What is Meditation?

January 9th, 2024
By Dr. Matthew Luke Dixon, Neuroscience Researcher – Contributor

The essence of meditation is stillness. When the mind is still, it becomes easier to recognize what is always here at the core — our true nature. Our true nature is the constant, vibrant light of peace, love, and wholeness that does not come and go. It has been given many names — spirit, soul, higher self, pure consciousness, God self, enlightened self, love, life, eternal presence. All of these names point to who we truly are — our formless essence.

All of the memories, thoughts, and emotions that make up our personality (ego self) are temporary forms. They cannot be who we are, because we do not appear and disappear with every thought or emotion. We experience ourselves to be always here. We are the conscious, formless spirit that witnesses these thoughts and feelings come and go.

To see clearly who we are, requires stillness. When we meditate, we use intention to stop the natural momentum of the mind from chasing or avoiding every thought that pops up.

We learn to just watch thoughts and feelings come and go. By doing this, the mind returns to a state of stillness and it creates a space that allows us to notice our true nature — the luminous spirit within becomes obvious. It was always here, but we are so distracted by thoughts that we overlook it. Our attention is captured by what changes and we hardly notice what is always here. But when the mind is still, it becomes obvious that we are so much more than what we thought! And we can then simply rest in our true nature.

The key is to not be bothered by uncomfortable thoughts and feelings. We have been taught that we should only feel good and have only pleasant thoughts and that we need to fix or avoid what doesn’t feel good.

But if we try to fix ourselves, it is a never-ending job, because we will never have only good thoughts and feelings. It is literally impossible. So, the challenge, is to notice uncomfortable thoughts and emotions during meditation and to do nothing about it. To experience them and to not move. To just watch them come and go. We allow these experiences into our heart without any fear or resistance or attempt to change them. We just let them come into our experience and leave on their own. It requires courage and strength to stay present and not chase, reject, or fix anything that arises.

Because we often suppress uncomfortable thoughts and feelings during our normal activities, it can be the case that when we meditate and become more still that we actually begin to notice more uncomfortable thoughts and feelings than normal.

This is because these thoughts and feelings are just energies that want to be expressed. So, it is quite normal for meditation to feel uncomfortable. This can actually be a good sign. It means that there is enough openness in your mind and heart to allow these challenging experiences to come forth to the surface for healing. They heal on their own when they are welcomed into the light of your conscious spirit.

Experience these feelings and visions, but don’t do anything with them… Just notice that they are also temporary forms that come into consciousness and then disappear.

Cami Yahli & Xhail Valentina

So again, there is nothing to do; no need to fix or worry about these experiences. Just remain still and feel into what is always here. And of course, sometimes meditation can bring up wonderful feelings and visions. But the goal is the same. Experience these feelings and visions, but don’t do anything with them. Don’t try to hold them or become too distracted by them. Just notice that they are also temporary forms that come into consciousness and then disappear. They are also not your true nature.

Our true nature is pristine, innocent, and always whole, no matter what is being experienced.

The aim is to always stay at home in your eternal presence. Everything else is just a temporary experience. The more we make contact with our true nature, the more peace will flow into our lives, because we know that we are untouched by anything, even the most challenging experience. Our true nature is pristine, innocent, and always whole, no matter what is being experienced. If there is anger or anxiety or distressing thoughts, there is no reason to worry, because they happen in the space of our conscious presence; they have no impact on our conscious presence itself.

Even if there has been trauma, it does not take anything away from our true nature. It’s just like the analogy of making gold into different shapes. You could make gold into a beautiful piece of jewellery or you could make an ugly object. Either way, gold is gold. It is not affected by the temporary shape it assumes. The aim of meditation is to realize the same thing about our true nature. It is a shining pure light that is the source of all experiences, and yet, is not affected by any temporary forms it appears to take on.

When we let go of the idea of who we are and simply rest in the actual experience of who we are, there is great relief and joy…

So be gentle with yourself and know that you are already all that you desire. It just takes a moment to look at the truth of who you are. When we let go of the idea of who we are and simply rest in the actual experience of who we are, there is great relief and joy. Your true nature is a majestic luminosity and is always here waiting for you to notice. As Papaji would often say, “Do not deny your majesty!”.

Cami Yahli & Xhail Valentina

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