Most human beings live in deep illusion – an illusion of hope, of the future, of tomorrow. As we are, we cannot live without self-deception. Friedrich Nietzsche once said that humans cannot live with the truth; they need dreams, deceptions, and lies to exist.
A person can embark on the path of meditation only when they are exhausted and frustrated by their mind. Meditation is not for them if they still hope to gain something from their mind. Total frustration is needed – a realization that this projecting mind is useless; a hopeful mind is nonsensical and leads nowhere. The mind acts to close a person’s eyes, intoxicating them and never allowing reality to be revealed. The mind protects us from objective reality.
Many become interested in meditation, but few embark on the path because interest comes only from the mind. People hope that meditation may gain them something – perhaps they can become perfect through meditation or achieve a blissful state of perfect existence. When that is the case, there is no connection between the person and meditation because all desires and hopes are of the mind.
Meditation means one no longer harbors hope, no future expectations, and no more desires. At that point, a person is genuinely ready to know what “is”. They become interested only in what is, not what might be, should be, or could be. They are interested only in what is real because only reality can free them; only reality can become liberation.
It takes courage to confront and endure reality bravely. No matter what, such a moment comes to everyone sooner or later. Every human being comes to that moment when they feel entirely hopeless. Absolute nonsense engulfs them. When they become aware that whatever they do, wherever they go, their entire life is without deeper meaning – suddenly, all hope leaves them, the future departs, and for the first time, they harmonize with the present moment. They find themselves face-to-face with reality. Only then are they ready for the path of meditation.
Until that moment, people may persist in performing asanas and postures, but that is not meditation. Meditation is turning inward. It is a total reversal. Meditation is not belief, religion, or philosophy but practice. When the moment comes that a person feels all directions are blocked, all pathways have vanished, every desire now tastes bitter, every pleasure leads to disappointment, and all hopes and dreams are suspended, they can then choose the discipline of meditation to change themselves.
By objectively understanding our own psychology, we empower ourselves to invest effort and practice in our journey of self-realization. This understanding is not just a tool, but a source of motivation that propels us forward on our path.
The book “The Fourth Way” by P. D. Ouspensky can help you confront yourself and reality as it is for the first time, without any mythological, religious, or mental projections. All other paths have common patterns and conditions imposed on the individual. “The Fourth Way” is a process of individuation that discards all external conditioning. Therefore, it alone leads a person back to their true Self.
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