The second pillar of dhyana is lucidity. You can meditate on breath, a mantra, an image or on formless. When you meditate on an image for example, it does not mean that when you keep looking at that image, you are meditating. There is a river of thoughts that is flowing in the background. That just means you are simply looking at the image. It is not meditation. It is like you are watching a TV or a movie.
Meditation is when you look at an image and you close your eyes or keep them open and you try to bring that image in front of your point of focus. In the beginning it takes a lot of effort to do that. You will see that after few seconds the image starts fading away from your sight. When you see an image, it stays there for few seconds and then it will start disappearing. You will have to keep bringing it back in front of your eyes. When the image starts keeping its clarity, it is then you know that you are progressing on the path of meditation.
Listen to this discourse by Om Swami to find out more.
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