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I was reading last week the first chapters of a book about meditation. Although I was really wary of the appearance of any esoteric content at the turn of every next page, I found myself realizing how some concepts are not inconsistent with Objectivism. The main one is about "focusing". For many promoters of mediation, meditation is about placing yourself as an observer of your thoughts, so that you can realize that you are not your thoughts. As an observer and master of your thoughts, you can command your mind, use it as a tool. You can be concious about your own existence, without having to resort to conciousnes about any concrete content of your thoughts. I think Objectivism acknowledges the role of instrospection as a valid cognitive tool for things like your own existence. In addition, Objectivism upholds that focusing is volitional, deliberate, and that what logic thinking comes AFTER you focus. Indeed, it is compatible with the fact that many times you find yourself immersed in a chaotic river of thoughts, like the noise of a radio station, and that you have deliberately to first recognize you are NOT that river of thoughts, and then to command them, to choose the thoughts that you think appropriate to achieve a goal, to start a logical approach to any problem or issue to achieve a goal. Meditation, as I am understanding it, is an excercise of focusing. Focusing on what? On the fact of your existence, independent from the uncontrolled flow of thoughts that crosses your mind. On the fact that you can choose to think, choose not to think, and think purposefully. What do you think about this? We know that a conciousness that is devoid of content is a contradiction. But what about a conciousness whose content, at any given time, is the plain fact of your own existence, as a primary? When I am concious that I am concious, my conciousness is not empty. I am just performing an act of instrospection. Am I right?