Msg # 8002 Date: 09 Oct 93 17:43:00 From: Bob Johnstone, moderator To: Jason Leach Subj: RE-MEDITATION? ____________________________________________________________________________ > It is hard. I have tried but it requires alot of concentration to > empty your head. And it may take a long time. Meditation is actually quite easy if you learn from a good instructor. It is NOT necessary to clear the mind completely for long periods of time. Just as good results are possible when only clearning it for short periods of time and deliberately choosing what you are going to think about when you DO become aware you are thinking helps you get there MUCH FASTER. Example sit or lie in a comfortable position. Loosen any tight clothing. If sitting make sure feet are flat on the floor. If on your back lying down, putting a pillow under your knees, especially if on a water bed so they are slightly bent instead of putting reverse pressure on the knee joints. Close your eyes and think of a pleasant memory our doors. Think about that memory in whatever way you desire, getting as much as you can recall that you could see, hear, touch, taste and smell. Review it several times, as you may get more detail as you do. Recall a younger memory out in nature containing similar pleasant feelings. Recall the youngest similar memory you can get or another pleasant memory which might have been experienced at a younger age. These can be anywhere, in a park, the woods, mountains, at the beach, in the desert, just anywhere you like. After getting all the detail you can, you will begin realizing that you are more relaxed than when you began. The purpose of this is to relax with the eyes closed long enough so the brain begins producing ALPHA brain waves. Any time that we keep our eyes close and think of relaxing memories, we will be producting alpha in about 30 seconds when young, and even at 70 or older within three minutes. This is what happens in meditation, a Yogi Master will produce about 35 mv of ALPHA in meditation..... But it takes years of practice in the manner the practice to do so.... At this point you begin your "meditation" there is NO need to use any "special sound or word" as taught in meditation classes. Any ONE sylable word will work just as well, but it is EVEN BETTER to use one which HAS good meaning to your mind. I teach my clients to begin meditating using the word "LOVE." Just focus on your breathing, take a comfortably deep breath and hold it a few seconds, as you EXHALE SLOWLY, think of the word LOVE, taking as long to say it silently in your mind, as it takes to exhale that breath. Hold it a few comfortable seconds (it will vary with each individual, you will pick up your own pattern, do not try to force it or let it be natural and you avoid create a distraction just by breathing) Inhale and repeat. IF you find that you drift off and are feeling comfortable, it is to be expected. Just when you find you are aware that you are thinking, if the thoughts are not positive you may learn something about yourself that will surprise you. You can even ask yourself questions about these thoughts. Like what can I learn that will help me? Whenever you feel like you wish to continue, just go back again and focus on your breathing and repeat the word "LOVE" as you exhale. Continue doing this for a minimum of 20 minutes, longer may be more beneficial in the beginning, soon you will find it is quite easy to CLEAR YOUR MIND of thoughts, but what comes to you in these "quiet states" can be very beneficial, healing, creative, etc. Many of my best ideas for helping clients have come in this peaceful state after moments or minutes without any conscious thought. When you feel you have spent all the time you desire practicing, simply begin moving the fingers on your left or right hand, than slowly begin stretching and return to a full awareness of your surroundings. As you do, pay attention to HOW DEEPLY RELAXED YOU FEEL..... Then, the NEXT TIME you begin to practice, with your eyes closed, think about the deep relaxing feelings you experienced at the END OF THE TIME YOU SPENT MEDITATING during the previous session. This becomes a signal to the subconscious to create that same state and it will do so even more rapidly. Each successive practice session, will achiever deeper (stronger ALPHA) levels much faster, so by the end of the next session you are producing more powerful alpha. You create a self reinforcing cycle, that produces stronger and stronger alpha patterns very quickly. In a year many of my clients are producing 35 mv of ALPHA, that took Yogi Masters years of practice to produce. It can even be advantageous, to practice for two or three distinctly seperate times one after the other. Example: After practicing for ten minutes you become aware of your surroundings. When you open your eyes and check the time you see you have more time you could spend. Go back to the beginning, and begin practicing again. The next time if you become aware of your environment etc, and still have time, practice again. Doing this three times in one day one after another brings you to progressively deeper and deeper relaxing levels (where you will be producing stronger or more powerful alpha.) Each time you practice, as the subconscious has NO concept of time (that is a conscious or anlytical function) it is JUST AS EFFECTIVE AS IF YOU PRACTICED on a SEPERATE DAY.... Thus you make three days progress in one! It is unfortunate that some instructors "say" it is difficult to clear the mind when meditating. Students are in an ALPHA state many times when they repeat this and it is a VERY suggestable state. Thus they "hypnotize" the student into believing that it is difficult, when in reality if you learn correctly, and do this PREPARATION ACTIVITY recalling relaxing memories out in nature for 3 minutes, it leads you to a level of alpha where it is then much EASIER to clear the mind. Each time you wish to do so, all you have to do is repeat what is called a "mantra" basicly that is a "sound" you can focus on. The only advantage (proven in research at Harvard) to having a mantra, is that to us it is a "nonsense" sound without any specific meaning. This is why the sound Oooommmmmmm has been widely used in Meditation, no one knows what the word means, so it supposedly makes it easier to clear the mind. However, I find with clients that focusing on something WITH MEANING, makes it much easier for them to narrow their focus to ONE thing. From that point where the focus is narrowed, they then slip from focusing on it, to just focusing on the breathing ALONE and they have almost cleared the mind. The next stage is where they stop even focusing on their breathing. By practicing in this manner, I have been able within a year to produce 35mv of alpha for an hour or more. Within three years I was producing over 50mv's and in leas than ten years I could produce steadily over 100 microvolts of alpha in less than 20 minutes. It takes may Yogi Masters over 30 years to achieve levels where the produce a steady 35 mv's..... enjoy it before long. Dr Bob --- TMail v1.31.5 * Origin: Ask the Sysop For PUBLIC_PSYCH or Call 714-952-2110 (1:10/227) PATH: 10/227 102/834 852 851 2 209/209 270/101 138/1 352/3 410 EN