Why don't I go deep anymore?
Remember those early days of your Vedic meditation journey? When it felt like you were diving into the depths of complete nothingness? If it seems like those experiences are harder to come by lately, don’t worry. Let's examine some possible reasons why.
Increased stress and mental turbulence.
If we’re going through a particularly challenging time, an increase in stress will often lead to the body prioritising stress release in meditation. The subtle physiological activity associated with stress release will cause the mind to move in meditation, which means more thoughts. As we're skimming the surface, it might feel like not much is happening, but so much is happening on the subtle physiological level as the nervous system works to normalise. Surrendering to this process is key. Know that the subjective experience is always temporary and that we’re giving our nervous system the rest it needs to process and recalibrate by continuing to practice effortlessly. One will always feel better after a meditation session, regardless of if it feels deep.
You haven't been meditating consistently or twice a day.
If we’ve let our practice drop to once a day or even every other day, our body's natural intelligence will prioritise stress release. This means, you guessed it, more thoughts in meditation. It’s a good thing. We want the stress out. Picking back up to twice a day meditation should result in more varied experiences, some deep more expansive meditations as well as the successful stress releasing sessions.
You're resisting, controlling or fighting thoughts.
The harder we try to go deep by fighting thoughts, focusing, using effort or forcing ourselves onto the mantra, the more buoyant, uncomfortable and agitating our experience will be. We may even feel a slight headache. Focus, concentration and effort happen on the thinking layer of the mind, the very layer we are furiously trying to get away from. It makes sense that we won't go beyond thinking by concentrating more. Remember, thoughts are not the enemy; they indicate that some very effective stress release is occurring. The only option is to surrender to whatever experience we’re having. Allow the thoughts to come; when it feels effortless, lazily return to the mantra.
Expectations and attachments.
The more we chase silence, the more elusive it becomes. Beginning our practice with an expectation or anticipation of any particular result will have us stuck on the surface before we’ve even started. When one describes their practice as feeling “hard”, this is often the culprit. Vedic meditation should always feel easy. It’s only hard when we’re attached to the eyes-closed experience being different. If meditation is not feeling easy, check in with yourself; are you resisting the experience? Can you let go? Can you surrender and take whatever experience you're having as it comes, knowing something good is happening? Ironically, this is probably when you’ll drop in!
You’re deeper than you realise.
Whatever we experience regularly, we normalise. We are often much deeper in meditation than we subjectively appreciate. We can be sitting in meditation, thinking not much is happening, but if someone interrupts us suddenly or we hear a sudden loud noise, the heart rate quickly elevates, and it can be quite jarring. Sometimes, contrasting experiences like this highlight the depth and make us realise how rested we are.
Exclusive transcendence is a beginner phenomenon.
In the early days of Vedic meditation, experiences of "total transcendence" – marked by complete mental silence, bliss, and boundlessness – are often profound and dramatic. However, as we continue to practice regularly for months or years, transcendence gradually stabilises. Our meditations often feel deep but are now simultaneously infused with subtle abstract thinking. Eventually, this depth with simultaneous thought starts to infuse our eyes-open experience, and we can move in the world, thinking, speaking, and acting without losing that baseline of transcendental awareness. It becomes much rarer to go deep because we are deep. This experience of being in the boundary land of thought and transcendence is known in Sanskrit as Ritam.
As Ritam develops through our continued meditation practice, an increasingly refined perception of the world around us begins to unfold. We respond to challenges with greater ease, tap into intuition and creativity more readily, and experience a greater sense of inner fulfilment. While those early experiences of transcendence are transformative and feel amazing, exclusive transcendence is a beginner phenomenon. The real gold lies in the gradual cultivation of Ritam. So, if you find yourself longing for those early experiences, remind yourself that something even greater is unfolding.
Most importantly, if we keep showing up twice daily without attachment, practising effortlessly and systematically as we’ve been taught, the results will compound over time. Regardless of what our practice feels like with eyes closed, life with eyes open gradually gets better.
Sent with love,
Stef
If you want to learn Vedic meditation, would like personalised support to refine your current practice, or want to explore options to take your practice to the next level, get in touch.