README.FIRST

Please avoid reading other participants’ reports before completing your own._

I’d love to start defining terms like “what is meditation” and so on, but doing so would undermine the exploratory nature of this approach. Actually, it’s worth unpacking this: I had to introduce the term “meditation” at the outset, because otherwise, how would I invite you to join this project?

If I tried something like, “We’re going to explore consciousness and its tools while sitting with our eyes closed!”, I’d be introducing the concept of “consciousness” right away, which is also vague and subjective. Everyone has their own idea of what it means.

Our goal here is to strike a careful balance. We need just enough terminology to get started, without bringing in concepts that we haven’t collectively discovered. That’s why I’ll temporarily drop “consciousness” and stick to the bare-bones concept of “meditation” as our minimal starting point.

Similarly, I’ll provide some guidelines—“set & setting”—to help make the meditation more successful, but I won’t explain the reasoning behind these choices yet. That explanation would require introducing more concepts, and I want to avoid that at this stage. You’ll need to trust me on some of this. Trust itself is an interesting topic that we’ll likely revisit later; for now, just note your reaction to this request.

Basic Inventory

Let’s agree (hopefully) on a baseline set of axioms and terminology, aiming to keep them as universal as possible. As a reader:

  • You are alive. Something is happening that allows you to say, “I am.”
  • You are not dreaming right now. Something lets you assert, “I am not dreaming.”
  • You have senses (vision, hearing, etc.) that let you perceive an external world.
  • You have a body, and you can voluntarily control parts of it.

TASK 1.1

I’ve missed some obvious items in the inventory above. Your task is to extend this list and write it down (to share later with the group). Focus on what you can state about yourself without any doubt, and which doesn’t rely on external sources. Reflect on how you know these things. How do you know you have a body? How do you know you have senses?

TASK 1.2

After completing Task 1.1, try a simple action: raise your hand. Just lift it a bit, then move it up and down. Repeat this motion. Now, write down your answer to the question: “How do I move my hand?” If you believe there are distinct steps to this process, list them out in detail. Be as thorough as you can.

First Meditation

We’re now going to do our first meditation session. This is an important one, and it’s best approached with some unknowns still in place. I’ll outline an ideal “set & setting” and provide an audio file with my guidance. Don’t listen to it beforehand. Instead, prepare your environment first, and begin when you’re ready and all conditions are (mostly) met.

Place & Body

  • For this meditation, you won’t need to close your eyes, so the space doesn’t need to be dark. You should be able to see clearly. If you wear glasses or contact lenses, keep them on.
  • Set aside about 1 hour total: roughly 20 minutes for the meditation, 20 minutes for post-reflection, and 20+ minutes to write your report/summary.
  • Ensure you won’t be interrupted. Ask family or housemates to respect this 1-hour window.
  • (CRITICAL) Silence your phone’s notifications. Ideally, keep it out of reach. If you must use a phone to play the audio, be very careful and minimize distractions. Phones are potent sources of interruption, and we want to isolate ourselves from that.
  • (IMPORTANT) Your posture matters. Ideally, sit on the floor with a straight spine. A half-lotus position is great if your body allows it, but comfort is key. You need a position you can maintain for about 30 minutes. Don’t lie in bed, don’t twist or curl up. Choose something from this list except option #8.
  • Arrange your environment so you have various objects within your field of view—both to the left and right—at some distance (about 1.5m or more). A good setup might be sitting in the middle of a room facing a distant wall. A poor setup might be sitting too close to a wall or corner. For instance, something like this arrangement: alt
  • (CRITICAL) In the center of your “viewport,” about 1.5m–2.5m away, place a single “Object” for your focus. Since you’ll likely be seated on the floor, put the object on a low table or stand. It can be almost anything small and simple (around 3cm, a couple of inches). I personally use a piece of paper with a solid circle drawn on it. A pebble works, too. Avoid anything complex, meaningful, or distracting like a candle or a photograph. Choose something neutral.

TASK 2

Again, avoid reading others’ reports before completing your own.

Now that your “set & setting” is prepared—your posture chosen, object placed, and audio ready—go ahead and press Play. Follow the instructions.

After

Afterward, write a detailed report of your observations. At this stage, feel free to introduce any new terms or concepts that help explain what happened. Just try to define them so we can relate, compare notes, and find common ground later on. Also, feel free to repeat if needed. You got the idea, you don’t need my voice to repeat. This meditation can and should be repeated quite a few times.