Wow, @meno wasn't kidding when he said you're a cool dude :-) Thanks for this wonderful post, @samest! I sometimes feel like my thoughts are not my own... You see, from the moment you wake up until you go to sleep, thoughts constantly enter your mind. Automatically. I always found the term "clear your mind from any thoughts" an impossible task; I cannot not think of anything... Once I heard meditation described as follows, if I remember correctly: "Meditation is the quest for the origin of your thoughts. Enlightenment comes when you realize these thoughts don't come from within you, but from outside." You can see how happy I am with such an explanation, for it explains that feeling I sometimes have. Or it could be that my brain molded that memory to my preference and I remember what I want to remember...

Another tidbit I picked up to is then the word "genius" comes from an old Arabic word, "Jin" or "Jinnie" which means "ghost" or "spirit". In those days when a painter, or a musician or scientist created or thought of something spectacular, it was believed this person got "possessed" by a good spirit that gave him or her the grandioze idea or inspiration. It is also the origin of the term "genie in a bottle": another indication that in earlier times mankind explained "geniality" to be something external, something to be grateful for.

So... what is the secret for good meditation? I never tried meditation myself before, though I am known to overthink things a lot.

Sorry for the amount of text: another thing I'm infamous for :-) Thanks again for a great post!