The purpose of meditation and similar mind quieting practices is, at least in part, to extricate oneself from the relentlessness of the mind’s thinking. There is true value in that but it does not mean one should view thinking as a negative thing. What is almost never appreciated, is that thinking is also an integral part of Becoming’s beautification process. That being the case, I don’t “think” that we should disparage thinking (the mind), as many seem to do. If, as I’ve proposed, Becoming’s choices down through the eons have localized a focal point in this place (me), then along that pathway I, and we, have chosen the tools necessary to complete both our personal desires of perfection, and our less conscious or unconscious broader communal commitments as well. Thinking is clearly used in the way humans both assess what our current status is and the direction that we intend to go next. It is the tool by which we assess, inquire and then take action on what was perfect a moment ago but, after appreciation, leaves us looking for the next best thing.
Now we should always stop and first delight in (appreciate) what we did create, as that is why we’re creating. We have every right, and it is our nature to delight in all that has been created, whether by us, other humans, the planet or the broader universal intent of Being. Thus pleasure seeking is also fundamental to our individual experience of Being’s delight. This tends to be disparaged in some circles, and was the case in my ashram days. A renunciate gave up all desires of the flesh and that path was to be admired by the rest of us. This process was intended to aide in letting go of all participation in this “illusion” we found ourselves in, and that work was seen as a serious business.
It is true that with this underlying pursuit of perfection and delight in such a vast energetic playground, we naturally have minds endlessly searching for the next best experience, so there is value in letting go of that stream of energy and allowing it to go on its merry way without “us” – that is, our particular attention. This is, to some degree, what sleep does, but doing so consciously does seem to awaken us to those more subtle energies that reside in the deeper layers of that dynamic flow. From that vantage point, the intent for beautification takes on a much broader picture of what is beautiful, as stated above. It takes into account more people, things and experiences, which make clear that more complex methods are required in order to impact the grander vistas that become visible to us. This striving for a broader view of perfection is reflected beautifully in the preamble to the U.S. Constitution:
We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. Though our interpretation of this document is still evolving, every single individual is perceived as having the “god given right” to create and appreciate as they please. The impetus for this Constitution was dissatisfaction, a dissatisfaction which may have been initiated by individual circumstance, but thereafter transitioned into an inquiry of some larger issue underlying that discontent, something which became visible due to its pervasive presence within the community of individuals.
So the experience of discontent or dissatisfaction is not a bad thing in and of itself, as long as it is used to propel us into action rather than a place within which to dwell. From very subtle to oppressively inescapable ways, discontent is a precursor to assessing what comes next in Becoming’s ongoing intent to beautify on both individual and collective levels. It is an observation from, “what’s not perfect now?”. At some point the process transits from the personal “This is no longer the most beautiful possible experience so what can I create next?” to the collective “What will we create next to improve our experience.” In fact, I believe, the individuated “I” is at this point a manifestation of the “We”.
Each and every level of consciousness reveals what can be delighted in, what isn’t perfect from the present point of view and in which direction I/we might take perfection next. So at least some of the options in every moment are to delight in what’s present, assess and create anew from where one is or shift to a different point of view, where the same three options are also present. Meditation is one tool for shifting to a new point of view and this particular tool is what is often unearths these grander views (vertical travel) rather than jumping to something different within the same frequency neighborhood (horizontal travel). This vertical “within-trospection” if you will, and tuning to a broader collective intent, represents the deeper currents in which we swim and from whence we came. Bringing those more global intents down into the frequency ranges in which practical manifestation can be experienced by others, can be seen as our collective – thus perhaps “divine” – intent.