5 Powerful Signs Show You Went Into Deep Meditation

And how to deepen your meditation

“I just sat there. I didn’t even know what I did. Was I meditating or sleeping while sitting?” I threw questions at my mentor after a long day of meditation camp.

My spiritual master and Sangha would organize a biweekly spiritual retreat. An entire day dedicated to meditation.

When I was new, I was excited to have a place where I could meditate without disturbance.

But I felt confused when I did not feel like I was meditating correctly.

Listening to my query, he smiled and told me signs of deep meditation.

You don’t feel like meditating.

Often, meditation is mixed with an overflow of thoughts. The lava burst open, and thoughts become more prominent than ever.

It is normal. Everybody experiences it.

But we confuse a momentary peaceful gap with meditation. We are used to non-stop commentary and have never experienced total silence within.

In deep meditations, thoughts dissolve.

It can happen for a few seconds to minutes and even hours for experienced meditators.

Within those moments, you don’t feel like you are meditating.

It feels more like a deep sleep where you don’t remember anything. No memory is formed because nothing is happening. There is pure silence.

In deep meditation, you don’t feel you have done anything. It just is.

You don’t feel like you’re breathing.

While meditating, I often notice my breath is not coming in or going out. Earlier, I used to panic and force myself to take a breath.

But slowly, I recognized that breath slows down and may seem to completely stop when you are in profound depths of meditation.

Why?

Because the frequency of breath is associated with the activity.

If you are climbing stairs or playing, the breath rate increase dramatically. When you sit or lie down, it decreases. When your mind is agitated, it increases considerably compared to when you are relaxed.

Deep meditation is a mixture of utter physical and mental calmness.

In that relaxation, the breath rate drops considerably.

And when you don’t feel like breathing at all. Don’t panic, like me.

Because the subtle breath is always coming in through subtle nadis (energetic channels), which are not visible.

Just enjoy the state of being. And let nature take care of your breathing mechanism as it always has.

You don’t remember anything.

Memory is formed from a collection of thoughts. Thoughts are active in a conscious or dream state.

But in deep meditation, no thoughts are present. It is a state beyond thoughts, where only bliss and silence prevails.

That is why you may also don’t feel time or even remember that you were meditating.

When you open your eyes, you become aware that you were sitting in meditation. You don’t have any remembrance of what happened in between.

However, if you feel you were meditating the whole time, you are still in a superficial state.

You don’t feel time.

Time-lapse is one of the common signs of deep meditation. You may meditate for a half hour and still feel like it’s been only ten minutes.

In deep meditations, you don’t feel time.

Why?

Because time is relative.

In the waking period, we compare some things to get time. It can be the movement of the sun or our activities with watch time. Also, time flies when you talk to your loved one. And the same time feels eternity when you encounter someone whom you dislike.

In deep meditation, time is not present. Because there is no relativity, there are no two comparable things.

In profound silence, there is only one consciousness. That is why you don’t feel time.

Your body may start to signal time. Your legs or back may hurt if you sit longer. But for the mind, time disappears.

Your entire body feels relaxed.

Like deep sleep, your mind and body relax completely in profound meditation.

You may have started your meditation with an erect spine and upright chin. But when you come out, you find your chin touching your chest, and the body stooped forward.

Don’t worry. It is a sign that your body was relaxed completely and you enjoyed the bliss of deep meditation.

From outside, it may seem that you were sleeping. But from inside, you felt more alive.

How can you deepen your meditation?

If you are not experiencing the signs of deep meditation yet, it does not mean you are doing something wrong.

Every meditator experiences periods of meditation that feel more superficial at times. The only difference is beginners start to judge their meditation from early on.

Whereas seasoned meditators know they can experience any range of depths in meditation. They meditate without judgment. It helps them often dive into deep meditation because they are not expecting anything from it.

There is no good or bad meditation. There is just meditation.

The key is consistency.

Don’t get bogged down if thoughts invade your silent sitting. It is the nature of thoughts. But your consistency will help them identify before you start to flow with them.

Slowly you’ll develop a knack for not entertaining thoughts in meditation. This will help you go deeper.

Also, realize that the more you try to force yourself to sleep, all you’ll remember is why sleep eludes you. You can’t compel yourself to sleep. It happens automatically.

Similarly, you can’t force yourself to enter the deepest state of meditation. It happens through practice and non-doership.

You are not doing meditation. Meditation happens irrespective of you.

Chanting or breathwork are the two techniques that can trick your mind.

It gently moves your mind away from a doer to a non-doer. So you forget that you are doing meditation.

It also helps the superficial thoughts drift away. A calm awareness then rises effortlessly.

Final Thoughts

Touching the greatest depths of consciousness is the birthright of every human. But, like everything, it is not served on a platter. You have to dive deep within yourself to realize it.

Meditation is one of the significant tools that help one to realize.

Have enough time at hand before sitting for meditation. So you don’t have to worry about turning off the gas or attending an important call.

Never try to judge your meditation while you are meditating. It is best to sit in meditation without expectations.

If you ever have to analyze your meditation, do it afterward.

Don’t come in your way while meditating. Just enjoy the moments of stillness and being you.

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