Hari OM
Substituting Monday with AUM-day; in search of meditation.
All the words on this page will not substitute for practice. Only with practice will come experience. Only with experience will there be teasers to pull you forward to practice more...
The अक्षराः /letters of the alphabet which make up the sound symbol OM are A U and M. Each has a specific purpose and meaning. Let us play with them a little though, as we share this practice and add to our understanding.
The 'A'pogee of meditation is freedom from everything. Space, time, plurality. It is described in Sanskrit as सच्चिदानन्द /sacchidaananda. This is a compounding of 'sat' (to be, truth, changeless, absolute...), 'chit' (consciousness, to comprehend...), and 'aananda' (bliss, happiness, joy...) Reaching to that state is a long and arduous journey, as one strips away external existence, internal existence and all the 'fluff' in between. The one of the individualised self 'realises' THE ONE of the Undivided Self. 'Being-ness'.
Many who come to Vedanta (or any path of knowledge) will have the intellectual approach to solving the puzzle of existence, considering meditation to be a waste of their time. They get lost in the desert of their thinking as it will lack the malleability of 'being-ness'.
There are those who believe 'being-ness' can be reached through meditation alone. They get lost in the lack of understanding which comes with a well-worked intellect.
How are those five minutes a day going? Keep at that exercise. Check in with your body at the start and the finish. Note all the tensions. Make a conscious effort now to drop all muscular contractions. They will be everywhere. Do not lose posture. Neither increase the time. The question arises "How to measure the time without thinking and watching?" We have the modern advantage of alarm clocks do we not? Preferably digital watch, as ticking clocks are also distracting. If you have a partner or friend, ask them to time it - knocking on the door when the five minutes is up. Even if you feel you can - or are used to - sitting for longer periods, DO NOT. For relaxation and daily relief, by all means. The practice we are going to build here, however, goes far beyond that.
The purpose of this disciplined approach is to prevent slipping into comfort zones. To not be sidetracked by whizzing sounds and flashing lights and sensationalism. There will be such moments as the practitioner raises his or her awareness. The alert, however, will know these to be traps of the ego-self, illusions; smoke and mirrors of the internal small self saying 'stay here with me, is this not fun?' It is the meditative equivalent of the justification voice which says 'there is already one sugar in that tea, what harm would be two?
Vast majority will not be seeking 'the apogee'; will simply be seeking stress relief or similar. Okay. That is fine, but there are many pursuits which will relieve and require no work of the participant. There are many places you can go for 'chill out'.
You are here, though. Something inside stirred, like the very first sense of wakefulness after a deep sleep. Be careful...to not fall back into that sleep...
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'
Substituting Monday with AUM-day; in search of meditation.
All the words on this page will not substitute for practice. Only with practice will come experience. Only with experience will there be teasers to pull you forward to practice more...
The अक्षराः /letters of the alphabet which make up the sound symbol OM are A U and M. Each has a specific purpose and meaning. Let us play with them a little though, as we share this practice and add to our understanding.
The 'A'pogee of meditation is freedom from everything. Space, time, plurality. It is described in Sanskrit as सच्चिदानन्द /sacchidaananda. This is a compounding of 'sat' (to be, truth, changeless, absolute...), 'chit' (consciousness, to comprehend...), and 'aananda' (bliss, happiness, joy...) Reaching to that state is a long and arduous journey, as one strips away external existence, internal existence and all the 'fluff' in between. The one of the individualised self 'realises' THE ONE of the Undivided Self. 'Being-ness'.
Many who come to Vedanta (or any path of knowledge) will have the intellectual approach to solving the puzzle of existence, considering meditation to be a waste of their time. They get lost in the desert of their thinking as it will lack the malleability of 'being-ness'.
There are those who believe 'being-ness' can be reached through meditation alone. They get lost in the lack of understanding which comes with a well-worked intellect.
How are those five minutes a day going? Keep at that exercise. Check in with your body at the start and the finish. Note all the tensions. Make a conscious effort now to drop all muscular contractions. They will be everywhere. Do not lose posture. Neither increase the time. The question arises "How to measure the time without thinking and watching?" We have the modern advantage of alarm clocks do we not? Preferably digital watch, as ticking clocks are also distracting. If you have a partner or friend, ask them to time it - knocking on the door when the five minutes is up. Even if you feel you can - or are used to - sitting for longer periods, DO NOT. For relaxation and daily relief, by all means. The practice we are going to build here, however, goes far beyond that.
The purpose of this disciplined approach is to prevent slipping into comfort zones. To not be sidetracked by whizzing sounds and flashing lights and sensationalism. There will be such moments as the practitioner raises his or her awareness. The alert, however, will know these to be traps of the ego-self, illusions; smoke and mirrors of the internal small self saying 'stay here with me, is this not fun?' It is the meditative equivalent of the justification voice which says 'there is already one sugar in that tea, what harm would be two?
Vast majority will not be seeking 'the apogee'; will simply be seeking stress relief or similar. Okay. That is fine, but there are many pursuits which will relieve and require no work of the participant. There are many places you can go for 'chill out'.
You are here, though. Something inside stirred, like the very first sense of wakefulness after a deep sleep. Be careful...to not fall back into that sleep...
'