Meditation

[eurotrash]

Hi, I'm thinking of taking up meditation.
However, as I am also doing the energy work from Astral Dynamics, I'm looking for something that will complement the energy work.
Anyone have any ideas on the best and most relevant types of meditation? :)

[violetsky]

Dear eurotrash,

During NEW you are using your consciousness to focus then move energy in a particular part of your body. Therefore meditations which teach clearing the mind to improve focus are very good. But if you can mix body awareness with your meditation even better.

A good one to try might be to focus strictly on your breathing. Feel each breath with absolute detail, not allowing your mind to wander to anything else. Closes your eyes and find a very quiet place so as to minimize distractions. When you close your eyes your ability to feel often increases because you have cut out a whole pile of distracting visual perception. Do not think about how you are breathing...SENSE how you are breathing...FEEL. Avoid thought and if a thought sneaks in try to move into your senses even more and feel every muscle and detail of your inhalation and exhalation more intensely. Try this and let me know how it goes. If your mind refuses to shhhhh. Then there are alternatives. Just let me know if you are interested or have questions.

Very Best Wishes,
violetsky

[eurotrash]

Hi Violetsky,

Does this type of meditation have a name? Because I'd like to get a book to be able to learn it properly. Is it Zen meditation by any chance?

[violetsky]

Dear Eurotrash,

Smile....Most of my friends who read books on meditation said later they wished they had not. Why? Even if you read an entire book to satisfy your mind you would still not know how to do this till you experience it. Mind loves to think about every detail and feel it has mastery BUT the BIG problem is in meditation you are trying to shutdown the mind. You are trying to stop thought and FEEL your timeless self. Feel not think.

Reading books is what the mind loves to do. AH! Now I know says the mind. Now I can understand this but then it tries to take over the whole process and you end up thinking too much about every detail which is the EXACT opposite of what you want to do with meditation.

The simpler the meditation the better actually. But our mind does love complexity thinking complex is better. But that is counter to what meditation is truly about.

There are no details required beyond what I have written for that meditation. But if it is a meditation that does not work for you then yes, one would have to search for another one.

But be watchful for one thing...and this is true for every last one of us. The mind will try to turn us into seekers rather than experiencers. It will have us reading lots of books but in the end only trying certain meditations once or twice then moving to something else we think will be better but never is.

Try a few meditations yes but quickly pick one meditation that you think you will enjoy and as Nike says, "Just Do It." Do not allow yourself to be distracted by anything. Put all your focus on that one single meditation and you will go further than all the books and all the wide variety of meditations could ever take you. All forms of meditation lead to the same place and usually you meet the same obstacles. So no matter what the discipline a practiced meditator should be able to help you over the bumps and there are not many bumps and there are some good meditators in the forums I am sure. I would be able to help you. The biggest bump is usually to just pick on thing and really focus on it and be determined enough to stop thought.

And do not let your mind say...But it must be more complicated than that! Otherwise anyone could do it and it would be easy. THAT is precisely why so few people actually do this. Because everyones mind says just that and that is why it never happens for most. It is that easy provided you stop thinking ....and the mind HATES that. It MUST think!!!!! There is no instruction beyond move more into your senses and feel more intensely when thought tries to come in. There are a few tricks here and there yes but no more than a page or two worth.

So try to limit your thinking on this. Bet no teacher has ever said that to you before eh? At least not a high school teacher. :)

Very Best Wishes,
violetsky

[oath]

Great advice Violetsky

[violetsky]

Dear Oath,

Phew....I always worry people will take it the wrong way. It was just VERY long winded Zen philosophy.

The Zen master would never say that much. He would just say...."Listen can you hear that mountain stream (ten miles in the distance)" .....then 24 hours after the student had pestered them about the meaning of Zen would say...."Go jog twenty miles up that mountain." All in the hopes the student would get so exhausted that they would not have the strength to think anymore and experience silence of mind.

[oath]

lol, but you know Im starting to think the zen master is right. You can give people knowledge but you cant give them understanding.

[eurotrash]

Hi Violetsky,

Thanks for that fantastic post. That's a pretty accurate description of my mind :oops:. I will try what you've said.
However, Robert says in AD "...occasionally I will meditate all night". Do you know what type of meditation he is doing, that he can manage to do it all night (and feel rested in the morning)? Is it the same as you've described?

[violetsky]

Dear eurotrash,

This is where experienced meditator can get a bit annoying for a beginner. Robert just closes his eyes and silences his mind. That's it. And if there are any distractions he focuses on his belly to feel his breathing. He likes a quiet environment for this though but will meditate in airports while waiting for a flight etc. He will sit in a chair. No fancy positions. Just sit in a chair or lie on a bed and meditate.

Beginners tend to have one problem if they start trying to meditate laying down in bed....they fall asleep. So starting sitting in a chair is good or having an uncomfortable position like the lotus can help avoid the falling asleep problem.

Hmmm something tells me your mind will not be satisfied. So ignore your mind euro and just do the meditation and after several meditation sessions over the next week let me know what happens.

[star]

This si a good meditation, it can help you if you take up running too, it helps remove distractions.

[eurotrash]

Ok sounds good, I'll give it a go.
Thanks.

Is there a particular place I should focus on or feel? Like when I'm focusing on my breathing?

[eurotrash]

Well I went book shopping today at my favorite esoteric bookstores, and decided to go against all good advice and get a book on meditation (cause it had really good reviews on amazon :oops: ).
So I got this one here (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0316880620/sr=8-1/qid=1155314069/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-9608978-6776746?ie=UTF8).

[asalantu]

Hi all...
Is my thought main problem arises when we cannot get an idea about what really happens when we meditate. If we thoroughly understand how some technique works, then we can use it in a more efficient and reliable way. As direct sequel, results are better... that´s my thought.
Fortunately, Robert Bruce already told us about what happens at meditation time.
Following is quote from http://forums.astraldynamics.com/viewtopic.php?t=2929 and is Robert Bruce's testimonial related to Void type Meditation mechanics:


Void type meditation is often criticized as having no purpose on the surface, because in clearing the mind and holding that state one appears to be doing nothing, and hence nothing of value.

Holding the mind clear puts one in an altered state of consciousness. This state deepens with practice. Only in a quite altered state can one approach a higher state of being.

During this quiet time the lower mind / ego is suppressed, and in this state it is slowly entrained to be quieter and more obedient at all times.

(Other conscious training processes are also required to help with the training of the lower self, especially self observation and introspection).

Also during this quiet time, the higher mind, superconsciousness, the higher self (there are many terms for our higher aspects) is encouraged to come to the fore, to be one with the meditator.

A quiet minded altered state takes the meditator closer to his/her higher mind. The higher mind is attracted to this and so also moves closer to the conscious mind. This association slowly evolves the meditator through close empathic association.

The essence of all spiritual development is to entrain the conscious mind to take on some of the 'knowingness' of the higher self.

The way of knowledge is, generally speaking, to absorb a lot of knowledge and to train the conscious mind and body according to a certain discipline. In essence, this involves taking control over ones life. This path has much merit and it suits a lot of people.

The way of knowing, however, is to quieten ones conscious mind so ones higher aspects can take root and flourish therein. Instead of learning and training and honing ones skills, one simply remembers and realizes and 'knows'.

A mixture of the above is probably best, as we all need some basic knowledge in order to achieve a state of nothingness.

The way of knowledge is to take control and make things happen, eg, creating ones own reality. In essence, if one masters this approach, its a bit like using God mode in a computer game. This kinda takes the fun out of things.

The way of knowing is to relinquish control. This is the essence of what I call Bee Following. Instead of trying to make something happen, one just expects things to happen. There is a profound difference between these approaches.

Mind you, it takes a lot of self control in order to be able to relinquish control, if that makes any sense....grin.

My best regards,
Ángel

[asalantu]

Hi eurotrash...
If you are reading Robert Bruce's Astral Dynamics book, jump to Core Skills chapter. There are a Section titled Taming the Mind. It seems very reliable the hypothesis Robert has done a word trick and create a sort of euphemism in order to overcome popular problematics (related to its understanding) arising from Meditation topic. Clearing the mind techniques (in a sustained way and leading to mind expansion as main sequel) resembles very well to Void type Meditation sequels (Higher Self coming to first plane. Look at prior post from mine quoting Robert's post from another forum thread). It is possible I'm wrong and if that's the case... apologize Robert since now..! :oops:
Sincerely,
Ángel

[oath]

lol, but you know Im starting to think the zen master is right. You can give people knowledge but you cant give them understanding.

After further contemplation I have realized that it is important to try, however one should be within reason.

[Rhone]

I'd have to agree with the previous posters; you are already reading Astral Dynamics--everything you need to know about meditating is right there in the Core Skills section.

You said you were specifically looking for something to complement the energy work? Well, energy work, while it can be done at any time, is much more effective in a meditative trance state. So, relax yourself physically and hold your mind as clear as you can for a while, and when you feel like it, start doing your energy work. You will feel the energy more strongly.

The more you practice holding your mind clear, the easier it will become. If you want to build up to it more gradually, you could do it the way Franz Bardon teaches in his first step of Initiation Into Hermetics (which has been highly recommended by many in this forum, including Robert Bruce himself):

First practice holding a simple awareness of your thoughts. Do not attempt to resist your thoughts, but do not indulge them either. Just observe. Over time, you should notice your thoughts popping up less frequently.

After you're comfortable with that, practice holding onto a single thought and preventing any other thoughts from intruding. You could visualize an object and focus on it, focus on a word or idea, or just focus on your breathing. But do not let any other thoughts pop up.

Once you have become comfortable with that, then start practicing with holding your mind completely clear.

To connect this back to your energy work... keep in mind that energy follows thought. By training your mind to focus on what you want and only what you want, you will be better able to control your energy and give it whatever "purpose" you intend. For example, imagine two energy healers: one who has a pure, single-minded, and uninterrupted focus on compassionately projecting energy with a healing quality; and one whose subconscious keeps them under a steady barrage of thoughts ("Is my spouse still mad at me?" "What am I having for dinner tonight?" "That toe I stubbed still hurts." "I hope this is really working.."). I'm sure you know which healer will be more effective!

[orbit1]

...and you end up thinking too much about every detail which is the EXACT opposite of what you want to do with meditation.

Thanks for your tips, Violetsky. My problem is self-congratulations. I'll be clearing my mind for 10 seconds or so and a voice way back will say "hey, good job! 10 seconds so far!", which I'm fairly sure defeats the point of the exercise. The other problem, which you pointed out very well, is that I try to tell myself tips that I've read while I'm meditating, again, breaking the silence.

Best of luck, eurotrash!

-m