Hello,
My name is Michelle.
And welcome to episode 18.
Of the Nature of Meditation podcast.
And this episode is on wonderment in meditation.
So let's start with our usual.
Five-minute silent meditation.
To become more aware,
More present.
And more aware of our present moment experience.
And perhaps more aware of her.
Of a sense of wonderment.
So allowing yourself to relax as best you can.
And tuning into your experience.
And really.
.
.
Experiencing.
Immediate,
Direct contact.
With reality as it is.
So perhaps.
.
.
Slightly more.
Attuned to your own immediate experience.
Unique experience of each moment.
In meditation.
We're not concerned with Buddhist concepts or words or theories.
Or any words or theories or concepts from any field.
Or tradition or religion.
Be concerned to live fully.
Each moment.
Because to live.
.
.
For each moment is enough and more than that.
To truly experience.
In each moment.
Is ineffable.
Is wonderful.
And being back.
In the present moment.
One is open,
Aware.
More receptive,
More interested.
One is more curious.
And fascinated.
And even awestruck.
With.
The unique experience.
The wonder of each unique experience.
Now the word curious is a very au fait fashionable term.
That's often used in both the meditation and therapeutic fields.
And this is because one's own unique spark of life.
Spark of life i don't mean ego one's own unique spark of life force that being present.
Aware and engaged.
Contacting experience is essential in many,
Many religious,
Spiritual and therapeutic.
Paths and traditions.
So the consciousness is active,
The spark of life,
Consciousness.
Is awake,
Active and working,
Fully functioning.
But I feel that the term curious,
Which is extremely fashionable,
Especially in the meditation and therapeutic domains.
I feel that term curious is too abstract,
Cold.
And zany.
And perhaps too cerebral,
Too cognitive.
So I prefer to use the brush.
A psychoanalytic term.
Which is interest.
So the spark of life,
One's psychic energy,
Is.
Moving.
Engaged.
So interest we can think of energy,
Money.
The life force is present,
Active.
Moving.
Forwards or backwards.
Ideally it's it's moving in the present moment and it's engaged in contact with the present moment experience.
And there is no separation between one's psychic energy and one's perception and experience.
They are actually inextricably interrelated.
And also,
For me,
The beauty of the psychoanalytic term interest.
Is that the psychoanalytic tradition First and foremost,
Recognises the unknown nature of the present moment.
And likewise in meditation.
The unknown present moment is enough.
For you to be interested in what it could be.
So wonderment in meditation is approaching,
Encountering and experiencing life.
One's sensations of breathing,
Bodily sensations,
Perceptions,
Thoughts,
Feelings,
Experiencing with a childlike openness and receptivity to the unknown.
Rather than with rigid expectations or goals or any au fait words and concepts.
So,
Wonderment!
Transforms open awareness.
Into a state of awe that helps us step back and observe our present moment experience.
Take a step back and observe our experience or better still.
Experience our experience without overthinking,
Objectifying,
Reifying,
Grasping or selfing.
Without being a meditator meditating,
A Buddhist meditating,
A therapist or an analyst,
Just experiencing.
Reconnecting.
You're unique.
Inner spark of life.
I chose this existential topic.
Of wonderment in meditation as it flows naturally from previous episodes on Open Awareness.
Illumination,
Clarity and freshness in meditation.
And the experience of wonder.
In meditation.
Is a childlike,
Receptive mind characterized by an open awareness,
An effortless attention.
And so there is a shift from the concentration of single-pointed attention to openly and freely perceiving and experiencing with a fresh sense perception.
And not.
Only a fresh perception.
But indeed a sacred perception.
We could also.
.
.
Say a holy perception.
So wonderment in life.
Is living.
With deep presence and the art of sacred perception.
Perceiving and communing with what is present now.
And wonderment in meditation Again is the magic of awareness.
That perceives everything as the manifestation of the divine.
So instead of forcing the mind to be still.
Or focusing,
Concentrating intently on a single anchor such as the breath or a sensation of your body.
Instead,
We allow open awareness to wander freely.
And experience sensations,
Perceptions and phenomena as it arises and passes.
And by remaining open and receptive.
We naturally expand our conscious awareness.
And our capacity for contacting and communing.
With the true nature of reality.
And as awareness.
And perception become more open,
Receptive,
Brighter.
Clearer,
Fresher,
More vivid.
As this happens,
Everything comes alive.
Phenomena,
Experience,
Is enlivened.
All objects animate and inanimate Come alive.
When our life force is flowing freely.
With interest.
Contacting,
Engaging,
Experiencing each present moment.
We perceive life.
In everything.
And things that usually go under the radar of our conscious awareness.
Which is most of the time.
Undoubtedly.
Instead of that happening.
The supremacy of the unconscious.
Instead of that happening,
The simplest things that we never noticed before all of a sudden a scene.
And we become filled with wonder and awe.
Experiencing life itself.
So wonderment!
In meditation.
Is the deepest level of sacred perception.
That is not only a communication.
And interaction.
But a communion.
And into being.
Beyond subject and object.
Beyond concepts,
Beliefs,
Words.
Wonderment in meditation is an experience of selfless awakening and communion.
Where all are wandering thoughts,
Rumination,
Fantasies.
Are selfing and non-stop story-making.
Or non-stop radio.
These all stop.
They have ended in the experience of wonderment.
And of course,
Meditators are all familiar with the comings and goings of wandering thoughts.
And may they be equally familiar.
With the birth and death of each unique momentary experience.
Because in the uniqueness.
Of experience.
Something ineffable and unfathomable.
Is present.
Within us and around us.
That cannot be understood through the conscious.
Cognitive mind through concepts or words.
Because unique momentary experience of things is too sacred to be conceptualized or spoken aloud.
Unique experience.
Present moment experience is too profound and sacred to be expressed or described in concepts and words.
So paradoxically let me use the latin word ineffable which has two parts.
In uneffable.
The prefix in.
Meaning not.
And effable meaning capable of being expressed.
A unique,
Wonderful experience,
Momentary experience,
Is not capable of being expressed because there is no individual ego experiencing it.
And therefore it is indescribable,
Inexpressible and unspeakable.
And the not knowing.
Mind.
That is wonderment.
This is the gateway to awakening and liberation.
Non-conceptual yet potent.
Sacred and all-consuming.
And it involves suspending our concepts and beliefs about ourself.
Our life and the world.
And A sense of not knowing is evoked.
Sitting.
In meditation.
With the not knowing of what will happen next from moment to moment.
Wonderment The experience of wonderment shatters our autopilot mind.
Shutters are habitual patterns and routines.
And expectations.
That we go through.
In meditation and in life.
It interrupts our preconceptions.
Our habits and our selfing.
By allowing us to appreciate the ordinary.
As extraordinary.
So why is it that.
.
.
When we are meditating.
At times.
We are not in wonderment.
Perhaps.
Many moments.
We are not experiencing wonderment.
What deadens us from experiencing the wonder of each unique moment of life.
Are grasping,
Rejecting.
Greed.
Insecurity.
Are selfing.
All these things actually flatten our existence.
And our connection to life.
They flatten,
Dampen,
And deaden.
Our connection to life.
Are automatic selfing.
Habits and patterns.
Block us from being.
Connected.
To life.
As it is.
Unique in each moment.
And block us from being at ease.
In our heart,
Mind,
Body.
With our communities,
Our world.
Block us from being in peace and harmony.
With ourselves.
With life and with the world.
So when we are able to experience wonderment in meditation.
We're experiencing awe,
We're stepping back.
To marvel at the sheer scale.
Beauty.
Simplicity of existence.
And it's an experience or communion.
That is not intellectual.
Non-conceptual,
Non-abstract.
And it's not separate.
There's no separation between.
Us and our experience.
And there is nothing separate from life itself.
The experience of sacred perception.
Perceives.
The true nature of reality as it is.
And this.
Experience of wonderment.
Is considered the highest spiritual realisation.
As it is a transcendence of all perception.
It's a way to love each unique present moment and become one with it.
So don't miss life happening now all around you.
And even when it's a difficult,
Pleasant or unpleasant experience.
There is no judgment or discrimination.
All experiences are worthy of your attention and wonder.
Because they are this unique moment of life.
Which is a precious,
Wonderful gift.
This unique present moment has Never.
Happened before.
And it will never happen again exactly the same like this.
So wonderment is about the subtleties of perceiving.
Of being present for life.
And for the ordinary.
Wear everything.
Worthy of your attention.
Everything alive.
Everything is alive.
Animated,
Everything is profoundly perceived and experienced.
A breath.
A bodily sensation.
A sound.
A shaft of light moving across the floor.
A flower whose presence and beauty suddenly appears and announces itself in your awareness.
And that flower that you perceive.
Is a reflection of your own.
In our beautiful nature.
So again reiterating a third or fourth time,
The key to wonderment in meditation is not to rely on an intellectual or personal understanding.
Or even a Buddhist.
Understanding.
Or any other spiritual or religious understanding.
Everything must be put down.
To bring forth a sense of not knowing.
A sense of wonderment.
That shatters into awakening.
Awakening to the wonder of life itself.
In meditation.
Wonderment brings a sense of not knowing.
That is experienced in the depths of your psyche.
And not knowing that inspires awe.
And wonder.
At the uniqueness.
At the sacred and holy nature.
Of each momentary experience.
Awe and wonder.
At the aliveness of everything animate and inanimate.
Awe and wonder.
Of life itself.
And again.
I mentioned in previous episodes.
I use the word psyche.
Because it's a broader,
Deeper,
Wider Boundless.
Term.
Compared to the word mind.
That is much more Cognitive and to do with the conscious thinking mind.
Where is Psyche?
Is a more holistic term.
Encompassing heart self and other,
The environment,
The soul,
The spirit,
One's psychic energy or life force.
That is moving through Initiating,
Creating,
Changing.
Transforming.
Ending everything.
So before we gradually move.
.
.
To the end of this episode.
I'll say a little bit about wonderment in everyday life.
Because Wonderment is not limited to sitting in meditation.
Of course that has its place.
Seated meditation is not the only way to meditate.
Daily life activities such as walking,
Eating,
Drinking,
Washing,
Cooking,
Cleaning,
Working,
Playing.
Running,
Swimming,
Driving.
Navigating Human Interactions and relationships.
All these can be meditation.
Because meditation is organic and not formulaic.
And perhaps we don't experience the wonder of each of our momentary daily life experiences.
Because we're occupied with our thoughts,
Our worries.
A self.
Are worldly affairs.
And these are all fabrications derived from delusion.
And we tend to insulate and distract ourselves with activities.
To avoid.
Experiencing existential reality,
To avoid experiencing life as it is.
So walking is just,
Or can be,
An experience of wonderment.
Sitting can be an experience of wonderment.
Eating can be.
Just an experience of wonderment.
And putting on your clothes in the morning.
Can just be an experience of wonderment.
And going to the toilet in the morning can be an experience of wonderment.
So wonderment reaches.
Interacts with contacts.
Wonderment is everything.
And nothing is excluded or wasted.
So from morning,
Afternoon,
Evening and night.
Wonderment can become a seamless experience.
So you have a wonderful day.
A wonderful morning.
A wonderful afternoon.
You can experience a wonderful night.
A wonderful sleep.
A wonderful interaction.
A wonderful communication.
A wonderful communion.
So wonderment is radiant and potent and it can be always present.
Like a boat that flows with the currents,
Without need for hands to guide the oars.
That is without need for selfing.
You don't need to be constantly thinking about what you're doing.
You can just be experiencing with wonder and amazement.
So the dropping away of yourself selfing activity,
Your ego activity.
This dropping away where grasping has vanished.
One's experience can be encountered as unknown,
New and fresh.
As it is and has always been.
So throughout our day,
We can experience.
The unknown.
Nature.
Of our mind,
Our true mind.
Of our psyche.
Of our present moment.
Experience.
The unknown nature of.
Life itself of reality itself.
And in experiencing the not knowing.
Our mind is free from wandering thoughts,
Fantasies,
Worries,
Selfing,
Preoccupations with oneself.
And we can generate a sense of wonderment.
Throughout our day.
And become absorbed.
In each moment.
Where there's nothing to experience except wonderment.
And when we are experiencing the wonder of each moment.
That wonderment can continue naturally and organically of its own accord,
Freely flowing.
The free flow of our psychic energy.
That doesn't need to be.
Named.
Labelled.
Confined.
Manipulated or constructed in any way.
We don't have to give meaning to all the unique phenomena that arise and pass in each moment.
Okay,
So.
.
.
Let's try experiencing.
Some unique moments as we draw to the close of this episode.
Noticing.
Your experience right now.
Has something changed?
Has something moved?
Even in stillness,
There is always the movement of life in our bodies.
In our psyche.
In our hearts and mind.
And even if.
.
.
As advanced meditation.
Experiences.
We have mastered the art of stillness.
Life itself is movement.
Constantly changing and moving.
Each moment is impermanent.
So let's just sit now and notice.
With wonder.
An amazement,
Perhaps.
The uniqueness of each moment.
And this feeling of awe and wonder.
Is not merely cerebral and cognitive.
One's emotional body.
Is involved,
Is inseparable from the mind.
Psychisoma Nama Rupa,
The heart mind.
Are not separate.
Entities.
Are not separate phenomena.
And I mention this because.
.
.
Often times.
In my own personal experiences of wonderment.
I feel deeply moved.
One's emotional body,
One's heart.
Is as much alive.
As one's perception.
And I often liken my experience of wonderment to the experience of a parent.
Witnessing.
A baby being born.
That's the kind of feeling I experience in moments of wonderment.
In moments of encounter and communion with the divine.
And I believe,
Or I could say more accurately,
I know from experience that it takes courage to Encounter.
The divine.
To experience the sacred.
And holy.
Because of course one is affected.
Profoundly affected.
Or we can say the experience of awe and wonder.
Is the effect.
Of encountering.
The divine,
The sacred.
Of encountering life itself.
Succumbing to a close of this episode on wonderment.
And as usual,
I hope some of this teaching will be helpful to someone in some way.
Somewhere at some time.
And I look forward to.
Sharing with you again next month.
So have a wonderful day or evening.
Bye for now.
