What Happens After Your First Glimpse of Awakening?

Amanda Wilson · 2026-09-15

### The First Glimpse Is Just the Beginning You've probably heard about that first moment of awakening—when you suddenly recognize the openness, the stillness, the fact that there's no separate self running the show. It's a big deal. But what comes next? That's exactly what meditation teacher Loch Kelly explores with host Michael Taft in a recent conversation. And honestly, it's a question worth sitting with. ### Waking Up vs. Waking With Loch and Michael draw a clear line between two phases: - **Waking up** — recognizing openness, stillness, and the absence of a separate self. This is the classic "aha" moment. - **Waking with** — seeing appearances as inseparable from awake awareness. This is what's sometimes called "one taste." Think of it like this: waking up is noticing the sky behind the clouds. Waking with is realizing the clouds *are* the sky too. Nothing is left out. ### Flow States as a Doorway The conversation also digs into flow states. You know the feeling—when you're so absorbed in what you're doing that time disappears. No self-consciousness. Just pure engagement. Loch suggests these flow states aren't just cool experiences. They can be a gateway to something deeper. A taste of what it's like to live from awake awareness rather than for it. ### Why This Matters for Your Practice If you've had a glimpse and then felt like you lost it, you're not alone. The real work isn't chasing that first high. It's learning to *wake with* whatever shows up—the good, the bad, the mundane. As Loch puts it, the goal isn't to escape the world. It's to see the world as not separate from awareness itself. So next time you catch yourself striving for another peak experience, remember: the ordinary moment you're in right now? That's it too. No need to wait for the next glimpse. You're already here.