Akorah
6th November 2007, 09:00 AM
For me, I started meditating for better mental control over my thoughts.. I wanted to be able to turn off that inner-voice which I can now successfully do with little effort. I can make that inner-dialogue go completely silent for hours at a time just by intending to turn it off. It took me a lot of practice on this one meditation technique to be able to do this so don't expect anything more than up to a minutes pause the first time you try. The great thing that happens when you do this on the fly, for example while shopping is that its almost like a jedi mind trick.. people move out your way, there are no queue's, you get the last chocolate donut, etc.
The meditation technique I used to achieve this ability is what i call 'Stillness meditation'. There are a few ways to do it:
1.) put your attention on your breath, and listen to the sound it makes. Then use that sound to replace the innervoice. You want to try and mimmick the sound in your head, or if you find that too hard you could start off with a mantra like "in" and "out" for every in and out-breath.
2.) actively listen with your ears to the sound of nothing. let me explain.. when we are listening to music, or listening to someone talk, all our attention is being focused on our ears to listen and it halts that innervoice.. so if you try to actively listen (put your focus on your ears) to the sound of nothing it will temporarily interrupt that innervoice. Once you know what this interruption feels like, you can prolong it and recreate that sudden halt.
3.) there is a part of you deep within, which is still, silent and at rest. It doesn't care about worries, or the stresses of life... If you look within to find this part of you (perhaps it is the soul?) and just focus your attention on it, then your mind slows down and thoughts disappear. For me this feels like peace and contentment deep within my heart, and concentrating on this takes away any concerns or worries.
4.) this is similar to #3, something that Buddha used to reach enlightenment.. focusing on the breath within the stomach region (making sure you are breathing with your diaphram) to settle the mind. If you can consciously put all your attention and energy into this region then your thoughts will slow down and you may even feel what i call a 'conscious numbing effect' where its almost like being drunk/stoned.
Something interesting I found out, is that the intestines are made very similar to the brain.. same sort of materials.. with nerve endings wrapping them all.. so the intestines are like a second less intelligent brain. Another thing that is interesting.. is that they spiral much like a vortex.. perhaps this is why people experience a 'gut instinct'.. it is like a lesser brain which interprets emotional energy. So if you focus all your attention on this area, you are paying less attention to thoughts, and more attention to emotions. Once you are feeling a relaxed peaceful emotion, focus on that emotion and try to amplify it.
I'd also just like to say that it is a good idea to work at turning your innervoice into positive self-talk, instead of a negative critic. And try to increase your awareness of the self-talk/innervoice.. become more aware of the things it says and whether or not they are true and justified.
I have read that this innervoice develops as a child when parents tell you off for something, then the next time you do it your memory and logic triggers a response "remember what happened last time" thus preventing us from re-experiencing a negative emotion and situation - it is the emotional guidance system, however it is not intelligently aware and as such will not always work in our best interests. This is also why meditation is the key to discovering who you are, because your innervoice cannot tell you who you are, and you can't use it as a way to tell you who you are - some things transcend mere words.
The meditation technique I used to achieve this ability is what i call 'Stillness meditation'. There are a few ways to do it:
1.) put your attention on your breath, and listen to the sound it makes. Then use that sound to replace the innervoice. You want to try and mimmick the sound in your head, or if you find that too hard you could start off with a mantra like "in" and "out" for every in and out-breath.
2.) actively listen with your ears to the sound of nothing. let me explain.. when we are listening to music, or listening to someone talk, all our attention is being focused on our ears to listen and it halts that innervoice.. so if you try to actively listen (put your focus on your ears) to the sound of nothing it will temporarily interrupt that innervoice. Once you know what this interruption feels like, you can prolong it and recreate that sudden halt.
3.) there is a part of you deep within, which is still, silent and at rest. It doesn't care about worries, or the stresses of life... If you look within to find this part of you (perhaps it is the soul?) and just focus your attention on it, then your mind slows down and thoughts disappear. For me this feels like peace and contentment deep within my heart, and concentrating on this takes away any concerns or worries.
4.) this is similar to #3, something that Buddha used to reach enlightenment.. focusing on the breath within the stomach region (making sure you are breathing with your diaphram) to settle the mind. If you can consciously put all your attention and energy into this region then your thoughts will slow down and you may even feel what i call a 'conscious numbing effect' where its almost like being drunk/stoned.
Something interesting I found out, is that the intestines are made very similar to the brain.. same sort of materials.. with nerve endings wrapping them all.. so the intestines are like a second less intelligent brain. Another thing that is interesting.. is that they spiral much like a vortex.. perhaps this is why people experience a 'gut instinct'.. it is like a lesser brain which interprets emotional energy. So if you focus all your attention on this area, you are paying less attention to thoughts, and more attention to emotions. Once you are feeling a relaxed peaceful emotion, focus on that emotion and try to amplify it.
I'd also just like to say that it is a good idea to work at turning your innervoice into positive self-talk, instead of a negative critic. And try to increase your awareness of the self-talk/innervoice.. become more aware of the things it says and whether or not they are true and justified.
I have read that this innervoice develops as a child when parents tell you off for something, then the next time you do it your memory and logic triggers a response "remember what happened last time" thus preventing us from re-experiencing a negative emotion and situation - it is the emotional guidance system, however it is not intelligently aware and as such will not always work in our best interests. This is also why meditation is the key to discovering who you are, because your innervoice cannot tell you who you are, and you can't use it as a way to tell you who you are - some things transcend mere words.