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Originally Posted by Cantando  Even when you are consciously choosing not to think, thoughts will still arise. A person may occasionally feel spaced out during meditation (consciousness splattered across the landscape), but it is only temporary. It would be impossible to live a normal life if one was continuously in that state. |
It's not a normal life. If you were fully in the present, you would be an enlightened person. That is how Osho, amongst others, explains it. And of course, the vast majority of human beings on this planet have not experienced enlightenment, and therefore you could say that enlightenment is "abnormal".
The closest I've come into it is doing a very deep meditation, and having the effects last two or three days (as you say, the effect is temporary). This has happened to me maybe on five, six times in my life.
What you may not be seeing, Cantando, is that it is absolutely possible to live an outwardly "normal" life in that state, and in fact live it better than before. Let me describe how it was for me, Cantando - this is my personal experience.
You DON'T become a zombie, when you're in that state, Cantando. Instead you become calm, peaceful, happy ..... and extremely, extremely intelligent, brilliant, productive & efficient.
An example - I go to work, in that state. I sit down at my desk. There is a highly technical, difficult piece of work that needs to be done.
In my "normal" state, I might procrastinate .... worry .... feel anxious ... do some of the work ... get stuck .... get distracted .... wonder if I should ask for help... and risk looking stupid ..... struggle to find the next step .... get random thoughts about whether I'd locked the front door at home, before leaving .... go for a coffee break .... work some more .... make mistakes ... think angry thoughts about why my boss assigned this piece of work to me ... work some more .... struggle to find the solution.
In the "no-thought" state, it is very different. There is no fear, no anxiety, no worry. Instead there is a formidable degree of control over my thoughts. I would decide, "Now I shall focus on getting this piece of work done." The concentration that follows is very impressive.
The focus on my thought sits squarely on the subject matter - the work itself. There is full attention to what needs to be done. There is full presence in the moment. There is no fear, worry or anxiety that I can't do the job. There is absolutely no ROOM for fear, worry or anxiety, because full mental concentration is placed on the work itself. All the ideas, solutions and correct next steps come effortlessly. Around me, colleagues are talking, people come in and out, but my concentration is unbroken, full and ...
effortless. And suddenly the entire piece of work is done, in record time.
And you even enjoyed it. There was great happiness in the work.
This is what I think you don't understand, Cantando. You have to experience it, to really know what it is. If you knew what it is, you would not say, "It would be impossible to live a normal life if one was continuously in that state."