no mind

What is Meditation? 

Meditation is an adventure into the unknown. It is the greatest adventure the Human mind can take. Meditation is not a doing, but a being. It is a non-doing. Any activity can be a meditation, but only for a meditative mind. The meditative mind is really a no-mind. There are 112 different methods of meditations. They differ in constitution but the fundamentals remain the same 

There are three basic fundamentals of meditation; relaxation, watching & non- judgement. For meditation to happen, there should be no fight with the mind or the thoughts. Just watching without judgement and being relaxed is the key. Then slowly, with time & practice, a silence descends within the self. Then you are but the ‘I am’ starts to disappear. Meditation has started to happen. Then you are what you will always be, within the body or outside of it; a pure consciousness. A pure space. 

What is NOT meditation? 

In the west, and now being imitated by the east too, we love to create machines, devices etc. Anything that can ‘do’ better than humans can. Anything that can give us an experience without the effort. So yes, we have from hypnosis machines to sleep inducing machines, to created environments, we are told are meditative in nature. 

All of these alternative approaches are not bad but only as a first step. They induce a certain silence within the mind and can induce a sort of sleep in the mind. They provide the first step to meditation, which is relaxation. These are immensely helpful methods to get into a relaxed state. A joy then rises within the self but is not one that lasts. These are temporary methods because these are experiences only, not meditation. Meditation allows for relaxation to last even in the face of stress, pain, fear, suffering. It doesn’t depend on anything outside of the self to remain in a state of bliss. 

Bliss is not a state of constant joy but a state of being unaffected, regardless of joy or sorrow, happiness or sadness. It is a state of inner silence and acceptance of everything as it is. Bliss is a state of consciousness which can be achieved by a ‘yes’ sayer to life. In fact life belongs to the ‘yes’ sayers. ‘Nay sayers’ are, in all honesty, dead. 

A feeling of temporary silence can be created by machines, temporary waves of calm can be created by music, a temporary environment of joy can be created by people. Relaxation for a period of time, can be achieved by alternate methods, but mediation cannot happen. The most important quality of meditation is watchfulness. 

The watcher cannot be created. The watcher can only be located, found, discovered by you; within you. This watcher is the flame that never burns out. It is the inner being that is aware and watching even when you’re in deepest sleep. Nothing outside of you can discover that flame, that watcher. And the quality of watchfulness is a continuous quality of a meditative mind. Or rather I should say ‘a meditative no-mind’ 

Twin Flames & other Spiritual connections 

Twin flames (or you can alternatively call them, spiritual connections) share such a strong connection of an unexplainable, deep, profound Love; which can only be described as magnetic. The reason being that, they are the true polarity of energies. They magnetically attract and repell each other at the same time. They awaken each other to the watcher within themselves. Usually without prior meditation and so it is chaotic. The watcher watches everything, including the ego self. 

The level of awareness that takes over is uncontrollable and the desire to know what is happening within self is what takes counterparts in these connections on a spiritual journey, a spiritual quest. They are here precisely to awaken the other to a journey to the self. The inner self. The flame of awareness, the flame of watchfulness, the inner being is suddenly awakened. That is why these extremely rare connections are called ‘twin flames’.

Masculine & Feminine polarity

The moment we accept the truth that everything is energy, our life begins to transform. All energy; I repeat, ALL energy moves in polarity. The positive & the negative. The masculine & the feminine. Within us and manifested outside of us as well. The masculine polarity of energy is the mind, logic based; it moves in a linear fashion. By that I mean, It moves in a straight line. It denies the opposite and only chooses one. It creates separation of a complete whole. 

The feminine polarity of energy is the life force, it is beyond logical explanations. It moves in a dialectical fashion. By that I mean, it moves in a zig zag way. It moves with the opposite. From positive to negative & negative to positive. It accepts both. It creates integration of the opposites that make up the complete whole. 

This difference in movement of energy polarity is the crux of much of the problems in our inner worlds, reflected in our outer lives and the world at large. The idea is to understand this first and then balance these polarities. 

Balancing the polarities 

The answers to balance the masculine & feminine polarities, can be found in the Japanese Zazen teachings & techniques. Zazen talks about things like ‘The pathless path’ & the ‘Gate-less Gate’. In other words it teaches ‘effortless effort’. Doing anything we do with totality and intensity, but without being attached to the outcome. Then we are doing without being the ‘doer’. The doing is happening but the ‘I’ is missing. What else is that if not meditation? Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh’s Dynamic meditation and other active meditations have been the centre of many debates in the world of meditators but essentially are based on this understanding of ‘effortless effort’. Just like  Zazen, they inspire the dialectical way of life. The integrative way. They teach how to be choice less. 

The Bhagwad Gita also teaches this same thing. When  Krishna says, ‘karm kar, phal ki ichhha mat kar, e insaan!’  He is saying, do the deed but be not the ‘Doer’. Don’t be attached to the outcome. Leave that to existence. In simple words, ‘let it happen through your being’, let it happen through where your life force, your inner feminine energy is taking you. Don’t be the logical mind & constantly push against the tide. The masculine needs to do, but it need not be the doer. Include that which has been denied. The inner parts of you and the outer parts of you. It is in these Zazen & Bhagwad Gita teachings that the answers to balancing twin flame & inner polarity of energies can be found.

Don’t miss the point 

Due to the polarity and for other reasons mentioned above, Twin flames & other spiritual connections experience much turmoil in their inner worlds, which naturally starts to reflect in the outer reality as well. These experiences are not easy at all but these transformational experiences are here to show the counterparts something very profound, very important, most meaningful. They are here to reveal that ‘you are not your experiences’. 

For example, a spiritual connection with another soul, has awakened you to your light or your shadow or both. Whether your twin flame journey has shown you the beauty of good within yourself, or has scared the shit outta you, revealing to you the evil within yourself. Or it has shown you both good & evil within yourself; it is also showing you something else. This something else is what many twin flames keep missing lifetime after lifetime. 

The experience is beautiful, good or evil, it must be enjoyed, it must be experienced. But what you’re failing to see is that you are not your experiences. There is something watching, observing, witnessing these experiences, internally and externally. This something is different from the experience and the experiencer. The one who is watching these experiences, that is the true you. You are the watcher. When the experiencer becomes the experienced, when the watcher becomes the watched, then a third is born. That is the divine. 

Twin flame and other deep spiritual counterpart connections, are not here just to experience a spiritual journey. It is not really about the object of your affection, compassion and love. It is here to un-earth the divine within yourself. And at the risk of being judged, I’ll say it, these connections are here to show you – YOU ARE GOD! 

Meditation – the only solution 

Without meditation, these twin flame & other spiritual connections can become a nightmare forever. Because the mind keeps creating the separation. And in truth, separation is an illusion. Meditation provides the basis on which an understanding of these connections can happen. And understanding is freedom. Freedom from the self most importantly. Freedom from the mind. Essentially when there is a state of no-mind, the inner divine speaks, we call it intuition more commonly. Then it is there, the truth; free from the illusions of the mind. Then despite the pain of separation that the mind creates, there is peace. That is why twin flames are always advised to ‘do the work’. The ‘work’ is meditation. 

With meditation these connections can become an experience from the beyond. It don’t matter then, if you’re with or without the person you love. Then you are Love. Because in essence you are together, on a journey, eternally. ‘You are not your experiences’, it took me almost 5 years on my spiritual journey to awaken to this. I’ve enjoyed the happy and the sad in my spiritual connection with my divine counterpart, but this realization has given me a freedom of another kind. One that allows me to remain in bliss, and be more open to whatever life has to offer; no matter what the outer reality looks like with my counterpart. 

Meditation is playful, non-serious & with no results

As I mentioned earlier in this post, any activity can be meditation for a meditative mind. As long as it is not serious and you’re playful with it. It needs to be enjoyed. Meditation is not a doing. It is a being, a non-doing. It is not serious. Because it looks serious, it has confused many. But I have found so much joy and love in just ‘being’ because it is my natural state. All our natural state. 

The Qualities of mediation are playfulness, joy, fun, celebration. A meditator sees life as a play, a ‘Leela’, precisely because he has found all of these qualities within himself. He cannot be serious. A meditator can be devoted, determined, committed but not serious. He will always be playful. The one who plays in joy and also plays in sorrow.

Meditation, It needs patience. Patiently waiting because hurry causes delays more often than not. The deeper the waiting, the sooner it happens. But not a waiting in sadness, a waiting in Bliss. True love creates this kind of waiting, this ability to eternally wait in bliss. Essentially we are all waiting for the unknown, but in this aspect, I consider twin flames & spiritual connections blessed. The counterparts already have a kind of Love that is needed for soul evolution. 

That is why Bhagwan says, if you are in Love (true love I mean), you can patiently wait, even for lifetimes. That waiting itself has become your meditation. Then there is no need to meditate. Love is all we need, to wait & to meditate. 

True meditators don’t look for results. Mediation is not an achievement. Meditation happens to those who are not goal oriented. Goal orientation, result orientation is of the mind. And meditation has nothing to do with the mind. It is of the being. The mind doesn’t value anything or anyone that comes easily and meditation is easy. One who is not in touch with his inner being and operates from the mind will never value you, especially if you come easily to them. 

That is why so many relationship advisors talk about ‘playing hard to get’. I’ve personally never identified with that phrase. How exactly does one ‘play’ hard to get? 🤔 I go by what I feel as opposed to what I think. How to bring the mind into matters of the heart? I guess, The mind always wants a challenge. It needs to conquer, it needs to achieve. It needs to fight. But meditation is not a fight. It can only be conquered by total surrender, not a fight. 

Conclusion

We are all conditioned to concentrate on what we are ‘doing’ and to ignore the rest. Concentration cannot be divided. But Concentration is a blockage for meditation. We are conditioned to focus too hard. Focus on what we want, Focus on who we are, Focus on what we do; Focus focus focus. But mediation is about watching not focusing. Watching the unfoldment of existence, of connection, of life through our being. 

Meditation is a science and an art. It is also neither of the two. It requires technique, no escaping that. So it can be called a science. It also defies all logic. It is of the heart and not of the mind, so it can be called an art. Meditation is also the greatest mystery there has ever been and so that makes it neither science nor art. It is non-dual dualistic. 

Meditation cannot be taught. It is a happening. Slowly, with practice, we learn what it really is. It is a knack. Really it is. One we can simply master with just a little effortless effort, a little practice. Also with true unconditional Love. Actually Love is Meditation & Meditation is Love.  

With practice, There come moments of awareness and moments of unawareness. Enjoy the awareness, the happiness, the joy, the peaks and enjoy the unawareness, the sadness, the silence, the valleys too. Once you can enjoy both, you will realize you are neither sad, nor happy. You are the watcher. The watcher is free from all happiness and all sadness, all peaks and all valleys. He is above it all. He is just the watcher, The observer. Then one day, the witness. The watcher is free, my friend because … The watcher IS meditating! 

Meditation is the bird with two wings: freedom and love. My effort here in this  Buddhafield is to give you both the wings together. Be loving and be free, be loving and be non possessive. Be free but don’t become cold; remain warm, warm with love 

BHAGWAN SHREE RAJNEESH