Meditation and Beyond Elliott S. Dacher, M.D.

Consciousness is not a “thing.” It has no form, shape, color, texture, weight, mass, contour, or location. These qualities refer to tangible objects with tangible characteristics that can be described and communicated through language. That is not so with consciousness. Although it is the central aspect of human life, in its full scope it defies the limited capacities of the spoken word.Join me as we explore in discussion and practice the three aspects of consciousness: awareness, absence of ...

There are five increasingly complex and dysfunctional levels of ego development, the development of our personal "I." These are: the Mere "I," the Reified "I," the Self-cherishing "I," the Protective and Defensive "I," and the Social "I." As adults we attempt to function with this complex and afflictive sense of self. Long forgotten is the simple, easeful, and innocent “mere I,” which was once sufficient to navigate worldly life and enjoy it. Instead of upgrading the “mere “I” as ne...

While meditating we’ve all had the experience of a blissful moment of serenity, clarity, or realization, only to be pulled back into the stresses and strains of daily life. That can feel quite frustrating and even disempowering. We touch the glory of the sacred and are thrown back into the mundane. We think that our experience and insights will change our life, but too often they don’t. Know that you are not alone. Consider the words of St. Francis of Assisi: Wear the world like a ...

The transcendent state of consciousness is a non-sensory experience. It is a non-ordinary experience. It can neither be experienced or known through our senses, nor through our usual intellectual capacities. It is an inner, personal, “invisible” experience. Words that point towards it include: transpersonal, timeless, infinite, wholeness, natural, all-embracing, essential being, pure perception, final truth, sacred, and divine. Although these words point towards a transcendent consciousness, ...

For a young child, prior to psychological development, the world is experienced through an innocent present moment awareness. As adults, our world is experienced through memory, concepts, interpretations, and perceptual patterns. We no longer experience what is as is. We seek to re-experience this lost self in the transient and perishable objects of mind. The personal mind jumps from object to object, which is familiar to us as the busy non-stop mind. That is our usual life. What h...

Born with a mind and body, we are destined to develop a personal identity as a vehicle for living human life. It can be no other way. It’s an acquired mental structure that assists us in navigating daily life. As we gain greater consciousness, we recognize the limitations and pitfalls of identifying exclusively with our acquired self.We are not born with a personal self. We are born into presence, a simple awareness and presence. We never forget this essence of our being and we in...