Recently, at least for the past 15 days (consecutively), I’ve been using Sam Harris’ “Waking Up” app. Specifically, I’ve been going through his introductory course on meditation. In this introductory course, he discusses our view of consciousness. Most people (including myself) view consciousness as behind our eyes, but it’s more of a space or field where all of our perception and awareness lie. Today’s meditation focused on that same vision. While being aware of all your surroundings Harris asks you to think of consciousness as a cloud. A place where all that you are aware of lives. This place isn’t behind your eyes either. It doesn’t actually reside in your head.
That idea has been quite tough to grasp. The fact that consciousness is everything seems so far away. At points throughout his meditation practices, I can somewhat feel that cloud of consciousness. Part of me feels like my mind is what’s holding me back. At times I feel like I’m forcing awareness instead of letting it come naturally into consciousness.
My grasp of consciousness is definitely an area in meditation where I would like to improve. The only way to do that is by continuing to practice. As Sam Harris says “Don’t waste this moment.”
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