I recall the days when I gave public lectures back in the ’70s. A common question was “What is enlightenment like?” Back then it was surprisingly common to have audience members using recreational drugs respond by saying, “Oh yeah, I know exactly what you are talking about! That is exactly what happens to me when I get high!” Try as I might, I only met with extreme resistance when I tried to explain that I was talking about something different.
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At first glance this may sound like nothing more than a humorous recollection. Actually, it has a very profound point: We are all centered in the same one thing…. the Transcendent. All our lives revolve around that… are based in that… if we know it or not. As a result, every experience is an echo of that, just as when a pebble is tossed into a pond, every ripple expands out from the point of entry paralleling the other ripples. Similarly, every experience in life parallels something deeper. If we are not careful, we decide they are the exact same thing. I call this the I-get-it Syndrome.
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This simple principle is responsible for the profoundly elusive mysteries of life. Everything is an echo of something deeper. Unless we are attentive, we equate the echo with the real thing. Many well-intended teachers provide meditation techniques that provide students with an echo. Echoes of truth, perceived as truth, hold truth at bay. This exists eternally in all of life. It is why true spiritual growth is likened to traversing a razors edge or passing through the eye of the needle.
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So how do you take this and decide if you are doing a proper meditation that is actually working? Well, there are a few fundamental qualities… the meditation must be natural… easy… simple… etc. However, you can say that about many things. So the ultimate answer boils down to the cultivation of discernment. You must become discerning in your evaluation of all things… including the choice of the meditation technique you use.
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Keep in mind that we do not meditate to attain a particular experience during meditation. We meditate for the benefits meditation provides… the purification of the nervous system and physiology. The actual experience of meditation can vary, based upon the way each individual’s physiology is purifying at a particular time.
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I know this can be unsatisfying, but it is the truth. We all would like to have a signpost along the way, confirming we are moving in the right direction. However, the only genuine signpost is accessible deep within you. As you cultivate and employ wise discernment, it becomes more accessible to you.
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Listen carefully in life and choose wisely. Admittedly, it is enjoyable and encouraging to have a meditation that feels deep and profound, but let the path of discernment be your guiding light.
