Meditation

[charley]

Most people in the West who have access to the internet and who know nothing of meditation will google. Now, considering that such people (especially in the West) have already been “conditioned” to have a mindset that accepts authority as to “how to do” anything. The number of books and ideas disseminated in the West is mind-boggling. So, most people in the West will take knowledge as the means to find out “how to do” any and everything. So, what most people will do is either go to a bookstore, a library, or google information as to “how to meditate”, or even ask someone they know “how to meditate”.

It is a tradition in the East to be skeptical, to doubt, and to question authority. While in the West, the opposite has been inculcated from generation to generation - to accept authority, to put one’s dreams in a “leader”, and to accept what authority dictates.

I must state here that one should never accept anything that anyone states regarding meditation, including myself, unless one has experimented and tried it for oneself. Please always remember that meditation has originated from the Sanskrit word “ma”, which means to think about, to consider, to reflect upon, etc.

Now, one has recently googled the phrase: “how to meditate”, and this is one result:

First, from an online site:

that most impressive word: “mindfulness”

One heck of a word, enough to stun someone who has never heard of that word, and make them think: “Wow, they must know something that I don’t!” Impressive, right?

As an aside, this word/idea comes directly from the Buddha, who is supposed to have said: “Be aware, cultivate awareness, mindfulness.”

Now, mindfulness is nothing more than “the presence of awareness”, and is not something that one can cultivate. So, from now on, I will not use that all too impressive word, “mindfulness”, and will only use the words “awareness” and “aware”. Awareness itself is not a method, in the same way that your heart beat is not a technique to be manipulated, learned, etc.; in the same way, that breathing is not something that an infant must learn, etc.; in the same way that one is aware of some noise, some event, something happening outside of you, and is not something that one can learn. Awareness, like many aspects of being human, is a natural aspect of what it means to be alive. So, I am saying that meditation must of itself be a natural occurrence that cannot be taught or learned.

Second, I also saw the following statement online:

“...we’re learning how to pay attention to the breath as it goes in and out, and notice when the mind wanders from this task”

As you can see, the emphasis in that above statement which I took at random from an online site is on the breathing exercise, and not specifically on the thoughts. Moreover, as you can see from the above, in this technique, one divides one’s attention into two aspects: the breathing exercise and thoughts.

The problem is that all modern systems of meditation try and teach their students “how to” cultivate awareness - as a technique, a method, a system - and therefore, because it is a technique, they must use “concentration” to facilitate such awareness.

I must say here that when there is concentration per se, there is always exclusion, and as I have written about this previously, I won’t necessarily go into it again here at this moment.

Third, from an online site:

“When we pay attention to our breath, we are learning how to return to, and remain in, the present moment—to anchor ourselves in the here and now on purpose...”

The issue that I have here is the idea of the "I" living in the present. This notion has come about from the Sanskrit word “satyabhatana”, which means to live in the present, and it means a mind that is free from the idea of self, either of the past or the future. In other words, a timeless field.

The thing is when a person has an idea of self, that self has originated from the past, and is also imagining some future. Please note that when a person says “I am free” (psychologically), they are lying to themselves, since the “I” contains both the past and the future.

[As an aside, I will state here that the “I” is the self, also known as the “me”, the “i”, the Atman, the big or higher self, the little or lower self, the ego. Unfortunately, in the East and the West, people imagine that all these different words mean different things. The fact is that they all refer to the “i”, words themselves just being referents, and not the thing in itself.]

As you can see, all these techniques have the purpose and goal of not allowing thoughts to prevent the “meditator” from reaching some higher sense of consciousness which is supposedly to be in the “present”, the “here and the now”. That is why most of these techniques suggest some form of “letting these thoughts go”, and passing them by as one is progressing in these methods. So, as you can see and understand, the meditator has a future-projected goal. And, the moment one has a goal in the future, it is the activity of the self. You must understand that as long as the self is actively engaged in progressing along a certain method or technique in order to create some future self that can exist without a trace of the past and the future that there is something inherently flawed and fallacious in this attempt, because wherever you go, you take your past and future with you.

Which brings me to the awful and most dreadful subject of “becoming”, which is part and parcel of the “why” of all these techniques. For the purposes of this particular post, I won’t be going into the subject of “becoming” now in this post, but it will treat it separately in an entire later post relating to having an true insight into it as seeing “what is” false or true in it - in other words having an insight into the truth or falseness of “becoming”.

Fourth, as seen online:

“thoughts” as “distractions”

The main issue that I see with the above approach is that all the thoughts are originating from some part of one’s self, which most techniques ignore, or do not fully understand, or suggest that by separation from these thoughts (which, in the main, are also considered to be “distractions”), one can reach some goal, and in the same way as if one were running some business. Obviously, these thoughts are not from another planet, another person, some alien. They are from you. They are “you”.

Fifth, another ridiculous promise from another site states:

“Eventually, we will be able to stay happy all the time, even in the most difficult circumstances.”

This is an odd statement at best, since it is impossible to be happy at all times, unless you are taking happy pills - the dosage of which usually has to increased over time. But, the fact is that life happens, right? Tragedy can strike. On the other hand, when you are aware of being happy, the happiness ends. To understand this statement, you are well aware that when you are aware that you are angry, the anger ceases. So, what I am saying is that it is impossible to be happy all the time.

Sixth, a I have seen online:

"focus on your breathing and begin chanting your mantra"

Now, the Sanskrit word "mantra" literally means “reflect on not being, meditate on not being or becoming, and wipe away all self-centred activity". So, it is ludicrous to repeat some word, the meaning of which contradicts the very activity of chanting that very word. The repetition of such a word is an activity of the self, the self that chooses to use a word and repeat it, in the hope that the "i" can reach some goal... of oblivion!!! Really!!!????

Seventh, as I have seen online:

“set a timer” when one is to meditate or having a fixed time for meditation...

Now, most techniques suggest a daily routine of x number of minutes, a certain time-frame for meditation, in other words, a routine. This is ludicrous because it suggests that one uses time in order to reach some “timeless” state.

Insofar as I am concerned, the best moment to meditate is when there is a shock, a trigger, something that disturbs you, an important decision that is bothering you, etc. When one uses these opportunities to see “what is” happening inside of you at the same moment of the disturbance, you are using others as a mirror to see yourself, which is the only way to use another human being in a healthy, wholesome way.

So, I am saying that one can be aware of “what is” happening inside of yourself, at that very moment. And, the most that one needs is to be attentive. I have read that attention is considered to be the only virtue. So, what I am saying is: the seeing of these thoughts and attending to these thoughts, and then the following of these thoughts until these thoughts reach their source. In discovering and uncovering the source, which is always connected to some memory that resides within due to some conditioning, one is in a state of meditation. It would be like reading a map, or like reading a book that contains all the pages. Please understand that all the chapters of one’s self are interconnected.

The following of these thoughts to the source is of primary importance. Please understand that the word “discipline” is related to the word “disciple”, which literally means the one who follows. So, what I am saying is to be one’s one disciple, which, of course, completely eliminates the whole idea of needing someone else to tell you “how to meditate”.

Please note that there is no recorded case of anyone practising any technique of meditation that has led to enlightenment, which literally means “to be one’s own light within”.

There is an old saying in the East which says: “be a light to yourself”. The reason that it is so stated is that when one follows the “light” of another, it will only lead to darkness. So, be your own disciple and your own guru, and never follow another, psychologically.
___

Obviously, there are other ridiculous and illogical online statements made by so-called "gurus" that will tell you "how to meditate". And, what I trust you will get/understand/grasp from the above statements is that I am using the idea behind "nirodha" (that is: "negative thinking") to debunk the self-styled gurus that are trying to teach meditation as a method, a system, a path to achieve some goal - as if you are learning to succeed at running some business.

[C0LLETTE]

I am very interested in the writings and teachings of the fine eco-feminist, Vandana Shiva. I find she triggers reflection on deep-rooted beliefs.

[charley]

Originally Posted by C0LLETTE

I am very interested in the writings and teachings of the fine eco-feminist, Vandana Shiva. I find she triggers reflection on deep-rooted beliefs.

Please understand that the above-mentioned person has absolutely nothing to do with the topic of this thread. Her cast identifies her as a Brahmin and reflects a deeply-held rooted belief which has caused enormous damage to those in India who are not Brahmin. She has never turned her back on those beliefs, and wears her cast symbol proudly on her forehead. The Brahmin cast reflects deep conditioning which she obviously has not put aside, as the Hindu variety of meditation does not question its own beliefs. Brahmins in general believe they are the chosen ones, the elite. Moreover, Brahmins support the false deeply-held and rooted belief in the ultimate paramatman or Brahman, or in the higher self and the lower self - which, because it is created by thought, has absolutely nothing to do with the subject of this thread. Because these beliefs are created by thought, by themselves, worshiping and supporting such beliefs are nothing but sensory projections, which because they are created by the believers, means they are only worshiping themselves. In other words, such beliefs are self-projected, and are narcissist in essence, yielding entitlement, and power over others. If these Brahmins would see the falseness of such beliefs, it would mean the entire collapse of the cast system and the Hindu Brahmin religious society, and then the Brahmins would have to shovel their own shit instead of allocating that job to those whose cast says that it is the only thing they are entitled to do - and remember the majority of those who shovel shit are women.

If you are really interested in this person as you say you are, please feel free to write your own thread on this Brahmin.

[nycfem]

Colette, Charley, and Martina- maybe best Colette takes a break from Charley and Martina, and Martina and Charley takes a break from Collette. Just kind of give each other some space since it's not really working out so well.

[kittygrrl]

i find meditating relaxing..quieting my mind helps me with anxiety..you mentioned cliques earlier...when i first came to the mainland i was bullied for the first six years i lived here until i hit puberty...to me a clique is another word for mob..yes, i know all about them from the receiving end..i felt very sorry for myself at the time...no one wanted to hang out with me because they were too afraid whatever was wrong with me would rub off on them and then they would suffer my fate...i had no choice but to be my own best friend and today i'm so grateful for the experience..a lot of my anxiety i feel is when i see people around me in pain..some of it you can help them overcome but a lot of it has to come from a decision to try something different..even scary...i love meditating with a group i feel comfortable with..the vibe can become unbelievably peaceful and full of a brightness i can't explain.

[charley]

To summarize my above post on “how to meditate”, all forms of conscious meditation are organised by the self, either by oneself or by someone else - especially when organized into a group. They are, in effect, practised, deliberate, determined, thought out, calculated, intended, studied, preconceived, guided, directed (by oneself or by another), and so on; in other words, they are premeditated. Obviously, anything that is premeditated is not meditation, because it is in essence, get this.... premeditation! So, I am saying that premeditation is not meditation. As long as the ego is trying to “become” something, to attain some goal or end result, whatever form of meditation that the ego is involved in is not meditation, but is in effect a form of premeditation.

Moreover, all forms of meditation, all the different kinds of so-called meditation, whether it is called Zen meditation, or Buddhist meditation, or Hindu meditation, Transcendental meditation, etc. are all forms of premeditation. Any system or method of meditation must of itself be premeditated. And, behind all of these meditations, there is the idea of controlling one’s thought, so that it doesn’t wander or drift. And that is why, all these forms of meditation have to - at one time or another - stress concentration.

A mind that practises any form of a system becomes mechanical, like a machine. So, the moment you practice awareness - becoming aware of the different parts of your body, of any movement of your body, or your breath, you are practising a method, a system - and that isn’t meditation. That is just a way in which you are being unwittingly brainwashed into becoming a machine - being pacified, being put to sleep by the very method that says it will lead to freedom. Even the idea of saying that doing something that will lead to freedom is entirely false. Imitation and following some tradition is always mechanical, machine-like, and has nothing to do with true meditation. Inherent in all these approaches is that psychological freedom is seen as a goal; but, how can freedom be seen as a goal, when one is a stuck to beliefs that maintain one in a state of slavery to whatever belief that one may be attached to? That is also why it is important to drop all that beliefs prior to the natural occurrence of meditation.

The central issue of all of these formulations of so-called meditation is that therein there is one fragment of the self trying to control thought, which is in effect one fragment of the ego trying to control another fragment of the ego. So, what happens is that all these different forms of meditation actually encourage separation, increase the division between various fragments, and maintain self-enclosure and, therefore, create duality, and end up strengthening each of the different fragments - all of which is the complete opposite of what it means to whole, to be one.

Someone who has not laid a proper and correct foundation in their life (which I will discuss in the next post) can only do the meditation that you see online on various sites, which may even be referred to as “fake meditation”.

In true meditation, you are not acquiring knowledge about how you function. You are not adding information and psychological knowledge about your behaviour to your ego. You are not accumulating more experiences. You are not translating some knowledge of yourself into a pattern that you can recognize intellectually. You are not a computer program! This is true meditation.

Meditation must of itself be natural, spontaneous, free. It must be a natural occurrence. So, what I am saying is that it has to be unconscious. That is also why it is incorrect to even try and teach meditation, because there is a goal, motive, purpose, etc. involved in such a process - a method. No one can teach you about yourself; that is one thing to do and discover by yourself (as I will discuss more fully in the next post). And, as long as there is that motive or purpose or effort involved in that process - as I have observed online (and also have seen when interacting with those who even teach meditation here in real life and their students/victims), what one is teaching is premeditated - that is, it is only premeditation. In true meditation, there is no concentration involved, no effort. In essence, meditation is a natural occurrence.

[charley]

All of my posts are nothing less than laying a foundation for meditation to occur naturally, freely, without any compulsion, or thought. To repeat, these posts are in essence by themselves the laying of a foundation for meditation to occur naturally and easily, without any effort, without any forethought about it, without any planning whatsoever.

Of course, if one doesn’t have a good foundation, something solid and indestructible, one can always start again, and build yourself a foundation on a more solid basis.

Fallowness

Now, when one plants a garden, one must ensure that the earth itself is fertile and rich. Otherwise, the plants won’t bloom or grow naturally. When the ground is fallow, dry, and barren, such as found in a desert, very little can blossom and bloom in sand. In that sense, the seeds that are planted in a desert will just blow away and be forgotten. In the same way, when one’s own ground is fallow, these posts will not give rise to the laying of a foundation for meditation to occur naturally.

The ground/foundation of a person must be fertile for a new seed (idea) to be planted and to flourish. When the ground is fallow, the seed (idea) will perish and drift away. [As an aside, and in tune and in harmony with nature and the seasons of life, there are natural times when meditation itself can and does subside. So, it is nonsensical to apply a fixed time and routine for meditation.]

For meditation to be occur naturally, a right foundation has to be laid within. And, one basis of such a foundation is always right action, right behaviour, proper conduct. And, the beauty and wonder of right action is that no one can tell you what you “should” do - such an awful word is that word “should”. So, what I am saying is that it is for each and everyone to discover for themselves what right action is.

Authority

Any foundation that is based on thought will result in conflict and sorrow. The foundation for meditation must be based on right action, on virtue. Most definitely, virtue is not the virtue that society tells you is virtue, what others define for you. When society defines to you what virtue is, you are following the dictates of an authority, someone or a group of people who obviously have an agenda. When you follow what society tells you is a virtue, all you are doing is developing a habit. Society may say that it is okay (in effect, virtuous and commendable) to be greedy, to be competitive, ambitious, acquisitive, successful, intent on achievement, on becoming, etc. even to the point of being ready to kill for some idea, for some belief, etc., but that is not virtue. It can never be true virtue, because as long as there is this ambition and competition, and so on, there must be exploitation. Exploitation means that one is using another, even if it is mutual, and this very exploitation prevents relationship, prevents communion with “the other” - because there is always fear involved in exploitation, even to the point of paranoia - fear of losing, so then jealousy, possessiveness, etc. Moreover, it is thought that creates the idea of virtue that society tends to impose on others. It is thought that creates the idea of virtue that is inculcated into us by society. It is thought that chooses the morality and ethos of society, of any group, of any gang, of any organized group of people. It is never love. [As an aside, it is important to understand that love is always located outside the field of thought.]

Virtue itself cannot be cultivated, because when it is cultivated it only leads to respectability - what others think you are worth based on what society values and thinks you are worth. Such people have no problem showing a fake form of respect to those they want to be liked by, and they can easily deny respect to those they don’t like, which is so hypocritical. This is important, because it is respect that gives rise to understanding, and it is understanding that awakens intelligence.

So, any foundation that is laid must not involve the acceptance of authority. Authority must be questioned and doubted all the time. Authority always ends up resulting in arrogance and a lack of humility and is a dead end in itself. There must be freedom from authority for meditation to occur naturally.

So, what I saying is that virtue is something that can only be discovered by you alone. And, when that is done, then only can there be order in your life. When there is that order, it may be possible for meditation to occur naturally, freely, and without effort.

Freedom

From the above, it is clearly seen that unless one puts one’s beliefs aside, these very beliefs prevent a naturally occurring meditation. How can anyone feel free to look when one is tied to beliefs? How can anyone feel free to look when one is afraid? So, what I am saying here is that freedom is also a basis for laying a proper foundation for meditation to occur naturally. While most people “believe” that freedom is the goal, that just isn’t true.

Additionally, one also needs space - to be able to move around in life, but one also needs interior space. To be able to see what is happening within, one also needs to have enough space within. Please understand that there is very little space between the tip of your nose and your skull. And, when you stuff that small space with psychological knowledge, with beliefs, with thoughts, you block yourself from having the necessary space within to see clearly “what is” happening inside, as well as “what is” happening outside. So, by dropping beliefs, you create space inside that will make it possible for meditation to occur naturally. Of course, most of you know the expression: ... “you can’t see the forest for the trees”; and, that is why it is important to free yourself up of the trees that get in the way of you getting the whole picture of who you are. So, it is seen that psychological freedom is part and parcel of laying a right foundation, right at the beginning. It is not a goal or an end to be achieved.

Love

Without love, there no possibility of virtue. To me, this love is the love of humanity, which includes: sympathy, empathy and compassion - compassion being the love for all. [It is not affection or fondness, which also exists; and, please understand that affection or fondness or sensation is not love. Even a monster like Hitler was fond of his dog!!! but, he wasn’t a loving human being!]

For my part, my understanding of the word “passion”, comes from its original etymology, meaning suffering, sorrow from the Latin word “passio-”. People have corrupted and misused its meaning due to how people alter the meaning of words according to their conditioning and how they then try and influence others so as to use them and exploit them... which is nothing less than outside propaganda and pressure - years of corruption through generation after generation of abuse, etc. As well, people say, because of advertising, “I love Coca-Cola”... Of course, it is impossible to actually feel “love” for a soft drink. You can see easily from this one example how words have become corrupted and easily misused.

So, from my part, when one accepts who one is, there is passion. In other words, a priori, one must know who one is. Unfortunately, most people don’t even know who they are, nor even understand who they are.

In this context, please understand that knowing about oneself is not the same as “knowing” one’s sorrow closely, intimately.

So, without accepting all of one’s conditioning which comes from sadness, fear, sorrow, suffering, and everything else, a person really has no passion. They may have a form of ego energy, which fuels and drives their life, but that isn’t passion.

Now, there is a big difference between having a particular interest/hobby/a “liking” in one area, and having a lifelong passion in a direction which carries one to leave a particular mark on the world, which is beautiful in itself, and which has not caused harm to anyone, especially to themselves.

Compassion means to have a feeling towards and with (com- meaning “with”) the suffering of another. Therefore, compassion is passion which extends outward to include “the other”... which, of course leads to the meaning of having passion for the suffering of all... in other words, a love for all.

Of course, without being open to or close to or being in touch with one’s own suffering/sorrow, it is impossible to have that passion, and therefore be open to integrate compassion into one's being - that feeling of love of humanity, that feeling of love for all.

Please understand that when one behaves with greed, with pettiness, with brutality, cruelty, ambition, elitism, exploitation, competitiveness, etc., we create a world where all that exists. Please also understand that while all organized religions say that they promote love for all as a message, the fact remains that they do not denounce or condemn the greed, the pettiness, the brutality, cruelty, ambition, elitism, exploitation, competitiveness, etc. of their congregation, because they depend on the cooperation of their congregation to maintain and sustain their religion. [As an aside, all gangs/cliques usually function in somewhat the same way.] If they would actually condemn and denounce these aspects to create a world where love for all (that is, compassion) would exist, it would mean the collapse of all of their organized religions.