2.3.5 The transformation of consciousness. 

 Since we in the West know so little of the transformation of consciousness, which is the natural goal for each one of us, we lack both the framework and the terms of reference to articulate the experience. This, in part, is why it is difficult to describe the successful experience of meditation. Nonetheless, the benefits are substantial and indeed, in their full significance, immeasurable.

Whilst these benefits cannot be spelled out, pointers can be provided for a consciousness experiencing them, giving a framework within which to understand them. This is to be found in observing the passage of thoughts during meditation. After a time, when the work has begun to develop and mature, it becomes possible to experience the following.

One learns to focus the attention on one’s breathing, and is able to monitor its duration and frequency. At the same time, one has learnt to halt the flow of fantasy, to end a particular stream of thought at will. One is sitting quite still, the breathing quiet, relaxed and natural, and one is able to move the attention from the breathing to the stream of thoughts at will.

This is a position of great ambiguity, and many wonderful experiences are possible in this state. It is very difficult to concentrate on the breathing for sustained periods; always the thoughts drift off. Equally if one exercises self-discipline and ends the stream of fantasy by becoming aware of what one is thinking, it is very hard to restrict the thoughts to one’s breathing.

In that experience of pivoting between arid fantasy and pure clarity of awareness of breathing lies the seed of profound transformation of consciousness. If one continues in this practice of alternating between simple awareness of the present moment and exercising conscious control over the flow of thoughts by simply ending the current thought, one gradually becomes aware of a different type of thought. This is a product of the sixth sense, insight or intuition.

These thoughts are quite different from the thoughts of ordinary consciousness. They are not a reflection on reality, as are ordinary thoughts; rather they are a direct experiencing of reality. Consciousness and reality are in the process of integrating.

These thoughts are an organic part of reality. They reflect an awareness of reality in a particular consciousness, in a form appropriate to the level of clarity and terms of reference of that person at that place and time. The experience of these thoughts can be couched within any religious or spiritual framework; equally it is accessible to those who operate without such a framework, such as atheists or agnostics.