The Meditators Journey
Learning to live spiritually is one of the hardest challenges I have ever embarked upon. In moments of intense emotion, the last thing I wanted to do was take inventory of how I was feeling, and observe whether my emotional responses to events were appropriate, or even necessary. Embarking on a spiritual journey is a commitment to awareness — awareness of self, awareness of others, and awareness of life itself. As we take inventory of our beliefs, ideas, and emotions, we step outside of them, and begin observing them for what they are.
This is the essence of meditation.
In the following excerpt, I will explain the meditators journey, and what your life could look like if you decide to embark on this process.
Initiation
The initiate meditator begins as a normal person, with normal responses to the life’s unfolding events. Untrained in the art of meditation, this persons reactions to life and its events are straightforward. There is inside and there is outside. Things happen outside, and it affects things inside. Based on how things outside affects things inside, the person responds instinctively. This habitual and unconscious response pattern that of the ego mind.
Expanding Awareness
As the initiate meditator embarks on their spiritual journey, they will have one clear goal in mind — expanding awareness. As they progress, their model of the world will change and begin to look like the following diagram. The world is no longer a simple model of inside/outside — their model has evolved to include the soul.
The spiritual approach to life’s problem exists in three fundamental steps:
1. Connect
The meditator will begin with connecting with life. Beyond what occurs in the outside world, the meditator first seeks to connect with the world by opening their heart to the world, regardless of what it brings. As their heart opens, they will receive everything that life has to offer — without filter. This is true spiritual openness.
2. Internalize
Now that the meditator is open and connected to life, they will internalize life’s events as they unfold. As you can see in the diagram, these events can reach the deepest part of you by virtue of your open heart. The Higher Self will internalize these events. If done properly, the events will not be shaped by your concepts, ideas, or beliefs. They will simply be what they are. As the Buddha once said: “Just tree.”
3. Choose Response
Now that the preceding event has been internalized, the being in awareness selects a response that is appropriate for the situation. If they have no control over what has happened, they can begin to let it go. If they can control the situation to mitigate suffering, they can choose a response. As they progress in the art of meditation, they will realize that most things have absolutely nothing to do with them, and therefore do not warrant any meaningful responses. This is one of the first liberating realizations of the experienced meditator.
The Laypersons Journey
The following diagram is a representation of the ego as it progresses and evolves overtime. With age comes new experiences, and the ego mind morphs and evolves as a result. This cadence of experiences, however good or bad, forms your beliefs, ideas, feelings, and eventually, your worldview. Overtime, your responses to events are no longer original — they are unconscious patterns and habits you have formed over many many years. The ego is growing in this diagram, because it is taking up more and more of your lived experience. This is the pattern the initiate meditator seeks to break.
The Meditators Journey
The following diagram is a depiction of the meditators journey. As they progress towards realization, the grip the ego has on their lives begins to lessen, and is instead replaced with pure Awareness. As they progress, they will begin to resolve unhelpful beliefs, traumas, and ideas they have formed during their tenure on this earth. In this process, the ego will become “smaller” as it consumes less and less of your lived experience.
As the individual continues to meditate past the resolution of major internal problems in their lives, they will notice a subtle expansion of awareness. Life’s events will unfold with much greater clarity. Not only is the grip their ego had on their lives loosening — but Awareness begins to grow where the ego mind used to be.
As they continue with this process, the end result is realization. Their conscious experience has transcended the ego, and the meditator has discovered true freedom.
The Devotee
He who embarks on this journey in full commitment discovers a boundless, infinite, loving awareness that was always there. They now aim to reach their fullest divine expression: pure consciousness.
Although the ego will always be there, it is no longer a constraint. The ego is a necessary aspect of your human experience. In the words of Jianzhi Sengcan, Faith in Mind:
When the mind exists undisturbed in the Way,
nothing in the world can offend.
And when a thing can no longer offend,
it ceases to exist in the old way.
Thank You.
I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I aim to make profound spiritual concepts simple and accessible, ultimately to encourage as many people as possible to begin their journey towards awareness and freedom. If that sounds interesting, please subscribe to the newsletter below!
Namaste 🧘♂️