Young Yoga Tips: February 2010

Sunday, February 28, 2010

attachment

Question
Respected sir,

I am boy of 16 years of age.I my school i am very alone because i am slightly thin and a slightly weak body i have(i.e due to my appearance) so no one is interested in me.They(not all)neglect me. My mind is always thinking of it.I cannot get it off my mind.I am so attached to it and thereby i cannot concentrate on my studies.

Buddha says that one should develop total detachment towards these worldy stress.But i can't.Please help me.Kindly tell me as i have to develop detachment or do something else.

Also there is one more question.

Should a spiritual seeker must be detached to his friend(who loves him,who cares about him,who would give his life for him etc.)

thanking you

Answer
Jeya,

I also was thin and weak when I was your age and younger. I had no real friends and I did not play with other children. Children can be very mean and my life was mostly lonely and unhappy.

Unfortunately, many of us grow up with problems. Sometimes they are very visible problems like being blind or deaf. Sometimes they are problems that only we know about, like being abused by family friends or family members. Our problems can bring us physical or emotional pain. Unfortunately, many such problems are not detected or helped by a society that does not seem to care, or by parents who do not seem to care. Such is life in the field of suffering, in the field of ignorance.

But it is possible to rise above our problems, even when they cannot actually be solved on their own level. Buddha and other spiritual leaders taught that it was not by individual effort that this is done, but by the expansion of consciousness through the genuine knowledge of life, a knowledge that is unfortunately still rare due to misunderstanding.

Buddha demonstrated in his own life how effective meditation can transform life, removing us from the wheel of suffering and bringing the liberation of universal love and bliss.

Effective meditation is an automatic, Divine process involving the reduction of effort. In daily life we are always trying to do something, to accomplish some goal. In effective meditation we renounce such effort, and begin to experience our inner consciousness without effort, innocently. This brings a fourth state of consciousness, transcendental consciousness, to our life to complement the other three states, waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. By experiencing even a few minutes of transcendental consciousness each day, we feel expanded inside, as a boat can be anchored even in the midst of a storm.

So, the answer to your question is that the development of detachment is not done by you, but by your mind, automatically, when you practice meditation correctly.

Specifically, I recommend Transcendental Meditation (www.tm.org) or, if it is not available where you live or you cannot afford its high prices, NSR Meditation (www.nsrusa.org).

I hope this answer helps. If you still need specific answers, they are these: do not culture detachment from your friends and family. Such detachment can only lead to further suffering by them and by you.

David Spector

President,

NSR Meditation/USA

Lighted experience

Question
Hi,

I started meditating a month ago to achieve a calm n peacefl mind and nowadays I will always see light. It is like even in a dark room, you will sense the light all around as though someone shone a large torch onto you. Also, I will feel a twitch or pressure against the area between my eyebrow. Any advice on my experience and any technique to futher improve it?

Thanks

Answer
Clement, Thank you for your question.

Almost any mental technique will produce effects in the body such as those you describe. By themselves, they mean very little.

However, they do indicate the presence of blocks (stored stresses) to spiritual experience in the nervous system. Eliminating these blocks (dissolving the stresses) will almost certainly bring improvements to daily life.

The most efficient way I know to dissolve stress is through the deep rest provided by transcendental consciousness, the fourth state of consciousness. Two techniques that produce transcending efficiently are Transcendental Meditation (www.tm.org) and NSR Meditation (www.nsrusa.org).

I hope this brief answer has helped. Please feel free to submit follow up questions, if needed.

David Spector

President,

NSR Meditation/USA

Meditation

Question
Hi

I am a moother of 5 months old baby.I amm having lots of problem in my life.I want to relax myself so i am planning to do medittion.But i am not able to concentrate.My mind deviates when i try to meditate.Can you please tell me s how to start with.

Thanks

Ramya

Answer
Ramya,

Your experience is a very common one. Many people find it difficult to meditate, mostly due to misunderstandings about what meditation is and how to practice it.

Some people and books recommend difficult mental exercises, chanting, breath awareness, and other practices that are hard to do on a regular basis. Nor do these practices have much beneficial effect, beyond strengthening the ego, and I'm not sure that strengthening the ego does us any good either.

Overall, my recommendation is NSR Meditation because it emphasizes effortless transcending, which is (or should be) at the heart of any effective system of spiritual development. It is easy to learn, is inexpensive, and you can learn it by yourself on your own schedule.

If you would like to know more, the NSR Meditation websites are www.nsrusa.org and www.natural-stress-relief.com. You can find out more at these websites and order the NSR learning materials when you are ready.

I wish you the best of luck!

David Spector

President,

NSR Meditation/USA

Meditation

Question
Hi

I am a moother of 5 months old baby.I amm having lots of problem in my life.I want to relax myself so i am planning to do medittion.But i am not able to concentrate.My mind deviates when i try to meditate.Can you please tell me s how to start with.

Thanks

Ramya

Answer
A simple way to begin:

First thing in the morning

1. Try meditating on the feelings of the hairs in your nose. Feel the air going in and out as you naturally breath. This simple exercise really helps with stress reduction.

2. If your mind races, go back to the feeling of your breath flowing through the hairs in your nose.

3. Let your thoughts come and go; don't stop your thoughts but don't get lost in them. Simply return to your breathing.

4. Feel as if your thoughts and anxieties were melting and dissolving as they arise.

5. Throughout the day, be mindful of your breathing.

In the afternoon:

1. Go to a park and release you mind out into the world.

2. Keep your eyes steady, but let your mind expand into the space around you.

3. Let you mind expand as far as you can.

4. Rest in that expanded state.

In the evening before bed:

1. Confess anything that's bothering you.

2. Pray for what you need.

3. Vow to do the best you can.

4. Then, imagine white light filling your body through the crown of your head completely purifying you.

5. The light fills and surrounds you as you fall asleep.

How to meditate?

Question
Hi Mr.Dave

I watched some youtube videos about how to meditate, especially this one: youtube.com/watch?v=UY6o3U5GVSs

I think it could be really helpful in my life.

But I would like that you explain me some thing that I'm still not understanding:

When we are meditating, our main objective is to let all thoughts go away?

When we are in that "No thought state", is it normal to see visions?

Sometimes when I'm meditating I use to see some shadows moving in a dark background. Is this normal ?

I hope your help

Thanks

Answer
Andre, Thank you for your question.

Trying to learn anything with inadequate instructions will raise these kinds of questions rather than provide any beneficial results.

It would be best if you sought out the best instruction, not the quickest and worst! If you had a toothache, would you go to a cheap dentist with no training who simply pulled the tooth? The end result will be no teeth!

Similarly, asking someone who has just learned some method of meditating to teach you will end up giving you worse suffering than you already have, perhaps insanity as your thinking becomes increasingly corrupted!

I recommend Transcendental Meditation and NSR Meditation. Either of these types of instruction gives you a good head start, giving you a natural state of restful alertness instead of stimulating questions that have no good answers.

A question like the classic "have you stopped beating your wife?" simply has no good answer, since it is based on incorrect assumptions (in this case, the assumption is made that you have been beating your wife--well, have you?).

Similarly, questions about "visions" and "states without thoughts" are based on several incorrect assumptions, such as that it is good to be in a state without thoughts (it may be good or bad, depending on what else is happening), that the way to eliminate useless thoughts is to try to eliminate them (this approach actually opposes the natural functioning of the mind, and leads to results like effort and headache), and that it is normal or abnormal to see "visions" (it depends on so many other factors, such as what the visions are, why you are having them, and so forth).

It would take forever to try to correct your underlying assumptions. It would be a waste of your time and a waste of my time as well. It is really not helpful to answer bad questions. Far more helpful is the suggestion to seek the best possible initial instruction.

You can find out about Transcendental Meditation at www.tm.org, and about NSR Meditation at www.nsrusa.org.

David Spector

President,

NSR Meditation/USA

How do I get into this field?

Question
Hi and thanks for being available to answer my questions. I have a degree in political science and a work history over the last ten years in corporate sales. I currently find myself between jobs and do not look forward to the idea of returning to sales.

At one time I considered law school, but that is no longer practical at age 39 with a family and a mortgage.

I have begun looking at the possibility of becoming a conflict mediator, or a conflict resolution specialist/arbitrator. I believe it is a field that I would enjoy and could be quite successful in. My questions are:

(1) What would be the best way to get started?

(2) Do I need another degree?

(3) What would you recommend as my first step?

Thank you very much for your time!

Josh

Dallas, TX

jmharmon1226@yahoo.com

Answer
Dear Josh

Mediators are certified by various state regulatory boards, whether it is the state bar or some other government agency. The first step is to get information on how to get certified. You do not need any degree, only to be trained and certified. So check online or in the yellow pages for mediator training/certification.

Good luck!!

meditation and medications?

Question
I have always had a call to seek spirituality. Through various religions, yoga, and spirituality. It has been something that I have been seeking since my earliest memories. 2 years ago I was diagnosed with type 1 bipolar disorder and put on psychotropic medications. I have worked my way off most meds (I still rely on an anitepilleptic med to prevent suicide thoughts, and a benzodiazepine to lessen racing thoughts). I need these medications to physically correct imbalances in my brain (I have also participated in psychotherapy since this all began).

I am so frustrated now because I cannot seem to "beat" the medication block in my mind. These medications have diffuse side effects for me that I have come to simply explain by saying that "i'm just not as smart as I used to be". It is harder to study (I am in graduate school), harder to focus, harder to sleep, and harder to meditate. I have become stagnant in my spiritual life and I am frustrated. Are there any strategies I can use that can help me overcome the effects of these medications and be able to meditate more fully and effectively? Any info would be of much help. THank you!

Answer
Hi Emily



  Well you started out right, then you went off track. By that I mean that you had the tool (Meditation) to help you heal your issues, but then you went for the modern quick fix, of treating the symptom and not addressing the cause, with the use of drugs... The reason that drugs seem to work, is that they numb your mind in order to suppress the emotions by making the mind too numb to feel them. Besides that, drugs also create side effects in the physical body causing other physical, emotional and mental issues.



  My advice is to first get off the drugs and clear your body and mind. Then use meditation/visualization to help you find and heal the root cause. It's not always going to be easy as you are going to have to face what you have been trying to deny, that has been causing your depression, stress, anxiety, etc, etc. but you can heal without drugs, or using psychotherapy where the person has no “personal” experience in the methods he/she is using, and is just going “by the book” and usually focusing on being “positive” and life style changes.

Speaking of books, I’m in the process of finishing my book on using meditation/visualization as a tool for self-empowerment and healing and it should be ready in a month as a PDF.. In the mean while, there is information on my websites where I already share some of the material. www.saysame.com

Asking for an advice

Question
Dear Palbar,

I am 25. As a spiritually and creatively oriented person, I am deeply interested in meditation. I see it as a way to enlightenment, inner peace, creativity and inspiration. In meditation I seek improvement of intuition, I seek imagination, as well as relief from anxiety. It all started two weeks ago with the Silva method, after I bought the book about his UltraMind ESP system. I read about the different states of consciousness and how we can reach alpha and theta through meditation. I also read about Zen meditation and it really appeals to me.

One of my problems is that I am not sure when I reach alpha and when I reach theta. After closing my eyes and counting, I usually get more relaxed. Later, especially if I don't focus on anything such as counting, I start to lose orientation about my body and about outer voices, and unexpected images, ideas, sentences start to flash through my mind - I need 15 or 20 minutes to reach this. I think this is the fascinating state I should reach, but it is difficult to keep myself in it. If I count my breaths as Zen meditation says I should do in the beginning, it is like I am too awake and cannot reach it (or maybe I need half an hour). If I stop counting and simply breath as if I am going to sleep, this state eventually comes after several minutes, but the problem is that it is hard to stay in it for longer periods - there is possibility to fall asleep.

My question is: Is this the theta state, am I doing well if not, how should I proceed to enter this state for longer while keeping awareness?

Answer
The study of Zen is the study of losing the "I am special mind". When you lose the "I am special mind" you enter a state free from subject and object. This is a state of love without condition.

Whether you experience alpha or theta those are changing conditions. To recognize the unchanging wisdom is freedom. SO do you want a worldly practice or do you want to merge in freedom?

Palbar

meditation

Question
i was interested in meditation and doing it successfully over past 2 months. i just do meditation for 10 min. i consciously listening my breathing in the meditation. is there any advanced or next level of meditation is there or website available to know more about meditations.

Answer
Hello, Venky.

The essence of meditation is simple, honest listening to what is. This means what is happening inside as well as being in touch with the feel of the air on the skin, the sound of the fan, the weight of the body.

It is true that there are some exercises that may be called meditation that have the goal of developing certain mental abilities. This is ok for its own purposes but this is not the same as simple, honest listening.

It is not easy for us to listen simply and honestly. If you sit quietly and notice what the mind is doing, you will start to see how difficult it is for the mind to really listen. You will also start to notice how there is much more interest in controlling our life and our environment than in simply listening to it first. This is all deeply programmed into the brain and nervous system.

If you are lost in daydreaming, you won't notice anything at all during that time but when the daydream stops, it will be clear that there was daydreaming and that now, for this one instant, there is listening. There is always the possibility at any moment that listening will happen if there is an interest to see oneself honestly.

It may be helpful to reflect on your life. What is your life? Does it not mostly consist of reacting to things quickly and blindly? Of trying to control things that have not really been carefully seen and considered? Of fears and worries about our future, about how other people see us? If you see these things happening in your daily life, if you see how much they dominate our life and how exhausting they are and of how much more pain and difficulty they cause, you can start to notice more clearly in your sitting how this arises in the mind, how the mind works. It is this simple noticing - just by itself - that is different, more spacious, more intelligent - than the patterns that dominate our life. This simple, honest noticing is the alternative. It is not blind reaction but is rather quiet interest. It does not divide the world up into me and what I hate and what I want but is wholeness itself. Meditation is the unfolding of the simple energy of listening.

If you try this and feel that there is still something else missing, you can try setting aside more time for this quiet sitting. It can be helpful to sit for 20 or 30 minutes at a time to give the mind a chance to quiet and open. You can also do two or more rounds like that with a little stretching in between. You can occassionally set aside an afternoon or evening to devote to this quiet sitting so that the listening can go deeper. Finally, it is a wonderful thing to go to an extended meditation retreat for a few days or a week. In this long sitting the mind has a chance to heal deeply from the difficulties of the world and to open sensitively to the world of simple presence, which is a radically different presence than what we usually live in.

It can be helpful to sit together with other people, if there is a group that has an open spirit and respects each person's need to find their own way. It is also helpful to have a chance to talk with others who have devoted a lot of time to this meditative presence over the years.

If I have not been too clear about something, or if you have some further questions, please let me know. Where do you live? I can see if there is a group near you that may be good to sit with.

Best wishes,

Jay Cutts

In my meditation

Question
In my meditation I ask to know my spirit guides or higher self,I always see a pair of eyes unlike a human but not disturbing.Beautifully lined with long lashes but large and almost alien like..this is as far as I can get.Any ideas or suggestions?

Answer
Brenda, Thank you for your question.

It may seem that this is a fruitful experience, but as you are finding, it doesn't really lead anywhere.

Only following a thought to its source, pure consciousness, gets us in touch with the unmanifest and unbounded source of all creativity and intelligence.

Methods that use visualization or prayer are self-limited if they do not connect us with our source.

My suggestion would be that you learn a transcending technique, like Transcendental Meditation (www.tm.org) or NSR Meditation (www.nsrusa.org).

I hope this brief answer has helped. Please feel free to submit follow up questions, if needed.

David Spector

President,

NSR Meditation/USA

efficacy of TM in comparison with other techniques

Question
dear david,

after quite a long gap, i again started practising TM.

during this long gap, i studied and went through numerous other meditation methods, traditions and practises.each of them claim the results of practising their prescribed techniques to be the highest.

i just fail to understand how a simple method of 20 minutes can be more efficient than meditating on chakras, pranayamas, yoga techniques, vipassana etc etc...i just fail to understand howit can be so easy and so simple?

if you can, please explain the concepts of maharishi about all these these things.

and how important is TM Siddhi?

is it one step ahead for those who have been practising TM?

is it enough just to learn and practise TM alone or is it also important to learn TM Siddhi in the future?

is the course expensive?

do we have to qualify for this course?

thank you

Answer
siddartha, Thank you for your questions.

Please understand that AllExperts is a public forum. Therefore, I can only give general answers here. Personal or private questions may be directed to me at www.nsrusa.org/contact.php .

"after quite a long gap, i again started practising TM."

Congratulations on returning. As you know, TM has a free lifetime follow up program. If you have not already contacted your local center or teacher, you should do so and have your meditation checked. This will give you the best restart.

"during this long gap, i studied and went through numerous other meditation methods, traditions and practises."

It is natural to seek more in life. If we have not gone for checking regularly, there is always a possibility that we have forgotten some aspect or changed something about how we practice Transcendental Meditation. In such cases, naturally we will be dissatisfied and look elsewhere. Incorrect meditation will not be satisfying because it will no longer provide the physiological experience of transcending. Transcending is enjoyable and results in positive transformation in our daily life.

"each of them claim the results of practising their prescribed techniques to be the highest."

If the only technique you know about to improve life is sleeping at night, then you may claim that sleeping is the highest and best technique. A better criterion for comparing techniques is scientific research. Over a hundred peer-reviewed studies and meta studies have repeatedly confirmed Transcendental Meditation effective in normalizing the body and mind, bringing natural deep rest that dissolves even deep-rooted stress stored in the nervous system.

"i just fail to understand how a simple method of 20 minutes can be more efficient than meditating on chakras, pranayamas, yoga techniques, vipassana etc etc...i just fail to understand howit can be so easy and so simple?"

Simplicity is the hallmark of all that is natural and good. Fortunately, your failure to understand does not prevent TM from working. Transcending is a natural mental and physiological function of the nervous system, as natural as waking, dreaming, or deep sleep. It gradually eliminates stress, bringing us directly to the experience of unbounded bliss consciousness, which is the goal of all of those other techniques and systems.

"if you can, please explain the concepts of maharishi about all these these things."

Maharishi Mahesh Yogi taught that at the source of all the hundreds or thousands of thoughts we have every day is an unbounded field of creative intelligence. As a gardener waters the root in order to make the whole plant strong, so we practice transcending for a few minutes twice a day to bring refreshment to the root of our life, which is pure consciousness. Of course, he said a great deal more, but everything else is just further explanation of this basic principle.

"and how important is TM Siddhi? is it one step ahead for those who have been practising TM?"

The TM-Sidhi Program is useful for those who have been transcending for awhile and are familiar with the inner silence from which all thoughts flow. In the TM-Sidhi Program we start with that silence and make it lively. This inner liveliness brings about certain outer changes, as predicted by Patanjali in his Yoga Sutras, written thousands of years ago and surviving because of its repeated verification in the lives of countless practitioners of Yoga. While TM dissolves stress, the TM-Sidhi Program positively crushes it, giving us waves of bliss during the practice, and much faster positive changes in our daily lives.

"is it enough just to learn and practise TM alone or is it also important to learn TM Siddhi in the future?"

Both. It is enough to practice a transcending technique, because transcending is sufficient to dissolve any stress we have. It is also valuable to learn the TM-Sidhi Program because it is so much more efficient and enjoyable.

"is the course expensive?"

Yes. Since the course takes much more time to learn, including several weeks in residence, it costs several thousand dollars (U.S.). Although varying degrees of knowledge of the Yoga Sutras is fairly common in spiritual communities, the quality of teaching in the TM-Sidhi Course is not; there is as yet no effective substitute. Part of the hidden expense of the course may be considered to be the longer amount of time needed to practice it: 2-3 hours a day instead of 40 minutes a day. Remarkably, practitioners find that the additional time is well worth spending.

"do we have to qualify for this course?"

Most definitely. If you were to learn the core technique before you are ready, nothing will happen. You must be able to hold a thought in the gap between silence (pure awareness) and activity (the faintest impulse of individual activity). This ability comes naturally with a few months or years of regular practice of transcending. Without that ability, nothing will happen. Most of us simply have too much stress stored in our nervous system for us to maintain clear thought along with unbounded, pure, silent awareness.

"thank you"

You are quite welcome. I wish you luck in your journey.

Please feel free to submit follow up questions, if needed.

David Spector

President,

NSR Meditation/USA

References:

Further information about TM: www.tm.org

Further information about the TM-Sidhi Program: www.tm.org/sidhi

Further information about NSR Meditation: www.nsrusa.org

Thought or Spirit

Question
Hello Michael

I have been trying meditation and after listening to Sylvia Browne on CD I believe I found my Spirit guide Thomas. How can I be sure whether I am truely meditating or putting thoughts into my own head. I really struggle to let my mind roam free I seem to be in a thousand places at once and concentrating is very hard. Can you possibly suggest how I can find silence and peace to meditate.

Thank you for your time.

Shani

Answer
Hi Shani, IMHO it's good that you're questioning the validity of your guide. I think that's very healthy and it's something that is highly recommended by almost all of the major mystics in different world traditions. Since you're trying to go inside, I think you might also ask if the guide, assuming it's not a product of your imagination, is a spirit acting as a messenger for God or for evil. This might sound "paranoid" to some but most genuine mystics say that the evil one can mimic good angels, and even appear as a good angel, when in fact the spirit is not good. So I suggest you just keep that in mind. The way to tell the difference is called "discernment" (at least, that's what Catholic theology calls it).

As for how to find silence and peace, I feel that this isn't something that can be forced, and everyone must find their own path. I suggest you just try different techniques. Some people need physical stretching (i.e. yoga or tai chi) or exercise (like walking or jogging) while others just repeat a mantra. Myself, I feel that calling on God is the best way to meditate because it guards against spacing out on what C. G. Jung called an "archetype" or getting lost in some kind of deceptive "no-mind" that can obscure the true personal self that God has given you.

I guess what I'm saying is that the "numinous" powers that can come thru meditation are potentially powerful and diverse. So it's good to (a) be critical and (b) do it with some kind of experienced guide to monitor your progress/experiences.

Without an experienced guide/spiritual director, it's possible that you could get lost in an inner forest, which would not be good!

I hope these suggestions help!

vision during meditation

Question
During a guided meditation I was imagining a meadow and out of the blue a person approached me. This person was my wife. She had long hair (her hair is currently short) she wore a white gown and had a extreme sense of peace about her. She told me that she loved me and no matter how hard i tried to get her out and focus on the instructor she was there until the end. At the end she hugged and kissed me, told me she loved me and as she walked away she said that we would be together soon. It was like a dream but so real. More importantly my wife and I have been separated for a couple months now. What does it mean?

Answer
Dear Jeremy

Who knows? Perhaps you will reconcile, perhaps you were meeting her higher self and now realize that maybe she isn't as bad as you think. I don't do dream or vision analysis very well. The same thing means different things to different people. The color blue may mean a lot of things. Maybe you were smothering her, maybe she was too emotional, maybe she is a frigid bitch. That is why only you know what it means.

obes

Question
HI i was wondering what is the diference between meditation and OBE'S (Out of Body Experience) and how does obe's work??

Answer
jimmie, Thank you for your question.

Although your question is an interesting one, it really does not relate to the kinds of meditation in my field of expertise.

Natural Stress Relief (NSR) leads the mind and body to a fourth major state of consciousness in only a few minutes of effortless mental practice. This new state of consciousness brings deep rest that allows the body to release all the stress accumulated each day. With the stress gone, we feel refreshed and ready to be more productive, intelligent, and loving in our daily life.

If this intrigues you, I invite you to visit the Web site, www.nsrusa.org, and find out more.

I hope this brief answer has helped. Please feel free to submit follow up questions, if needed.

David Spector

some clarification about TM technique

Question
thank you David.

your answer was very helpful and motivating.

at least for the time being, i have again started practicing TM regularly.

but it would be of great help if you could clarify this points.

* can TM be done when one is traveling?

  well, doing TM when traveling on a plane is not as

  difficult as doing it on a bus or a train ride.

  this is particularly true in places like india, where

  the roads are not good and trains and buses are almost

  always congested and you can think of meditation

  provided you get a seat, otherwise not.

  the reason why i am asking you this is many times we

  have to travel long distances, as much as 3-4 days in a

  stretch and that is when the prescribed quota of 20

  minutes twice daily is not always fulfilled.

thanking you

and waiting for your positive response

Siddartha

Answer
Siddartha,

I am pleased to hear that you have resumed your practice of TM. Don't forget to go for checking once in a while, so your practice remains strong and effective.

I understand how distressing it can be not to be able to find a comfortable place to meditate.

India may have congestion and bad roads, but it is also the home of spiritual development, the land where an understanding of Samadhi and other aspects of a fully developed life is fully appreciated and maintained. You are very lucky to live there.

When we live filled with stress, limited in our perceptions and abilities, we seem surrounded by problems. It seems impossible to find the time and place to practice our meditation. With time, though, as we put our intention into regular practice, we find that the stresses begin to dissolve. Our thinking becomes stronger and more positive. We start seeing solutions more often than problems. Some of these solutions may be surprising. We may not have even anticipated them.

Burdened by stress, we see life through depression-coloured glasses. Hopelessness is always just around the corner. As the stresses go, the colour of our glasses changes. We begin to see things as they are. We begin to see joy and fulfillment everywhere. On this positive and joyful basis, finding the time and place for meditation is easily solved. It is a minor issue which, once solved, no longer troubles us.

I will not give you specific advice, because plenty of solutions can come from within, from your own creative intelligence. All you need is calmness of mind. From the calm of your meditations, all problems can be solved.

David Spector

NSR Meditation/USA

STUDY

getting started

Question
hi jay,

longtime wonderer, first time asker. with the new school yr and tests around the corner, i've been thinking about meditation, to help me relieve the stress, clear the mind, and better absorb the info. but how do i get started? cuz i'm always afraid that if i close my eyes, i'm gonnna fall asleep. and also, do people really get visions? or are they just dreaming? and can meditation help me improve my grades (like allowing me to study better and remember more)? and will it allow me to connect with the real me and understand who i am?

i'm sorry about the workload, but thanks in advance!

Answer
Hey, John.

There are all kinds of meditation techniques and strategies that have been developed which aim at producing certain mental or physical results. My interest is not in techniques but in letting go of "techniquing" and just be in touch as openly as possible.

This is the simplest way of letting light be shed on things and at the same time allowing the body and mind to find its own balance. Everything flows naturally from this in-touchness, including any visual imagery that needs to come out. This is a very simple, direct way of understanding what one is, how we operate, what parts of ourselves are passing and changing phenomena and what unchanging stillness and presence are.

When you sit quietly, someplace relatively comfortable and upright, you may well fall asleep. If so, you probably needed it! If you have one sleepy round, sometimes the next round of sitting is not so sleepy. Or you can get up and go to bed and try sitting quietly at a time you are not so tired.

You can also take an interest in this sleepiness and see if it is possible to observe how it works in you, if it comes from lack of sleep and overwork or is resistance to staying conscious when there is nothing to be engaged in.

This meditative presence is an engagement with what is here right now, both inside and outside. The nervous system is not used to that and maybe can't really do it at first. I've seen people sit down to try to meditate and jump up like a spring after about 3 minutes! Often they never try it again.

It can be good to bring to this silent sitting questions and concerns about our life, human life, that come up from our daily living. There are so many things that leave me wondering "Where did that reaction in me come from?", "What was I trying to defend?", etc. We can sit down with questions like this and, realizing that thinking about these questions is of limited help, switch into observing, with a transparency to the thoughts and feelings that are happening right along with the simple sounds of the fan or traffic humming by. This is really a radical change of direction from theorizing about our lives to actually being in touch with it in a way that reveals what is happening.

I hope this helps a bit. Please let me know if something I said was unclear or doesn't seem accurate and let me know how it goes.

Best,

Jay

STUDY

Question
QUESTION: I FIND IT HARD TO STUDY, CONCENTRATE AND MOTIVATE MYSELF.

ANSWER: Hi, RJ.

Could you please say more about what your question is and how it relates to meditation?

The more specific you can be, the easier it will be for us to connect.

Thanks.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: how can i use meditation to gain more focus, to concentrate better and study?

techniques

ANSWER: Hi, RJ.

Could you say some more about, first of all whether you have some experience with meditation, and secondly, could you please write a paragraph explaining more about your difficulty studying, what other kind of concentration you are talking about, for example what kind of situations and also what you mean about motivating yourself - in what situations, what context. Do you mean you don't have goals for your life? Do you mean you can't get out of bed or hold down a job?

Also can you say more about what is behind the inability to concentrate and to motivate yourself? Is there depression? Trauma? Scatteredness?

I don't mean to turn the question back on you but it would be hard to say anything meaningful without understanding more about where you are coming from. Meditation, from my perspective, is not a mental focusing tool but rather is the inquiring into oneself, shedding light internally. So I wonder if you can do that a bit - look into what you mean and what this inability to focus is about - so that we can have a meeting of the minds and look at how meditative work may help.

If it would be easier for you to do this on the phone, let me know. I realize it may not be easy to look inside.

Best,

Jay

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: hardly but i have tried pranayam 10-15 times. i am not rally a bad learner and recently i have improved for no reason. i just cant get myself to study. its so boring and apart from that its useless. all the stuff is useless. how does it help us realize God in any way at all. i just like to wander. it makes me happy. i dont wish to connect my self to things or people. thats a drag. as i result i dont sit in one place or concentrate or do any on anything for long.

Answer
Hi, RJ.

I have a little better sense now of what you're talking about, though it is hard to know. I will try to respond to what you may be saying and if I'm off, you can correct me and we can keep trying.

There are many different ways to go with what you are saying. If you are really moved by wanting to know what this simple, undirected way of life is that does not get stuck in things or people and is simple happiness itself, then you could postpone the studying and other responsibilities that you have and devote yourself to discovering what this simple presence really is. Right now you have a taste of it, it seems, but there may be many questions in the mind and much confusion about how this relates to the human world that you need to live in. It is possible to resolve these concerns and to begin to find one's way and this happens best through being able to do lots of extended sitting, preferably with others and with people who have been doing this for a long time. You do not need to learn any meditation practice or skills. Just learn to sit quietly and be in touch with what is here, inside and out, in this happy way you talk about. This being present will deepen and deepen in you and around you.

I can recommend the Springwater Center in western NY because it is a place that is free of particular traditions or approaches and can allow you to find your natural way. The woman who is the spiritual leader there also has many years experience doing this meditative work and can help out.

If you can do this sincerely for maybe 5 years or so, just working enough to keep pay for your basic expenses, you will most likely find that much will clarify about this simple presence and you will be able to enjoy people and things without being stuck to them. You will also probably find that you can concentrate when you need and want to and can let go of concentration when it's time is done. You will be able to live a natural life, seeing simplicity and happiness in all things.

I think I'll stop here with this. If what I've said does not do anything for you at all, please write back and say a little more.

Best,

Jay

Meditate

Question
I want to learn to meditate. Can you please guid me?

Answer
Hi, Neme.

You haven't said much about your motivation for meditating. For me meditation is letting the body sit quietly and seeing if it is possible to be simply present and sensitively aware of what is happening inside and outside. It is the simple revealing of what is without trying to manipulate the state of mind.

There is a presence that reveals states of mind as they unfold. This presence does not need to be created by us and is not the result of training of the mind. It is a natural awareness that is available immediately to anyone when there is interest in being in touch.

You can find out for yourself what happens if you sit quietly this way. You may find that the mind is full of thinking and there doesn't seem to be any quiet. If this happens, notice that even though the wild thinking is there and sometimes takes up all the space, it is not the only thing that is there. There is also the movement of the breath, the feel of the body on the chair or cushion, some sound of air moving or someone going by outside.

Usually we are only concerned with our thoughts so naturally they have become wild. In noticing how noisy and bothersome these thoughts can be, we can start to pay attention to the rest of life, the simple sensations that are around us. This presence can then begin to reveal more and more of the deep still world from which we are not separate.

Let me know how it goes as you try this and let me know if you have further questions.

You may have specific concerns or anxieties about your life that have led you to want to meditate. You may wonder how this direct, simple presence has anything to do with your concerns. Usually we are wrapped up in our habitual "old" ways of trying to "deal" with our life. Being present with our life instead of "dealing" is the alternative. We have all tried the old ways of dealing over and over and over. Sitting in simple presence is something new and fresh and different from the old way. If you continue with it regularly and sincerely, you will find for yourself how it begins to change the old ways and breath freshness into them.

Best,

Jay

Seeing Colors During meditation

Question
During the meditation portion of my workout, I see intense colors. Most recently, deep Maroons the turn into intense purple. When I put my palms over my eyes, it turns the most iintense midnight blue, like Im seeing the stars in the sky at night. What d othe colors I'm seeing mean?

Answer
According to the ancient Buddhist Tradition of the Vajrayana, the appearance of colored lights can have a number of causes. Most generally, it can signal that the energy (prana) has entered the central channel. The oral tradition on this point, is to remain utterly relaxed without desiring or clinging to the appearances. When selflessness and appearance meet, there is true meditation. Selflessness has two aspects, the selflessness of ego or personal transcendence and the selflessness of things--meaning no fixation on any objective phenomena. When the two selflessnesses arise simultaneously with the colored lights of pure energy meditate on the vastness without limit. When limitlessness and light mingle, there is awakening to the timeless firmament. This is actual meditation and very healing. During the postmeditative state, remember that spaciousness if you want to sustain your contemplation. When that spaciousness saturates all experience such that experience itself is ever inseparable from space--that is the Buddha mind.

Hopes this helps,

Palbar

Meditation

Question
I want to learn to meditate. Can you please guid me?

Answer
Neme, Thank you for your question.

The best way I can guide you is to point you to sources of good instruction. When we are ready, we should go for the best instruction possible.

Instruction in Transcendental Meditation is available almost anywhere in the world. If you cannot find a local teacher, try the searching tools at www.tm.org.

Some people find that TM is far too expensive (it is currently targeted to wealthy people). If this is true for you, try the learn-it-yourself inexpensive alternative, NSR Meditation. We are offering NSR to everyone in the world regardless of income. You can find detailed information about NSR Meditation, including an order form, at www.nsrusa.org.

I hope this brief answer has helped. Please feel free to submit follow up questions, if needed.

David Spector

Progress?

Question
Hi, I have been meditating for a couple of years now. The technique I learned is to focus on my lower belly and attempt to concentrate on the gentle sensations of my breath as I inhale, retain the breath, exhale and hold again in a ratio of 1:1:1:1 (or something like it). When my concentration moves from my breath I gently focus again on the area just below my naval. This is all I do during meditation. I was told not to worry about doing it 'right' and that sitting with eyes closed was bennefitial in itself, even without any intentional 'meditation'.

I used to think I was making some sort of progress. I used to feel all kinds of sensations during meditation and when I finally emerged I would feel deeply relaxed and almost as though I had smoked cannibis. I'm not sure if this was a good sign but it felt glorious and was a good incentive to continue.

These days I feel a bit like I have lost contact with what I had then. I seem to loose concentation and get caught up in thoughts more than I used to and that 'stoned' feeling has almost gone. I'm not sure whether I should interpret this as progress (having realised a restless mind that was there all along) or as a step back (having lost the concentration I had previously).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated :)

Mark

Answer
Hi, Mark.

I would question the overall value of concentration. While of course concentration is helpful in many of our daily activities and in certain kinds of excercising of the body and mind, focusing attention on a particular sensation (or mental image, as is done in some kinds of meditation) seems to me to result in excluding other kinds of sensation and awareness, including sensitivity to the states of mind.

What is of value to me is a meditative awareness that allows whatever exists at this moment - inside and outside - to simply be revealed. It is a simple presence that is not goal oriented, not associated with any particular part of the body or nervous system. It is a presence that doesn't know what to do but directly reveals what is.

I wonder what progress means to you. In a very direct way this simple presence is - moment to moment - all that there is. It is the beginning and the end of meditative work, the beginning and the end of the whole universe. If it is possible for the concepts of time and progress to let go in this moment, this ultimate completeness of each moment is seen directly. In a way the simple seeing of the restless mind, along with the feel of cool air on the skin, the movement of the body as the breath rises and falls, the sound of the fan, this simple revelation of the restless mind is enough - nothing to do about it, nothing to fix or progress toward.

Looking at things in another way, we can say that there are deep concerns about ourselves personally, about humanity in general, about the world, that do not go away just because we have sat quietly for a while. These things motivate us to look more deeply, more carefully, more sensitively. To devote more time to quiet listening and to carry our listening through in our daily life. To observe how we relate to others, what drives our own actions. To become first of all transparent to ourselves, meaning seeing our internal workings more and more honestly and sensitively. To open more to questions and uncertainty and to yearn less for answers and progress.

So where do you stand now? It is unknowable, isn't it? It doesn't need knowing, does it? Is it possible to just be with the movement of one moment to the next, giving your deepest concerns a chance to come into the light of day, along with the hum of the fan, the buzz of the fly on the windowsill?

I hope this addresses your question. It's quite possible that I haven't exactly understand what you were writing about or haven't been very clear in what I've said, so please feel free to write back and tell me more or ask me to be more clear about certain things. I will also be interested to hear what comes up as you sit with everything in a fresh way.

Best,

Jay Cutts

Meditation

Question
I want to learn to meditate. Can you please guid me?

Answer
Hi Neme,

Thanks for your interest in meditation.Sorry for being late.

Here is my recommendation.

Switch-off the cell phone, keep away all your gadgets, and excuse yourselves from spouse, children and other family members. Sit straight wherever you want and take THREE deep breaths. Let your belly be full of breath when you inhale and empty the belly when you exhale. Return to normal breathing; now watch the breath for a minute. Just witness your incoming breath and out going breath, see what is happening when you breathe. This technique is to create just one thought which the thought of your breath. Even if there are thoughts about persons or places jut ignore the thoughts.Because mind is very cunning,it will inject one thought and we will create a chain of thoughts by having one thought, so be prepared. Increase the duration by a minute each day and see how long you can sit by yourselves without creating thoughts. Do not expect something to happen or even if something happens just witness it, do not judge or arrive at a conclusion on any experience or do not try to get same experience each day, just watch the breath.

Update me on the progess.

Let you get the concentration from within to meditate.

Regards,

Vinod Pai

Progress?

Question
Hi, I have been meditating for a couple of years now. The technique I learned is to focus on my lower belly and attempt to concentrate on the gentle sensations of my breath as I inhale, retain the breath, exhale and hold again in a ratio of 1:1:1:1 (or something like it). When my concentration moves from my breath I gently focus again on the area just below my naval. This is all I do during meditation. I was told not to worry about doing it 'right' and that sitting with eyes closed was bennefitial in itself, even without any intentional 'meditation'.

I used to think I was making some sort of progress. I used to feel all kinds of sensations during meditation and when I finally emerged I would feel deeply relaxed and almost as though I had smoked cannibis. I'm not sure if this was a good sign but it felt glorious and was a good incentive to continue.

These days I feel a bit like I have lost contact with what I had then. I seem to loose concentation and get caught up in thoughts more than I used to and that 'stoned' feeling has almost gone. I'm not sure whether I should interpret this as progress (having realised a restless mind that was there all along) or as a step back (having lost the concentration I had previously).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated :)

Mark

Answer
Mark, I should tell you right off the bat that my meditation is more dynamic. I meditate while doing things of a relatively simple nature, like walking at night. Of course, I see where I'm going but I find this kind of moving mediation works for me. I no longer sit and try to force things. Or to regulate things.

Once in a while if I'm somewhat stressed from lots of downtown driving I may go into some traditional forms of tai chi or yoga. But for the most part it's just being aware while living.

One of my professors of Asian phil. once called this the "double aperture" approach. He meant that we should be conscious of our world around us and also of our inner, contemplative life -- both at the same time.

Of course, there will be degrees of focus/concentration along a continuum of 'really looking in' to 'really looking out.' When I drive, for instance, I must of course be 100% eyes on the road, so it would not be a great time to emphasize the inner!

If you could try to flexibly integrate both sides of your life, in a way that you are truly comfortable with, then that might help.

As for the stoned feeling, if you ever did pot you might have been having bio-based experiences. Apparently THC stays in the brain cells for about 7 years. After that time, I think one is cleansed. If I remember right, it's stored in fatty cells. So if one loses weight they might get that stoned feeling, as you say.

But I'm not an M.D. so I urge you to double check these medical particulars.

To sum, maybe it's time to try something new. Do you like doing exercise? The body's natural endorphins are great and also good for you.

I hope this helps.

Meditation

Question
I want to learn to meditate. Can you please guide me?

Answer
Hello Neme,

Thank you for your question. I would more than glad to assist you with a beginning meditation practice. First I would need to know your reasons for wanting to learn how to meditate. Would you please provide some information on your background, any health concerns to be aware of and goals you would like to achieve. I look forward to working with you.

Regards,

Coninyah B. Dew L.Ac., M.S.O.M.

Acupuncture Stress and Pain Management Practices

Progress?

Question
Hi, I have been meditating for a couple of years now. The technique I learned is to focus on my lower belly and attempt to concentrate on the gentle sensations of my breath as I inhale, retain the breath, exhale and hold again in a ratio of 1:1:1:1 (or something like it). When my concentration moves from my breath I gently focus again on the area just below my naval. This is all I do during meditation. I was told not to worry about doing it 'right' and that sitting with eyes closed was bennefitial in itself, even without any intentional 'meditation'.

I used to think I was making some sort of progress. I used to feel all kinds of sensations during meditation and when I finally emerged I would feel deeply relaxed and almost as though I had smoked cannibis. I'm not sure if this was a good sign but it felt glorious and was a good incentive to continue.

These days I feel a bit like I have lost contact with what I had then. I seem to loose concentation and get caught up in thoughts more than I used to and that 'stoned' feeling has almost gone. I'm not sure whether I should interpret this as progress (having realised a restless mind that was there all along) or as a step back (having lost the concentration I had previously).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated :)

Mark

Answer
Mark, Thank you for your question.

From what your wrote, I would say that you have had some progress but have also reached a plateau in your physiological and spiritual growth.

The technique you describe sounds natural and effective, although it might possibly cause some mental strain unless taught in such a way as to avoid concentration. I cannot evaluate this from what you wrote.

The sensations that you used to feel were probably the by-product of purifying the nervous system, dissolving deep stresses. The fact that they have gone away may be due to these stresses having been dissolved but your technique not being deep enough to get at the deeper stresses that remain.

It may be time for you to consider shifting to a different technique, one that can produce a much deeper physiological state of rest along with increased alertness at finer levels of thinking.

I recommend going for the most efficient meditation technology that exists, the technology of effortless transcending. This produces the fastest possible progress towards permanent freedom from stress and the fulfillment of life in bliss consciousness. Information on Transcendental Meditation (TM) is available at www.tm.org, and information on an alternative technique, Natural Stress Relief (NSR), is available at www.nsrusa.org (which includes a detailed comparison with TM). These are not the only ways to learn, but are probably the best in terms of depth of the teaching and quality of ongoing support.

I wish you success.

David Spector

President

Natural Stress Relief/USA

Really weird happenings

Question
Back in March, I went through training to become a Yoga teacher and skeptically attended the required meditation courses. For the first four or five, I felt goofy and out of place. Then, about the fifth class, I fell into what I now know as "samadhi". I had clearaudience, could hear thoughts, felt like I was expanding outside my own body, saw bright lights, etc. Ever since then, my experiences have grown more and more intense. I have literally left my body and traveled in another realm, seen space flying before my eyes with intense g force on my "body". Until a few weeks ago, everything I saw was either positive, or informative. Now I am experiencing some very dark things. For example, I get a sense of dread instead of pleasure, and see things such as two eyes burning directly over mine. I feel as if these visions are mainfestations of my evil thoughts. They are scaring the shit outta me. What's going on?

Answer
Yes, yes.

Positive and negative experiences are conditioned states. Reality is unconditioned. The real point of meditation is not the content. The point of meditation is to go beneath positive and negative experience to the unconditioned source. Our egos get pulled this way and that by our positive and negative thought forms. That is samsara.

To be free from samsara we must see through all experience back to the source space out which experience manifests. Such an undertaking is best accomplished with the help of a realized teacher. There are some teachers presently teaching in the United States I could suggest.

If you decide to wing it on your own here is my advice:

Let arise whatever arises;

See it directly without

giving in to it, without pushing it away.

Focus on the creative energy of awareness

knowing this and that.

Seeing the seer; knowing the knower.

Contents change like black and white clothe

before a mirror.

Palbar

Progress?

What exactly is meditation?

Question
I'v heard that to meditate you must clear your mind. That seems to be the hardest thing. How does one do that?

I'm trying to use meditation to get myself together - i mean learn how to relax and not take things so close to heart. I'm quite an emotional person and sometimes get too involved in the things that are in my life at a certain time.

Any advice?

Answer
Hi Patricia,

Thanks for considering me and apologies for not responding on time.

What is Meditation?

It is a technique to reach a stage when there is no mind (no thoughts) to be precise the conscious mind, the mind which keeps thinking. So when there is no mind what will happen? Good question, the experience is different at each time for the same person who is meditating.The goal should be to experience that stage.

Clearing one's mind is difficult at first. Thoughts will just come to your mind every now and then. Your goal is to be aware of when thoughts popup in your mind. To know this, first set your attention on one thing, I recommend the following meditation technique.

Sit straight wherever you want and take THREE deep breaths. Let your belly be full of breath when you inhale and empty the belly when you exhale. Return to normal breathing; now watch the breath for a minute. Just witness your incoming breath and out going breath, see what is happening when you breathe. This technique is to create just one thought which the thought of your breath. Even if there are thoughts about persons or places jut ignore the thoughts.Because mind is very cunning,it will inject one thought and we will create a chain of thoughts by having one thought, so be prepared. Increase the duration by a minute each day and see how long you can sit by yourselves without creating thoughts. Do not expect something to happen or even if something happens just witness it, do not judge or arrive at a conclusion on any experience or do not try to get same experience each day, just watch the breath.

Also affirm these positive statements as soon as you get up in the morning and also go to bed.

"I am lovable, I love everyone, even if someone hurts me, my intelligence will help me to forgive the person. Forgiveness is God and God will take care of my problems".

Remember, you cannot change for someone else , so is someone. So do not expect other person to change to make your comfortable. You should make yourself comfortable and the path is meditation and affirmative prayers.

Let me know how you are progressing.

Progress?

how to meditate?

Question
How does one meditate? - 17 student.

Answer
Jonathan, Thank you for your question.

Many meditation teachers will do their best to explain how to meditate. I believe this superficial attempt to explain does the student a disservice. Instead of learning how to transcend thought and experience the bliss of transcendental consciousness, the student is typically left with questions and confusion.

It is far better to learn in depth, with all questions answered. I recommend Transcendental Meditation (www.tm.org). With teachers available near you, it provides personal, guided instruction. However, it also costs a lot of money. An inexpensive alternative is available, NSR Meditation, which makes use of a printed manual so that you learn on your own. Experience and research proves that this method works well. If you are interested in finding out more, I suggest you explore www.nsrusa.org to learn all the details of NSR Meditation.

I hope this brief answer has helped. Please feel free to submit follow up questions, if needed.

David Spector

President,

NSR Meditation/USA

Progress?

Sensations while meditating

Question
QUESTION: Sir,

I have practiced meditation on and off for several years.I am currently undergoing a development in my spirituality, and have begun meditating again. Recently, I have begun to experience new sensations when I attain a certain level of concentration. They include a warm tingling throughout my body and a gently lifting or lightening of my limbs, accompanied by muscle twitching and rapid eye movement. It seems to approach a kind of physical ecstasy (too strong a word perhaps). It is new and a bit scary. What do you think of this? Thanks for your response.

ANSWER: The purpose of meditation is liberation. That means experience like the changing weather are to be differentiated from the unchanging sky. Who experiences the tingling, who experiences rapid eye movement? That who, can you see him?

Palbar

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I think it is me experiencing it. I "see" as from inside my head looking out my own eyes as if they are a mask during meditation. Today, as I meditated and pushed outward trying to open up to spirit, I experience the lightness, with my hands lifting off my legs, REM, and my left arm actually started moving up and down at about a 4 per second beat. I was unsettled by this, although I let it go on for a time to see what else might occur. Eventually I brought myself back and it stopped. Should I be afraid of this? Thanks for your comments.

Answer
When fear arises, relax and gently observe the fear. Fear itself has no real existence; it appears but is insubstantial. Within the soul of fear is pure-being. Focus on the pure-being aspect and it should release.

"Experiences are like mist, they soon fade away. Realization is like the the sky, unchanging." Experiences in mediation are insubstantial. Recognizing the insubstantial nature of experiences is meditation.

Palbar

Progress?

Question
QUESTION: Hi, I have been meditating for a couple of years now. The technique I learned is to focus on my lower belly and attempt to concentrate on the gentle sensations of my breath as I inhale, retain the breath, exhale and hold again in a ratio of 1:1:1:1 (or something like it). When my concentration moves from my breath I gently focus again on the area just below my naval. This is all I do during meditation. I was told not to worry about doing it 'right' and that sitting with eyes closed was bennefitial in itself, even without any intentional 'meditation'.

I used to think I was making some sort of progress. I used to feel all kinds of sensations during meditation and when I finally emerged I would feel deeply relaxed and almost as though I had smoked cannibis. I'm not sure if this was a good sign but it felt glorious and was a good incentive to continue.

These days I feel a bit like I have lost contact with what I had then. I seem to loose concentation and get caught up in thoughts more than I used to and that 'stoned' feeling has almost gone. I'm not sure whether I should interpret this as progress (having realised a restless mind that was there all along) or as a step back (having lost the concentration I had previously).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated :)

Mark

ANSWER: Hi, Mark.

I would question the overall value of concentration. While of course concentration is helpful in many of our daily activities and in certain kinds of excercising of the body and mind, focusing attention on a particular sensation (or mental image, as is done in some kinds of meditation) seems to me to result in excluding other kinds of sensation and awareness, including sensitivity to the states of mind.

What is of value to me is a meditative awareness that allows whatever exists at this moment - inside and outside - to simply be revealed. It is a simple presence that is not goal oriented, not associated with any particular part of the body or nervous system. It is a presence that doesn't know what to do but directly reveals what is.

I wonder what progress means to you. In a very direct way this simple presence is - moment to moment - all that there is. It is the beginning and the end of meditative work, the beginning and the end of the whole universe. If it is possible for the concepts of time and progress to let go in this moment, this ultimate completeness of each moment is seen directly. In a way the simple seeing of the restless mind, along with the feel of cool air on the skin, the movement of the body as the breath rises and falls, the sound of the fan, this simple revelation of the restless mind is enough - nothing to do about it, nothing to fix or progress toward.

Looking at things in another way, we can say that there are deep concerns about ourselves personally, about humanity in general, about the world, that do not go away just because we have sat quietly for a while. These things motivate us to look more deeply, more carefully, more sensitively. To devote more time to quiet listening and to carry our listening through in our daily life. To observe how we relate to others, what drives our own actions. To become first of all transparent to ourselves, meaning seeing our internal workings more and more honestly and sensitively. To open more to questions and uncertainty and to yearn less for answers and progress.

So where do you stand now? It is unknowable, isn't it? It doesn't need knowing, does it? Is it possible to just be with the movement of one moment to the next, giving your deepest concerns a chance to come into the light of day, along with the hum of the fan, the buzz of the fly on the windowsill?

I hope this addresses your question. It's quite possible that I haven't exactly understand what you were writing about or haven't been very clear in what I've said, so please feel free to write back and tell me more or ask me to be more clear about certain things. I will also be interested to hear what comes up as you sit with everything in a fresh way.

Best,

Jay Cutts

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi thanks very much for the speedy reply. I have heard other people say similar thing to you - that concentration is not the best form of meditation - but find it difficult to choose between all the different methods out there. I would be interested to know more of your style of meditation. Clearly you do not concentrate on one thing but do you not still concentrate, even if it is more widely?

Answer
Hi, Mark.

You raise a good question. First of all, why not experiment with it yourself? You can see if it is possible to sit without any concentration at all. What would that be? Then you can resume what you are calling concentration and see what changes. And if you find yourself concentrating, you can see if it is possible for it to drop in order to find out what changes then. Whatever it is that you are calling concentration can be clarified then by listening to it and by seeing how it is if it drops away.

For myself sitting (or moving) quietly, openly, is not a style of meditation. It is not a style. It's simple presence that reveals what is going on inside and outside without trying to judge or change what is revealed. This presence reveals judgement and the urge to change things. Do you see why I say this is not a style? Styles, methods, techniques are mental attitudes and strategies for accomplishing something. I'm talking about finding a space of presence that is not part of that complex of knowing, judging, wanting, manipulating but that reveals the complex itself clearly, along with the sound of typing, the movement of air on the skin, the brightness of sun shining on snow. There are not different varieties of this presence to have to choose from. There is just one simple presence, which can be discovered and lived when something more complicated loosens its grip. Presence - allowing what is here to be revealed - is much simpler than styles and strategies.

As for concentration, I can say that there is a kind of gathering of energy that happens in being with what is here. Maybe this could be called a concentration - sort of in the sense of a distillation - but because the word concentration is so easily associated with mental focusing techniques, it might be better to call this gathering of energy something like "interest". Interest implies a "perking up", an alertness, which requires energy. So if you are very interested in this issue of concentration, you can experiment with whether there can be an interest, an awakeness that gathers with as little focusing as possible, as little physical straining as possible. If you detect focus and physical straining, you can experiment with it to see if it is necessary and to see if there is something behind it that doesn't want to give itself up.

I don't know the answer. It's possible that there is a tautness of body that goes along with a simple presence. It is only for each of us to experiment with this and examine it carefully. If a mental focus or physical concentration can drop away and there is still presence, then it becomes clear that presence does not depend on that.

Does this help clarify what we are talking about a little? Please do let me know what other questions may come up for you or if you would like to clarify some of these things together further, as well as what comes up as you try what we are talking about.

Best,

Jay Cutts

how to meditate?

Question
QUESTION: How does one meditate? - 17 student.

ANSWER: Jonathan, Thank you for your question.

Many meditation teachers will do their best to explain how to meditate. I believe this superficial attempt to explain does the student a disservice. Instead of learning how to transcend thought and experience the bliss of transcendental consciousness, the student is typically left with questions and confusion.

It is far better to learn in depth, with all questions answered. I recommend Transcendental Meditation (www.tm.org). With teachers available near you, it provides personal, guided instruction. However, it also costs a lot of money. An inexpensive alternative is available, NSR Meditation, which makes use of a printed manual so that you learn on your own. Experience and research proves that this method works well. If you are interested in finding out more, I suggest you explore www.nsrusa.org to learn all the details of NSR Meditation.

I hope this brief answer has helped. Please feel free to submit follow up questions, if needed.

David Spector

President,

NSR Meditation/USA

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: How might this relate to flow? What can you say about flow?

What does meditation achieve?

Answer
Jonathan,

You don't seem to have read my answer or to have thought about it.

Many meditation teachers will do their best to explain how to meditate. I believe this superficial attempt to explain does the student a disservice. Instead of learning how to transcend thought and experience the bliss of transcendental consciousness, the student is typically left with questions and confusion.

Answering questions about "flow" will only confuse you more.

It is far better to learn in depth, with all questions answered.

See my original answer for suggestions about where you can get good instruction.

David Spector

Transcendental Meditation mantra

Question
Dear David,good morning

I am a 34 year old Nepali and currently i am in the Hague Netherlands. I am very much interested on Transcendental Meditation. I want to learn and practice the mediation.Is it possible to send me the Mantra and practice myself ? or if there is Transcendental Meditation centre in the HAgue and it is afordable for me i want to go.

if possible please send me the mantra and technique to use it si that i can lead more meaningful life in the earth.

Answer
Rajendra Ghimire, Thank you for your question.

You can locate your nearest Transcendental Meditation centre on the Web at http://tm.org/learn/where/international.html . You can also locate the Netherlands centres via the TM Press Office at +31-475-53-9620 (PressCenter at-sign Maharishi.Net). You can find the Netherlands TM website at www.tm.nl .

If you find that the price of instruction is too high, you should know that there are alternatives to Transcendental Meditation, such as Natural Stress Relief (www.nsrusa.org and www.natural-stress-relief.com).

Concerning your request for "the mantra", you should know that a mantra (meaningless sound) is only a small part of the instruction. The method for effortless transcending that makes use of the natural tendency of the mind to seek a field of greater happiness is the heart of TM, not "the mantra".

I hope this brief answer has helped. Please feel free to submit follow up questions, if needed.

David Spector

President,

Natural Stress Relief/USA

Meditation

Question
Do I have the Right Idea of meditation? There Are times in my life when I have stopped thinking, and looked around me, and became amazed at the awareness of simply being there. This must be what Thich Nhat Hahn spoke of in his writings, it is obvious, but is there something more than that? And also, why does the natural tendency of a man resist this so much? Am I meditating when I do this, just becoming aware of my surroundings? Nothing could be simpler, yet It is so hard to keep doing. My mind just does't want to slow down and do this.

Answer
There is more than this. Awareness of being aware is the gateway to transcendental being. When you recognize that the objects mere appearance is insubstantial, your getting warm.

Resistance, is a function of habit. We have an innate habit of ego fixating on appearance as real.

You are meditation when you rest your mind in bare attention. But insight into the source is the final frontier.

palbar

accepting visions

Question
Good Evening,

I have dreams and visions ALL THE TIME! Almost every night. I am constantly blessed by the Holy Spirit and dream realm with visions of personal events to come in my life, before they even happen. The problem is, I accept the visions that are favorable and understand them quite clearly however, the visions that are not so favorable I find myself struggling to understand and have a hard time interpreting what Spirit is trying to say to me. Consequently, when the unfavorable events seen in my dreams come to pass in the physical realm, I end up being hurt by the situation and I get so emotionally drained. My question is, can you offer advise to an annointed child of the One True God, caught in a struggle, with obedience, between the Spiritual World and physical world? Thank you!

Sincerely,

Tired of Being Hurt

Answer
I don't think I'm specifically qualified to answer your questions, but I do have a reading suggestion. The early Church Fathers wrote a manual explaining all the states preceding divine union with the spirit. They were writing for highly experienced Christians. Here is a quote, that might shed light on your question but no substitute for the full text:

"'In Peace be his dwelling place' (PS. 76 : 2. LXX). To be in 'peace' means to have no thoughts, whether good or bad, because, as Evigrios says, if the intellect perceives something, it is not in God alone, but also in itself. This is true; for since God is undetermined and indeterminable, without form or colour, the intellect that is is with God alone should itself be without form or colour, free from all figuration and undistracted." p. 236 Vol. III The Philokalia compiled by St. Nikodimos of the Holy Mountain and St. Kaarios of Corinth 4th-5th Century AD. Faber and Faber Boston 1984.

Palbar

meditation

Question
Hi,Mr. Dew

Many regards

After your permission,Id like to ask some questions:

1-can one meditate while lying with eyes close, or must sit with aposture and focus ones eyes on a certain object?

2-is meditation focusing on something trying to see what is beyond the tangible or just releasing the mind from bothering thoughts?

3-is self-hypnosis and mental imagery considered some kind of meditation?

thanks alot

samer

Answer
Hello Samer,

Thank you for your questions. There are many different positions in which to meditate. What's most important is the intention set forth before beginning the meditation session. Certain postures lend themselves to better alignment with your intention. Having said that, you certainly can lie down with your eyes closed or in a sitting posture while focusing on a particular object. In the first case, it can be difficult to maintain awareness without falling asleep. Falling asleep could mean several things: 1) you're very tired or 2) your meditation is bringing to the surface issues needing to be addressed but you are not ready to acknowledge.

To your second question: meditation can be worked with as a practice with both intentions. Meditation with intention often allows the practitioner to see beyond what it tangible. It can also provide clarity to circumstances right in front of you. The interesting thing is, through meditation, you may notice the mind begins to heighten in activity but you begin to allow the thoughts to pass without judgement. But rather, the thoughts pass without clinging to them. So both are possible. However, through meditation, you begin to notice greater alignment with your own inner guidance.

In terms of question three: I can not speak to self hypnosis as I am unfamiliar with this practice. I can say that mental imagery is very much a type of meditation especially if you find yourself to be a visual person. Mental imagery can assist with bringing you to a place of understanding yourself, your motivations, and how others/circumstances affect your ability to stay clear and focused.

I do hope you have found this information helpful. Should have additional questions, please let me know. I do wish you all the best.

Regards,

Coninyah B. Dew L.Ac., M.S.O.M.

Acupuncture Stress and Pain Management Practices

Meditation related

Question
Note: I previously erroneously gave the wrong email address, the correct email address should be: fitque@live.co.uk and not quefit@live.co.uk

Dear Doctor Clark,

Firstly I'd like to thank you for sharing your valuable time to assist others, its sometimes easy for people to forget the time people donate of themselves.

I have been studying various self improvement techniques which include a look at the fundamental principles of self hypnosis, autosuggestion and other what generally can be termed "mind body" communications at a subconscious level, and it is from this study that my questions arises. Actually there are two questions although closely related, a. The difference between meditation and hypnosis and what each should be used for and b. What fundamental type of meditation would you personally advocate or favor.

Firstly if possible, could you explain what is the difference between "Self Hypnosis" (Assuming for general purposes that "Self Hypnosis" is defined broadly as all states relating to those commonly defined as "Hypnotic" whether self induced or induced by a therapist irrespective of which induction technique is used (Elman style, Ericson style etc) and the difference between meditation?

More specifically following on from that would it be possible to give an indication as to what circumstances would be most appropriate for which.

The next question relating to this is which type of meditation would you recommend? Is there one general type or form of meditation that you personally like and would recommend or the work of any particular author you would recommend? I have tried transcendental meditation and naturally I seem to prefer a "proactive" focused and "willed form" of meditation rather than a passive form.

With Kind Regards

James

Answer
Hi... this question is too long and detailed for me to go into point by point. But I will say that definitions usually depend on who is doing the defining. When you think about it, nobody really knows what headspace another person is in. One person's "ego consciousness" could be more like another's "trance." This is especially so when we look cross-culturally.

As for the active-passive issue you outline, this too is a potentially complex and debatable matter.

My advice is to more or less forget the "schools" and just explore everything that you feel lead to, interested in, and so on.

This, of course, assumes that you will use good common sense.

Anyhow, I'm sort of busy these days but am interested in your question. Please consider this as a preliminary answer. Feel free to follow up.

Sunday, February 28, 2010

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