Meditation

Mindfulness Meditation
#1

A general discussion about meditation:

Most of us come to a conclusion that when we close our eyes for meditating is what is termed as meditation.

Meditation is a one pointed concentration of mind.But this state of mind does not come when we start.When we close our eyes for meditating, we go through stages of mindfulness.That is our mind is struggling through several thoughts or our mind is passing through a phase of ripples of thoughts.

This ripples of thoughts will continue as long as we are connected to our society.This is because the action of our body is stored in our sub-conscious state of mind and this storing of data will continue till the time we are connected to our society.For e.g. our daily routinework, talking with family and friends etc.Once our actions are stopped for a limited period or for indefinite period as per our practice,that portion of non action of our body is not stored in our sub-conscious mind. So since for us work is very important or else we cannot look after our family. We should take time off in between away from our society for limited period for a better practice.

That’s the reason why our sages and saints used to renounce the society for achieving one pointed concentration.This one pointed concentration will lead to samadhi and various stages of samadhi.These stages of samadhi will let us know and see the inner world within us which is our actual destination.

#2

I don’t think seclusion is a must - the idea supposes a linear growth in mindfullness with the time spent on meditation. But, as you asess in your other thread [B]energy blockage, [/B]there are many requirements for quality meditation. Many of those requirements are society based. Like food, shelter, and so on. For these, one should work, unless, one accepts these to be given to him free of charge. But there is no such thing on earth “free of charge”, there is always a catch. Thus, the saint/disciple living in seclusion is pretty much part of society - if he was not perceived as a saint, they would not bring him food or provide shelter to him. So we must realize that the saint/disciple provides a service, and is part of society. Even bums are part of society, because they survive through charity of others. We all depend on each other, and if we want to be free, we need to achive a certain independence, yet absolute independence cannot be achieved, and even if it could be achieved it would be utterly seflish.

Regardless of this, the idea is clear that the luxury of an undisturbed state is a basic requirement for meditation. But the requirements for good quality meditation today can be met by people from all positions in society. If one is a long time yoga practitioner, one already gave up many superficial time consuming activities (watching TV without any selection, browsing the internet in a chaotic manner, having superficial society talk, engaging in repetitive sensorial pleasures without deepening them, and so on), so one has plenty of time left for meditation.
In my case, mental and moral stamina depletes sooner than the time available for meditation. Actually, I would be scared of having all day long meditations as simply I know that I could not perform them. Guess because I am far from having mastered the preparatory stages: yama, niyama, asana, and pranayama. ( I count pratyahara already as part of meditation, but I admit this is arguable)

#3

Hubert said, “the luxury of an undisturbed state is a basic requirement for meditation.”

[B]when you have reached an undisturbed state then you do not need meditation any more, then you are in samadhi.[/B]

with practice in meditation we go from a state of a million thoughts per second to a state of 10 thoughts per second to zero thoughts per second. the act of meditation itself will bring about a reduction in thoughts. yes, initially there seem to be millions of thoughts just because we are not used to sit still and be aware of what is going on inside of us. that’s all. just keep on meditating, change will happen…

#4

Perhaps the undisturbed state Hubert refers to as a requirement for meditation is external: when a novice, like me, attempts to meditate it is conducive that my neighbor’s child not decide it is time to repeatedly tap me on the shoulder and ask me what I am doing.

#5

I work with kids all day long who make noises all day long. to be disturbed by this is a choice, once one sees that. I no longer hear most of the noises. seclusion may be right for some, may be others escaping what they cannot face.
some thoughts
brother Neil

#6

[QUOTE=Techne;22651]Perhaps the undisturbed state Hubert refers to as a requirement for meditation is external: when a novice, like me, attempts to meditate it is conducive that my neighbor’s child not decide it is time to repeatedly tap me on the shoulder and ask me what I am doing.[/QUOTE]

cute kid :slight_smile: - it is your choice to be disturbed.
obviously the child wants your attention. you can ignore it. for sure the child will eventually go and get attention somewhere else. or you can signal it to not disturb you. or you can ask it to meditate w you. or you simply take out a few seconds and find out what the kid wants (of course if you do this it most likely will come back again). when my son was little i taught him not to disturb me or simply sit w me for meditation. i gave him the choice. eventually he understood and decided not to disturb me anymore (playing was just more interesting than just sitting there :)). make your request clear, repeat it and be consistent.

when i meditate at our temple there are also kids who play and are noisy. i can listen to the ‘noise’ and accept it, then go back to meditation. or i can fight it by trying not to listen to it and will have only a problem of thinking about not getting disturbed. it is up to me. hope this helps…

#7

I absolutely agree with Hubert about meditation. I appreciate you are stating as per our present society and our strength for sitting long time. But the process still remains the same. What i am trying to explain is the state of mind. Even though millions of years has passed away, but the method will remain the same. The state of mind was the same at that time and is the same today. In any yog we are only concerned about a one pointed concentration, be it any types of yog.

The deeper one gets in, the much clarity one receives. This folds of clarity will see your inner being and the transcend world beyond us, which is our destination.The truth remains the truth and it cannot be manipulated with words. Those who does are the loosers.

There are experiences which remains unexplained, but be it any yog, the only goal what all of us would like to achieve is one pointed concentration, and that can be achieved through :

  1. Checks at interval with Guru.
  2. While meditating self analysis as to am I achieving this one pointed concentration.
  3. One pointed concentration does not mean concentrating on an object.
  4. While during meditation if you start learning the art of one pointedness then only regular practice can help.
  5. And yes again I repeat, clearing your database of thoughts from sub conscious mind, which can only be achieved when we try to add less to the database.
  6. Less addition (samskara) can only be done when we try to practice a little away from the society till the time we are trained enough that our mind does not allow any more to come in.
  7. If you are getting reserved on the process of meditation then you are on the progress path. A natural habit inculcates in you to talk less.
#8

Udayshree, i agree with what you said. Its true thats thousands of thoughts come in our mind when we meditate. Actually thousands of thoughts are running in our mind in general, when we are not meditating at that time also.
I also had many thoughts while meditating, when i started. And i used to think that why i cant concentrate on meditation. But i continued to meditate regularly and now i am not having so many thoughts, hardly one or to. What i do is when mind thinks of something else , while meditating i bring my mind back and think that i am meditating. :)[COLOR=“Navy”][/COLOR]

#9

agree!!!initially many thoughts come and go in our mine just because we are aware about something just happened near you but ignoring all this further mediation results in complete peace.