I’ve spent well over a decade in deep meditation and contemplation, and though it has been extremely fruitful pursuit for me, a conclusion kept striking me over and over again that actual transcendence doesn’t occur in secluded meditation, but in the context of life itself.
That said, what is the purpose in secluded meditation if not for transcendence?
Research — inner research. Meditation serves as space to work through and uncover processes within ourselves…to discover firsthand the intricacies of how consciousness operates, rather than rely on secondhand assumptions from psychologists, scholars, and spiritual teachers.
My experience? Many of the own discoveries I’ve come to are simply not fully lined up with the information and frameworks out there. Not that other frameworks are wrong, but they convey a partial truth not lined up with the truth I experience within myself. You might discover the same….your understanding simply differs from that of those around you.
Our current world isn’t so suited for spending too much time in seclusion, and the pressures to be involved directly in the world, front and center, are intense. But given the amount of unexplored territory within ourselves that could benefit our collective by being mapped out, it behooves those of us called to meditate and contemplate deeply on the nature of ourselves. to continue to do so. It’s important for each of us to come to our own conclusions about who we are, and offer ourselves the space to do so.
One might at some point come to the conclusion that such research has no value to their lives — and in that case, secluded meditation isn’t for them. But for those of us who are committed to understanding deeply, experientially, how we work, secluded meditation should be given high emphasis in our life path.
Ranjeeth Thunga
rkt@perspectivemapper.com