Aldous Huxley wrote about whether it is possible to transcend self in a Western world that is largely based on self-consciousness.
Huxley’s brother Julian said of him, “One of Aldous’s major preoccupations was how to achieve self-transcendence while yet remaining a committed social being—how to escape from the prison bars of self and the pressures of here and now into realms of pure goodness and pure enjoyment.”
For example, walking down the street in the city, I try to focus on my consciousness. I try to remove the subjectivity of what I am seeing. I look at the streetlamp and the store signs but I try not to use my language. I try to wonder, what are those? What are they for? Like I’ve never seen them before.
However, there are certain subjectivities that are important for my survival, e.g., the danger of passing cars or hostile strangers. I cannot simultaneously meditate outside of my ego while also protecting my physical body from potential dangers.
Similarly, I’ve noticed that my meditations at night have worsened as my effort in my career has increased. It is more difficult for me to detach and just focus on my breath after my thought has been so deeply invested in work all day.
Part of me thinks there is an optimal, even synergistic, balance to be reached between the two, at least in the early stages. As you go deeper, however, each one requires a certain commitment that doesn’t allow any devotion to the other.
Being the best at your work requires non-stop attention, even dreaming about work sometimes. Whereas spiritual life and meditation require a purity and detachment that takes time to foster and needs to be uninterrupted.
So at some point, if you want to go far, you have to decide between the two. There are benefits to both, certainly.
Source: Huxley, Aldous. Island. Harper Perennial Modern Classics, 2009.