|
|
Post by siftingtothetruth on May 9, 2019 9:15:46 GMT -5
Most of the discussion on this forum is various theoretical discussions between people who believe they've already realized what there is to be realized.
But if there's anyone here who actually wants guidance, try your luck on this thread.
|
|
|
|
Post by zendancer on May 11, 2019 11:27:31 GMT -5
Most of the discussion on this forum is various theoretical discussions between people who believe they've already realized what there is to be realized. But if there's anyone here who actually wants guidance, try your luck on this thread. What's your primary advice? Inquiry? Mindfulness? Breath awareness meditation? Other? |
|
|
|
Post by siftingtothetruth on May 11, 2019 12:16:02 GMT -5
Most of the discussion on this forum is various theoretical discussions between people who believe they've already realized what there is to be realized. But if there's anyone here who actually wants guidance, try your luck on this thread. What's your primary advice? Inquiry? Mindfulness? Breath awareness meditation? Other? Quiet the mind and examine the sense of I. Which boils down to three basic ideas: 1. Have a basic intellectual framework for the search (usually through a guru, scriptures, satsang — my framework is essentially advaita vedanta particularly through the lens of Ramana Maharshi and the Yoga Vasistha) and resolve doubts about it by asking questions 2. Become honest about what you really want (not what you should want or wish you wanted) and attempt to pursue it. May require introspection, trial and error, psychotherapy, and artistic self-expression to open up the unconscious. 3. Pursue Ramana Mahashi’s self-inquiry and/or attempt to surrender as much as possible (these two are necessarily complimentary) |
|
|
|
Post by zendancer on May 12, 2019 6:33:54 GMT -5
My advice is to quiet the mind through ATA-T ( or any other meditative activity with which one resonates), focus strongly upon whatever is happening in the present moment, and periodically contemplate what one wants to know. I found solo hiking in wilderness areas significantly unifying and insight-producive. The question, "What must I be doing this moment?" can be used to break the habit of fantasizing and thinking about the future.
|
|
|
|
Post by justlikeyou on May 12, 2019 12:20:50 GMT -5
My advice is to quiet the mind through ATA-T ( or any other meditative activity with which one resonates), focus strongly upon whatever is happening in the present moment, and periodically contemplate what one wants to know. I found solo hiking in wilderness areas significantly unifying and insight-producive. The question, "What must I be doing this moment?" can be used to break the habit of fantasizing and thinking about the future. “Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.” |
|
|
|
Post by zendancer on May 12, 2019 13:58:38 GMT -5
My advice is to quiet the mind through ATA-T ( or any other meditative activity with which one resonates), focus strongly upon whatever is happening in the present moment, and periodically contemplate what one wants to know. I found solo hiking in wilderness areas significantly unifying and insight-producive. The question, "What must I be doing this moment?" can be used to break the habit of fantasizing and thinking about the future. “Ask, and it will be given you. Seek, and you will find. Knock, and it will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives. He who seeks finds. To him who knocks it will be opened.” Exactly, and the Gospel of Thomas version: "Let him who seeks continue seeking until he finds. When he finds, he will become troubled. When he becomes troubled, he will be astonished, and he will rule over the All." This is also rather nice: If those who lead you say to you, "See, the Kingdom is in the sky," then the birds will precede you. If they say to you, "It is in the sea," then the fish will precede you. Rather, the Kingdom is inside of you, and it is outside of you. When you come to know yourselves, then you will become known, and you will realize that it is you who are the sons of the living Father. |
|
|
|
Post by mamza on May 16, 2019 15:13:44 GMT -5
Lately I've noticed my mind jerking me around and my emotions getting more intense. As a result, I've decided to make a routine mind wipe every day. Does anyone have any good meditation techniques to share? I used to do Zen's ATA all the time and it worked extremely well, but that was a while ago and I find it harder to get out of my head these days. Eventually/concurrently I'll be doing ATA just because I resonated so well with it, I'm just looking for good (code: more interesting) ways to start other than counting my breath.
|
|
|
|
Post by laughter on May 16, 2019 15:47:38 GMT -5
Lately I've noticed my mind jerking me around and my emotions getting more intense. As a result, I've decided to make a routine mind wipe every day. Does anyone have any good meditation techniques to share? I used to do Zen's ATA all the time and it worked extremely well, but that was a while ago and I find it harder to get out of my head these days. Eventually/concurrently I'll be doing ATA just because I resonated so well with it, I'm just looking for good (code: more interesting) ways to start other than counting my breath. Go for a walk. Outside. Alone. As you ATA, also keep an "inner eye". The sights, sounds and other sensations are from the "outer eye". Try to be alert to precisely when you notice some thought percolate up that would draw attention to it. If your mind is not quiet - and there can be many reasons for this, it happens to me as well - you might not notice that your attention has been shifted from the actual until you're well into a train of thought. It can sometimes seem like effort to maintain ATA, but if, when you notice that the internal thoughts have started, you simply, and gently, redirect attention back to the actual, your mind will start to quiesce. What can happen is that those movements of mind will start to get more subtle, and less sharp, much more like emotions, sort of "proto-thoughts" that are the very beginnings of the shift of attention away from the actual. You might also notice how the initial interest can often be directly related to something you see or hear or feel as you're walking. If your mind is really noisy that day and it's just not working, look ahead to 20 or 30 or 50 feet ahead of you, set some sort of waypoint like a tree or a rock or a lamp post, and maintain the intention to stay alert with the "inner eye", at least until you've reached that point. Then repeat that, perhaps moving the point further away each time. heh heh .. perhaps, not very interesting, but, it can work. |
|
|
|
Post by zendancer on May 16, 2019 18:37:54 GMT -5
Lately I've noticed my mind jerking me around and my emotions getting more intense. As a result, I've decided to make a routine mind wipe every day. Does anyone have any good meditation techniques to share? I used to do Zen's ATA all the time and it worked extremely well, but that was a while ago and I find it harder to get out of my head these days. Eventually/concurrently I'll be doing ATA just because I resonated so well with it, I'm just looking for good (code: more interesting) ways to start other than counting my breath. It's hard to beat attending the breath as a fast way to silence. It's what Dr. Weill ( a holistically-oriented physician) recommends as the best way to quickly relax and shift attention away from thinking. Simply take a deep slow breath and shift attention to the process of breathing. Listening to "universal sound" is another extremely fast way to empty the mind and shut off thoughts. It's always there in the background, so just stop whatever you're doing and listen to it. Both of these activities are forms of ATA-T, but having a specific focus will sometimes allow the shift of attention to happen faster than just looking or listening in a broader and more inclusive sense. As Laughter noted, it's hard to beat taking a walk in the woods or a local park. Just walking in nature automatically lowers one's blood pressure and induces a relaxation response. One reason is because attention is naturally drawn to one's environment (birds, squirrels, clouds, insects, trees, etc), and that, alone, shifts attention away from reflective thoughts. |
|
|
|
Post by mamza on Jun 1, 2019 10:33:49 GMT -5
Hey, guys, thanks for the responses! Sorry for the late reply, life was a bit busy for the past week or two. Walks were a great idea, and even working out seems to have significantly helped get back into the "right headspace" (or lack thereof), at least for a little while. Now there's nothing to it but to do it, again and again and again.
I have a side question, though: one of the experiences I tend to have after long periods of focus/meditation/ata/whatever is the sensation of sinking, and some fuzziness or slight vibrations. It's difficult to describe, but the feeling of sinking maybe a foot beneath myself is very noticeable. Would these types of sensations be considered distractions? I've noticed that one of my main intentions when meditating is to 'cause' those sensations by focusing on ____ (breath, skin, whatever). Encountering these sensations typically results in the cessation of thought.
I have a sneaking suspicion as I type this that it's my mind playing games with me, but it seems as though there's this concern about whether or not these sensations are really the 'end.' I guess there's still a subtle hope that maybe there's more to it, or something else to get. Logically I know there isn't, but we all know that's not the same as true knowing.
It's nice to see some familiar names around after all this time. I hope everyone's doing well. I've gotten some really good advice from a lot of people over the years.
|
|
|
|
Post by satchitananda on Jun 1, 2019 11:17:48 GMT -5
Hey, there's this concern about whether or not these sensations are really the 'end.' I guess there's still a subtle hope that maybe there's more to it, or something else to get.. The end of what? |
|
|
|
Post by laughter on Jun 1, 2019 20:58:29 GMT -5
Hey, guys, thanks for the responses! Sorry for the late reply, life was a bit busy for the past week or two. Walks were a great idea, and even working out seems to have significantly helped get back into the "right headspace" (or lack thereof), at least for a little while. Now there's nothing to it but to do it, again and again and again. I have a side question, though: one of the experiences I tend to have after long periods of focus/meditation/ata/whatever is the sensation of sinking, and some fuzziness or slight vibrations. It's difficult to describe, but the feeling of sinking maybe a foot beneath myself is very noticeable. Would these types of sensations be considered distractions? I've noticed that one of my main intentions when meditating is to 'cause' those sensations by focusing on ____ (breath, skin, whatever). Encountering these sensations typically results in the cessation of thought. I have a sneaking suspicion as I type this that it's my mind playing games with me, but it seems as though there's this concern about whether or not these sensations are really the 'end.' I guess there's still a subtle hope that maybe there's more to it, or something else to get. Logically I know there isn't, but we all know that's not the same as true knowing. It's nice to see some familiar names around after all this time. I hope everyone's doing well. I've gotten some really good advice from a lot of people over the years. I can relate to the sensations you describe and also sort of anticipating them during the sit. The way I see it: meditation happens.  Sort of questioning, and deliberately opening up to what's happening during the sit in terms of the expectations can have interesting results. Perhaps think of it in terms of this question, are any two meditations ever really exactly alike? |
|
