The Bliss of Meditation
This article titled ‘The Bliss of Meditation’ was written by an Enlightened person through the Inner Light and Sound Meditation around the year 2000.
Many of us, consciously or unconsciously, find ways to switch off for a few moments during the day in order to refresh ourselves or just to slip into a quiet space for a few minutes. We do this quite naturally and effortlessly, and often build time into our day to recharge ourselves in this way. Perhaps by daydreaming, doodling or caring for a pet – perhaps by more consciously “doing” something, and concentrating quite hard as we do so – watching the birds, listening to nature, engaged in a hobby or craft, or even doing something very physical such as running.
Within our concentration we find a quiet space in which we feel perfectly at ease, possibly a sense of freedom and almost certainly find refreshment and inspiration. A lucky few have a single or occasional experience that is overwhelmingly beautiful and leaves a lasting impression within them, perhaps changing their outlook on life forever.
These experiences occur when we spontaneously slip into a state of steady concentration, allowing us to observe the stillness that gives rise to the activity of our minds. To whatever degree we experience these moments of quiet calm, to some extent we feel perfectly balanced, and somehow at peace, as if encapsulated within a sphere of heightened awareness. We may feel totally absorbed in what we are doing, or what we are observing – we may hear sounds or see shimmering colour over and above our usual expectation, or experience a sense of timelessness and expansion. We may even experience a burst of creativity.
The mind often becomes quiet during these moments, held in steady concentration it ceases to perform a running commentary of what it is observing. Sounds often cease to be invasive, and we may feel almost isolated from the activity around us. Time may appear to be suspended, and we may feel expanded and experience a sense of delight or bliss. There may too be an experience of stillness and silence, even though we may actually be neither still nor in a quiet place.
In effect, the mind is steadily engaged and the body forgotten – and somehow a window opens through which we can observe the quiet, often blissful calm that lies behind the activity of our minds and our bodies. Perhaps most importantly, these experiences almost certainly leave a lasting impression, and often a longing to repeat them. The trouble is, the most profound experiences are often isolated, illusive or out of the blue and we are unable to recreate the circumstances that allowed the experience to come about. These experiences are spontaneous meditations.
Whether they occur as a mini-meditate as we sit gazing into the distance, or whether the experience is an explosive expansion of awareness, is in a way irrelevant. What is important is it gives us a hint of another side of ourselves, a side that finds relaxation, recuperation and inspiration. Working with an experienced meditation trainer will enable us to recreate, or in the majority of cases, create for the first time, the environment in which we can explore and familiarise ourselves with the meditative experience. In doing this we make this “other”, rather illusive, part of ourselves our primary source of life energy and inspiration. The effect of this on the mind, the emotions and the physical body are very profound – and the more we dip into it, the more we can draw on its dynamic potential.
20