10 reasons why you should meditate in darkness
In the womb of Darkness (Part II)
What is a darkness meditation? By using a specific blindfold that allows us to stay in darkness with open eyes and carefully controlling sound, we remove over 80% of the sensorial input usually processed by the mind. The specific experience created allows the mind to quickly quiet down and experience deep relaxation conducive to many benefits.
10 benefits of Darkness Meditation
Darkness Meditation leads to:
- A profound sense of equanimity
- Deep relaxation conducive to meditative states
- Enhanced creativity and problem solving skills
- Increased well being and performance
- Improved sleep and eating behaviour
- Transformation of thinking and attitude patterns
- Deep healing, pain and stress reduction
- Direct experience of the energetic body (prana, Chi)
- Pineal gland activation
- Opening to altered states of consciousness
Immediate effects of short session
It has been observed scientifically that after 20 or 30 minutes in sensory deprivation, the brain transition from Alpha or Beta to Theta brain waves, which is the state that typically occur before sleep and before waking. Theta state has been used as a tool to enhance creativity and problem solving.
By building up gradually our exposure to longer sessions of darkness and sensory deprivation, we can open to deeper metaphysical and un-ordinary experiences.
Healing effects
Pain and stress reduction are the most often reported effect of darkness meditation and sensory deprivation together with reduction of all stress related disorder including insomnias and other sleeping disorder. Healing effects include positive impact on addictive behaviour like eating disorder and substance abuse including smoking, alcohol consumption.
Effect on psychological functions
It has been scientifically demonstrated that sensory deprivation affect psychological function like thinking, perception, memory, motivation, mood and even sleep and appetite as well as many other psychophysiological processes. As such darkness and sensory deprivation has been used to lower blood pressure and enhance blood flow.
Perception of the energetic body
In absence of the visual body, darkness meditation is the fastest way to perceive and understand our energetic body and start to learn how to manage and move energy through the body. Energy management is a fundamental key to managing emotions, self-healing and increase longevity and more.
Effect of longer sessions: un-ordinary experiences and altered states of consciousness
Darkness is instrumental in experiencing un-ordinary experience like lucid dreaming, conscious sleep, deep meditative states, psychedelic experiences due to endogenous production of DMT, true non-doing states of being. Darkness is recognised to facilitate the access to altered states of consciousness and near death experience
Read more in Part III - FAQs about Darkness Meditation
Did you miss Part I? - A memoir from the Womb of Darkness