by Leatrice Evanne Asher
Published in the WORD Magazine, Spring issue, March 2023
Individuals and religious groups may practice different forms of meditation, such as listening to music, repeating certain sounds, words, or phrases, or just sitting quietly. These activities certainly are worthwhile as they can promote relaxation, peace of body and mind, and other health benefits. They may even alter one’s degree of conscious awareness.
Meditation can also simply be “be-ing,” not thinking or engaged in other activities, just unwavering stationing of body and mind in the NOW. Introducing anything into this Now-ness, such as music, chanting, or thinking to know the truth of something, no matter how lofty, can be a diversion from “be-ing” as anything introduced into the moment changes it. Can we be in two different places simultaneously and keep our focus precise? Music, for instance, is a sensory experience that adds another frequency to the natural vibrations of the universe. This may be conducive to an expansion of one’s usual state of mind, but if your intent is to stay connected to a singular focus, you may find yourself yearning to let go into an utter stillness that’s not relative to anything else. I encourage your own reality testing of this to determine if these words resonate for you. It might also be beneficial to ask, Why do I meditate? At least this would make clear your intention. The good news is, wherever weare is the path.
Soto Zen is the largest of the three sects of Zen Buddhism. Their meditation practice, called zazen, refers to “just sitting.” This traditional Buddhist discipline promotes intuitive investigation of how the mind works by watching thoughts as they pass through, similar to how we watch the passing scenes on a movie screen. Also noted is our wish to grab onto those random thoughts to fulfill us somehow. That grabbing mechanism is our thinking–desiring self coveting nature matter. Trying to alter this habit of mind is challenging because these thought projections are also how we entertain ourselves. Not indulging in these creations may be perceived as boring. We can transcend the propensity to grab onto these fleeting images if we become aware of them as diversions of our imagination. Meditation is a fertile field for this activity of the mind to be revealed.
As we learn how to maintain the body in a relaxed state, we will have more awareness of boredom, anxiety, and other thought forms arising and then falling away unless we give them our attention, which empowers them to flourish. It’s vital to the understanding of who and what we are that we experience this—that these sense impressions are not the basis of our being; they are only sensations that we, the Doer, are feeling. It doesn’t matter if they are perceived as troublesome or if they excite and delight. The problem is mistakenly thinking that we, the doer-in-the-body, are those sense impressions. They’re ephemeral unless we give them shape and credence.
It would serve us greatly to remember what the words doer-in-the-body mean. We, the doer, are inside the human body but are not it. We are the witness of its movements—walking, eating, bathing, sleeping. Mindfulness of this during our daily activities can lead to a direct experience of it. Once we experience this—that the feeling of sensations doesn’t equate to our being those sensations—we will have accessed correct information about ourselves that we can return to again and again because once something is Known, it is then part of our Noetic field where Knowledge is stored. If we can make this distinction during meditation, we can apply it to unsettling arisings of body and mind that occur in our daily lives. We can restore our equanimity. This doesn’t mean we should deny emotions of sadness, fear, anger, and such, as that would not be the right response to what is before us. If we can acknowledge emotional states and separate those sensations from the Doer experiencing them, we create space for release from their effect.
The focus faculty is a Light transmitter that can locate us in the NOW, if our concentrated effort isn’t goal-oriented. Hoping to be transported to some other realm or to experience bliss and euphoria are yearnings that will divert us from stilling the mind. The only intention of maintaining this focus is to let be our original nature. This Being-ness has to be experienced to be Known. It cannot be Known through ideating or anticipating something happening in the future.
Intention is essential to maintain focus in the moment. When our intention is not to waver from the NOW, it is intention that brings us back when we do wander. Feeling, Desire, and Intention are as one when focusing. Feeling-and-Desire, as the Doer component of the Triune Self, is always functioning, although usually not as a unified entity. It can become unified through profound stillness. This doesn’t mean that we program ourselves to Feel and Desire. It’s the realization that we already are that.
Transformation does not come from activity of the mind. Thinking “now I am feeling,” “now I am desiring,” or trying to discover ourselves feeling and desiring will only sidetrack us from a direct conscious experience because when we introduce a thought, feeling, or desire into the moment, we’re subject and object oriented. Absolute Truth, the ALL, cannot be objectified or broken down into distinguishing parts. It might be helpful to think of Feeling-and-Desire positioning us for the becoming of Presence, akin to Real Thinking positioning us for Knowledge when Rightness and Reason are in accord. Once the point of focus becomes its fullness, there is only “Thusness,” or in the case of Real Thinking, Knowledge. Intention keeps the path open for this union of Feeling-and-Desire. If that occurs, there is not feeling feeling, or desire desiring. There is only Oneness, Reality, Truth. FeelingDesire has become itself.
If we cling too literally to words, we may miss experiencing the essence or spirit of them. Once we directly experience Truths, there is no need to hold onto concepts about those Truths. There is just the expression of Truth. We already are FeelingDesire. It’s not even a breath away! We have only to “let be” to get out of the way of ourselves. This is not a matter of doing something or figuring something out. If our purpose in quieting is to be present in the NOW, doggedly holding onto concepts will also be a hindrance as those conceptions take up space where Reality can be illuminated. A further problem with fastening ourselves to literal interpretations is that they can become assumptions that we then mistake for Truth.
If a union of Feeling-and-Desire seems inscrutable, it’s likely because we have unprimed ourselves from realizing it within. Usually, we look outside our domain to others for connection, to satisfy loneliness and other desires. Greatest among those desires is to couple with our less dominant side (or variations, such as same-sex partnerships), which often leads to difficulties and disappointment. If one’s yearning is for genuine connection, it’s unlikely this will be fully satisfied by another. Recognizing our “original” nature—the undividedness of our male and female aspects— can lead to an experience of their oneness. However, our earthly associations and relationships are essential to our learning environment. They can teach us about our less dominant counterpart and what it might look like to bring the male and female aspects within into balance.
Awakening from this earthly dream is not something we can try to imagine because ultimate Reality can’t be grasped in that manner. Reality—what IS—can only be directly experienced. Preoccupied as we are in the imaginings of earthly matter(s), it becomes difficult to free ourselves from these thought projections. A major impediment to accessing Truths is adhering to black and white thinking. These extremes of thought are the birthplace of narrow and strict beliefs and the tendency to regard oneself as the authority of what is right or wrong, good or evil. Attaching ourselves to these polarities can lead to anger and hatred toward anyone or anything we perceive to be outside our belief system. This moors us in division. The tragedy in creating these dividing lines is that they separate us from Godliness that is right in front of us in every thing and every moment. When we partake of what we like in life and reject what doesn’t suit us—flowers are beautiful, weeds are not; a sunny day is welcome, rain is not—we adhere to sentiments in opposition to Reality. At some time, in the present or a later incarnation, pain and suffering may manifest in response to these opposing one-sided views of the world to teach us that they are out of sync with Absolute Reality where distinctions don’t exist.
Because our everyday lives are so immersed in these judgments of our experiences, and toward our fellow humans, it’s vitally important that we begin to see how frequently this dynamic operates in our daily lives. Every manifestation of this earthly plane is a perfect expression of itself; therefore, not debatable or within the realm of opining about whether something is acceptable or not acceptable. The propensity to live our lives classifying everything into “likes” and “dislikes” is not in harmony with the Perfect Order. Judging and condemning are among the greatest obstacles to experiencing Truths.
“There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” These are the words Prince Hamlet speaks in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet. In a similar way, we are not the arbiters of the Perfect Order, nor should we regard ourselves as the moral police of this earthly realm. That we don’t think we are constantly engaged in these critiques only distances us further from the Knowing of Reality—what IS. Hence, we must begin to see this operating in our daily lives. That Doers feel for humanity and take up causes is commendable, but if disapproval and judgment drive that interest, we have not yet become inner peace. We will be operating from a disharmonic, diminishing the ability to effect real change. Situations that arise in our everyday lives that throw us off kilter are best alleviated by taking those arisings to the larger, more expansive pervading order, then applying those Truths. It’s not enough to know Truths; it’s application that is transformational.
It’s imperative that we awaken to this proclivity of approving or disapproving that consumes so much of our daily lives and disconnects us from our true nature. Another term for Buddhism, the Middle Way, reconciles this play of opposites by encouraging moderation, where the extremes exist in harmony. Meditation helps us locate this calm center where we can experience the complexities of life without the tension and conflict that arise from fiercely attaching ourselves to a particular viewpoint.
Meditation, a quiet locale within, is a harbor, a refuge from the considerable busyness of the external world, a place where we can receive Truths about our inner and outer landscape. These realizations can arise spontaneously or through a meditation practice. Although one doesn’t have to be “spiritual” or engaged in meditation to experience an awakening, knowing how to still the body and mind will likely be a component of that one’s life.
Just as we welcome that moment when we let go into the peacefulness of sleep, this is also letting go into a soft domain, but while awake. Simultaneously tranquil and dynamic, undisturbed from the commotion of the outer world, even the awakening to Absolute Consciousness is possible. Challenging? Yes, because we have become so immersed in earthly offerings that we’ve disconnected from our original Self. Yet, we are still that! We have only to be still to Know it.
If you are unfamiliar with some of the terms used in this article, such as Triune Self and Feeling-and-Desire, and wish to research them further, I recommend the book Thinking and Destiny by Harold Waldwin Percival.
Leatrice Evanne Asher 