10-19-2017, 12:14 PM
Thank you two for sharing, Lana and Jeremy.
Everyone seems to have their own relationship to meditation, but it really makes me wonder: Ra refused to indicate a "best way" to meditate, so what are the limits of what is considered "meditation"?
Ra does indicate that the most useful type of meditation was one in which involves "clearing of the mind, the emptying of the mental jumble which is characteristic of mind complex activity among your peoples" in order to "achieve an inner silence as a base from which to listen to the Creator." It seems like there are only so many ways for someone to do this, so it is odd that Ra wouldn't recommend any technique (would clearing the mind be a technique?).
I have been meditating basically ever since I had my awakening, sometimes with more frequency than others. I try hard to meditate every night if only for a few minutes. Like Jim talked about, the experience of such meditation from session to session varies, but I find the effects to be cumulative over the long-run rather than immediate during the meditation itself.
But I have been practicing a technique of mindfulness lately and I cannot express how powerful I have found it to be, particularly for "emptying the mental jumble." There would be some differences in how this works versus my normal meditation:
In normal meditation, I take time to enter into it with gentle intention, dimming lights, lighting a candle and some incense, using a meditation stool, perhaps putting some light, soft rhythmic drumming on the speakers to drown out noise from neighbors. I begin with a prayer and then sit in the silence. I start by counting my breaths, only up to 10 before I begin again. Every time I find my mind wandering I will acknowledge the thought and bring my attention back to my breath. Sometimes I can get deep enough to leave my breath behind, and less frequently, I will find myself in a deep sea of silence that feels nourishing and whole.
With mindfulness, there is much less ritual or intention. The primary aspect of this is simply paying attention to the thoughts and gently guiding your awareness to a consciously chosen thought or simply to the present moment's experiences. It is something that can sit in silence with simple mindfulness, it's something that I can practice throughout the day without needing to stop my normal round of activities.
For example, if I am feeling some strong emotion (anxiety or nervousness, for example), I will sometimes sit down and pay attention to the emotion, greeting it gently, speaking to it and allowing it to speak back. Sometimes I'll write about it, to hold it in my awareness - this is different from just journaling or simply writing because the only goal is to express the emotion and hold it in awareness. After some time, there comes an overriding sense of acceptance of the emotion, where it doesn't necessarily go away, but it no longer has a strong hold on my awareness. This keeps the emotional from simply being another part of my "mental jumble." I find that when I do this, it's like clearing out a big portion of the jumble. What is left is a more spacious awareness in my mind where the strong emotion no longer creates these cycles of thought that contribute to the jumble.
Even more helpful, though, has been simple mindfulness throughout the day, without needing to stop. It is simply an act of coming to awareness of the present moment throughout the day and slowing the momentum of that mental jumble through that awareness. It's easiest done when I am doing something that doesn't require full attention. For instance, if I get up to fill up a glass of water and drink it, I will use that as an opportunity to examine my thoughts and identify what has been creating a jumble, relaxing my mind and body, and paying attention to the present moment around me (liking giving full attention and love to the glass of water I drink). Or if I am waiting in line, like at the grocery store or post office, I will do the same thing. Walking to or from my car, going to the bathroom, filing some papers, eating a meal, doing a tedious task on the computer - all of these things become opportunities for me to reach a type of silence in my mind that helps to clear the mental jumble.
I have found that as I reinforce this habit, it becomes more and more powerful. The tension in my body disappears with ease, I find less and less jumble constantly in my mind, I find the anxiety and nervousness appearing less and less. I find it easier and easier to think, "Where is the love in this moment?" Intentionally looking for the Creator in these moments by offering open acceptance of the moment, without distraction, becomes very powerful. Perhaps best of all is that when I sit down for my "regular" meditation, the steady state of silence comes much, much easier.
I don't think that this type of mindfulness is necessarily a replacement for other types of meditation, but perhaps it is something that can be done when we don't have time or energy for more ritual meditation. I can honestly say that the effects I notice from this are basically as powerful as the more silent meditations. And when these two methods are combined, it becomes and incredibly powerful experience.
Maybe this type of mindfulness isn't really that rare and others are already doing it. Mindfulness is becoming sort of a fad now, and "live in the present moment" has been a New Age motto for a long time. So maybe I'm just late to the game. But I really can't understate how useful I have found this habit.
Everyone seems to have their own relationship to meditation, but it really makes me wonder: Ra refused to indicate a "best way" to meditate, so what are the limits of what is considered "meditation"?
Ra does indicate that the most useful type of meditation was one in which involves "clearing of the mind, the emptying of the mental jumble which is characteristic of mind complex activity among your peoples" in order to "achieve an inner silence as a base from which to listen to the Creator." It seems like there are only so many ways for someone to do this, so it is odd that Ra wouldn't recommend any technique (would clearing the mind be a technique?).
I have been meditating basically ever since I had my awakening, sometimes with more frequency than others. I try hard to meditate every night if only for a few minutes. Like Jim talked about, the experience of such meditation from session to session varies, but I find the effects to be cumulative over the long-run rather than immediate during the meditation itself.
But I have been practicing a technique of mindfulness lately and I cannot express how powerful I have found it to be, particularly for "emptying the mental jumble." There would be some differences in how this works versus my normal meditation:
In normal meditation, I take time to enter into it with gentle intention, dimming lights, lighting a candle and some incense, using a meditation stool, perhaps putting some light, soft rhythmic drumming on the speakers to drown out noise from neighbors. I begin with a prayer and then sit in the silence. I start by counting my breaths, only up to 10 before I begin again. Every time I find my mind wandering I will acknowledge the thought and bring my attention back to my breath. Sometimes I can get deep enough to leave my breath behind, and less frequently, I will find myself in a deep sea of silence that feels nourishing and whole.
With mindfulness, there is much less ritual or intention. The primary aspect of this is simply paying attention to the thoughts and gently guiding your awareness to a consciously chosen thought or simply to the present moment's experiences. It is something that can sit in silence with simple mindfulness, it's something that I can practice throughout the day without needing to stop my normal round of activities.
For example, if I am feeling some strong emotion (anxiety or nervousness, for example), I will sometimes sit down and pay attention to the emotion, greeting it gently, speaking to it and allowing it to speak back. Sometimes I'll write about it, to hold it in my awareness - this is different from just journaling or simply writing because the only goal is to express the emotion and hold it in awareness. After some time, there comes an overriding sense of acceptance of the emotion, where it doesn't necessarily go away, but it no longer has a strong hold on my awareness. This keeps the emotional from simply being another part of my "mental jumble." I find that when I do this, it's like clearing out a big portion of the jumble. What is left is a more spacious awareness in my mind where the strong emotion no longer creates these cycles of thought that contribute to the jumble.
Even more helpful, though, has been simple mindfulness throughout the day, without needing to stop. It is simply an act of coming to awareness of the present moment throughout the day and slowing the momentum of that mental jumble through that awareness. It's easiest done when I am doing something that doesn't require full attention. For instance, if I get up to fill up a glass of water and drink it, I will use that as an opportunity to examine my thoughts and identify what has been creating a jumble, relaxing my mind and body, and paying attention to the present moment around me (liking giving full attention and love to the glass of water I drink). Or if I am waiting in line, like at the grocery store or post office, I will do the same thing. Walking to or from my car, going to the bathroom, filing some papers, eating a meal, doing a tedious task on the computer - all of these things become opportunities for me to reach a type of silence in my mind that helps to clear the mental jumble.
I have found that as I reinforce this habit, it becomes more and more powerful. The tension in my body disappears with ease, I find less and less jumble constantly in my mind, I find the anxiety and nervousness appearing less and less. I find it easier and easier to think, "Where is the love in this moment?" Intentionally looking for the Creator in these moments by offering open acceptance of the moment, without distraction, becomes very powerful. Perhaps best of all is that when I sit down for my "regular" meditation, the steady state of silence comes much, much easier.
I don't think that this type of mindfulness is necessarily a replacement for other types of meditation, but perhaps it is something that can be done when we don't have time or energy for more ritual meditation. I can honestly say that the effects I notice from this are basically as powerful as the more silent meditations. And when these two methods are combined, it becomes and incredibly powerful experience.
Maybe this type of mindfulness isn't really that rare and others are already doing it. Mindfulness is becoming sort of a fad now, and "live in the present moment" has been a New Age motto for a long time. So maybe I'm just late to the game. But I really can't understate how useful I have found this habit.
_____________________________
The only frontier that has ever existed is the self.
The only frontier that has ever existed is the self.