Let us recall that the same mystical experiences that dwell within an Entheogenic State of Consciousness which is achieved via the initiation of an entheogenic ceremony, can be experienced without the use of entheogenic substances, through ascetic practices such as meditation (Il. 12: depth of the state of consciousness in the annotation Graphic of State of Consciousness ⇒).
We define a Meditative State of Consciousness as a deep altered state of consciousness obtained via the "precise" method of meditation.
The "precise" method of meditation, in a nutshell, consists of nullifying the mind's activities, emptying the mind of every thought.
Below we will use the words meditate and meditation to refer to the "precise" method of meditation, while we will use the words deep concentration or focus deeply to refer to any other type of "meditation" (which are in actuality not really meditation) proposed by gurus, religions, meditation centres, or monasteries.
- The mind can do nothing for meditation. Just as light and darkness cannot come into contact, so too is the case for mental activities and meditation; meditation is the absence of mental activity. - [41]
- If you are following a meditating methodology, you are not meditating. - [42]
Focusing deeply on your breath; on a point of the body; on an imaginary point; on any energy or centre of energy; on an entity; or on any other thing can be an excellent relaxation exercise, a good way to commence deep reflection, or an interesting method with which to begin a hypnosis or psychological therapy session, but it is not the "precise" method of meditation.
Deep concentration is an excellent exercise for increasing concentration capacity, developing one's level of awareness, and can even serve as a preparatory exercise before beginning meditation.
Even observation of the mind's emptying of thought is a form of deep concentration, albeit closer to the "precise" method of meditation.
We should remember that everything around us is Virtual Reality; all of Our Virtual Reality is the Virtual Reality that we perceive and interact with, and to focus deeply on any one element of it is akin to anchoring oneself to it. Even when one focuses on something that does not strictly belong to Our Virtual Reality but is somehow bound to it through our knowledge or beliefs, e.g., an energy point or an emotion, it leads us to always anchor ourselves to Our Virtual Reality.
When we focus deeply on any part of Our Virtual Reality or anything else bound to it, our mind somehow cannot abandon the psychological constructs which block a Meditative State of Consciousness.
While practising meditation, that is, emptying one's mind, the mind has no way to anchor itself to anything in Our Virtual Reality, giving one the opportunity to access a Meditative State of Consciousness.
Many psychotherapists, including hypnologists, who use altered state of consciousness methods on patients, before or during induction into the altered state of consciousness, use methods very similar to those indicated above for deep concentration, i.e., methods based on breath control and concentration on any object.
In real terms, those who practice methods of deep concentration believing themselves to be "meditating" are self-inducing a state similar to hypnosis (or self-hypnosis).
If a practitioner of a deep concentration method manages to achieve a deep altered state of consciousness, they may also have all sorts of visions or hallucinations though they are quite different from a mystical experience.
Indeed, the mind, when brought into a deep altered state of consciousness by such methods of deep concentration, reaches a pseudo-hypnotic state and is left to its own devices (without a guide of a hypnologist)... the mind, wandering in its own fantasies, experiences, or cultural knowledge, can thus create a lucid dream, interpreted by the practitioner as a vision or hallucination. A lucid dream has nothing to do with a mystical experience.
This is demonstrated by the fact that those who report such lucid dreaming experiences never claim to have had illuminations on new knowledge but instead tell of visions that confirm theories they already knew or at least had heard of.
Achieving a deep altered state of consciousness by the precise practice of meditation requires constant practice drawn out over years, ideal living conditions, an advanced stage of Anandayana, and remarkable individual abilities, uncommon in consumer and capitalist societies, where time is considered as money.
Even with consistent and proper meditation practice, always carried out without expectation, following all the indications of the case, no one can guarantee a practitioner a possible mystical experience. Nevertheless, the practitioner will benefit from the many other positive aspects of the constant practice of meditation: increased concentration, increased awareness in a broad sense, a clearer view of the world, deeper wisdom, and greater familiarity with practising the Here&Now. It is also an easy way to gain useful insights and eliminate stress, which is a contributing cause of many diseases.
The search for genuine mystical experience through the practice of meditation is certainly a noble pursuit.
We shall call people who dedicate their lives to this purpose Meditative Researchers; researchers in that the search for a mystical experience means entering a sector which has not been properly defined.
The achievement of a mystical experience through a Meditative State of Consciousness is a long, gradual, and completely uncertain path: those who succeed in living such an experience are few.
Unlike Entheogenic Researchers, Meditative Researchers do not incur serious risks, precisely due to their long and gradual path: time works in favour of Meditative Researchers, allowing them to psycho-spiritually adapt to new experiences as their path progresses.
Meditative Researchers who have mystical experiences can over time develop mental abilities which allow them to interpret the things they have experienced in Meditative States of Consciousness when they are in an ordinary state of consciousness, though always only in an approximate way.
Nevertheless, these natural psycho-spiritual adaptations developed by the Meditative Researcher have obvious recursions which influence the Meditative Researcher's social life: with the passage of time, the researcher, transcending any issues relating to their Anandayana, will take on a life of minimalism, leading him to isolate himself from society to seek more contact with nature and with himself.
This eventual lifestyle of the Meditative Researcher is quite different from the life of artificial austerity lived by some religious people who shut themselves up in communities or monasteries, depriving themselves of some life's pleasures, always in a group so that they may support on one another.