The fastest way to finding your soul is to sit in the presence of a guru or an ascended master who is already living in that vibrational field. Instead of trying to do this on your own, be humble enough to accept the pointers of this enlightened being and you will eliminate a lot of trial and error.

Yes, you can leave attachment to all worldly things, too. But it must be done from the consciousness that they are not real and they are not eternal. If you approach this from the point of view that you are buying yourself into heaven, it will not be an effective way. It all must take place in the Now and not be put off to some future event.
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Finding that silence within, unperturbed by the ceaselessly chattering mind, is the path to discovering your soul. There are many paths that lead to this state of Unity. You may even find it by reading the words of an inspired yogi who is speaking from the heart.

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Memory consciousness is not efficient because, simply, we forget a lot of things. It would not be efficient if we retained the memory of every little thing that happened to us, every little thing we thought, and every action and reaction. So we have evolved to retain memories that help us survive. Or, we think they help us survive.

But memory is subject to failure. You might remember what you were doing on 9/11 when the disaster struck but do you remember what you were doing all day on 9/11? I mean every minute of that day and night? Of course, that would be inefficient and your mind would be burdened with useless material.

Do you remember anything at all on 9/1 even of this year? We think we have childhood memories, but how many of them are what our relatives told us about?

Visionary consciousness is not efficient either. Efficiency implies getting things done in the most timely and least costly manner. Visionary consciousness is not interested in getting things done. It sees the perfection in all just the way it is. However, if you want to be a creative force in this world, then visionary consciousness is the way to go.
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Memory is about something that has already happened. Visionary consciousness is about the endless possibilities of all that could ever be. It frees us up to create something new and this kind of growth is the innate pattern of the universe.

Einstein once said,

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution."

The truth is not something that you finally attain. It is a fluid and not etched in stone. That is why imagination can take you there faster than knowledge. We can all cite examples of something that was “known” by all and ends up being completely false. For centuries most people knew the earth was flat. As people began to circumnavigate the globe, they discovered it was round.

Knowledge helps to bring you to the physical truth about the planet when it is proven in a laboratory or by calculations and deductive reasoning. We found out that the earth was not the center of the universe. The laws of gravity gave us the knowledge behind the fact that we can’t jump off a roof and begin to fly.

We discovered that if we put our hand in a hot flame, we got burned. These are all things that are true about the physical universe. They are the known. They are discovered territory. There is no room for imagination: Will I get burned if I put my hand in the fire? Yes, you know you will get burned. Will I crash to the pavement if I jump off the penthouse roof? No doubt.

But if you want to find out the truth about who you are as a spiritual being, then knowledge of gravity, of your anatomy, of how your brain functions, or how we interact as social species is not enough. Knowledge of human history is not enough. You need the quality of imagination that can envision something that is beyond what your physical senses are presenting.
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Imagination also leads to questions that Einstein used to ask himself, “What if?” What if time is a human invention and is relative to where you are in the universe? He dared to imagine far beyond the fixed laws of Newtonian physics. And because of this, he entered into the inner sanctum that is available to us all, once we break out of what is known and begin to explore the unknown.

When people are on a spiritual path, they sometimes become unreal in their communications with others. There is actually a term for this: “juking.” Juking usually applies to Christians “over spiritualizing” every conversation but it happens across the board with extremely sincere devotees of any religious inclination or discipline such as yoga. They just turn everything they say into a spiritual principle, direction, or cliche.

In my family culture we were not to consider the body to be real or any illness to be true. So if I banged my knee as a child, I might say to my mother, “To the material senses, it seems that I banged my so-called knee.” Then my mother would juke me back with, “Know the Truth about yourself. To the mortal senses it seems that you are in pain but this is an illusion. The Lord shall bear thee up in his hands, lest thou dash thy foot against the stone (quoting the 91st psalm).”

Meanwhile, I was a little kid that probably just needed a hug and some sympathy. A bandaid wouldn’t have been bad either.

People can show a great deal of ego when they over spiritualize. It is a game of spiritual one-upmanship. They can be so much holier than thou because they don’t let any “erroneous” expressions pass their lips. For example, a person just discovered that time is relative (and of course, we know that this is true but we don’t need to bash someone over the head with it). Someone asks them, “What time is it?” They reply, “Time, what is time? Do you mean earthly time, celestial time, atomic time? Do you know that time isn’t even real in the World of the Spirit?”

Meanwhile, the person would have been happy with, “It’s 9 o’clock.”
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Overly-zealous religious people use over spiritualization as a way of proving how spiritual they are to the outside world and to themselves. But often, it can have the opposite effect. Answering every question with a cliche, such as, “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away,” shows insensitivity rather than sympathy. They have replaced the feelings of their heart with ready-made formulas that they think will make them look very accomplished but shows them to be pompous and robotic.

Trying not to be self-conscious won’t work because it is not about effort. It is about understanding who you really are.

If you think you are this constant stream of commentary and judgment going on in your head, then of course you will be anxious and put your health at risk. This mechanism has evolved for our survival and it is not geared to our happiness or peace. It goes haywire in most people and ensure that their entire lives will be full of struggle to preserve the little miserable “me.”
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You need to get in touch with your Soul: The part of you that is eternal and above the non-stop fearful projections of this survival-mind. Find a spiritual teacher who appeals to you. He or she will point you in the direction of discovering your peaceful Higher Self. You don’t need to go it alone.

Consciousness is all around us, in every life form, including fetuses. Studies have shown that they are responsive to music, emotional states of the mother, and vocal intonations while in the womb. This consciousness continues to grow from within, in healthy fetuses. It is an increasing awareness of inner and outer states of being—such as who you are as a person.

But consciousness is not something like air. It is not external to anything. You cannot breath in particles of consciousness. And it doesn’t wait around until someone discovers it. It is something that stirs within you.

Different beings are at different levels of consciousness. Most exist at the survival level. Others go beyond and explore the vast reaches of expanded awareness, beyond sense perceptions. The are impelled by something within—consciousness’s own propulsion towards growth. Yet they still are not reaching outside the stillness of their own being to grasp at particles of consciousness waiting to be absorbed.

If you have a salad and only put oil on it, it tastes flat and bland. If you only put vinegar on it, it is too sharp and sour. But if you blend the two, you have the base of a very tasty dressing the complements the greens and other ingredients. So it is with science and spirituality. They are best when blended together.

Science alone, with its physical approach to studying what can be seen and measured with instruments, is cold comfort on a dark and stormy night of the soul. It might tell us a lot about our physical reality but cannot still find the means to know all about our brains, our emotions, and our search for meaning.

Spirituality alone, without science, might go too far off into la-la-land. We might be too preoccupied with the non-physical to remember to eat or maintain the body in the most minimal ways. We might think we can defy the laws of gravity by trying to fly off a roof or walk on water.

But if we blend them together, we have something satisfying, comforting, and flavorful. Science can corroborate the statements of the mystics through quantum physics and brain wave measurement. Spirituality can strengthen the awe and wonder of scientists as they explore how beautifully-put-together the entire universe is: Manifested or un-manifested.

This is not the same for soap and water. Unless it is liquid soap, a block of soap’s magical cleaning properties are dormant until they are unlocked by water. A hard block of soap without water has no cleaning power at all.

On the other hand, water is a solvent and can clean objects, by itself and a little elbow-grease. But water’s ability to clean is enhanced by the presence of soap. I would rather have my clothes cleaned with both soap and water for maximum effect.

Science does not unlock the potential of spirituality the way water does with soap. It is not even concerned with spirituality. If you can’t prove it in a lab, it doesn’t exist for science.
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Spirituality could possibly enhance the findings of science, but only peripherally. The calm spirit of the scientist, as he connects with the creative forces of the universe, can help him or her solve problems that seemed insurmountable and open up new pathways to discovery.

You are referring to two of the three types of samadhi, which is a term for the highest levels of consciousness. Eastern mystics have categorized these high levels of consciousness, which always involve direct apprehension of the Divine Source Energy of the Universe. They are:
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• Nirvikalpa samadhi
• Savilkalpa samadhi
• Sahaja samadhi

Nirvikalpa Samadhi
In nirvikalpa samadhi, you are the giant heart of the Universe. Even the Universe is tiny within the vastness of your being. It is a state of unlimited bliss and peaceful joy.

Nirvikalpa samadhi is considered to be the highest samadhi that most Spiritual Masters can attain. But it only lasts a few hours or days at most. Then it’s time to come back into the world of the physical. Often, we don’t want to come back into the world again. It is even said that if we stay there for 18–21 days, our soul may leave the body and cross over to the Other Side.

I have read of Spiritual Masters who have gone into Nirvikalpa samadhi and announced to their students, “Today is a good day to die.” They realized that they had attained their highest samadhi. Now it was not possible for them to keep carrying on in the physical plane.

This samadhi is not a survival state. It is a pervasive ecstasy. We really cannot carry on with material life in the world while in Nirvikalpa.
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Savikalpa Samadhi
In Savikalpa samadhi, which also only lasts for a period of time, we lose all consciousness of time and space. As there is no time, there is nothing to get done, there is nothing to do. It is already all done.

In this state of samadhi we see ourselves merely as an instrument to channel the purpose of the Divine. We do not need to do anything, it is already perfect and complete. There is nothing to accomplish, nothing to attain, nothing to do.

Unlike in Nirvikalpa samadhi where all thought has stopped, in Savikalpa samadhi thoughts arise, but they do not affect you. You just notice them without getting involved in them.

Sahaja Samadhi
Sahaja samadhi is the state of higher consciousness in which we are capable of working in the physical plane, while still maintaining Nirvikalpa samadhi. It’s simultaneously one foot in heaven and one foot on earth.

In Sahaja samadhi we do the daily tasks and chores. But each of these activities is infused with the bliss that only present moment awareness of the Divine can bring.

It is said that few Spiritual Masters have achieved Sahaja samadhi. It comes through grace. Grace is a deep spiritual topic of it own. It is a gift of insight from the divine and cannot be forced.

The sanskrit word samadhi means “putting together” and is the final integration in the process of enlightenment if you are on the yogic path. This is when the enlightened being is liberated from the ego mind and its constant chatter, evaluations, judgments, worries, fears, and opinions and enters a state of imperturbable joy.

It is less of an experience and more of a a pure state of being. Each moment is sacred, whether the saint is brushing her teeth or sweeping his floor. Being in samadhi doesn’t mean you have to sit for hours in painful positions. It means being in the present moment at all times and not being dragged away from it by the fears, likes, and dislikes of the ego-mind’s drama.

In the state of samadhi, the saint sees only oneness in all occurrences of life and finds deep peace therein. The enlightened being does not pay homage to worry or fear. She does not feel anxiety because she knows there are no barriers between her needs and their fulfillment. But usually the saint does not have many needs because he is happy within himself and is not seeking for something outside him to complete his picture of bliss.
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In this bliss of samadhi, all suffering disappears. Samadhi is not the same thing as fun moments at the amusement park or at a party. That sort of happiness is fleeting. Samadhi is a remembrance of our own divinity. It is the feeling of being in the presence of Diving Source of the Universe and being at one with this Divine Source at the same time.

Unless proven otherwise, we are the only beings on this planet with the ability to expand our consciousness through thought and contemplation. Dolphins and other highly evolved animals may be able to perceive electrical fields that most humans cannot detect, but they are not able to put them into a illustrative pattern or discuss the patterns of the universe with each other.

Humans have evolved this ability or consciousness as the next step in the constantly expanding evolutionary process. As with every other adaptation, consciousness, which includes spirituality, enables us not only to survive, but to thrive. Without spirituality, we are like hyenas, surviving by getting over on others, pilfering, being blood-thirsty, and showing no mercy. That is all great for hyenas because that is their world.

The human world contains the possibility of growth and achievement; of reflecting on the marvels of the universe and harnessing that wonder into creativity. Hyenas do not build roads or create Internets. They do not write plays or debate ideas with each other. They live in a structured pack world of kill or be killed so they can breed and create more hyenas. That is it.

With our expanded consciousness, like other more highly evolved animals, such as the apes, we discovered helping each other out enabled us to survive better. Moreover, it enabled us to be happy in life, to trust each other more, and to feel at peace. Compassion, or feeling for others, came with our expanded abilities to think, to put ourselves in the place of others, instead of just following the instinct of “me first.”
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Our ability to debate, question, feel the Spirit within, and feel compassion for others is evidence of a very complex evolutionary process that is moving in cosmic proportions.