibrancy in nature. Or when we look at a beloved, a partner, child, parent, teacher or pet we may be able to see their inner beauty. Or when we experience a piece of art or music, we may be filled with awe. It is due to our hearts being open and connected. Personally, I yearn for this to be my everyday reality. And I know the increasing experiences I’m having of this is a result of my meditation practice.

When we do our internal practices, like meditation, we clarify our whole being so that we come to a place beyond the everyday thoughts (and in my world today, a lot of agitation), to rest in a place of quiet calm clarity. Then we quite naturally begin to see in an unobstructed way from that place of increased awareness. In the nondual philosophy, it is said that everything is a manifestation of the one still, yet pulsating, energy of Consciousness. And as we move along our path of practice, our ability to actually experience our external world as such increases.

According to tradition, this increasing ability results quite naturally from our internal practices. And it is something we can actively cultivate. For example, in the Pratyabhijñā-hṛdayam, Kṣemarāja outlines the process of vyutthāna, a slow emergence from a meditative state. We can revel in this increased state of awareness, and continue the heightened perception as we move into our world.

On a very practical level, whenever we emerge from the resting pose shavasana, we can pause with a more gradual emergence to experience this heightened and calmer state, and remind ourselves this place is always available and we can cultivate it in any moment. As we move deeper in our practices, our ability to see the highest in each and every thing in our world increases.

It is my greatest hope that we can all begin to interact with our world from this perception of connectedness. As more and more of us do this, we can begin to shift the energy around us, bringing more of the higher qualities of being into the world.