I recently reached what I believe to be the "access concentration" stage of meditation, and I was surprised by how unlike my preconceived notions it was.
Much of my experience in meditation has been counter to both my erroneous pop-culture-tainted concepts of what meditation is and how to do it, as well as to a lot of what I've read in books and online posts.
The inverse approach is something I'm seeking out actively now, since I think many of us reach these states in unique or nontraditional ways.
I should also mention that once you reach that access concentration stage, you really do not need to make much effort to observe thoughts arise and let them pass. It's kind of just what happens when you hit that stage.
And reaching that stage surprised me, because for me at least it was a state of awareness more alert, present and aware of my surroundings than I expected; I'd been anticipating being off in some relaxed, blissful and isolated mental space.
But it was the opposite — I was more present, more aware of my surroundings and far more alert and attentive. The opposite of what I was expecting.
Now, instead of the relaxation-seeking method I used to use, I am more like a drill sergeant keeping close tabs on my awareness. My meditations are active, full of effort, and surprisingly more productive and enjoyable now.
My meditation starts to really fall apart when I start trying to usher thoughts away — no matter how passively I try (imagining them as rising bubbles, cars passing by, etc). I've also found that acknowledging their existence and allowing them to do what they will allows me to pay less attention to them.
Remarkbox