Torch and a forest

I would like to share my experience last night, it was one of those times when you look back and think where did all this come from. Sorry if it I haven’t wrote it to well, I have just woke up and wrote it up so forgive me if anything is unclear...

Last night I was in a deep meditation, during this I started visualising many various concepts that I thought were interesting. I made a mental note to remember as much as I can before I went to sleep and here I am. I would like to point out that these are just conceptual ideas and need not be seen as anything else.

So as I began to shift in my state I first started to visualise a forest, at night and pitch black. I was in the forest and I had a lit up torch, everything was black except the short area the light lit up. The light acted as a way of understanding the world around me, I would point it forwards to see a tree, or look down and see the grass etc.

This I know is symbolic of my conscious waking state; I was relying on my vision and the light from the torch to guide me through the mysterious forest. The torch itself was my conscious focus and the large forest being the vast untapped mind/brain.

The significant part is when the visualisation changed, the light of the torch switched off. From then on I felt the feeling of sitting down in that spot, the sensation of my eyes closing as I was sitting in total darkness. At this point I stopped trying to see, I began to feel and sense my surroundings. I could hear the sounds of animals, feel the wind against me, and even feel the texture of the moss and twigs where I was sat.

I now see that the light of the torch limited my understanding of the forest, I was so fixated on where I was pointing the light that I missed the wind, the sounds, the textures and so on. With the light off I realised that I had become part of the entire forest, the wind I felt against me was also the same wind on the other side of the forest. I could see further and with more clarity the world around me with the torch switched off.

That’s the first thing I learned, now I see that meditation is a way off turning that light we leave on during day. It is a way to perceive the rest of the forest rather than studying intensely our surroundings which puts us out of focus to everything else like the viewfinder in a camera.

What is around you at this moment? You might say a wall, screen etc... What about 5miles down the road, 500miles down the road? Our consciousness limits us to the walls we have created.

Back to the meditation; I carried on using this forest and torch analogy and I started to think about the universe as the large forest. We focus on different parts of the universe (telescopes etc) yet the vast majority is still unknown to us. No matter where we point our torch we will always miss the rest. With these thoughts I then knew I needed to think about the universe with the lights off.

From this point on I still remember the amazing visuals I started seeing, visuals almost touchable, however one of those things that might be difficult to explain so please bare with me.

Visualise yourself, then zoom out to the point you can almost see the universe as a lump of mass. Now what is on the outer side of that mass? Where do you go after this point, perhaps time which is measurable but still not quite as “real” as the physical world around us? I then started to think beyond time and visualised consciousness as an almost physical body surrounding our universe and time.

I believe the universe is a transition, the further you travel the less physical you become. This last bit I haven’t thought about enough but I will try to visualise the universe again in my next mediation as I intend to delve deeper into these ideas. Another stray thought was indigenous people, Native Americans as well as animals, I don't believe they rely on a torch light as we do, being part of nature is part of their meditation which is why I believe they perceive spirits and things we often consider to be crazy. Perhaps we are the crazy ones, addicted to what is being “illuminated”.

I thought your experience was absolutely amazing and very beautiful. Thanks for sharing!

I like the torch analogy, and agree with you that we are attuned and addicted for most part in this world to "what is being illuminated".

Your experience of the universe being a transition reminds me very much of Carl Sagan's Cosmos episode in which he spoke about the "Flatlanders and other dimensions". If we are physical 3-dimensional beings limited in experiencing consciousness on this plane of existence only (as the Flatlanders in Carl Sagan's example are only limited to a 2-D world experience), and if the universe exists on our plane, then we would simply be unable to experience any other existence than this universe. We would only be able to experience whatever is passing through our perceivable range. Which makes for a wonderful and exciting thought - it means therefore that our "infinite" universe is only part of an incredible multi-dimensional symphony which we may one day also experience when we have taken out enough time to "switch of the proverbial torch light".

The fact that we cannot conceptualize or visualize what is on the other side of our universe may simply be because we do not have the intrinsic ability to do so, and not simply because there is nothing.

S+F

reply to post by shimmeringsilver73


Thanks and yeah I have looked some what into the idea of dimensions. I consider the brain to be like a radio, during meditation you simply glide through the various station frequencies. If the universe does start to loose elements of its physical laws imagine planets with life part physical and part energy! :O

reply to post by OwenGP185

I will try to visualise the universe again in my next mediation as I intend to delve deeper into these ideas

Sounds to me like using a torch. Isn't intent the torch? In any event, I found your rumination interesting.

Originally posted by TerryMcGuire
reply to post by OwenGP185

 

I will try to visualise the universe again in my next mediation as I intend to delve deeper into these ideas

Sounds to me like using a torch. Isn't intent the torch? In any event, I found your rumination interesting.

Your right, well during meditation I would say both ways of thinking are used. First you have to focus/tune into the right state of mind then once there you can kind of tune out and let things manifest. I guess its kind of like getting into a space suit, harnessed into a rocket and launched at hundreds of miles per her into space with intense pressure then suddenly entering orbit and floating free of gravity ready for what is to be done.

reply to post by OwenGP185


What you discovered is a great truth to keep in your arsenal. It is more physical (and less allegorical) than you may realize. Our focus has become a handicap. Our will can be our chains.

Sounds like you are on the right path so just stay on it and put out that torch when the moon is full.

So was this a hallucination or your imagination interpreted?

Originally posted by juveous
So was this a hallucination or your imagination interpreted?

I wouldn’t say it was a hallucination as such, it’s more like a visual memory. Like looking back at a certain event in life and remembering certain things and getting that visual vision if that makes sense. My wild imagination certainly helps and since a very young age I have felt like I see more to the world than people around me. It’s hard to explain though the reason I got into art and design I guess.

Originally posted by OwenGP185
I now see that the light of the torch limited my understanding of the forest, I was so fixated on where I was pointing the light that I missed the wind, the sounds, the textures and so on. With the light off I realised that I had become part of the entire forest, the wind I felt against me was also the same wind on the other side of the forest. I could see further and with more clarity the world around me with the torch switched off.

That’s the first thing I learned, now I see that meditation is a way off turning that light we leave on during day. It is a way to perceive the rest of the forest rather than studying intensely our surroundings which puts us out of focus to everything else like the viewfinder in a camera.

That was an eye-opening analogy! Thanks for sharing that. I can't help but also think of "television" relating to this. I stopped watching TV a few months ago when I realized that I could not trust the view of the world that it presented to me. That's a bit off topic there, but I was reminded of it by what you wrote.

Peace

-NLightN-