All Comments By Andrew M. Prokopis, Psy. D.

i guess i would suggest that the implication that "there is something in the nothingness" again engages the mind to create something out of nothing, and that in of itself is a distraction and a move away from meditation. i would agree with the earlier suggestion that reading what accomplished meditators have to say would be extremely helpful is helpful. i would also say that the essay is a bit of an intellectual gymnastics, and well-done, and i get where you are trying to go, but it feels to me that one has not gone far enough away from all that to really get close enough to where one needs to get to so that one is not easily still led astray from the path toward that meditative state. will there ever be words that adequately or accurately depict, describe, reflect what it is we all want to say and bring back from that place!!?? no fault on the writer of the essay; but the mind is a tricky thing to play with; and i have always been taught, that the mind makes a great servant and a lousy master. and i would add the former's list readiing Sant Kirpal Singh Ji.

This is a beautiful and inspiring piece of writing. Very much appreciated reminder. The only thing that bothers me is that in its message, from my reading, there is a slight undertone of comparison that somehow lessens the work of the saints, the mystics, etc. While I wholeheartedly agree with the message given here, I am a bit disappointed in its attempt to give out its message it has to compare one way with another way. The saints and the mystics also hold a high standard for us, for sure, but it does not in my mind lessen in anyway the spiritual connections that we also have when planting a garden, or seeing a mother and child, or watching a sunset. And, for me, it goes the other way, these latter experiences are for me inspirations that make me want to continue to increase, in my life, my connection with the spiritual, as did those men and women who we have come to think of and call as saints and mystics. They and their work should not really and truly be compared with organized religion, but rather the greater community of those who appreciate creation, God, Spirit, whatever we may call or refer to that power or presence. They are for me just as much an inspiration as the sunset, and all of the other experiences that point me back to the inner presence of God, Spirit, and so forth. They tell me that it is possible to attain constant union with the Divine.