Welcome to Day 5 of the 7 Days to Deeper Meditation.
In yesterday’s lesson, we looked at the method of settling the mind in its natural state.
This style of meditation refines stability as the object of meditation (the contents of consciousness) are more subtle than the somatic meditations we began this course.
This also means that our meditation is going deeper simply through the process of attending to a subtler object.
And as a result of going more deeply into consciousness, the underlining clarity of pure consciousness will become apparent.
So as you continue to do the daily practice and you go deeper into consciousness, you will find your definition of “relax,” “stability,” and “clarity” will change.
The three together, work together, to create a system that allows for the natural rising of peace, bliss, and insight to arise more and more.
This is exciting to watch! And the benefits to your daily life will also become obvious.
So in today’s lesson, we will take a look at the last phase of the three-tiered model, Clarity.
Let the fun begin.
(3 min read)
Phase 3 – Clarity
Clarity is a factor or property of consciousness.
The Buddhist definition of consciousness is, that which is clear and knowing.
Clarity is the aspect, property, or characteristic of consciousness that allows for something to be known.
When something becomes “clear” to us it is because of the property of consciousness that is clarity.
This may seem a difficult point to grasp at first. I recall thinking it made no sense at all when I first heard about it.
But with time, and more importantly, experience in meditation, it will soon become….umm…clear.
But we can enhance this with the style of meditation we choose.
And that is why the third phase of Clarity is mapped to the meditation style of Awareness of Awareness (AoA).
With AoA we turn our focus and attend to the properties of consciousness – clarity and knowing.
We turn our experience to become aware of having an experience.
It’s feels quite nebulous at first as its very meta.
It’s like focusing on the space of a room rather than the contents of the room (the room being your mind.)
I could use more words to express this style of meditation, and I would have fun…but it is best to step aside and let you experience it for yourself.
For just as the taste of chocolate can only be fully appreciated by tasting it, clarity can really be best understood by experiencing.
With that let’s move on to the meditation and begin our taste test.
Meditation 5 – Awareness of Awareness
Start by sitting in your favorite meditation posture.
This can be sitting in a chair, on a meditation cushion, or lying flat on your back.
The important thing is to have a straight spine as this will help the energies of the nervous system settle and balance.
Then, focus your attention on the natural rising and falling of the breath throughout your entire body.
Release any tension in your body and mind with each out-breath.
It is important with this meditation to release any tension before starting, otherwise, there is a possibility of bringing too much energy to your settling meditation, the effect of which is that no settling will take place.
So begin by meditating on the breath until you notice an opening up of consciousness – a feeling as if your awareness is becoming larger and more open.
Once you feel relaxed, turn your attention to the content of consciousness.
Become aware of any and all mental activity such as any thoughts, feelings, emotions, and visual imagery for a few minutes.
Allow the mind to stabilize and simply watch your mind settle into its natural state of “clear knowing.”
Now shift the object of attention from the content of the mind to the experience of simply being aware.
Become conscious of being aware; conscious of having an experience; conscious of meditating.
It is very likely that thinking and wondering will occur at this point, because the mind is so used to operating conceptually.
If you find yourself thinking about whether or not you are doing it correctly, simply let go of the thinking mind all together, and return to the simplicity of just being aware.
As you become familiar with this style of meditation and the mind becomes increasingly absorbed into the experience of being aware of being aware, a bright vividness will become very apparent.
This is clarity.
As Clarity dawns on you enjoy it. It has an exhilarating and highly energized feeling yet without any of the negative side-effects normally associated with being over stimulated.
But what can happen at this point is that the mind becomes a little over cooked and as a result subtle distraction may destabilize the meditation a little.
If you find yourself thinking or wondering like this, let go and let the energy of the conceptual mind release itself. But do so without losing awareness of the knowledge you are meditating.
Do this for at least 20 minutes per session, and at least one session per day.
Your Homework
Step 1 – Read the lesson.
Step 2 – Meditate on the topic from the lesson.
Step 3 – Complete your contemplative journaling session.
Contemplative Journaling
I will go into more detail on the how and why of contemplative journaling over the coming days but, for now simply follow these steps:
- It’s best to use a pen or pencil and notepad and have these near you during the meditation session.
- Before you begin the meditation session mark down the date and time of the session in the notepad.
- After the meditation session ends, take 5 minutes to write down what came up during meditation.
Some people have told me they don’t normally like journalling but found my approach has opened new doors to discoveries when coupled with meditation.
So, PLEASE do give it a try. You might just be surprised by how effective it is.
If you’d like to read about my process of contemplative journaling you can do so here – https://clarkescott.com/4-key-steps-to-unlock-deep-meditation/
As your meditation deepens, relaxation, stability, and clarity begin to reinforce each other—meditation becomes easy, fun, and increasingly blissful.
It can take a consistent period of practice for this to occur.
The key that unlocks all the benefits and blissful experiences of meditation, is the compound effect of a daily practice.
It took me years to hear the truth of this.
My teacher would quietly and patiently remind me that consistency was the key to meditation practice.
The trick to being consistent is to commit to a daily practice, even if it is only a few minutes.