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Reverse Meditation
Oct 2025
Meditation is not a temporary escape from reality; instead, it’s a doorway into it. Reverse the way you perceive the world and your own emotions — it’s a perspective that comes from the view of emptiness.
Recently been into this book by Andrew Holecek, who also wrote Dream Yoga. Some thoughts to share:
“Nurture your meditation by destroying it.”
— Khenpo Tsültrim Gyamtso Rinpoche
This is an explicit way to help us visualize how things manifest in a relatively destined way when they become substantial in this dimension — a dimension built on duality, what we call “reality.” But the heart comes from a place of oneness, or emptiness, that can only manifest both at the same time — meaning good within the bad, bad within the good, are not separate — they arise together.
It’s a different way of seeing — one that shows how oneness/wholeness and completion arise through the merging of yin and yang. Yet we tend to focus on searching for what feels good and safe, which, consciously or unconsciously, pulls us away from reality.
Meditation, in turn, reverses our mind — turning it back onto reality with clarity.
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
“Instead of “waking up,” it’s more about “waking down.”Instead of transcendence, it’s more about “subscendence.”Instead of trying to get out, it’s more about getting in.”
“The reverse meditations give us the opportunity to relate TO our mind instead of FROM it.”
"Death is just a forced openness."
Suffering = Pain x Resistance
A classic law; the suffering equation mentioned in Holecek’s book “Reverse meditation”
The idea of pain comes from the amount of contraction we’ve built up in the past as a way of defense. As we grow, the more ‘solid and rigid’ we become. A way to eliminate pain and suffering is to reverse our automatic, habitual response mechanism—in other words, to use the opportunity of pain to open instead of contracting more. Meaning opening into the authentic instead of contracting away from the authentic.
It only feels painful because of the contrast. If you weren’t so frozen, the defrosting wouldn’t hurt.”
Meditation is not an escape from pain or reality;
instead, it's a doorway into it.
How to find the balance between spiritual practices and daily life
“If we’re not careful, meditation easily slips into a form of escape, and the meditative path turns into just another version of our comfort plan… If we only associate the meditative mind with silence, stillness, and comfort, we’re missing the point of authentic spiritual practice.”
To comment on Holecek’s text above: anything has a neutral quality; meditation itself is not inherently a good or bad, peaceful or bustling experience. The experience of meditation is defined by the individual who’s experiencing it and is determined by how the tool (or meditation) is used. If the individual is open and aware, anything can eventually be turned into a tool of meditation. Nondual mind
“Follow your bliss,” by Joseph Campbell, is a partial truth — we’ll just get blissed out.
Conditional vs Unconditional
14/02/2025
"We can use conditional expressions to help us actualize the unconditional which allows us to discover heaven even when we hurt"
CONDITIONAL
= inherent limitations in being the human body experience. Duality
UNCONDITIONAL
= Emptiness, openness, non duality
Charcoal on paper | A4 x 6
Near Enemy
How to find the balance between spiritual practices and daily life
I’ve been in situations myself where the list could go on and on. In fact, our unique personalities can often be a combination of coping mechanisms when awareness is not present. Without awareness, things can swing to the extreme and lose balance, causing us to become out of touch with ourselves—disconnected from our current state by reacting in an automatic way.
The concept of a “near enemy” is like a wake-up call, making us realise just how many items we might be able to tick off the list. But it all comes down to the essential question: is this simply a habit, or is this truly how it is now?
It’s important to see that the “near enemy”can also be the “near fried.” In truth, the line between the two is created within us. The key to understanding is to see the full picture—to allow the duality to exist at the same time—until the mind and eyes become non-dual and open.
"The intensity of our compulsive thinking is in direct proportion to the extent that we're unwilling to experience our body in a full and direct way."
Compulsive thinking emphasizes speed, which prevents things from being fully expressed and experienced — see the previous post.
Reverse meditation is about reversing our habitual ways of thinking and doing, transforming and reconstructing the meaning of painful experiences. Note that it’s not an easy process — emotions will shift back and forth, so be patient, know it takes time, and don’t give up.
Sources:
Reverse Meditation: How to Use Your Pain and Most Difficult Emotions as the Doorway to Inner Freedom - by Andrew Holecek
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