Why You Should Not Wait for an Effect During Meditation

AVAlexander Volchek

A very common situation is that someone sits down to meditate and waits for an effect. Silence is supposed to come, the body should relax, light should appear, things should become calmer, something should open up. If none of that happens, they say, “It did not work for me.” But who said meditation has to produce that particular effect? If meditation is an expansion of perception, the entire range of states can arise: from a headache to complete relaxation, from clear vision to blurriness, from silence to terrible noise.

Fear may arise, or calm, a vision of darkness, or a state in which nothing can be described. People want a clear result they can put in their pocket and say, “There, I meditated. I have spent a thousand hours meditating. I practice. I am working on my spiritual development.” But a genuine state often works in an entirely different way. In complete silence, you do not have the mental or psychophysical layer with which to describe that silence. When you come out of it and try to remember, you remember only a part, remnants, a particular reflection.

The space you were in at that moment may be completely inaccessible. That is often what happens: it is entirely inaccessible. So “I did not feel anything” does not always mean nothing happened. From the spiritual world's perspective, these things are not connected at all. Next time you see, experience, remember, or feel something during meditation—or feel nothing—try not to seize on it as an evaluation. Try not to get carried away by these states or attach importance to them. Do not immediately say that it worked or did not work. Do not celebrate the impression, be frightened by the noise, or conclude that there was no silence. Go deeper, keep immersing yourself, but not for a new sensation or impression, or so you can later say, “I saw something.”

Do it to explore truth and the world, to understand yourself and the people around you. If the desire for a sensation drives you, that sensation already has power over you. Hunger for impressions should not lead you into meditation. Let the pursuit of truth and understanding of this world and life guide you. Want to learn more about meditation and truly expanding your perception? Subscribe to the channel.