Effortless Meditation

Last night I went to a meeting at a local Methodist Church. An informal gathering of people who share an interest in seeking truth, or self-realization.

"We usually start meditating at 20 after. We meditate for 20 minutes, then we talk for 45 minutes.  Sometimes we talk about a book that we're all reading, or sometimes we talk about our experiences. Nothing is really formal. Then we meditate for 5 minutes and walk to a local restaurant for a nice dinner." -said M, one of the founders of the Effortless Meditation Group, as he explained the format of the group.

There were five of us in the room - sitting in a circle. I was the "new guy," so I got to share about my spiritual journey. I felt at first as if I were being tested to see if I "fit-in" with the rest of the group - but I soon realized that they were actually interested in hearing about my experiences and the process that had led me to come to their low profile group.

As it turns out; most of the existing group members had a similar life story to mine, at least in significant places. We had all experimented with states of consciousness, with various religious practices, various "gurus" and read a huge variety of books on the subjects of enlightenment, awakening, spiritual truth and religion. Yet here we all were - admitting to ourselves that the "truths" that we read about, or had attempted to experience, all fell short of the deeply ingrained pre-cognition that we all seemed to share; the intuitive understanding that the "real scoop," the "full monty" of reality was right here, right now, happening in front of us, and that the obstacle that was keeping us from seeing it, or experiencing it, was our own learned belief that somehow we could arrive at a stage of reality that would bring happiness and joy, as if it were a destination, different from our current location.

As we shared our thoughts we found comfort amongst ourselves that because we shared this obsession with seeking spiritual reality, we had proof that we were not insane. Although, there may be enough evidence from observing some of the strange customs and religious beliefs that exist in the world, that insanity can be a shared experience!

"We virtually closed this group because we'd had a lot of people come and go over the years (15 years), they came in as seekers, but it became apparent that they were looking for some kind of belief system that they could belong to, or some kind of religion that they could join so that they could try and control their reality through it."

"We're all about 'letting go' of beliefs and trying to control others. We want to see things as they are without judging and experiencing all the anguish and suffering that goes along with trying to make the world fit our interpretation."

It was a good feeling to be around people who didn't have "snappy" answers, or a list of doctrinal statements to quote from memory to support their opinions.

The meditation that we practiced in the group was not forced. It was not based on a particular "style." The goal was not achieving something or a so-called "higher" state of consciousness. It was about being comfortable, not only in posture, but in our own skin. We did not try to show how spiritual we were by how we dressed, sat or by what we knew about the different schools of Meditation. We just sat and let the thoughts go by - "getting around our minds," as I'd call it.

All of us in the group had read a lot about Advaita (Non-Duality), or "Oneness consciousness" but none of us claimed to have "arrived" at that level of consciousness - for to do so is actually to reveal that you really haven't achieved it - for Advaita implies that there is no place to go in our awareness of consciousness than right here in this moment. To claim to be there is to acknowledge that you're not!!! However, I think it's fair to say that each of us had experienced at least a "glimpse" of what "Oneness" looks and feels like - hence the seeking that we all did in trying to get back to it!! Obviously though, the "glimpse" was purely an act of universal grace, for there was very little effort, if any, for us to have received it.

I'm hopeful that my experiences with this group will continue. Not in the sense of satisfying my seeking mind - but in the sense of sharing the view as we go back to where we already are, together.

"To arrive where you are, to get from where you are not,

    You must go by a way wherein there is no ecstasy.

In order to arrive at what you do not know

    You must go by a way which is the way of ignorance.

In order to possess what you do not possess

    You must go by the way of dispossession.

In order to arrive at what you are not

    You must go through the way in which you are not.

And what you do not know is the only thing you know

And what you own is what you do not own

And where you are is where you are not."

- from: T.S. Elliot, "The Four Quartets"