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ak33
Canada
229 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 16 2013 : 7:07:53 PM
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| Hey guys, I have been doing DM for about 2 months. Recently, any activity I do, whether its something I like or don't like, I am beginning to experience it sort of indifferently. As if I'm watching myself going through life (sort of like a dream). However, there is no real joy associated with this indifference, sort of just silence. I'm not sure if this is the witness. Any thoughts? |
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Christi
United Kingdom
4430 Posts |
Posted - Mar 17 2013 : 06:13:17 AM
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Hi ak33,
Yes, this is the witness- where you are able to notice that you are the one who is aware of action happening, rather than identifying yourself as the doer of the action itself. Being in the witness is not necessarily joyful, or blissful. It is a transition stage towards enlightenment.
Gradually, as you identify less with the stuff of consciousness you will become more relaxed, experience more peace, more joy and more freedom. This will happen both during meditation and during your everyday life. Over time the silence and the peace will expand into bliss. It is an ongoing development which takes months or years.
Even the cultivation of the witness and the deepening into a state of bliss is not the end of the journey, but it is an important stage to cultivate and become established in.
The stage you are experiencing is something called vairagya in Sanskrit which means dispassion. The translation is not that helpful always though as the stage of vairagya can also expand into a state overflowing with joy and love, and so can in fact also be quite passionate. The essential thing about vairagya is that it is a state that non-judgemental, not saying that one thing is good, or another bad, so it is a state of equanimity (upeksha).
Christi |
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ak33
Canada
229 Posts |
Posted - Mar 17 2013 : 11:58:20 AM
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| Thank you for the detailed answer. I don't think I'm even close to complete dispassion though, because I still have occasional states of anxiety (like any usual person would), yet there is a "dream-like" feel even associated with that. I'm guessing that this will slowly expand as I continue to meditate. Thank you Christi |
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karl
United Kingdom
1812 Posts |
Posted - Mar 18 2013 : 06:15:18 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by ak33
Thank you for the detailed answer. I don't think I'm even close to complete dispassion though, because I still have occasional states of anxiety (like any usual person would), yet there is a "dream-like" feel even associated with that. I'm guessing that this will slowly expand as I continue to meditate. Thank you Christi
Accept the anxiety, be with it like an understanding parent coaxing out the fear. Realise 'it's just me' no need to scold yourself or dispel the anxiety at all. It is who you are. |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Mar 18 2013 : 5:05:31 PM
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Anxiety is just the bursting of a karmic bubble to let the love shine through. Anxiety is a heightened response to change, and an acclimation to new inner and outer conditions. Anxiety, just like fear, is a symptom of purification if you allow the emotion to pass through you--resting on the bedrock of inner silence.
I have learned that anxiety is either a call to action, or a signal to widen the window of acceptance...maybe both, simultaneously. I experienced this last week with some conflict in my band. The spontaneous flow of wisdom's presence (cultivated in samyama) is leading the way.  |
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bewell
1275 Posts |
Posted - Mar 19 2013 : 11:23:07 AM
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| Thanks Bodhi: your meaning is beautifully articulated, and it rings true to the path we are walking. |
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Witness?
