Question: Recently I came across some teachings which speak about Unity or Enlightenment in a certain way. This seems to be an experience of Unity rather than being Unity. An example of this is Collision with the Infinite: A Life Beyond the Personal Self by Suzanne Segal, She had a spiritual experience very similar to merging to Atman (higher self).
She Wrote –
“In the midst of a particularly eventful week, I was driving north to meet some friends when I suddenly became aware that I was driving through myself. For years there had been no self at all, yet here on this road everything was myself, and I was driving through me to arrive where I already was. In essence, I was going nowhere because I was everywhere already. The infinite emptiness I knew myself to be was now apparent as the infinite substance of everything I saw”.
 

Answer: Luckily I can speak from experience about this. When I was still on a Mantra, before First Initiation, I was driving my car and on going over a hill my whole consciousness exploded. My sense of self was everywhere and I began laughing because I was moving but going nowhere at the same time. I also felt that everything was brand new and pulsated with exactly the same Energy!

The infinite emptiness and lack of self that Suzanne speaks of suggests a previous expansion and detachment possibly through the practice of non duality! (This is obviously only a guess)

Now that I have been Initiated and know of the existence of the Light and Sound I can understand that my experience was a physical Samadhi; I was one with my surroundings. However, I was not one with the Light and Sound.

So it was an expansion within limits.

I think this is a wonderful thing to happen to someone as it points a person in the direction of Spirituality and the Ultimate Samadhi, that of Enlightenment.