Samadhi: The Path to Seeing Life as It Truly Is

We’ve been on this incredible journey through Patanjali’s Eightfold Path, and here we are, arriving at the final step: Samadhi. Can you believe it? Seventeen weeks of dedication and practice have brought us to this profound teaching.

Samadhi, often translated as "absorption," invites us to see life in its purest form—to see the world as it is, not as we are. Most of us walk through life seeing things through the filters of our own experiences, beliefs, and stories. We aren’t seeing reality—we’re seeing our interpretation of reality, shaped by who we are in the moment.

One of my early spiritual teachers shared a story that beautifully illustrates this concept. A couple walked along a beach, complaining about their old neighborhood—how terrible it was, full of crime and negativity. They asked my teacher if this new place would be different, and he told them, "You'll find it’s exactly the same here." Not long after, another couple approached him with the same question, but this time they shared how much they loved their current community, how safe and peaceful it was. My teacher gave them the same response: "You'll find it’s exactly the same here."

The point is, the place never changed—what changed was how each couple saw the world.

Samadhi is about breaking free from these mental filters. It’s about stepping into the truth, into seeing life for what it really is, not how we’ve been conditioned to see it. This state of being completely absorbed into the experience, into the ground of being, reveals what Tantra teaches us: that the very essence of life is love, beauty, kindness, and bliss.

When we’ve touched Samadhi, we don’t just think life is beautiful, we know it deep within us. We feel it in every breath, every interaction, every moment of stillness. We see the beauty in the world, not because we are trying to, but because it’s simply there, waiting to be witnessed.

These glimpses of bliss—like watching a breathtaking sunset, gazing at a mountain peak, or seeing the smile of a baby for the first time—are moments when we remember the truth of who we are. These moments remind us that beneath all the stories, all the layers of conditioning, all the “stuff” we carry, there resides a space of pure love, pure bliss, pure freedom.

So, how do we get there? How do we touch Samadhi in our everyday lives?

One of the simplest practices is to ask yourself this gentle question in moments of tension, frustration, or confusion: "What if I’m seeing this through my own filter? What if I could see this differently?"

It’s a powerful question that creates space for clarity. And that’s what Samadhi is—a state of crystal-clear seeing, where we drop the ego’s interpretations and open up to the beauty that’s always been there.

As we sit in this practice of yoga, the ultimate goal isn’t about perfect poses or physical achievements. It’s about union, about reconnecting to that place of bliss that already resides within us. The most advanced yoga you will practice is moving through life with a smile and soft, compassionate heart.

Samadhi is the gift of Yoga. It’s the realization that love, beauty, and bliss are not fleeting—they are our natural state. They are who we are when we let go of the stories we’ve been telling ourselves for so long. And when we begin to see life as it truly is, we step into a state of freedom that is more expansive and powerful than anything we could ever imagine.

So, take a deep breath. Close your eyes. Whisper the question to your heart: “Please let me be willing to see this differently.”

And let the journey into Samadhi begin.

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