Bhava Samadhi: Meeting Yourself in Altered States

Bhava samadhi—a meditative state of absorbed emotion or bhakti—describes moments when ordinary consciousness dissolves and you touch something unchanging within. Mirabai entered these states through ecstatic dancing and singing, where the boundary between self and beloved dissolved. When grieving lost identity, bhava samadhi offers access to the part of you that existed before that identity and will persist after it. Through meditation, movement, or contemplative practice, you can temporarily release the grip of who you were and touch a deeper continuity. These glimpses reveal that identity is not fixed but layered; beneath the identity you've lost is something more fundamental. Bhava samadhi asks: what remains constant when all identities fall away? Regular access to this state gradually loosens grief's grip by revealing identity's true nature.