Round Trip Ticket to Samādhi

Dear Friend,

Happy Spring! Hope you are enjoying the sunny days and bright colors of nature. Also, seems to be lots of holidays soon, so wishing you lots of happy rest and recharge time!

I recently got myself involved in a mind altering experience. Felt that the spiritual seeking passion in me me has recently become a bit stagnant and stale and needed some re-boosting, I also felt it could be useful to face some demons from similar experiences in my 20s that left a bad taste. For years I've been hearing much praise about the benefits of these kinds of experiences in the context of a contemplative path from what I consider highly valuable and trustworthy sources, as long as it's done wisely and integrated well. Recreational purpose was how I got myself in trouble many years ago, so I wanted to check if I made real progress in the past couple of decades, if things shifted in a meaningful way in the unconscious realms, and if there are any blind spots I need to be aware of and maybe work on.

The experience was rich with many flavors, and I must say - mission accomplished!

This ride was a great reminder of what it's like to experience the highest state of yoga which can often be fleeting called Samadhi. Many people who really commit to yoga, particularly to its more meditative forms of practice, experience this state from time to time, often for just a glimpse or so. It doesn't require special skills, everyone can access that state when the conditions are right. There is a common misperception that this is some mysterious ecstatic state or a levitated mystical enlightenment kind of thing, but in fact it is quite different, it can often feel relatively unextraordinary while at the same time very profound. Ecstatic mystical states can be that too, but they can easily be nothing more than a temporary euphoric high that leaves one with some sense of loss or craving for more, which is by default not Samadhi.

A long term fruitful practice can potentially bring about an established state of Samadhi, one that becomes second nature and informs every moment. Until then is it usually a spontaneous state that arises whenever it does, mostly when the practitioner is willing to wholeheartedly drop all guards and beliefs and allow perfect alignment of body, breath, and mind.

What is Samadhi exactly?

The common translation of this state is "meditative or spiritual absorption". It is rooted in a deep meditative state (dhyana) in which one is fully immersed in the present with very little or no mediation of the conceptualizing thinking mind, becoming an open receptive space that enables seeing whatever arises clearly and letting it be as it is without even the innermost interference. It can be deeply calm and tranquil, free from any sense of trouble or worry, or even the slightest tension, even in the midst of internal (or external) turmoil there can be a clear sense of connection to the present moment in its fullest. This is what being truly free is all about at least from a yoga perspective. Everything we need in order to abide in this state is already there, there is no external or internal ingredient that needs to be acquired.

However, in the Samadhi stage there is another dimension of experience in addition to the radiance of the common meditative state. The sense of Self, or some sort of contraction towards a central identity (sense of "I", ego-structure) dissolves. There is no longer "I am feeling this or that", there is only "feeling", there is no longer "I am breathing", there is only "breathing", there is no longer "I am meditating", there is only "meditating". It is not a shift at the linguistical level but rather at a much deeper one - at the level of direct perception of inner reality.

The dissolution of the ego, which may initially seem quite frightening, is actually the most liberating experience on the contemplative journey. When one gets a taste of that ultimate truth for the first time it becomes clear that all past identification with the illusory sense of "I" or "Me" was nothing but a contraction in the body and mind that caused a lot of unnecessary tension. This false sense of self, according to the teachings of yoga, is just like another thought narrative, a somewhat complex one but nevertheless one that is generated by the conceptualizing mind.

The good thing about the ego is that it easily and inevitably comes back online, we never really lose it, we just take a break from it and then when it comes back we have a whole different outlook on what it's all about. The ego-structure is then recognized as a practical tool we can use to go about our life while at the same time maintaining an undercurrent state of knowing that it is just that - a tool, a thought construct, and we no longer identify with it in any way that gets us entangled with it and suffer.

I am aware that the notion that our entire sense of identity is an illusion could be triggering, it definitely rubbed me the wrong way years ago when I came across this claim in my early yoga days. I decided then to take this theory with a big grain of salt which I highly recommend to anyone who is genuinely curious about seeking core truths regarding the subjective human condition. All one needs to do is simply allow the heart and mind to be open to whatever arises as a matter of direct experience while they practice whatever form of yoga they do. For instance, we can start with meditating on the breath, felt-body sensations, sounds and sights, noticing things as they are, being mindful of the mind's tendencies to react, conceptualize, categorize, analyze, and continuously create narratives. And then we try to maintain a non-judgmental approach similar to watching the sky and seeing the clouds go by, avoiding bias or any preferential treatment, letting the inner commentator do its thing in the background without getting involved in it..

If we cultivate the right conditions (consistent open-minded practice), stay patient and genuinely let go of any expectations for particular outcomes, these spontaneous deep meditative states are bound to occur. Thoughts will simply cease to have any impact, they might even stop all together, and an expansive sense of clarity and peace will emerge. When these moments come about, we can inquire into the sense of self that seems to dominate our very existence, we can direct awareness to that sense of "I" and see what we feel, if there is anything to be found. Does it have any substance? Is it similar to the feeling of having an arm, a leg, or a head? What is this phenomena that has such a strong grip on us? The answers to these inquiries can only work if they are not turned into an intellectual pursuit, when we simply observe and feel, let direct experience guide us.

The ultimate goal of yoga is Self-realization, seeing clearly the true nature of our Self, which is not who we think we are, meaning not the contents of the mind. In order to discover the truth about who we are at our core we must be in some meditative state that allows awareness to be settled, refined and spacious. Once we experience this realization, usually in a state of Samadhi, we feel as though we woke up from a dream. It is a powerful a-ha moment, and even though we come back to the same body and mind, and continue to have the same personality, maybe even behave similarly in many ways, and we still have to go to work, pay our bills, and deal with every day life - there is an underlying tone of profound insight that colors everything internally with a bright light of wisdom, and with that also comes a mindfulness alarm clock that gets installed in our system and goes off to remind us who we really are (or who we are not) every time we need it.

If you find yourself curious about these kinds of topics - join a workshop, a retreat, or any other event on offer.

Looking forward to sharing yoga with you in May.

Wishing everyone peace and happiness,

Oren

♡

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