Meditation is, in many ways, the art of pushing relaxation to its ultimate limit.
We begin by relaxing the body, releasing tension and tightness as soon as we sense them. This can be done through techniques like body scanning, as practiced in Vipassana, or by focusing on the breath. With each distraction, we gently return our attention to the breath and release the tension we’ve accumulated.
As we progressively let go, the body becomes so relaxed that we barely notice it anymore. It feels as if the body has disappeared altogether.
What’s left is the mind. Here, too, we release tension and tightness. By this point, we may already notice how the process of relaxing the body has also begun to untangle knots in the mind. But when we reach this “pure mind” space, new layers of mental tension reveal themselves. It may take time to figure out how to release them, but we all instinctively know what needs to be done.
Personally, when I reach this stage, I often encounter feelings of fear and anxiety. It took time for me to realize that these arose because I was afraid of letting go of the identity I’ve known for so long—of “being me.” Gradually, I am learning to calm myself and gently let go of that sense of self. I’m still loosening my grip here. I can manage to stay in this relaxed-mind space for short stretches, but fear and anxiety quickly resurface, pulling familiar mental content back into my awareness. I am learning to identify this as my “self-process” which is unwilling to let go. Sometimes the fear and anxiety is felt like fantastical-physical-body experiences like vibrations. I get enamoured by it and end up focusing on it a bit too much. I am learning to identify that fascination also as more “self-process-stuff”. It’s an ongoing practice of patience, faith, and letting go. I trust that, in time, I will be able to not only relax the mind, but also remain in this relaxed state for longer periods.
I haven’t personally experienced what lies beyond this, but from what I’ve read of others’ experiences, here’s what comes next:
As we continue releasing tension in the mind, the mind becomes so relaxed that it stops generating content. There are no mental images, no internal dialogue—just stillness.
What remains is pure consciousness. And, eventually, we let go of that too.
What’s left then is pure nothingness. Void. Blank. Nirvana.
At this point, the whole system seems to reboot. Reality reappears, but it feels fresh, vibrant, and new. Everything is different.
For those who walk this path from the body, through the mind, through consciousness, and into nothingness, the process becomes familiar. Reaching Nirvana and staying there becomes natural. There’s a permanent shift in perspective, where reality is no longer filtered through the need to maintain a separate, fixed self.
As I mentioned earlier, I’m still working on releasing tension and tightness in the mind-space. I can let go of the body entirely, but crossing this mental space remains a challenge. I believe that, with time and practice, I will eventually experience the stages that follow. I intend to go all the way. Let’s see how far I get.