Meditation—Listening to the Universe

There is so much noise in this life.

Noise from the outside world, noise from our responsibilities, noise from the anxious tangle of thoughts inside our heads.

Many people believe meditation is about silencing all of it.

Quieting the mind completely.

And for some, that is true.

But the truth is, there are many forms of meditation. None of them are wrong.

It depends entirely on what you seek.

As an anxious person, I used to believe meditation meant shutting my mind down — flipping a switch into silence.

But my mind is a thought machine.

Even for the most practiced meditators, thoughts arise.

It is the nature of the mind to think.

What I discovered was this:

The more I thought about my thoughts, the more I thought.

The more I tried to quiet my mind, the louder it became.

It wasn’t silence I needed.

It was presence.

The turning point came when I stopped trying to trap my mind in stillness.

Instead, I began to shift my focus toward my body, toward my breath, toward the moment.

I grounded myself in embodiment.

With every inhale, I connected to my heart.

With every exhale, I softened into my body.

And then, I listened outward.

Not inward into the chaotic whirl of my thoughts — but outward, beyond the veil of ordinary senses.

I imagined the veil thinning.

I attuned to the quiet hum of life itself.

In that space, I didn’t hear “nothing.”

I heard the energy of the trees.

I heard the buzz of life-force in the silence.

I heard the universe.

—

🌿 The Turning Point: My Staring Contest with the Darkness

After my mother passed in 2018, my world unraveled.

I fell into deep darkness, and I found myself locked in what I can only describe as a staring contest with the void.

I had once heard the saying:

“If you stare into the darkness, the darkness will stare back at you.”

And it did.

I don’t know why, but I refused to look away.

Fears surfaced.

Monsters of my imagination crawled into view.

Phantoms of evil spirits cloaked in shadow seemed to dance at the edge of my vision.

And still, I held my gaze.

It wasn’t bravado.

It was something deeper — a knowing that if I blinked, if I turned away, I would lose something essential.

I cannot explain to you what happened fully.

I don’t have neat answers.

But when I held my gaze, when I refused to flinch, I crossed into something beyond fear.

Beyond the imagined monsters.

Beyond my grief.

It wasn’t a monster waiting for me in the dark.

It was the edge of knowing.

Not knowledge like reading a book and collecting facts.

No.

This was the presence of something older, something unnameable, something alive.

And then — as if a doorway had unlocked — my dreams changed.

I dreamt of my mother.

I began to feel her presence.

I saw signs.

I heard her voice — and even my uncle’s voice — clear as day, as if they were in the room with me.

I do not fully understand this.

I don’t pretend to.

But I know this:

There is something on the other side of fear.

Something on the other side of noise.

Something waiting in the deep listening.

—

🎶 Meditation Is Not Just Quieting the Mind — It’s Listening Beyond

Meditation is not about wrestling your mind into silence.

It is about softening the flood of everyday noise so you can listen to what lies beneath it.

It is about becoming present enough to hear the quiet hum beneath the clamor.

The life between your breaths.

The pulse beneath your thoughts.

And when you do — you may begin to hear things you never thought possible:

• The whisper of the trees.

• The subtle signals of the universe.

• The voices of those who have passed, reminding you that you are never alone.

There is wisdom in the stillness.

Not because the world is quiet,

But because you have attuned yourself to listen beyond the noise.

This is meditation.

This is communion.

This is listening to the universe.

—

🧭 Gentle Invitations for Your Practice:

1. Let go of the idea of “perfect” silence.

Thoughts will arise. Let them pass like clouds.

2. Focus on your body, not just your mind.

Your breath, your heartbeat, your senses can anchor you.

3. Listen outward.

Imagine the veil thinning. Listen beyond what you expect.

4. Welcome what arises.

Even if fear comes, meet it with steady eyes.

5. Trust the conversation.

The universe is not always loud. Sometimes, it speaks in the softest echoes.

—

💌 Reflection:

Your practice of meditation is not about becoming thoughtless.

It is about becoming deeply present, so that even amidst your thoughts, you can still hear the quiet voice of the universe.

Even in the chaos.

Even in the noise.

Even in the darkest places of your heart.

The universe is speaking.

And you — dear soul — have always been capable of listening.