One of the few things I know about meditation is that some people try and get to a stage where they clear their minds of all thoughts. She explained that this is not the kind of meditation that she does, and agreed with me that it is extremely difficult (if not impossible) to think about nothing. I have no difficulty thinking about insignificant things, but I struggle to think about nothing at all!
For her, meditation is best done in a group and is about tapping into the energy of others. I found it a difficult concept to understand, hence my brief explanation, and I am doing some reading to better understand it. However, it seemed to have done her a great deal of good – she said she felt at peace, and had ceased taking medication for depression as a result of the meditation. I then asked her if meditation helps with the big questions of life. For instance:
- what is the meaning of life (what am I here for)?
- what happens to me when I die?
- on what basis do I make moral decisions?
She said meditation does not provide any answers to these things, instead it actually helps her to not ask questions.
I don’t see how not asking questions is a helpful strategy. Sure, it takes no time and effort to not ask these questions, so it’s certainly the easiest path. Yet when the rubber hits the road (as it did for me again the other day when I attended a funeral), you cannot help but ask these questions.
Another person at the conference explained to me that he doesn’t know what will happen to him when he dies – he’ll just find out when it happens. But what happens if it’s bad news? It’s like saying “I don’t know what will happen when I drive off that cliff – I’ll just find out when it happens”! But if you could know, wouldn’t you want to? Wouldn’t you at least try and find out?
I am naturally a questioning person, and I’m not content not knowing the answers to the questions I have. I realise not everyone is the same. However, I struggle to understand how you could be so disinterested in questions of such importance.
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On the topic of what happens after death, I have also wondered how people can take very little to no interest at all.
Whilst I cant speak for the people you have spoken of, I know that in the case of a few of my relatives, it is a fear of knowing what will happen to them. They have acknowledged ‘a god’ and the prospect of eternal life after death (after the death of a key figure in the family ofcause) but continually to deny making changes within themselves with the attitude, “i’ll be right, i’ve never killed anyone…” By totally ignoring the subject, they are able to live their life happy and guilt free.
Unfortunately the inevitable will catch up with them, as it will with all of us.
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