Meditation brings answers

[Starman]

Still Waters, I also find visions interesting; they can be very informative, and for me they usually come with an intuitive feeling. Visions can be about the past, future, or current situations.

I have shared here at Spiritual Forums how I lost my eyesight while serving in the army during war in Vietnam, and was totally blind for about 5-years. Went through more than a dozen eye surgeries to regain my eyesight, but in many ways losing my eyesight was a blessing in disguise.

I learned a great deal when I was blind, most notable how we look with our eyes but see with our awareness, and when I was blind to this world I saw things which I failed to see when I had 20/20 eyesight. Visions lift our consciousness and allows us to see beyond our eyesight.

I find it interesting when people say “I see” what you are talking about, when all the have heard are verbally spoken words, or they say “look” at what I am saying. We have outer sight and also inner sight.

Sight is closely aligned with reasoning. Although I do not embrace the adage “seeing is believing,” as to truly see things we must look beyond their surface. I am also very familiar with Kabbalistic teachings and embrace their mystical nature. Thank you for sharing that.

[nandansahoo]

I've found that meditation often brings answers to questions that have been lingering in my mind. It's like clearing away the clutter, allowing insights to come through more clearly. There have been countless times when I've been stuck on a problem or unsure about a decision, and after a meditation session, the solution just seems to appear out of nowhere. It's almost as if the act of sitting quietly and focusing inward helps to tap into a deeper level of understanding.

One personal experience that stands out is when I was contemplating a career change. I was feeling really torn and anxious about it. I started meditating daily, and after about a week, I had this moment of clarity where I just knew what I needed to do. The answer felt so obvious, like it had been there all along, just waiting for me to notice it. Meditation has become a regular practice for me since then, not just for relaxation but as a way to access those deeper insights that can be so elusive in the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

[J_A_S_G]

Originally Posted by Still_Waters

Conditioning may still be a factor on the unconscious/subconscious level even when one thinks that one's mind is silent.

I'd say that conditioning is always present even in deep and dreamless sleep, just in seed form.

One question is are we aware of it when it arises from the subconscious to the conscious? Another question is do we or do we not react to said conditioning when it does surface from the subconscious to the conscious? Yet another question is how soon are we aware of the stuff bubbling up from the subconscious?

I think that last question is particularly important as the shorter that window is, the greater the chance to reduce reactivity, and meditation can and does shorten that window.

[Starman]

Meditation can expand our awareness and have us become conscious of what we may be doing unconsciously. Meditation organizes and aligns our being, brings what is deep within us on a sublime level to the surface. Such an alignment can make us less reactive and more proactive.

Answers come from dwelling in the eternal moment where there is no time, which is what we do in quiet meditation. Questions come from the mind, thoughts which are captive in time. Desires, memories, imagination, and curiosities, about this and that. We all have the answers to our own life, our own journey and any other inquiry, right within us.

All questions have their answer embedded in them, The answer is only as succinct as the question, and many times the question can be irrelevant, and thus so is the answer. I was leaning against a tree in a forest meditating, opened my eyes and said aloud, why is this world so screwed up?

It seemed like the tree I was leaning against spoke to me, as I heard very clearly, “everything is as it should be.” Of course, the human mind would want to know what does that mean. The mind may need more elaboration, but often the answers which I receive are very simple.

[Unseeking Seeker]

Originally Posted by Still_Waters

EXCERPT POST 14:There is no question that "conditioning impacts identity". Conditioning may still be a factor on the unconscious/subconscious level even when one thinks that one's mind is silent.

Undoubtedly. We live in the body-mind and some ego identity is needed to navigate earth life. All sages had personalities. That said, if we are relatively empty and abide in thought rested stillness, then we are in the present moment most of the time, in agendaless vibrance.

We don’t think we are in silence because there is no thought or effort. We are in silence, that is to say, we leave behind no residue, moment to moment.

That said, yes we are conditioned. Is the form male or female? How to negate that? Reflex instincts, are they as refined as we would like them to be? Attachments. Are they yet present and to what degree? Patterns, including subtle ones. Are we free? We can go on examining along these lines.

[Still_Waters]

EXCERPT POST 23:

Originally Posted by J_A_S_G

I'd say that conditioning is always present even in deep and dreamless sleep, just in seed form.

One question is are we aware of it when it arises from the subconscious to the conscious? ... Yet another question is how soon are we aware of the stuff bubbling up from the subconscious?

Even without further elaboration, I am inclined to agree with you on your first point - "that conditioning is always present even in deep and dreamless sleep, just in seed form".

Your questions about the subconscious are quite insightful. In conscious sleep meditations, which I have done for years, one can remain aware in all three states (deep sleep, dream formation, and the so-called "waking state") as well as during the transitions between the three states. During dream formation, one becomes aware of the modifications of the mind (seeds, in your terminology) from the very beginning of the dream until the dissolution of the dream. (Although comparable in many ways to a lucid dream, it is significantly different from a lucid dream where an entity recognizes the dream as a dream at some point during its progression.) In conscious sleep, the dream formation process proceeds very quickly initially but, over the course of time, the process starts to slow down. At some point, one becomes aware of the subconscious emerging more and more....and one can act accordingly sooner and sooner. It's a fascinating process.

My spiritual mentor, the Tibetan yogi Milarepa, and other sages have pointed out that there is no essential difference between the consciousness of the dream world, heaven, and the material world ... so this awareness can also apply to entering the so-called "waking state" from the deep sleep state as well as during modifications of the mind during the so-called "waking state". It's an intense, illuminating meditation practice.

[Still_Waters]

EXCERPT POST 25:

Originally Posted by Unseeking Seeker

That said, yes we are conditioned. Is the form male or female? How to negate that?

It would seem that the more important question relates to what is form and how does it manifest?

Pantanjali's Yoga Sutras identify a number of siddhis (powers) including the ability to change one's outward form. Hence, conditioning can be addressed at very subtle levels.

The Hindu classic Ramayana, for example, mentions the demons (Rakshasas) who could assume any form they chose.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rakshasa

My spiritual mentor and I had some very deep discussions on the nature of the mind-body-spirit connection and the nature of form. It's a great subject for meditation.

[J_A_S_G]

Originally Posted by Still_Waters

My spiritual mentor, the Tibetan yogi Milarepa, and other sages have pointed out that there is no essential difference between the consciousness of the dream world, heaven, and the material world

No difference whatsoever from the perspectives of waking, dreaming, deep meditation or even an OBE. I'd also include deep sleep as that seems very similar to deep meditation for all intent and purpose as mind drops, but the most I can say from an experiential perspective is I know I slept like a log.

It's interesting even if we drop metaphysics and transcendence, examining it from a purely materialistic perspective. What we perceive as objective reality is a simulation entirely of mind. Take sight. It's just photons being gathered and focused by the eye onto the retina, activating rods and cones which in turn result in electrochemical signals winding their way to the vision centers of the brain where, combined with all the other sensory input, reconstructs a version of reality necessary to navigate and survive the environment but nothing more. We don't need to perceive fundamental particles and forces directly. That would be a waste of processing power and especially bandwidth. Too much information for the task at hand.

Back to metaphysics and transcendence. What is aware of that presentation of and by mind? That with no essential difference?

I sometimes phrase that as the Extraordinary masquerading as the ordinary. Consciousness is anything but ordinary, however that's how we've been conditioned, at least most in the West.