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<\/a>You\u2019ve heard of the saying, \u201cempty mind\u201d and that meditation is a way to attain that state. Does that imply that we have no thoughts entering consciousness in that empty mind state of consciousness, or is it a metaphor describing how consciousness differs from normal consciousness when we experience an \u201cempty mind?\u201d In order to reach \u201cthe stillness of the mind\u201d do we have to give up all notions of what we identify with when we say \u201cI\u201d? Kornfield et al (1983) stated, \u201c(D)eep transformation (requires) a death of who you think you are\u201d (p. 39).<\/p>\nWelwood (1983) wrote, “(T)here is another dimension of growth beyond merely finding fulfillment in achieving personal goals\u2026we seem to have a need to go beyond ourselves\u2026we cannot begin to transcend self-centeredness if we do not first \u201chave\u201d a strong sense of self\u201d (p. 51). Thus Welwood warns that to transcend one\u2019s separateness, we must first have a strong sense of self\u2014a knowingness of \u201cwho I am.\u201d What mindfulness training allows for is the dis-identification with the qualities and aspects of self that we cling to or reject.<\/p>\n
As we grow from infancy, our vocabulary grows. Language has allowed our species to advance and dominate the earth. Words help us categorize and label things, feelings, events, people and such, bringing a sense of continuity to our lives. The danger lies, however, in identifying the words we use with the people, places, things, and events that we label. I might remember something as \u201cscary\u201d or \u201cextremely upsetting\u201d that remains with me. When I encounter something similar in the future, I would tend to apply the same label again even though the situation is obviously not the same. This may be useful in some situations, but what happens when we apply negative expectations to situations because they are similar to past experience? This does not allow for a \u201cfully experienced moment\u201d because we have already determined that it is \u201cscary\u201d or \u201cextremely upsetting\u201d and we miss our chance to truly experience what is happening in that moment.<\/p>\n
The hologram can help us to understand the nature of consciousness and thought. All \u201crealities\u201d are there, enfolded and waiting to unfold. When focusing upon one aspect of reality, other realities \u201cfall away\u201d. Yet if we are to reconsider and peer once again into the possibilities awaiting discovery, our previous notions of a situation or reality can be broadened to include all that comes to us. We don\u2019t have to cling to one interpretation or the other, missing out on the unity of each moment.<\/p>\n One of the reasons for this pre-set response to the world has to do with the assumptions that we hold about the world. We expect certain outcomes or we apply particular definitions to events, feelings, or actions. We have good and bad categories that we apply, therefore some things are seen as being favorable to our lives while others are marked as unacceptable. Human experience is a process rather than a stagnant entity. By allowing ourselves to let go of the \u201cself\u201d we are able to come into full contact with all that is. When we do not apply the preset labels to life, we are more able to appreciate the fullness of each moment. We take it in as it is, not as we have believed it to be.<\/p>\n Welwood (1983) writes that learning how to be mindful is to do the following:<\/p>\n \u201cIf you ask yourself how you are feeling right now, the first sense you may have is \u2018I don\u2019t know. I\u2019m not sure.\u2019\u2026Learn how to follow and stay with what is still unclear in our felt experience\u2026let it unfold and reveal itself to us. A felt sense is a wider way our body holds or \u2018knows\u2019 many aspects of a situation all at once\u2014subverbally, holistically, intuitively. It is concretely felt\u2014in the body\u2014as a sense\u2014something not yet cognitively clear or distinct. It is not yet clear because it contains many aspects of the situation \u2013it needs to be \u2018unpacked\u2019 or \u2018unfolded.\u2019 Contacting and unfolding the wider felt sense of a situation we are in often leads to important therapeutic changes (p. 44).<\/p>\n Quantum physicists tell us what we see as our \u201creal\u201d world is but the unfolded reality that we have formed. Our reality is based upon the ideas we hold of what and how the world works. The potential for other \u201crealities\u201d exists within the enfolded order. There are always many possible interpretations or viewpoints in any given situation. The enfolded reality contains all those possibilities. The unfolded reality is the one we settle upon as being OUR reality. Mindfulness meditation attempts to helps us achieve a greater expanse of conscious awareness by allowing the enfolded realities to reveal themselves in a process of unfolding. When we don\u2019t apply our own \u201cstorylines\u201d or expectations to situations, we allow for the situation to become.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you meditate\u2026you take all the ego energy and are drawn to some inner place which then stimulates the unconscious. States beyond the ego suddenly arise. The mental training (of meditation) emphasizes\u2026the factor of mindfulness that arises in relation to mental feelings, experiences, without getting caught (up) by them. As that mindfulness grows, it also has the function of deepening samadhi which is not just the samadhi of withdrawal but samadhi of being very present in daily life moment to moment. If mindfulness or awareness is cultivated first, then the mind becomes prepared in a natural way for more difficult exposure to the unconscious (Kornfield et al, 1983, pp. 40-41).<\/p>\n<\/a>Too often we identify the things or situations with labels formed in our past. Although these labels are helpful, they also limit our thinking. In his book No Boundary<\/strong>, Ken Wilber describes how the words we use make up the maps of our lives. The words we use may describe things for us, but they are not the things themselves. They are simply the names and labels that we\u2019ve used to identify things and situations. They form a belief system that we apply unconsciously to our encounters. We must remember, however, that the map is not the territory<\/strong>. The territory is simply labeled by the mapmaker–us. For example, think of any names or labels others have used to describe what they think or feel about you. Are they all accurate? Are some of them demeaning? Does this imply that those descriptions are the truth? Too often, we feel that our beliefs and labels are the truth. Again, the map is not the territory<\/strong>. We need to exercise mindfulness<\/strong> and awareness<\/strong> of the present moment to awaken our consciousness to a higher level.<\/p>\nMeditation<\/h2>\n