16. Using Meditation To Know The Creator

Who Am I? Through meditation, one can know the Truth of One Self. This talk will guide you to become aware of the journey that the practice of meditation can provide - The journey of Self-knowing and Self-Transformation.

Transcript

Hi,

I'm Johnny John.

In this talk,

We will explore how the practice of meditation can help us to develop self-knowing and self-transformation from a higher perspective.

Let us begin.

Let us begin by understanding what self-knowing is.

Self-knowing will always be centered around the question,

Who am I?

When we use the intellectual mind,

We can come up with many answers to this question.

But to know is not really to think,

But rather to observe and experience the truth.

For example,

To know ourselves is similar to knowing other selves.

When we first meet a person,

We can think and have ideas about who that person is.

Perhaps we will have thoughts about that person is dangerous because the way he walks,

Or that person is arrogant because of the way they talk.

But it's only when we experience spending time with them,

Observing their actions,

Observing who they are,

Listening to them,

Again and again,

That is how we get to truly know them.

That is how we realize new things about them.

So naturally our beliefs will be transformed the more we get to know them.

So with self-knowing comes self-transformation.

Now this is not to say that thinking is bad,

For thinking has its uses too.

But too much thinking will always block self-knowing.

To know ourselves,

All we really need to do is to spend time with ourselves,

And observe the will that is happening within,

Again and again.

This is meditation,

The practice of spending time with ourselves to develop self-knowing.

The more we spend time with ourselves in meditation,

The more we will come to know the self.

But then one may say,

Well I'm experiencing and observing myself every day,

Aren't I?

So am I not developing self-knowing every day?

Well it is true that you are developing self-knowing,

But how much you are progressing,

That is the difference.

What are you observing?

Are you really observing yourself?

Or are you focused on your work,

On the people around you,

Or on the world?

Maybe you have experienced anger,

But are you observing what is happening in your mind when you experience that anger?

Or do you simply focus on yelling at that horrible traffic in front of you?

To know the self,

This is to know more than what you already know.

To know the self is to venture into discovering the cause of the emotions within,

To venture forth into discovering the deeper desires behind the surface desires,

To venture even further into knowing the cause of all your desires,

And even further into the knowing of the purpose of your existence,

And like this deeper and deeper,

Until you realize the totality of who you really are.

So realize there are degrees of self-knowing,

And how deep you go will depend on how much time you spend to know yourself.

So good question to ask is,

How much time do I actually spend to get to know myself?

One minute a day?

One minute a month?

Or one minute in a year?

Or one minute in a lifetime?

It can be easy to not spend any time on knowing ourselves,

Because our eyes are designed to look outwards and focus on the world outside.

And that is why the practice of meditation can be so ever helpful,

Because that is when we can finally turn our sight inwards and look at the world within.

When we close our eyes,

That is when we can truly see ourselves.

It is then we can truly see the reactions that is causing our actions.

It is then we can truly see the beliefs that are causing our reactions.

And like this,

It is then we can go deeper and deeper to know ourselves.

Now what types of meditation will help you?

The types of meditation that will help you on the journey of self-transformation will be the ones that allow you to develop the state of observation,

Of stillness.

The simplest types of meditation often is the best for the most complicated minds.

All you really need to do is to get into the state of observation,

Through being aware of the breath or parts of the body.

Meditation and silence will be very helpful for developing self-knowing.

But guided meditations can help you in the beginning to get there.

Meditation will help you to develop stillness,

And stillness is a powerful thing.

This is because from stillness comes self-knowing.

Because as you practice stillness,

Unstillness will come from within.

It is then you will begin to finally see all the wandering thoughts that are happening within.

Wandering thoughts about different people,

And different situations.

You will begin to realize the ways in which you react to these wandering thoughts happening within.

And within time,

You will realize that the mind is simply showing you the habit patterns of how you usually react when these events actually take place in real life.

So from stillness naturally comes self-knowing.

And the more you develop stillness,

The more you will be able to just observe the inner thoughts and emotions,

Allowing them to come and go.

This is when you can go even deeper,

And naturally realize what beliefs you have that are causing these reactions,

Causing the unhappiness within.

And with time,

One will develop the motivation and desire to transform the beliefs that are undesirable,

To transform the beliefs that are causing them fear and unhappiness.

Thus without the practice of meditation,

It will be difficult to develop stillness.

And without stillness,

There will be no self-knowing and motivation.

One will then only continue to react in the same way,

Which often is to address the unhappiness and fears in life with just outer actions,

Rather than looking for ways to also transform their inner reactions.

So meditation is a powerful practice for self-knowing.

And the practice of meditation will also help you to develop self-acceptance,

And this will help you to greatly transform the mind.

Realize that every time you choose to simply observe the world within,

With stillness,

You are learning to accept yourself as is.

You are learning to accept the present moment as is.

You are learning to accept the experience as is.

You are learning to accept all the errors.

This is the state of self-acceptance.

For to accept is not to judge.

For to accept is not to analyze,

But to simply observe without distortion.

So every time you simply observe the breath,

The wandering thoughts,

A reaction or desire,

And so forth,

You are developing self-acceptance by not reacting to it,

With even more exaggeration or suppression.

To allow all things to be as is,

Is the state of self-acceptance.

Thus the practice of meditation can help you to understand what the state of self-acceptance is at the experiential level.

And this is important because the key to transforming the mind will always be self-acceptance.

Without meditation,

It will be difficult to understand what the state of self-acceptance is.

Because in life,

It is easy to dwell in negativity when we can't get what we desire.

In life,

It is easy to run away whenever we experience some sort of fear.

In meditation,

For the very first time,

You cannot run away from these experiences,

But to simply accept.

So to develop self-acceptance when you experience anger in meditation,

Is to simply observe that the anger has come.

It is to simply accept that anger as it is,

And let it go.

If one tries to suppress or exaggerate that anger with anger,

Then the mind will only dwell in more anger,

And one will become stuck in that layer of the mind,

And the old habit patterns of negative reactions will continue.

So use meditation to create new habit patterns,

By transforming the way you react to these negative experiences within,

And this will transform the way in which you react to negative experiences in life.

Use meditation to know the self,

To know the cause of your sufferings,

So that when you face suffering experiences in life,

You know what it is exactly you are rejecting,

So that you can know what it is exactly that you are trying to accept,

And this will help you to accelerate your journey of self-transformation.

Developing wisdom will take time and meditation.

The wisdom that comes forth may not be clear when you meditate,

For so many things can be happening in the mind.

But from time to time,

You will get a glimpse of the cause of the chaos within.

From time to time,

You will realize something new about yourself.

Like knowing a person,

Wisdom won't come to you in every moment,

But rather,

It will come in moments when you are less expected,

When you are not thinking about it.

So don't worry if no wisdom is coming forth in meditation,

Like knowing a person,

You simply need to keep spending time with yourself for wisdom to grow.

And if you are experiencing chaos in meditation,

This is good,

You are becoming aware of the inner chaos within,

So this needs not be a reason to give up.

If you are experiencing chaos after 10 years of meditation,

This is good,

For you are going even deeper into the mind and uncovering deeper chaos,

So this needs not be a reason to give up.

If you are experiencing less and less chaos,

This is also good,

For you have transformed some causes of the inner chaos,

But again,

This needs not be a reason to give up,

For there may be even more things within waiting to be discovered.

So as long as you are trying to be in the state of observation,

You are meditating correctly.

What experience you experience will always be perfect and correct,

So use this as a reason to keep on meditating.

In conclusion,

Through the moments of stillness,

Without the thoughts of who we are,

It is then we can finally observe and get to know the person behind the personality.

So the deeper you go into the state of stillness,

The more you will eventually realize who you are.

You are consciousness,

You are oneness,

You are infinite.

And the more you realize this truth,

The more you will experience greater power and happiness.

So keep on developing stillness through meditation,

And know the self through observing that stillness.

For if you were to observe stillness for an eternity,

One day when a thought finally arises,

You will no doubt realize,

Oh,

I am the creator.

Reviews

Thought provoking and good to know to release some of those thoughts as quickly as they come! Thank you.