Meditation progresses from focused attention to open monitoring and non-dual awareness.
Meditation deconstructs the mind, leading to insights that challenge preconceived notions and increase clarity.
Meditation promotes relaxation, self-awareness, interconnectedness, and profound glimpses into reality.
Deep dives
Progression of Meditation Practice
Meditation practice begins with focusing attention on one thing, such as the breath. This reduces the tendency for abstract thinking and keeps the mind more present-focused. The practice then shifts to open monitoring, where attention is not given to any particular thing, allowing for a more open and non-judgmental awareness of experience. From there, practitioners can explore non-dual practices, where the sense of an observer and observed, subject and object, begins to dissolve. These practices aim to deconstruct the layers of abstraction in the mind and uncover the underlying awareness. The ultimate goal is to reach a state of pure awareness beyond all categories and concepts. Different traditions may approach this progression differently, but the essence remains the same: moving from focused attention to open monitoring to non-dual awareness.
Insights Gained through Meditation
By deconstructing the layers of abstraction in the mind, meditation can lead to profound insights and transformations. As practitioners progress through different stages of meditation, they may experience a deep sense of presence, a dissolution of the self and subject-object distinctions, and an unwavering awareness beyond concepts. These experiences can challenge our preconceived notions and reveal the impermanent and constructed nature of our thoughts, emotions, and beliefs. The insights gained through meditation can fundamentally shift our understanding of reality and the self, leading to increased clarity, freedom, and happiness.
Benefits of Meditation Deconstruction
The deconstruction of the mind through meditation can have various benefits. By letting go of the narrative self and focusing on present-moment experience, practitioners can reduce mental agitation, cultivate relaxation, and increase self-awareness. With continued practice, meditation can lead to a greater sense of interconnectedness, empathy, and compassion. Moreover, the non-dual states of awareness reached through meditation can provide profound glimpses into reality that challenge deeply entrenched beliefs and perspectives, allowing for personal growth, wisdom, and a greater understanding of the nature of the mind.
Gradual vs. Sudden Paths to Awakening
Traditions differ in their approaches to achieving awakened states. Some emphasize a gradual progression, where practitioners cultivate stable attention, open monitoring, and then explore non-dual practices. This gradual path allows for a safer and more stable integration of insights and deconstruction of the mind. However, there are also traditions that teach direct pointing out instructions, bypassing the gradual stages and offering immediate recognition of non-dual awareness. Both paths can lead to awakening, and the choice between them may depend on individual preferences and the guidance available. It is important to approach meditation with patience, diligence, and an openness to the unpredictable nature of the journey.
The Challenges of Meditation and Deconstruction
The podcast episode explores the challenges and complexities of meditation and the process of deconstruction. It explains that meditation involves bypassing the mind's attempts to reinforce our sense of self and promoting the existence of beliefs and thoughts that serve themselves. This process requires humility, guidance, patience, and relaxation to safely and genuinely undergo the deconstruction of old beliefs and models of self. The episode highlights that intense meditation can lead to both positive and negative experiences and emphasizes the importance of being aware of the potential difficulties and seeking support from meditation teachers or psychologists.
Insights from Deep Deconstruction and Cessation
The podcast episode discusses the potential insights and changes that can arise from the deep deconstruction and cessation experiences in meditation. It suggests that these experiences can lead to fundamental changes in the predictive mind's understanding of itself and its models. The episode explores the impermanence of the mind's models and the possibility of increased bottom-up processing and openness to present-moment sensory data. It also speculates on the potential effects of deep deconstruction on the self-model, including a more relaxed, detached, and flexible self, as well as the challenges of empathy and the potential for greater insight and creativity. The episode acknowledges the ongoing research on cessation experiences and the need for a more comprehensive understanding of the changes that occur during and after deep deconstruction.
How does the brain work at its deepest levels? And to what extent can we radically upgrade it, creating neuroplastic changes?
Ruben Laukkonen, PhD is a cognitive neuroscientist, contemplative, speaker, and poet.
His eclectic background includes competing semi-professionally in Muay Thai Kickboxing, founding two businesses (including the first online market for bitcoin in Australia), and intensive meditation training.
Dr. Laukkonen is currently a principal investigator and lecturer at Southern Cross University and holds honorary fellowships at VU Amsterdam and The University of Queensland. He uses methods such as behavior, neuroimaging, machine learning, and phenomenology to empirically investigate some of the rarest states of human consciousness.
This episode is a full tour of the mind, including a deep dive into some of those rare states of consciousness and what they reveal about achieving the highest levels of human happiness.
