Glimpse

This is self-explanatory. It's just a glimpse I captured here to share with you.

I sat upright in bed last night, while everyone was asleep, and started meditating. Though I always find something to distract me during meditation-even if it's just an innocent thought-I decided I would be fully serious about this. Of course it wasn't too easy, the first few minutes weren't actual meditation, they were more like an arm wrestle with my thoughts, as if I were trying to strap my thoughts down on a table and sedate them. Quieting your mind is never as easy as it may sound. I kept my attention focused on my breath. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out. Of course I would directly silence any thought which says "hey, this is boring," or "so when does this pay off? What's the point? I ain't feeling closer to God! This isn't working!" And so on�

Then, as I further progressed into stillness-and started enjoying it (Just being still for the sake of "being still")-I started feeling something weird. I felt this force engulf me. It was more like a rush. It originated from my brain and stemmed to my peripheries. It was almost telling me "I want to take you away. I want to teleport you to wherever you want to go. I want to take you to this magical place which everyone visits when they go into meditation, the place your soul is longing and aching to go. Take my hand, and I will fly you there. Just relax."

And just then, my mind got down to business. I thought "Oh, this must be phase one of the divine experience! Oh goody! Looks like this meditation is paying off, now, all I must do is focus on this state so I can ascend further, and then� "
I started analyzing, labeling, thinking, wanting, not wanting, planning.
The feeling started to diminish and dwindle.
In panic, I directly shut my mind up. I decided to focus on this moment and this moment only. On the rush, the feeling. My mind went blank and the feeling intensified again.

But it didn't end there.

I had the same fight with my stream of random thoughts over and over again, the pattern lingering, the feeling deteriorating then intensifying. I couldn't maintain it. In the end, it faded away, as if to say "that's enough for today. You've gone pretty far. You don't have to travel the entire journey now. But you've gotten a glimpse, at least. Now, the present situation calls for you to go to sleep. You have school tomorrow. Sleep. You will try again later, but you've done a good job. I love you. Good bye." And it just waned away. That simply. Like a cool dusky summer breeze sweetly waking you up from your reverie, to see that the sun has set, but the afterglow lingers on, and that it will rise again tomorrow.

It was probably one of the most pleasant and intense experiences I've faced so far on my spiritual journey.

Reviews

[PianoandPage]

i used to think that meditation was an "emptying of the mind" but i realize now that it is really fully engaging your mind in ways that it simply cannot do when it is busy being distracted. i think we mistake "distracted thought" as "active thinking" when really "active thinking" is meditation.

having done a little meditation myself i found your description to be both accurate and relatable as well as poetic and beautiful. i'm not sure i have actually "flown" but i definately connect with the sense of quieting your inner doubts and feeling a deep peace draw you out.... almost like sleep, but better.

thanks for sharing!

[Sydelle Houston]

Once you get the hang of it, you will be able to meditate anywhere. It's a beautiful sensation to shut out the world and recharge. I like to envision the ocean and the tide flowing to and from the shore. The soft breeze, the sound of the surf, the glitter of the sun or moon on the water. Even a waterfall where you watch the water cascading down, the ripples, the churning water.... I have a chatterbox across the cubicle where I work and the only way I can keep my sanity is to meditate and close off the sound of her babbling through the day. I actually call her "parakeet on speed" which cracks up everyone.

Yes, you can use visual or aural keys to smoothe your transition into the meditative states. Once you succeed, you will use parts of your brain that you don't use on a daily basis. I understand we only use 1/8 of our brains. Imagine the possibilities!

Thanks for sharing, I could definitely relate.

[emmajoy]

I smiled as I read this p ost, c ouldn't help myself. Then I thought 'I'll tell him how to do this correctly in a minute' But you know that if y ou're going to meditate serio usly, you need to take the whole thing seriously, from beginning to end, not from the middle out! But, even if y ou have a few minutes solitude, peace and relaxation - fine... m ost imp ortantly you need to feel that y ou've sat within the gl orious warmth of the Creator.

Thank you f or sharing the experience.