Meditation

If you are struggling with the simple meditative state of mind.

I have, for a very long time, read articles about how people would describe the meditative state as one that was "relaxing, but one of hightened awarness" this is to say that the mind is calm, but we are aware of all that is going on around us. How frustrating for me to realize I had not found this state, and yet feel that I knew a good deal about meditation. For those of you that may feel they are dealing with the same thing, here's my way of explaining it:

Have you ever seen an Egyption hyrogliph of a God, and saw a sort of "disk" above their head? If you haven't, just go with me on this one--k? ;) This disk could be used to explain the "openness" of this simple meditative state. Imagine, if you will, a human head. Now image that "disk" that was once above the head of the Egyptian God, "inside" the human head you are imagining of. If you have a bit of fun with it, it looks like a guy with a very big forehead, and a small, squshed face at the bottom, and where an enormous forhead wold be is, rather, emptiness. It looks funny, I know, but it is to illistrate the openess I feel (from just below the eyes up) when I come to this state. Its not staring at the black behind your eyelids, rather seeing past them (uh oh, spooky language!). It is relaxed, as what I read had said, and it is a peaked awarness. What I have found is that I was always able to enter this state, but did not recognise it as a meditative state by itself. Rather, I would fall into this "openness" and dismiss it as my mind as wandering (remember I was observing everything around me with my eyes closed) and went deeper.

It feels like an "opening up" when you fall into this, because your thought is quieted but not your surroundings, my mistake was quiteing my surroundings. Actually, because of the quieting, you may find the surroundings get louder, and for may a bit distracting. But hey, that's what practice is for!

So I learned the hard way, really, and that's what I get for trying to teach myself! I hope this helps the few that may be doing the same, and for those who can reach this state, try not to let yourself become confused or questionable about the state you meditate in. The fact is some of us just learn things in a very...peculiar way.