In the context of spiritual experience, sleep is not seen as a mere physiological process but as a reflection of the soul’s unceasing life, where consciousness shifts into other forms of inner vision and sensation. This experience shows that even in a state of sleep, a person continues to feel and see images that manifest profound inner activity.
My first encounter with God was something that turned my perception of the world upside down – it was a moment of deep inner awakening, when life began to fill with an ineffable clarity and certainty. As noted in one source, in the words of Saint Macarius, there is exactly that moment when "the experience is still entirely within you and when self-awareness returns to you: this moment, Macarius says, is the beginning of faith. The confidence is completely present here, with such clarity that no doubt arises" (source: 1491_7452.txt). This experience for me was not merely a formal event, but a radical transformation of my inner world, when previously known words and teachings lacked the power to describe what had occurred.
High Vedic principles in the modern spiritual context can manifest through the pursuit of deep self-knowledge and the recognition of an individual’s inner unity with the Supreme Reality. In particular, the approach described in the source “Guru and Vedantist Practices” (source: 574_2868.txt) demonstrates the importance of transitioning from superficial forms of worship to ritual self-adulation, where the repetition of specific sacred formulas (for example, “So Ham, So Ham”) serves as a means of affirming this inner connection. Despite its evident ritualistic elements, this practice is aimed at cultivating an awareness of one’s divine essence and unity with the higher principle—a practice that can be adapted to modern spirituality by emphasizing a deep inner experience and a thoughtful approach to one’s spiritual path.
The shift in priorities towards comfort often leads an individual to focus solely on material well-being and convenience, missing the chance to deeply experience emotional encounters. When comfort becomes the dominant goal, efforts are directed towards simplifying and speeding up everyday life, which in turn reduces sensitivity to the nuances of the emotional world. Emotions begin to manifest as short-lived, mechanical reactions, devoid of depth and stability, while one's inner life becomes impoverished due to a lack of incentive for self-reflection and the pursuit of deeper meanings in life. This results in a life marked by superficial emotional experiences, ultimately leading to overall emotional fatigue and emptiness.
Using metaphors and symbols, as in Christ’s words about “the way, the truth, and the life,” allows one to view spiritual reality through the lens of multifaceted experience that goes beyond literal understanding. Such images are not confined to narrowly defined concepts; they unite both the path of life and the criteria of truth and the measure of existence, representing a holistic image of divine-human reality.