First, let’s figure out what meditation originally was. If we turn to our respected Wikipedia, we will be given the following definition:
Meditation (from the Latin meditatio – reflection) is a kind of exercise for the psyche used within the framework of spiritual-religious or health-improving practice, or a special mental state arising from these exercises (or for other reasons). Notice the word “reflection” … We’ll come back to this later.

Meditation, originally, is a way to awaken the human nature. It does not require any work with thoughts, affirmations, no self-hypnosis, etc. Instead, we go to a complete dis-identification with the thought process. We do not interfere or get involved with incoming thoughts, emotions, or desires. Instead, we are witnessing them. By practicing meditation, after a while, we cease to suffer from the chaotic “cloud of chatter” in the mind, and the mind itself becomes clear and precise, turning into a great tool. We become the masters of our minds.

Often our mind works idly, chaotically. We think about something all the time – about the past, the future, and things that don’t exist in the present. We constantly evaluate and analyze everything – all this consumes a huge amount of our energy. Most people do not have the skills to stop the process of their uncontrolled thinking, except for artificial means that give a short-term effect of quieting the mind, such as food, sex, music, smoking, drugs, alcohol, and other sorts of entertainment. But in meditation, we can simply not get involved in the stream of thoughts, remaining a witness to the happening. Therefore, if we interpret the definition of meditation as reflection, we can expand it in the following context: dis-identification with the thinking process and not thinking about something.

Today many people use meditation as a technique to help them to relax and achieve other positive effects. But if you go deeper, this is a technique that is an integral part of the educational process in spiritual schools, leading us beyond the ego. This special type of inner work allows you to immerse yourself in the subtle layers of consciousness, thereby awakening human nature. Thus, if we use serious techniques, they help us to speed up our spiritual evolution.

The practice of meditation allows us to open up the very foundation of our lives. When this happens, all spheres of our lives become enriched. It occurs in the most natural and easy way. In our usual life, in society, we chase pleasures that our perception organs, our minds strive for (to eat something tasty, buy something, etc., trying to fill the inner emptiness in every possible way).

And in fact, our life experience tells us that when we are searching for fulfillment outside, in the end, there is nothing that can bring us complete satisfaction. When one pleasure ends, we start searching for the next. But when our minds turn inside, towards the very essence of itself, to its absolute source, then in the most wondrous way, we can find total satisfaction and fulfillment.

The mind is always searching for fullness and completeness. It constantly strives towards something greater – more knowledge, more power, more influence, and so on. But when the mind discovers its own origin, it can reach the highest completeness of knowledge. Not intellectual knowledge but “the fruit of all knowledge”.

This is not specific knowledge about something, but it is the purpose of any knowledge. This is the absolute, saturated fullness of knowledge. At the level of ego, any situation is “kicking” us: we feel as if we are insignificant, small, we are oppressed and offended, squeezed into certain limits and our sense of individuality wants to break out and prove its own importance. And at the base of this feeling lies the simple desire of “I,” who wants to become Great.

It shows as an aspiration for significance and self-importance in our everyday life. As a matter of fact, we artificially pump up this feeling of individualization to be perceived as someone big and significant. But when this feeling of individuality finds its own source, free from any limitations, this sense of individuality passes from a small, point-like perception of itself into Infinity. We may say that the individual Self gains the Universal, Absolute quality. This is the very feeling of Unity with all the surrounding space that every human being subconsciously strives for.

WHO AM I
We start as the mind with a limited sense of ego, narrowed to the frameworks of identity. The purpose of life is to extend our consciousness to an Absolute level. In the first step, the life goals are focused on tangible values, power, and glory. It brings disappointment instead of the expected happiness sooner or later. This is the level of a “deeply sleeping person”.
Then the knowledge of the world will form new values: traveling, study of science, and art. But it’s still a fight for pleasure and comfort. When one is fed up with it, he often faces the loss of the meaning of life. He can’t fill the emptiness, which leads to depression.
From this moment, the inner search for the meaning of life awakens in him. A person is mature enough for questions: “Who am I?”, “What am I doing here?”, “What is all this all for?” etc. Generally speaking, it’s a transition to the second step.

SEARCH
In the beginning, this search is chaotic. We are looking for advice in books, ways to achieve new states and opportunities, seminars, religion, and various techniques of personal growth. After gaining the experience, the person understands that achieving certain states is only a stepping stone.
Experiences lead to the directed search with an understanding of the goal. We feel a persistent desire to wake up, to get rid of all the limits and restrictions of the mind.
Taking the Path assumes not so many external, but lots of internal changes. We look for the Teacher and follow his instructions. This stage includes joint practice with like-minded people. Such a group accelerates the Awakening, purifies us, and helps us to move forwards.
At the School, we aim to form a systematic understanding of the Path under the Teacher’s guidance. Each student should decide to go through their Path as quickly and comfortably as possible. The main goal is to complete spiritual release or exit from the “matrix of the mind’s world.” Exit from the “matrix of the mind” is often called liberation, realization.

DO WE HAVE A CHOICE?
The entire universe serves a single goal – to help us realize ourselves completely. So none of us really have a choice. The only essential part is the time and the amount of suffering we will experience to come to this understanding. The harder we resist this process, the longer and more difficult life will become. But we all have to find it out sooner or later.

THE DECISION TO GET OUT OF THE “MATRIX OF THE MIND”
When we feel the goal clearly and decide to move towards it directly, we begin a goal-oriented search. This is the third step. We understand and realize that the meaning of life is to exit “the matrix of the mind”. Everything around us helps us to move towards spiritual realization.
This is called Getting on The Path.
All the changes happen inside. From the outside, you live your normal life and perform all the duties.
Before getting on the Path, one has to understand and admit that he is in a deep sleep and slave of his mind. This is not so easy to accept.
On the Path, one acts decisively. All questions and doubts go away, and he desires to wake up, to achieve spiritual realization.

THE PATH
Moving along the Path revives inner freedom and happiness. One is getting acquainted with the Light – the creative life force. Interacting with the Light is the beginning stage of Awakening and further transformation. After that, one becomes as Light more and more. The Source of Light (God, The Absolute, Dao, etc.) becomes essential for a person.
The place after we exit the “matrix of the mind” is called Home. It’s impossible to describe all the further steps of personal development. There are many traps on our way. Together with the Teacher and a community of like-minded people, it’s easy to cope with them.
Taking the Path is to come back to oneself.

Awakening is an evolutionary stage of human development when you discover your true nature and become free. You realize that you are much more than just mind and body. There is no you anymore. There’s a unified field that recognizes itself in the physical world.
You see your reflection in everything, and that is you.
The irony is that no matter how hard one tries, that feeling of awakening cannot be described.
Experiencing it destroys all prior concepts, and perception of the world changes dramatically. Awakening is the absence of resistance to life. It’s a total acceptance at every moment, like a constant state
of presence.

How does it benefit you? It gives you a sense of happiness, freedom, and peace. Awakening answers all philosophical questions, even questions of life and death, which become irrelevant because one understands that he always is and will always be. Sooner or later, we will all be awakened. There is just one question – whether it will be easy or through suffering. Awakening is the only thing that people seek throughout their lives. We all come here to become awakened and to move forwards. Only after that does one starts to see where to go next.
What stands behind this awakening?
That is the depth that gives transfiguration.

There is wonderful news: after awakening, the evolution does not end!
The purpose of life is to expand our consciousness to Absolute United Consciousness.

We begin the development of consciousness with limited senses, narrowed to the framework of one man’s personality.
Awakening is the steady exit to a higher level of consciousness. It is the beginning. You reveal your nature and feel unity with the world. The mind occupies its proper place as the obedient tool. Awakening is similar to the birth of a child. This child has yet to grow up. The process of growing up is the process of transfiguration. In other words, metamorphosis is the further release from all the conceptions, immersion in the deeper layers of pure consciousness. When you become similar to it, similar to love, you return to the origin.
Words end here. There is only experience and cognition itself in different forms. There is no more separation, identification or affection. Life is full of joy, love, and peace. Everything is perfect here. The worldview is outside the scopes of mind, body, and personality. And it is wonderful!

Transformation is switching to bestowal. Before the awakening, a man is selfish. He lives only for himself, for the realization of his interests. After awakening, this way of life feels unnatural.
Bestowal is passing of energy of light through our being. It is the passing of this energy for the awakening of other people.
Everything is intended to awaken, feel true nature, and go into transfiguration.
The depth of self-cognition is limitless. If it suddenly seems to you that everything in the world is clear – it means you stopped your development. The more you develop, the greater stream of energy of light you can conduct through yourself to return to other people.

The Enlightenment is a mature stage of awakening, the revelation of the divine nature of a person, passing a greater stream of light.
The complete realization of your nature is an exit from all the scopes and limits to the unified level of consciousness.
It is important to have a teacher, who is more experienced than you, and who helps to move along the Path without stopping.

Whether we want it or not, the main law of nature is evolution. Our whole life is the subject of this law.
Let’s see a simple diagram that shows the process of human evolution:

The person’s development range is the interval from “-6” to “0”. The majority of our society, approximately 99% of people, live this way.
In this stage of evolution, we go through harsh, life-threatening circumstances and suffering.
It takes a huge number of lifetimes to overcome this phase in an unconscious state.
Conscious work that changes our perception leads one to the “0” point which is called the awakening.
The numbers from “-6″ to” 0” reflect the level of unconsciousness and ego in man’s life. The further you stand from “0” to the left, the higher is the chance of suffering. This segment is called the great dream, the world of shadows and illusions. The closer to the “0” point we are, the less selfish one’s lifestyle is.
Within the mind, the law of life is an escape from suffering to pleasure.
Being in this stage, one associates himself with the body and mind.
The “0” point is the shifting point.
This threshold is often called Awakening. After that, the mind is no longer a dictator, but an instrument, like an arm or a leg. It is no longer our master but a manageable player.
From this moment on, perception and interaction with the outside world go from the mind – the most primitive level of consciousness, to the heart – the highest level of consciousness.
It is the turning point from life in ego, a personal desire for pleasure, to life in service – to help others in their development.
The vision and feeling of the world around us become more and more real. One realizes that he is the body, the mind, and the soul. The separation from the world around us leaves, and the awareness of unity comes.
One wise man described the Awakening in a few words. Here’s what he said: “There is no suffering!”
Preparation for passing through the “0” point is the most difficult work to be done by each person, whether he wants it or not. There is a deep reevaluation of life values and an understanding that ego does not allow us to develop further. That is what makes us suffer. Therefore, it is better to work on self-transformation consciously and do it together! Then most unpleasant effects will be minimized, and the whole process can take only a few years, even months!
Often a circle is drawn around the “0” point. Both the mind and the “heart” coexist in this area. A person can get there spontaneously from time to time, even without any training. But it is impossible to go beyond the border to the right side of the “0” point without fulfilling certain conditions. This is still an unstable zone.
Everything that happens after the transformation is impossible to describe because it goes beyond comprehension.
To achieve the level of “Pure consciousness” one should have purity in his body, mind, emotions, and energy. At this stage, conscious liberation from all manifestations of ego takes place.
The following levels of consciousness are “Cosmic”, “Divine,” and “Unified”. At these levels, one interacts with the Light directly.
The Light, relatively speaking, is the creative energy of the Unified field (the Source of life, God, Creator, Atman, etc.). It is absolute love and bestowal. The Light creates the world around us and fills it with life.
At these levels of development, one channels this light and radiates it into our material world. It removes the cause of all problems.
The more Light one transmits, the more similar to this Light he becomes.
In the unconscious life, one is fascinated by Light’s forms. While evolving, one shows a bigger interest in the Light itself, and its source.
A complete exit from the illusions of the mind (matrix) and our visible world happens on the “Unified” level. This is the way out from the cycle of rebirth, the so-called wheel of Samsara.
This transmission is called the Ascension in many religions.
The interval from “-6” to “+4” is just a simulator for our improvement. One should pass it as quickly as possible to truly start living. To feel real life, and not just merely struggle for a comfortable existence or survival.
We should go for it! There is our Home!