Hi, all.

I'm pretty new to meditating. I got a copy of Meditation For Dummies and have been trying it. So far I like it, it helps me to be calm and focused, particularly immediately afterward. I've been doing breath counting and mantra meditation, for which I have selected the Greek word arete, a roughly equivalent concept to the Taoist te. (I would not say I am Taoist, but Taoist ideas resonate with me.)

While my readings on meditation lead me to believe that the aim is to allow the mind to clear and become empty, I am finding through practice that I do not desire that. See, when I meditate, some of the thoughts that come up are not my mundane thoughts, but memories from long ago that I haven't thought of in years, insights into actions I could/should take which would improve my life, or revelations about my emotions or my relationships. I seem to get at least one of these unusual, seemingly-significant thoughts each time I meditate. I intuitively feel that these memories, insights, and revelations are coming from my subconscious for a reason, that they are valuable and should be explored rather than allowing them to drift away as I do the mundane chatter of the monkey mind.

I've been letting these thoughts drift away but trying to remember them as well, so that I can capture them in a journal entry afterward. I catch some of them, but I think I'm forgetting some too as my mind clears.

I've been considering keeping a notepad or iPad at hand and recording thoughts as they come up. Does this seem like a bad idea? It seems contrary to much of what I've read, and I can certainly see it disrupting my focus, but I think the thoughts, feelings, and ideas that my subconscious is placing squarely in my path may be more valuable than a clear mind.

Are there meditations which are compatible with this? Some sort of a writing meditation, or a meditation specifically for eliciting revelations from one's subconscious?