Thoughts I get while meditating are like bubbles rising into the horizon. I don’t get pulled into them or give them any importance. They are automatically generated by my thinking machine (ego mind) and have mostly to do with survival, the past, or the future.

They can be funny and they can be a nuisance, like a buzzing mosquito, but they are completely irrelevant to the mediations process. Meditation takes us into deeper layers of consciousness than mere thought.

Shower thoughts are about planning, getting things done, gettin clean, something someone said, a song you like, all kinds of random things, and they can be tied to intention or not. The ego-mind cannot be still in the present moment, so it seeks to distract itself with all kinds of thoughts, some of which are actually useful and problem-solving but others are just mental clutter.

The whole point of meditation is to go beyond this metal noise and get to a place of quiet peace. Therefore, thoughts during meditation are useless.

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The term “monkey mind” is an old buddhist description of how our ego minds jump from topic to topic from the moment we wake up to the moment we go to sleep. You might say, “We don’t have a monkey mind, it has us.” In other words it is so pervasive, repetitive, and non-stop that unless we are meditating or asleep, it has us. It runs us and causes our emotions to go up and down all day long and sometimes into our dreams.

Even it we “have” a monkey mind, it doesn’t mean we actually are this monkey mind. It is just a tool we can use to accomplish our goals. But if we let it run our lives with its restless chatter, then it does indeed, have us. It needs to be disciplined and put in its place. It is not who we are, for we are much more than this conglomeration of neural transmitters. It is merely an instrument in this body that helps us navigate through the physical world.
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The monkey mind is responsible for all the unrest, neurosis, violence, and upset in the world of human interactions. It keeps us awake at night and causes us to seek substances to subdue it. We are addicted to the monkey mind and its antics and then seek out other forms of addiction to quell it. And so, if we do not acknowledge this monkey mind and begin to tame it, it will, indeed, have us. And until we realize we are The Eternal Soul, we will experience its rambunctious behavior.

Western Philosophy, with some exceptions, is a temple to the rational mind. Reasoning and figuring out why things are the way they are, are the main focus. For example, the Philosopher Kant, formulated reasons for why we need to behave altruistically towards others. Even Descartes, with his, “I think, therefore I am,” emphasizes the rational mind. He does not say: “I feel therefore I am,” or “I witness, therefore I am.”
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Eastern philosophy is more concerned with going within to find who we are as an Eternal reflection of cosmic consciousness. To do this, we must bypass the rational mind and forget about the “why’s” of things. They are the way they are and no matter how bright we are, we will never get to the bottom of it all—but Who and What is it that wants to understand?

To find out who we are, behind the labels, masks, and conditioning, we must not be distracted by the constant stream of thoughts that swirl through the mind. It takes discipline to rise above this whirlpool. It takes training to recognize the tricks of the mind. This is what Eastern philosophy aims to do. And it offers pointers to how to move away from the collector’s search for never-ending knowledge.

In general, Western philosophy is about knowing. Eastern philosophy is about finding our unity with an underlying structure of reality that never dies and never changes. It presumes we can never fully know, but we can still unite in peace with All That Is, because, at base, this is who we really are anyway. All knowledge passes away, but the Soul, in its union with the Universe, is eternal.

We can collect as much knowledge as we want, but it does not bring peace or comfort. But once we go within, with a truly quiet mind, all the harmony of the Universe is revealed.

It’s called “spiritual one-upmanship: “I have studied more scripture or meditated more than you have. I know more than you do spiritually. I meditated for 48 hours straight sitting in the lotus position—can you do that?” These are just a few attitudes of the spiritually prideful and arrogant people who think that spirituality is a contest to see who is better and who wins.

This is nothing more than the ego mind, the petty lower mind, trying once again to prove that it is right and everyone else is wrong. It sees spirituality as an acquisitive activity: “I will have the most books on the Upanishads,” “I will make the most pilgrimages and see the most gurus,” “I am purer than all these creatures around me.”
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Arrogant and prideful people on the spiritual path see others as not evolved. They listen closely to catch people making unspiritual statements and confirm to themselves that they will win the prize while everyone else will be left in the dust. Everyone is on their own unique level of spiritual understanding. But the spiritually arrogant person doesn't allow for this. Therefore, they are missing the highest expression of spirituality, which is Love.

It could be. Our spirit guides find many pathways to communicate with us. Sometimes our waking consciousness is too filled with barricades that do not allow the world of the spirit in. This is why many people are visited by their guides and spirit animals before they go to sleep, in the middle of the night, or early morning. Their skeptical and self-doubting minds are at rest and they are open and receptive to messages from beyond.

We are more sensitive to the world of the spirit when we are not so consumed with all the things we need to get done and all the sensory input from the noisy world around us. Meditation offers that moment of inner silence. And into that peaceful vacuum can come your spirit animals to pay you a visit. Sometimes you may just feel their presence. Not everyone is visual in they way they perceive them.
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This is especially true for beloved animals that have crossed over yet are still protecting spirits for their human companions. They may appear only as sounds, a feeling of their presence, or even their scent. They are pure spirit but appear in the form that is the most appropriate.

The mind is a miserable master and an excellent servant. If we just let it have its way we are sure to go down a path of misery. But if we gently control it, it can yield miraculous results. Meditation is the art of allowing the mind to assume its rightful place in the governance of our lives.
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Lying in bed and just letting any thought come to us is not meditation. It is just thinking and paying attention to what the mind comes up with. This is problem solving, memory, or whatever else flits across the screen of our perceptions. Meditation is going beyond the mind. It is rising above it.

During meditation, thoughts appear but we don’t attach any weight to them. Meditation is not a problem-solving session. It is going beyond whatever problems exist in our lives and finding a reserve of deeper consciousness from which we can ultimately make our decisions. These decisions may not be based on what is the most practical or economical solution. They are usually soul-based and have to do with delight in our inner growth and sense of meaning.

It is important to be trained in meditation. Everyone thinks they can do it because they think it is just sitting around contemplating or thinking. But it requires techniques and practice.

Yes, when you find the deepest peace within the silence of meditation, your reality will be transformed. It takes practice, but you can go to that place again and again until no matter what is going on in the world, you don’t lose your inner peace.
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Staying in peace takes discipline and understanding about the ups and downs of emotions. You can still feel emotions deeply, so its not like you’re walking around like a zombie. It’s just that you recognize the fleeting nature of these emotions. You can be very sad, then go to anger, then to thoughts of hatred, and all these emotions are causing lots of changes in your body such as an increase in blood pressure and a release of stress hormones.

You recognize that a thought preceded these emotions. That’s what triggered them. You think of something someone said to you. You should have said such-and-such back to them. Your heart starts pounding faster. All from a thought. That person isn’t even in front of you. Now you move from them to all people and suddenly your reality is a living hell.

I meditation, you learn how to go deeper than these thoughts and their triggered emotions. You find that place that is one with the peace that lies at the structure of the cosmos and Universe. Your reality then become one of inner peace as you participate in life but do not get taken down in the undertow. You still experience all the colors of the emotions but it is in the context of deep peace.

It takes work, discipline, and practice to overcome the negative bias of the human mind and the fearful projections of “lower” consciousness. Many people are not willing to put themselves through the training it requires to achieve levels of consciousness beyond the mere day-to-day survival.

Many people do not even think it is possible or even care. They are consumed with getting by with the least amount of pain and loss. They have relied on others, such as priests and authority figures to tell them that such states exist but do not think they are capable of such exalted states of being.

To find their way to their inner light and Soul seems too difficult or impractical. They think that higher consciousness would interfere with accomplishing their daily tasks as they bask in the ecstasy of inner bliss. This is a misconception and comes from visions of hermits living in caves meditating in the mountains instead of people actively engaged with life.

Or higher consciousness has been mystified to be like an endless psychedelic trip of colors, lights and disorientation. This false concept of higher consciousness deters people from “going there.” How are they going to get anything done if they are in a constant state of uninterrupted joy and distracting visual effects? But higher consciousness is nothing more or less that realizing that we are one with the Universe and that it is working through us.
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Because of:

• All the untrue ideas about higher consciousness
• Ignorance that it even exists
• The belief it is the special province of anointed religious figures

. . .most humans have not attained the levels of consciousness of which we are all capable.

People are afraid that if they devote their life to spiritual pursuits they will be held to a standard they cannot live up to. They think they will have to be saints or never make a mistake in compassionate judgment or ever get angry. They think they will not have a fun life either. It sound so empty and boring to sit around contemplating their inner selves and mediating. People are actually bored with peace. They don’t feel alive unless some drama is going on.

They see the exciting lives of celebrities, rock stars, famous politicians and world leaders. These are the people they admire. Most people would not like to live the life of a monk in the freezing Himalayas or a nun in a cloister. They want bright lights, entertainment, parties, stimulants, intoxicants, glitter, jewelry, and material treasures.

But who says we can’t have it all? We can be highly spiritual and manifest a life of adventure, fun, and material comfort. It is just an unexamined habit to think that to live a spiritual live we must give it all up. It is true that most people who are on a spiritual path are not really interested in accumulating material goods or devoting their lives to pursuing them. Therefore the world believes that to live a highly spiritual life, we must live a life of lack, even if the spiritual seeker feels no such loss.
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So the spiritual process, because it requires quiet, peace, and time away from the frenzy of the world, seems dull and drab to some people. But those of us who cannot help but follow this path know that it brings countless joys and revelations that the rat-race can never deliver.

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When I am doing the loving-kindness meditation, feel the presence of many loving entities and souls that surround me. They fill me with their light and I feel their spiritual embrace. Sometimes they are people and animals who are dear to me but who have crossed over. Other times they are the souls of spiritual masters who bring a message. I don’t go into meditation seeking them but they come when they want to appear.

This is appropriate for the loving-kindness meditation, which is a natural opening of a compassionate heart, towards ourselves and to others. During it, we express the wish that everyone be happy. We begin with:

May I be filled with lovingkindness
May I be held in loving kindness
May I feel connected and calm
May I accept myself just as I am
May I be happy
May I know the natural joy of being alive

Then replace “I” with “you,” then a neutral person, then someone we love, our neighborhood, the nation, the planet, and so on.
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During mindfulness meditation, I don’t experience the presence of entities or spiritual guides. This is because mindfulness is about paying attention to the present moment in whatever activity I am undertaking. Opening the heart may not be the object or aim of this type of meditation. Awareness and clarity are key, so feeling the presence of loving souls is not what happens for me under these circumstances.