Sep 25, 2024 4 min read Meditation lessons

3. Organize your mind.

Imagine your mind as a clear and empty room with windows to the present, a door to the past, and a portal to the future...

Photo by Jr Korpa / Unsplash

Imagine entering meditation and finding yourself inside an empty room.

In front of you are two windows that grant you access to the present realm—the one you're reading this lesson in now. To one side, there's an old-looking door leading to a library of stored knowledge, representing your past. On the other side is a portal to the future, which grants you access to alternative realms of awareness such as your dreams and imagination.

This room is an analogy for your mind. In this lesson, you're going to learn how to organize your thoughts and raise self-awareness while navigating your inner world in meditation.

Windows to the Present: The Conscious Experience of Life

The windows represent your physical senses. When these windows are open, it's like your eyes are open, and you, as consciousness, become more aware of what you're experiencing with your body. Remember, you're existing as consciousness when meditating; therefore, any sensations you experience through the body are like data entering your "mind room" through these windows.

When you close your eyes to enter meditation, anything you sense is on the outside of these windows trying to get in. It's up to you to decide if what you can touch, taste, smell, hear, or see is worth opening a window to investigate.

When you, as consciousness, are fully or more engaged by your physical senses, you're essentially operating and residing in the conscious realm of awareness, engaging with the present moment, in the here and now.

The Door to the Past: The Subconscious Experience of Life

The old-looking door that leads into a library of knowledge represents your memories and lived experiences. Whenever you recall a memory, it's as if you're reading a book or page from your past. However, when you find yourself reliving a memory, it's as though you've been consumed by the book you're reading in this library of knowledge.

In later lessons, we'll spend more time in this library to help you learn from past experiences and, if applicable, heal from past traumas. At this stage of practice, whenever you find yourself recalling or reliving a memory, raise your awareness by recognizing that you have, knowingly or unknowingly, entered the subconscious realm of awareness—the library where your lived experiences are stored.

For example, when you think back to these meditation lessons, what you had for breakfast, or even childhood memories, this is you, as consciousness, visiting your library of knowledge. Additionally, everything you're currently experiencing right now—data coming through your physical senses—is actively being stored in this vast library for you to revisit later.

Portal to the Future: The Superconscious Experience of Life

The portal to the future allows you to access alternate realms of awareness beyond your past and present experiences. Through this portal reside your dreams and imagination, where new ideas are born, but where fears and anxieties can also develop. When you're dreaming, daydreaming, or immersed in fantasy or imagination, you've entered the superconscious realm of awareness. Arguably, it is through this portal that Samadhi is realized and Nirvana is accessed, though enlightenment may still be a journey ahead.

In this realm of awareness, anything you could, should, or would experience in the present realm is conjured here and, if desired, can be brought to life. You'll dive much deeper into these realms of awareness in later lessons, but for now, consider the future as creations waiting to take place, the past as creations that have taken place, and the present as creations currently taking place.

Raising Self-Awareness: Organizing Thoughts and Distractions

The next time you sit and close your eyes to meditate—or even if you're just going about your day—use this analogy to help organize your thoughts and distractions. By placing whatever you're experiencing into the past, present, or future, you can deduce which realm of awareness you're residing in and operating from at any given moment. This practice will not only help raise your self-awareness but will also clear a lot of the clutter inside your "mind room," creating more space to breathe!

Next, you're going to learn how to use the power of breathing to detach from any given experience at any moment so you can claim sovereignty in your mind and authority over what you're experiencing. To think, we're still only in the beginning stages of meditation practice!

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Please note: Esoteric concepts are not meant to be taken literally or as absolute truths. However, they can provide valuable perspectives and context, helping our limited human minds grasp complex ideas.