Lesson 5: Doing nothing

Why?

I want to introduce you to the style of meditation that I am currently doing. I love this and that is why I want to teach you this. There is a catch; it is very abstract and it might not resonate with a lot of you.

Explaining the reason why you should try it is also harder. The goal of meditation in old traditions was to overcome suffering/transcend the ego. The ego here is different from the West. It is the part of your consciousness that feels like you and separated from the world. When you read a book for example it feels like you are looking at a page. With this method, we try to go beyond the ego and use awareness directly to be aware. This leads to the so called non dual state. Here the thing that is perceived and the perceiver collapse in just the perceiving. Notice that it is impossible to understand, because you have to experience it to fully understand it. In the end this leads to a different way of perceiving through consciousness, which is usually described by peace, joy, and flow. You feel connected with life and flow through it. One of my favorite ways to describe it is soul nourishing.

This can already be abstract and that is fine. We are talking about a conscious state which is very hard to describe. The closest thing might be when you are in the most beautiful nature or see the night sky. It feels like ‘you’ drop away and merge with the surrounding.

The power of non-doing

The core idea of this practice is that while total awakening is already present in your mind at every moment, we often have trouble noticing it or contacting it (to say the least). One of the main blockages or obscurations that gets in the way is the sense of being a doer. Doership is the core of the sense of self, the heart of the ego. When you let go of the sense of effort, the sense of trying, the sense of choosing and doing, then there is a corresponding relaxing and diminishment of the ego

The full instructions for the Do Nothing meditation technique are: sit down and do nothing.

However, most people need a little more instruction than that, so let’s unpack it a bit. Even though the meditation is called Do Nothing, you’re actually doing a little tiny bit of something: you’re paying attention to the feeling of doing something. It doesn’t matter where your mind goes. It can go to all sorts of distractions, and that’s fine. You are not trying to meditate, focus, or concentrate in any way. You’re simply noticing when you feel that you’re doing something and releasing that. If it feels like you’re getting caught up in a thought, release it. Don’t just sit there following thoughts, planning, evaluating, etc. That is considered to be doing something. Just let go of that. Just keep relaxing away from all tightening, constriction, or sense that you’re doing anything.

Releasing here means to relax and stop involving the part that feels like you in any activity. It is like unclenching your fist.

Make sure your awareness is bright and you are not fading or sleepy. Eventually, the mind feels very spacious, open, and relaxed, but also bright, clear, and vivid.