Pure Awareness

One thing that I've found helps a lot is using tactile senses to guide myself to a state of more pure awareness. As I breathe, I can feel subtle vibrations in my body if I am already very relaxed. By focusing on those feelings I intensify them until I feel a powerful vibrational state (it sounds a bit New Age-y, but it is the best way I can describe it) throughout my entire body. With deeper focus the surrounding senses cave away and the only thing in my perception is the sensation, and from there it is easy to direct my thoughts to anything or to choose to stop focusing on it entirely and instead let my mind rest on the Force alone.

I've done that to bring on an out-of-body state once or twice, but those experiences are few and far between. If anyone is well experienced with that I'd appreciate any advice!

To Connor: Expanding on the thought of pure awareness:

"Realising, “I am not the body, nor is the body mine. I am awareness,” one attains the supreme state and no longer remembers things done or undone." - Ashtavakra Gita

I consider Ashtavakra Gita to be one of the better texts to meditate on, and closely reading it might lead to understanding of what I'm talking about. Here is the link to that text.

People talk about body and mind, but there is no distinction. People also talk of "You" and "Me", but really there is no distinction there, either. I am one with the Force; it is essential to me. I have a relationship with it in the same way that all other people do. We are all the Force, ergo we are all One. I could write an explanation of the Buddhist doctrine of "no-self" here, but it's easy enough to Google that -- assuming you're familiar with the doctrine, it follows that what "I" am, if there is anything which may be called "me", is really that which experiences, or perceives; and this identity is one independent of body, and also independent of mind.

From Avadhuta Gita (another excellent read):

"Thus you are One. Why then do you not understand -
that you are the unchangeable One, equally perceived in all?
O mighty One, how can you, who are ever-shining, unrestricted,
think of day and night?"

This One, Brahman or the Force, is absolute. It is ever-present in all things (and where there are no things), and it also contains them; all qualities and their opposites are found equally within it, "good" and "evil", "black" and "white". So it is a fool's errand to try to actually ascribe qualities onto Brahman; it is indistinct, but also distinct. The attributes of phenomenal reality fall into absurdity when discussing the Force, as they are all present and not-present, their opposites the same, and any force which would support or destroy them also included.

With that theory out of the way, onto the practical task of actually experiencing such a thing in meditation -- a state where there is no body, no mind, no distinction between self and not-self; in other words, to enter the stream and touch the Force. It is a difficult thing to explain. The Force, by its nature, must be experienced wholly; it is indivisible, and so it makes no sense to only experience "part" of it. And as such, the sudden experiencing of the Force can be overwhelming if you aren't adequately relaxed and prepared. Though, until you have experienced it, there is only so much preparation you can do. Follow the Jedi Code and meditate on it daily, and that may give an appropriate state of mind to comprehend it.

So, with the meditation I detailed in the first post:

If you're familiar with energy work, you should know what I'm talking about. There's a kind of pressure, or warmth, or spark, or hum that comes with "feeling" the Force, and that's a very distinct feeling. That can be felt throughout your entire body if you've practiced a lot of energy work diligently, and that is a somewhat similar experience to the "vibrational state". The difference is that the focus is not directed on moving the energy or sensing its movements throughout the body.

You must be very relaxed. I think sitting in zazen or something like that for about 20 minutes will suffice in relaxing your body and mind thoroughly.

When you feel the energy or vibration, try to lose yourself in it. Let it engulf you. Associate yourself with it; that energy is you, you are it, it is the Force. And, at the same time, try to mentally deconstruct the barriers between that vibration and the vibrations of the world around you. Since that which is within (the Force) is also that which is without (As above, so below), there is no real difference between the "energy" in the body and that which is outside of the body. Keep in mind: I am the Force; the Force is all things; therefore, I am all things.

This isn't limited to physical matter. Your thoughts are also contained in that, as are all mental substances. In a certain sense, it is a "collective unconscious"; reading Jung's works can help in understanding that subject.

Letting those vibrations consume your mind and body deeply enough can lead to a kind of "breakthrough", when the mind is so singularly focused that we don't notice sounds or tastes or things touching us. This is well documented in neuroscience; when the mind is focused on a single stimuli, additional stimuli may not even warrant a response from our neurons. We literally don't notice things on a cellular level if we are focused enough. But instead of focusing on a single stimuli from one of the sensory organs and using that to block out all others, I use my focus on vibrations which I feel during deep meditation and relaxation. That way my focus is independent of my senses, and all of my senses fade away.

From there it is simply a matter of letting the vibration fade out. This must not be done consciously; it happens over time.

Another approach which has worked for me is to visualize the atomic structure of my body at the source where I feel my consciousness rests (I feel it mostly at the Ajna chakra, or "third eye") and then delve deeper into it, viewing subatomic particles of decreasing size until I reach the point when I can go no smaller, and no conceptual particle exists; and then I push my mind further, to the point where it is impossible to distinguish between one particle and another due to their size, and then proceed as necessary.

This is all very difficult for me to explain. I am willing to answer any questions, though.

That's beautiful brother I really enjoyed that wonderful insight I agree with most if not all of what you said. Well said!

That's beautiful brother I really enjoyed that wonderful insight I agree with most if not all of what you said. Well said!

TheDude, I am curious if you have found what you were looking for in the first post? I have never achieved such a level of meditation. If truth be told, the thought of an out-of-body experience is terrifying to me. I supposed it's like just learning to swim and getting a glimpse of the deep end of the pool. My own experience with meditation has been somewhat limited, as I have more success with moving meditations than sitting still.

Of course, if you would rather not reply, I understand. This was a post from 3 years ago, and I imagine you've grown in ways that may make it difficult to remember where you were when you wrote this. Either way, I appreciate the glimpse into what can be achieved if I chose to develop my own skills in meditation.

@Eqin Ilis
I've had limited success with these things. Truth be told it's not really as simple as I might have made it out to be, and in my experience these "mystical" states (not sure what else to call them) aren't consistent. That is, I can't seem to pin down an exact methodology to bring them about -- what I can say is that when I get deep in meditation I feel a pressure/vibration/warmth, almost like my body is asleep under a heated blanket. When I have experiences like I mentioned they are seemingly always preceded by that kind of feeling, so I feel safe in saying that there is likely some kind of relationship between that feeling and those states of mind. But whether or not one of those experiences happen isn't something I can guarantee in a particular sitting session.

So, though a little off from your experience, I have notes similar experinces both at concerts and during matches (sparring)

SO with concerts (I am a bass player or was IDK it's been a bit) I tend to focus on the actual vibration from the deeper tones since the tend to be able to be felt instead of heard. This ind of throws the senses a curve ball and can occasionally set the body into a state of noticing things I normally ignore. Smell, taste of the air, vibes of others around you.

I can say something similar for sparring matched I've fought. I have had a few that have made me look at ones intentions through noticing their body movements. It can show who is fighting for sport or fighting based on feelings. Often the difference between someone trying to injure in matches or someone content with scoring points in the spirit of the sport. I have also noticed when I am super focused on my own movements, I smell the air better, notice fine movements I would normally miss, and even notice colors a little bit more vibrantly. There are many causes for this, but in the end it's a state of repeatable hyper-awareness. However, like any state of mind that is similar it takes a lot of training and focus. My recent work on my own art has been a lot of searching on how to make this feeling accessible in less stressful environments. So trying to get there while practicing on my own. This has provided some challenges but the feeling will slowly build as I go further into focus on my own body and less focus on the environment. I often think of the line from the Last Samurai, "To many mind, mind the crowd, mind the sword, mind the opponent, too many mind."

I also try to do this in my morning still meditations, I am not as good at that yet, but with breathing focus and occasionally posture focus I get glimpses of that kind of state of mind.

Just 2 cents,
Much Peace, Love and Respect,
Kobos