Most of us achieve some awareness, even if faint, of the existence of our souls.
This awareness usually arrives through the simple recognition that beyond the Self, there is something deep within us that we cannot name.
For most people who experience them, epiphanies of the soul appear intermittently – whether for a short time or a longer period – and then vanish.
These spontaneous bursts of light that some experience cause a sense of spiritual elevation.
They do not always involve a feeling of happiness, but they always involve a clarity of vision.
We can compare it to the feeling you might have if you stand for a moment at the summit of a mountain, momentarily seeing, breathing, and even feeling differently, perhaps experiencing a sense of liberation.
–Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz