Meditation Powers That Arise From Samadhi : Deeper Empathy

This talk discusses an interesting phenomenon known as Siddhis/Iddhis, which are byproducts of increased concentration (samadhi) states from your meditation practice. One specific byproduct noticed by some meditators is the ability to pick up on micro-expressions and access deeper levels of empathy. This talk discusses why this ability occurs and how one can use it to better help others and be a source of safety during challenging times.

Transcript

Hey,

This is Ishar.

And in today's talk,

I'll be discussing some various abilities that may become more apparent as you increase your levels of concentration in your meditation.

And specifically,

I'll be going over deeper empathy levels and also the ability to read subtler cues known as microexpressions.

And I can make a different topic on how this occurs,

But essentially,

In various spiritual traditions,

They talk about various powers that are developed as a result of concentration.

So these are known as iddhi in Pali or siddhi in Sanskrit.

And this is talked about in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.

Also,

When we look into Buddhism,

We have mention of the Buddha getting into the fourth jhana,

Which is a meditation absorption state.

And from that point,

He directed his mind into supernormal powers or supernatural powers.

And in other spiritual circles,

So for instance,

In the psychic world,

There is talk of the four clairs,

Which are clairaudience,

Clairsentience,

Clairvoyance,

And claircognizance.

And these abilities can be further strengthened and developed.

So essentially,

As your concentration and stillness develops in your meditation,

And you're able to sustain this for longer periods of time,

You'll tend to observe some interesting things that you may not have perceived before.

And one thing I've noticed is increased empathy and the ability to detect micro expressions.

And I'll be discussing later why I think this may have occurred.

Now,

One little caveat before going forward is that first,

Not everyone may develop certain things.

And you don't want to be in this game of trying to compare whatever you may experience with some other person,

Because this can actually have the opposite effect of strengthening your ego or creating attachments.

And secondly,

It can be helpful to have an understanding beforehand,

In case all of a sudden,

You experience things and they throw you off center,

And you're not aware of this.

So I hope to shed some light.

But one thing to keep in mind is that many of the ancient masters have actually warned against a lot of things that develop through increased concentration.

So in the Yoga Sutras,

Patanjali mentions that these siddhis can actually be a distraction for your spiritual path.

And you can be caught in this trap of playing around with different psychic powers or anything that develops.

And this distracts you from going further in your practice,

Letting go of these attachments.

But you can also use some of these abilities to help others.

So ideally,

That's the intention behind it.

So you don't want to be using that to manipulate others,

But rather to help others if you can,

Because they do open up your energy body a bit more,

And you're able to tune into things.

And ideally,

You're doing this in a positive manner.

So with that being said,

I've started to observe some of these things more consistently after a longer meditation retreat.

So specifically,

If I was doing a jhana retreat.

And after that,

I found if I kept up a meditation practice of at least two hours a day,

This increased the chances of some of these things I'm about to talk about,

Of happening more often.

And this just happens on its own.

So one thing that I mentioned is deeper empathy levels and the ability to read micro expressions.

So what is meant by micro expressions is that oftentimes,

People's face will have a slight expression of how they're actually feeling,

Even if their voice and their language says something completely different.

So you can't really hide their emotions as much as they think they do,

Because it always shows up somehow.

And you're also able to tune into deeper emotions or hidden emotions.

So you're able to understand what a person's actually feeling,

Rather than the persona or mask they may be putting on.

So some examples is that in my life,

I've noticed a lot of men who have learned to develop a very hard ego structure,

And this exterior.

So this is the exterior of being a macho,

Hyper individualistic persona,

Overly tough and aggressive.

And this is actually a shell that is placed on top of the natural way of being.

And if they start to insult others,

And being in a receiving end of these insults,

Before where I'd immediately react to it and take it personally,

I've noticed that in a deeper concentration states,

I could actually observe the pain in their eyes when they deliver the insults.

So although they are being insulting,

Their pain is actually within them.

So you can actually see the hurt in their eyes,

Despite what the tough exterior is presenting.

And another example is of when others are being very flattering,

But you can actually detect a feeling of aversion or disgust in their facial expression.

So while their words may be sweet,

Their facial expression tends to be very aversive or closed off.

Now,

You can use this to help protect yourself from others that may have unwholesome intentions towards you.

And you'll start to notice this as your energy becomes more open,

As you meditate more,

You attract more people to you,

Good or bad.

So you can start to sense their intentions,

And be a bit more mindful of how you are responding to them and also with yourself.

And we also talked about sensing destructive emotions like anger or rage to,

You know,

Either help them or keep distance.

But on a more positive spin,

Increased empathy levels can help you be a better listener and be a safe refuge for others.

So a few examples where I've noticed people very sad about a certain topic.

So one employee at a store was very sad about their store owner dying recently.

And I could feel her sadness in her eyes when she was talking.

And I could see her crying even though no physical tears are shed.

So there was more of a honing in on that sadness and picking that up.

And this ability to pick up that thing,

Those emotions,

Hidden emotions like sadness,

Happiness,

Joy,

This becomes more intense,

As your concentration levels be a bit more stronger.

And you'll also observe that people tend to come up to you and share more things about themselves,

Because you feel a bit more safe.

So as the layers of tension in your body and resistance and different things going on within you can drop away,

You become more open in your presence and more loving.

More people feel compelled to talk to you and be in your space and even share more private things about themselves.

So with this actually comes responsibility and not misusing that.

So this is why a lot of spiritual traditions emphasize ethics even before you begin the practice.

Because with increased levels of concentration and internal clearing,

You become just a bit more open and transparent.

So just be mindful of that.

And you may be wondering why don't we normally see these micro-expressions or tune into people's emotions more strongly.

And because it's already there,

But oftentimes what happens is that we are distracted when our mind is scattered.

So when we're in conversation with someone,

We may be thinking about what we're going to say next,

Or ruminating over the past,

Or the future.

Or fidgeting is very common.

People move their legs around or tap their fingers or their feet up and down.

Or they may check their smartphone.

I oftentimes see that people pull out their phone,

Open it,

Kind of scroll around and then lock it and put it back in their pocket.

So they weren't really checking anything,

But they were just very distracted.

And there are many just examples of this,

How we distract ourselves from the present moment.

But when we learn to do concentration meditation and settle the mind and calm both the mind and the body,

We are more present and the level of presence increases.

So we're able to notice smaller things in smaller details,

Because we're not cluttered as much.

So if you do start to observe some of these things on your journey,

Such as deeper empathy levels that you may not have observed before,

Or picking up on more subtle types of emotions,

Just remember the general principles behind whatever spiritual practice that you are focusing on.

And remember the qualities of compassion,

Of kindness,

And being a safe space for someone.

And navigating your responses from that lens.

Hope you found this helpful.

Thank you.