[Gem]

Just thought I'd come back and continue where I left off because every time an idea comes to mind, even a good idea about meditation, it's 'just thoughts', and I think the thing to understand is, that present point in time prior to the idea, while the idea unfolds and after that thought has passed.

On a forum we have big ideas, and typically we want to put forth high notions: I have an idea, I'll start praying, or I'll resting awareness, or God like this and that. I don't really have these ideas. I'm a bit more, "This is what it's like," and... nothing else.

You know the difference between what is real in the experience and what the mind fabricates, and although very good ideas, they're still mental fabrications, so between knowing what happens FR FR and what is imagined, there's a sense of knowing what's what and discerning.

If you're an advanced spiritualist, then maybe not, but for the regular person, not chasing ideas which are pretty grandiose and being as simple as possible, because it's simply true, 'This is how it is,' and I'm aware.

Meditation 'as it is', means there isn't an imaginary. Not intentional imaginary, like thinking of God or praying or remembering what a guru said etc. Of course for a regular person the mind will imagine things unintentionally, the future, the past and spiritual things like chakras and God and so on, and distract you from the actuality of real lived experience, so you use a return point such as breath, and each time you notice mind is ruling the roost again, you're already back in reality. Having seen all this, you can then assess yourself, like, 'Most of the time I'm distracted with mental stuff' or whatever the case might be, and maybe, be motivated to improve that condition.

After this there might be more good ideas that are titillating much more so that this rather mundane post, so this might be 'drowned out' as it were, but one is just aware of the reality of life, as it actually is, in the way you experience it.

The subject itself, which is meditation, can't really be pinned down but we're just focusing in, back to the moment in which you actually live.