Many books describe the state of altered conciseness achievable by meditational practices and I have been reading many books on that subject. It is described by words which can not convey the reality since it is something that you fell and if experienced at least once can leave you chasing that experience for the rest of your life.
That state can happen suddenly even without much practice but in some turning life event, it is called "sudden awakening" from that point on you are a new person.
Your life as you knew it is gone and transformed into seeking for peaceful environment which would facilitate further development and understanding
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From @bitswami