Hari
Om
Monday is AUM-day; in search of meditation.
The text being referenced for the next few weeks is
"The Art Of Contemplation". Last week we saw the first part of an
introduction to the concept and purpose of contemplation. The exercises might
be looked at separately; but there is a 'step-ways' progression, so best to
begin at the beginning!
EXERCISE
1
Begin
by ensuring your 'seat' - the aasana - is firm and stable. Long-term readers
will recall this has been the subject of several posts. Do
check back on them to refresh - or to learn, if you are joining only recently.
(A reminder that on coming to this blog, you
are best to go back to post one
and work your way through!) The bottom ought not to be rolling about,
the spine slumping. The posture, whether in chair or on floor, ought to be erect,
yet relaxed. No tensions. Go through a checklist of the body and note where
things are tight, then breath into those areas and drop without flop.
This
having been settled, the next step is to hold the body with no movement. No
swaying, no drooping. What is more, at this time the focus of contemplation is,
in fact, the body. Become conscious of the breathing - of the air in the lungs;
of the places where body is fighting the process; observe the flow of fluids in
the circulatory vessels; note the legs eager to run suddenly!
Experiencing
the steadiness of the body and building on that foundation is a key component
of exercise one. Without the foundation, all other contemplative attempts
become futile.
Having
become conscious of the body, move on to watching the mind. If the mind has
been suitably focused on the body, as per the first part of this process, then
it is likely to find now that it has already calmed down somewhat from it's
normal daily nonsense. Instantly, however, we are likely to find also that mind
now wants to run like the legs did on the body focus! Even the thoughts
"oh how quiet it is…. Here look at how peaceful I am now!... Listen to
that silence…" start to clutter the previously focused space that was body
consciousness. Therefore, the teachers say, return to the body focus. Let not
the mind do anything but focus on the body and its operations. Every now and
then permit a peek at the mind to see whether it is properly slowing down. If
at all a thought comes let it be "even my
mind can be quietened".
It
is with such a suitably pacified (albeit not yet absent) mind that we ought to
take up our abhyaasa - spiritual study and practice. Just as a school student
who has slept properly can more clearly concentrate and absorb the lessons of
school and apply the knowledge gained at times of test, so the saadhaka, rested
and focused from contemplation, can gain most from scriptural study.
This
body consciousness and mind awareness level of contemplation is exercise one.
It ought to be practiced at the very least, once daily and preferably in the
morning. Better still is to perform the exercise three if not four times daily.
Morning, noon and evening and possible before bed also. The more one practices,
the better one becomes. Simple fact. In such regulated practice, observing the
mind as a third party starts to take up its own fascination. It becomes a great
entertainment! Be careful. When this happens, remain only with the body
consciousness level of the practice. Let not the mind have any leeway to wander
without your permission. You are not your mind - the mind is your tool to be
used as you deem fit. The mind may cackle and point at you, yelling "you
can't catch me!" Ignore it. Just keep observing.
You
may find that each session of contemplative saadhana is but ten minutes of
duration. This is fine. It is not a contest of how long one can sit. Sit as
long as it is comfortable and you can remain in the observer mode. As with any
athlete's exercise, the more the practice that is made, the longer the sessions
will become by natural process, for the stamina builds and the strength grows.
After a month, assess where you are with the mind - if applied well it must
automatically have become quieter and really it has cost minimum effort.
Thoughts ought to be jumping around less, not just in the formal sessions of
contemplation, but in daily activity also. This lengthening of the space
between thoughts is the effect and purpose of contemplation.
Do
not be angry or frustrated if it takes longer than you had hoped. The mind has
had its own way for a long, long time! The nature of mind is to frisk about
like a cat on a hot tin roof. All that is required of the saadhaka is to be
convinced that, at some point, mind will be quietened. From this determination
to continue will be there. This is a subjective science - every student must go
through the process by his or herself and there can be no defined time as to
when the mind will be tamed. All that is known and has been proved for
millennia is that the application of the process of contemplation will ensure
success to the dedicated saadhaka.
Therefore, take up the exercise and run it for as long as necessary. Try
it NOW. Stop reading and settle in aasana. Begin contemplation exercise one.
Why
are you still here???
