Utter basics.

[mradam83]

Namaste.

I'm trying to get to the stage where I can meditate and focus my mind but admittedly I'm finding it do difficult.

Ironically when I was younger (late teens) I could meditate naturally and got to the stage that I felt like I left my body! Now though, I struggle to even think my thoughts In an uninterrupted way - it feels like the older I get, the shorter my attention span is.

What are the utter basics of Meditation - stance, comfort, location etc? And does anyone else find it extremely difficult to concentrate?

Cheers.

[Shuddhasattva]

Namaste

Meditation (dhyan/dharana yoga) is itself not a single thing, it's a collection of methods used to access samadhi (trance-absorption).

For example:

• Meditation on a gross object.
• Meditation on a subtle object.
• Meditation on no object.

In meditation both your aid and hindrance are thoughts. It is necessary to.
A. Not participate in thoughts.
B. View them as not-different from your object of meditation. As lenses onto that object.

What I mean is that when a thought occurs to you, and it will, though less so when your breathing is calm and regular and your posture undisturbed by discomfort, rather than participating in it, or trying to reject it / block it from your mind by force, view its apparition as an illusory protrusion of your actual meditative object; let each thought bring you back, closer and closer, to your object.

Here's something... unorthodox I'd also like to suggest:
Do you have a friend who might be willing to joyride around with you? Something I've noticed about the mind, at least my mind, is that it's easier to fix in meditation when the mind feels that the body has no choice but to be still. This is easier sitting in a passenger seat of a moving vehicle than left to one's own devices.

Hope this helps.

Namaste

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam mradam83: One of the problems, as I see it in the west, is that prerequisites aren't met first. Somebody hears about meditation, thinks, "Oh, that's cool." and then tries unsuccessfully to meditate.

Did the Walenda guy who just crossed above Niagara Falls on a tightrope watch or hear about it, and say, "Oh, that's cool, I'll give it a go." No, obviously.

Meditation is an advanced practise. Kindergarten kids can't do calculus. In the west, there is this quantum leap of an idea going on.

One of the reasons is we have problems in life. It is difficult to clear the mind when a loved one is sick, an assignment is due, or the car is broke.

This is not to say I know you, or that you're not ready, but I'm just throwing it out there as a possibility. If you do try, and its unsuccessful, don't feel like a failure, or beat yourself up. There are lots of practices in Hinduism that are easier to do, and will develop will, which will serve you well for the day you are ready to sit still and go within. One is seva. (Service to mankind.) Another is bhakti, in home temple, or practises like japa.

Having said all that, the very basics of meditation are basically twofold: straight spine, and rhythmic diaphragmatic breathing.

On a side note, I'm not a very good meditator at all, and won't pretend to be, although there are moments when awareness is effortlessly thrown inward, almost on its own accord, unconsciously, like in the moments right after some strong puja, like the one I described at the Ganesha temple in Utah, in another thread.

Best wishes

Aum Namasivaya

[Shuddhasattva]

Namaste

I must say that I respectfully disagree with the idea that meditation is an advanced practice that needs extensive preparation to begin. It is certainly an advanced practice, and it certainly benefits from preparation and contiguous practice of the other disciplines (hence the progression of the eight arms of yoga), but it is a universally accessible practice that anyone and everyone can implement into their lives, to one degree or another, in one form or another.

Meditation is seizing the natural impulse for introspection and truth-finding, and applying it in a structured or intensified (by reason of the will-to-truth and commitment to completion) manner.

When we do mantra, it is supposed to be meditation. One learns the mantra, then one learns the dhyan of the devata. The mantra is shabdabrahman, nondifferent from the form of the deity upon which the concentration is to be fixed. The most basic (though no less profound or important) of all practices is namajapa, which leads into dhyan for all people.


Namaste

[silence_speaks]

Dear mrudram,


Thats why its more important to understand and work with the reasons that take us away from meditation.

Please see... Suppose you come home one day to find that your room is full of rain water. It means there were some leaks from which water seeped in. So its definitely useful to flush out the water, but whats more important is identify the leaks and block them.

Meditation is supposed to be our natural state. So what we need to work on is not how to "get to our natural state" but to see what exactly takes us away from our natural state. One has to discover that sahaja stiti and abide in it.

I hope this much is clear.

[silence_speaks]

Always preparations for meditation are far more important than meditation.
When the mental mood is meditative, everything else falls in place ... absolutely straight.

This also explains why mind keeps moving to other things: the mental make up is not yet well set!

[Eastern Mind]

Vannakkam Shuddasattva et al: I think a lot depends on your definition of meditation, when one thinks of it as advanced or not. I personally don't see any disagreement, as the definition I'm used to does involve a lot of training.

But of course the word is bandied about, and in many senses can apply to a lot of things, like japa, relaxation, thinking reflectively, enjoying bliss, etc. Its just that I personally don't call these things meditation. Whether or not someone else wants to is entirely up to them.

Aum Namasivaya

[mradam83]

Namaste everyone.

Apologies if I do not reply singularly to your posts.

What I think my main issue is that I used to be able to do it naturally and it made such an impact when I did. I can't understand how I have got worse as I got older - is it possible that the more of a conscious effort one makes, the harder it can be?

From what Eastern mind said in his second post, I think I'm guilty of expecting too much of myself and beating myself up when I don't succeed. :-(

[mradam83]

Namaste

I must say that I respectfully disagree with the idea that meditation is an advanced practice that needs extensive preparation to begin. It is certainly an advanced practice, and it certainly benefits from preparation and contiguous practice of the other disciplines (hence the progression of the eight arms of yoga), but it is a universally accessible practice that anyone and everyone can implement into their lives, to one degree or another, in one form or another.

Meditation is seizing the natural impulse for introspection and truth-finding, and applying it in a structured or intensified (by reason of the will-to-truth and commitment to completion) manner.

When we do mantra, it is supposed to be meditation. One learns the mantra, then one learns the dhyan of the devata. The mantra is shabdabrahman, nondifferent from the form of the deity upon which the concentration is to be fixed. The most basic (though no less profound or important) of all practices is namajapa, which leads into dhyan for all people.


Namaste

Namaste.

Apologies for asking such a simple question, but what Mantra is used?

[mradam83]

Dear mrudram,


Thats why its more important to understand and work with the reasons that take us away from meditation.

Please see... Suppose you come home one day to find that your room is full of rain water. It means there were some leaks from which water seeped in. So its definitely useful to flush out the water, but whats more important is identify the leaks and block them.

Meditation is supposed to be our natural state. So what we need to work on is not how to "get to our natural state" but to see what exactly takes us away from our natural state. One has to discover that sahaja stiti and abide in it.

I hope this much is clear.

Namaste,

Thank you for your replies.

Can I ask, do you have a method of clearing your mind at all?