The Oneness of Meditation: Embracing the Selfless and Universal

Have you ever experienced the state of being nothing and also being everywhere and everything in this universe while meditating? This rare and profound experience often manifests after a prolonged period of meditation, during which one achieves an unparalleled state of peace with both the body and surroundings. Yes, I have felt as if floating above the materiality of earth, experiencing a profound sense of liberation.

It's important to clarify that during true meditation, one isn't experiencing the states of being nothing and being everywhere. Instead, one experiences a state of pure consciousness, bliss, and peace, which can be described as forgetting everything! You simply become nothing without having to become conscious of it. What you are becoming conscious of is the oneness with Universal Consciousness.

A Personal Journey

I, who meditate since 2003, have encountered this experience multiple times. Initially, the quest for these experiences was what drove me, but over time, I realized that such experiences might detract from the broader objective of waking up. The mind, being inherently clever, seeks out all sorts of pleasurable experiences, but indulging in these can be counterproductive to our ultimate goal.

Wasting Time by Seeking Pleasure

Eckhart Tolle talks about the 'pain body', a concept that resonates with many. The pain body is this artificial ego that we unconsciously chase, and it is plagued by fear, seeking to validate its existence in an illusionary way. It's a part of the material world, and its end is certainly coming because it cannot exist in the present moment. It is continuously driven by the fear of time running out, and thus craves experiences that make it feel like it's achieving some form of immortality.

My advice is to 'meditate like your hair's on fire', meaning to treat life as a precious opportunity to awaken, and not to waste a single moment. While meditation can be pleasurably enlightening, indulging in these experiences can actually cost you valuable time. They are like temporary escapes from reality, but they don't move you closer to the ultimate truth.

Letting Go of Attachments

It's not whether having experiences of oneness is good or bad; it's about not clinging to them. Let these experiences come and go without attachment. Acknowledging and letting go of them is part of the journey towards true awakening. Holding onto these experiences can paradoxically reinforce the fragile constructs of our ego-based narrative, the very thing we seek to transcend.

Embracing and then letting go of these rare moments can be a powerful tool in our journey towards a deeper understanding of ourselves and the universe. By not clinging, we allow these experiences to serve their purpose without hinging our identity on them.