+1 to the above. the strangest thing about meditation, in my experience, is there's a state that's sometimes available in which every moment is truly novel and surprising.
I read (once, somewhere??) that some lifetime meditators put under FMRI often have the signature activation pattern that in the rest of us basically happens when we're about to say "Oh wow, look at that!" (i.e., excited by novelty) So I'm a little captivated by the idea that part of the nature of these states called "liberation" and "enlightenment" is an unending feeling of amused and interested novelty. In the literature they'll talk about "the freshness of every moment" and other similar phrases, so it seems to really be part of the sales pitch and goal.
For me it wears off pretty fast, and isn't always available. :) But definitely it's one of the things that keeps me coming back to the cushion, because ... yeah, you said it :)
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+1 to the above. the strangest thing about meditation, in my experience, is there's a state that's sometimes available in which every moment is truly novel and surprising.
I read (once, somewhere??) that some lifetime meditators put under FMRI often have the signature activation pattern that in the rest of us basically happens when we're about to say "Oh wow, look at that!" (i.e., excited by novelty) So I'm a little captivated by the idea that part of the nature of these states called "liberation" and "enlightenment" is an unending feeling of amused and interested novelty. In the literature they'll talk about "the freshness of every moment" and other similar phrases, so it seems to really be part of the sales pitch and goal.
For me it wears off pretty fast, and isn't always available. :) But definitely it's one of the things that keeps me coming back to the cushion, because ... yeah, you said it :)