Over time, basic meditation will also help us notice what we are. Here, we notice and allow whatever is here in our experience, and notice that when we intentionally notice and allow, we are one step behind since it’s already noticed and allowed.
– from The experience of no-self
I thought I would say a few more words about this.
Basic meditation is to notice and allow whatever experience is here. We notice, allow, get distracted, and – through grace – notice again. Over time, we get more familiar with noticing and allowing, and it can become a new habit.
At first, the noticing and allowing can seem quite intentional. It’s something we feel we actively do and make happen.
After a while, we may notice that what’s here is already allowed. This experience is already allowed by mind, space, and existence. “I” don’t need to intentionally allow it. All I need to do is notice what’s here is already allowed, and this tends to invite my conscious orientation to join with this allowing.
We may also notice that what’s here is already noticed. It’s already happening within this awake space, even before it’s more intentionally noticed.
This may lead us to see that our intentional noticing and allowing is one step behind. We are intentionally trying to create something that’s already here.
And here, we may find that it’s enough to notice that what’s here is already noticed and allowed.
It becomes a bit more relaxed and effortless. We are more consciously aligned with what’s already here.
This is similar to noticing that our mental representations of our experience is always one step behind. It’s about the past, what’s already gone.
I have to admit I hesitate in writing about this. It’s something we naturally discover as we explore these practices. And hearing about this too soon can just get the mind jumbled and make a simple practice of noticing and allowing more effortful and confused. At the same time, it’s OK to say something about it and invite people to do the practice in a simple way and see what they find over time. And who knows, for someone reading this it may be just the right timing for this pointer.