Floating Through the Mind: My Journey of Self-Discovery in a Float Tank

How I came to spend several hundred hours in a float tank practicing Tibetan Buddhist Lamrim.

A personal journey

From the time I was very young, I observed the activity of my mind.

When I was three or four years old, I remember several occasions when I lay in bed and noticed this odd feeling of existential angst. I noticed that I had a body; it limited me and defined me. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling like I joyously figured out who I was. It was unsettling because I had an intuition that I was something more.

As I grew and developed, I displayed certain advanced skills. I was highly physically coordinated, and I scored in the 99th percentile on standardized tests.

My family liked playing games, and I found I could focus concentration for very long periods, obsessively at times.

I was not unusual in that respect. Many children can control their mental focus and sustain it for long periods when they are fascinated by some activity. Even my autistic son has mastered many video games and exhibits these traits.

I found it satisfying to master games, but I often quit playing them after achieving mastery…