Contemplation

... some practical advice

Today’s post is going to be a bit more practical than usual. I have recently been explaining to people my meditation/contemplation practices. Usually they are shocked and dismayed. I can tell that they are very doubtful about how useful my practices are.

So I thought it would be fun to share some examples of what I do.

I am interested in active contemplation. It is very different to (mainstream) meditation.

In meditation people are generally looking to step outside of their thoughts and become a dispassionate observer. People want to stop feeling tossed around by their internal world. The main thing here is to not identify yourself with your thoughts and feels, but just to allow them to come and go.

Contemplation is the opposite. The goal is to fully immerse yourself in your internal world and to fully identify with what’s going on. The idea is to gain specific insights.

Alongside this approach to the internal chatter of your thoughts, meditation typically aims to move you beyond dark or …