I say to my yoga students, “You might be here for the stretching or the relaxation. Great. But you might get the Bonus Plan.”

The yoga path of focusing the mind, developing presence and dropping the mind’s limitations and judgments was laid out to lead to Samadhi – that’s what the yogis call it, when you are “realized” and you see that all is One, you merge with God and All That Is. It can happen in a flash, but the sages have told us that certain practices help, like meditation, and mindfulness. Like awareness of the Now. Like attention at the heart center.

When we get our mind under control, when we’re choosing where its attention rests…. we’ll feel pretty good. And then we can go for that Bonus Plan. We can start to see all the way through the beauty and possibilities in this life and in one another, all the way to seeing Absolute Truth, Divine Reality, what some call God.

In the Gospel of Thomas it says that Jesus said: “Know what is in front of your face, and what is hidden from you will be disclosed to you. For there is nothing hidden that will not be revealed…”

The Jivamukti Yoga book includes this great story:

Once God was frustrated with the constant nagging of people unsatisfied with their lot in life and complaining to God to change things to suit them. Heal this person, give wealth to that one, find a husband for this one, grant these two a child. There was always some request. He needed a break, but wherever He hid, they found him and started asking for things again. So he called together a council of the other gods and goddesses at Mount Meru, to try and solve this problem.

Shiva told him to hide on the moon; the people would never find him there. Somehow, God knew they would find him there very quickly. Vishnu suggested that he hide at the bottom of the deepest ocean. Surely no one would look there! God knew that hiding place would not last. Laughing, Sarasvati the Goddess of learning, said the answer was obvious: “Just hide inside their own hearts. They will never think to look there!”

There is something else here. Now. Keep opening to it. Keep your attention in this moment, on the light you see in the world, or in your heart.