People often think of death or negative emotions when they think of darkness. You may have been afraid of darkness as a child. Are you frightened of the dark or of being alone? If so, you’ll need to work on changing your assumptions going into the meditation routine. You want to make sure you can embrace darkness in a healthy, positive way.
Many people who practice darkness meditation feel darkness contains a lot of energy. As the womb is dark, you are born from a place of darkness. Instead of thinking of darkness as blank space, think of it as a source of life. People often think of darkness as a base as well. In some religious traditions, darkness is thought of as what lies under all creation. Everything else is added to darkness. This can be helpful with darkness meditation as you can think of darkness as a base to which you can add reflection and insight.
There is no precise pose or atmosphere required for darkness meditation. Just choose a position and location that feels right for you. The most important thing is that you’re comfortable and free from outside distractions. You do not actually need to be in a dark room to practice darkness meditation. It’s important, however, that you find a room where you can concentrate. If it’s warm and uncomfortable in your bedroom, this may not be the best place to meditate. If your living room is generally a good temperature and relatively quiet, meditate here.
Many people allow their thoughts to wander when they close their eyes. You may begin thinking of other things, such as what you have to do later today. Try to ignore these thoughts. When you begin experiencing them, return your thoughts to the darkness. You want to focus overcoming your fear of darkness, and everything that’s represented in that fear. For example, darkness can represent the unknown and also death. Try to gain an acute sense of darkness. You’ll want to focus on the darkness. What does the darkness look like? What does it feel like?
Keep your eyes closed tight if other images creep into your mind’s eye. If this is your first time doing darkness meditation, it’s very likely you’ll see some images. It takes awhile to really be able to commit to seeing darkness. Consider the darkness you’re seeing. If you begin to feel fearful, remember the positive associations with darkness. Think about being inside the womb and then emerging. Think about darkness as a blank slate. You are returning to a blank slate of non-being on which you can build yourself and your thoughts.
Your mind may go to scary places during the duration of this meditation. That’s okay. Darkness can bring about a lot of fear. Hyper focusing on darkness for a set period of time can help alleviate some of that fear. Try to keep focusing on the darkness and how you feel about it. Examine any preconceived notions you have about darkness. Let bad associations give way to more positive ones. Again, think of darkness as a blank slate or in terms of your time in the womb.
Practice darkness meditation as often as you feel comfortable. If you have a bad reaction to darkness meditation, you may want to taper off practicing until you feel more calm.
You can your regular doctor for a referral to a therapist. You can also call your insurance company and ask for a list of therapists in your network. If you’re a student, you may be entitled to free counseling through your university.
