Esoteric to Exoteric: Thoughts 0n Meditation

Esoteric to Exoteric: Thoughts 0n Meditation: Esoteric to Exoteric: An Introduction to Meditation                     I am having some renewed thoughts on meditation. I practiced meditat...

                I have just added a short paragraph on some benefits of meditation to the popular little essay of 2021, "Thoughts on Meditation" which you can click on above and go directly to it. 

             So, you are not at Thoughts on Meditation, but a click on the blue above is designed to take you directly to there. While you are here you could consider exploring this blogsite. Or even exploring one of the associated sites listen in the left hand column of the first page. One of those associated sites could be: https://historyrcs.blogspot.com

                May you enjoy Thoughts on Meditation and the paragraph on benefits of meditations near its ending words.

                Thank you for the visit.

                                                                                                    Richard

                

The Practice of Meditation

 You and Meditation

                    I am publishing essays on Meditation here on Esoteric to Exoteric because it seems better than doing so on Dialogue With RCS. Also I publish them here because some of you feel meditation is a bit mysterious and I would like meditation to be less esoteric and more exoteric. I also believe that it is up to you as to what is esoteric and what exoteric.

                    Meditation is much about you paying attention to you on a higher level than is usual to many of us. Meditation is a big subject with a lot of content. In it there are practices for nearly everyone. It seems a good idea to keep your practice simple. Simple is not always easy. For example meditation can be sitting comfortably and attempting, in a relaxed way, to observe your thoughts.

Meditation?

                    What meditation is and what its purpose is can be, and probably is, different for each of us. It can sitting quietly and being comfortably alert. The lertness can be generalize to the happenings and doings in us and around us or a more directed alertness as that of a hunter waiting for a deer to come ito site. It can be lying down and quietly attending to your breathing; perhaps counting your breaths. I can be working out with weights and observing your body or perhaps just the muscle group you are working on. I can be much else. It is often done within one's self by one's self. However there are also there are also useful meditation groups and guided meditations. For me and others it is often a matter of focused observation or attention. An important aim can be keeping one's mind on a chosen, object, subject, doing, happening, feeling, word, thought, activity and like that. Perfect may never happen, but your practice often makes you more able.

My personal practice has often been trying to keep my mind on a word and on that which is directly related to it. This is done in a relaxed, but alert way for a specified period of time. That's it for now. Meditation can be a bit less and a lot more, but you may now have a better feeling for what it is than do many of us.

                    Some say that the reason for the practice is the practice. That's probably right. That which you practice you have a better chance of maintaining or improving. Improving your focus or quality of observation can be one"s purpose. A benefit I have observed is giving my mind an opportunity to sort its content and organize itself. Such sorting and organizing has resulted in a more relaxed me. I could use some of that result right now. And, I confess, I am uncertain which variation of my practice best provides this result. I think that all of it has some of that effect. I have neglect my practice recently; I had best get back to it.

You Can Learn About Meditation

                    You can learn more about meditation online, from reading, from those who meditate, and  on this site. There are meditation groups which may help. However, your experience can be a very good teacher. You can better learn about meditation while you are a meditator; at which time you can also learn to meditate. There is much to learn about meditation and contemplation, but in practice you learn to meditate.

Learn More and Benefit More From Your Practice

                    You learn better when you are a practicant. As a practican there is no need to rush. It is usually best to attend to the quality of your practice. In attending, be kind to yourself. You may feel a need to progress, but days, weeks, and more may go by while you feel no progress. Continuing your practice is said t be progress in itself. During the time you feel little or no progress, your mind may be doing some very useful sorting, organizing, and even prioritizing. Your practice can be, and most often is, valuable whether their seems to be progress and learning or not. Like the physical practice of a body-builder. the practice of a meditator maintains the condition and quality of his or her state and ability as it betters their chances for improvement. The practice of a ballet dancer or surgeon has similar values and benefits.   

                    Some Buddhists have been good examples for practicants in recent centuries as have the some Catholic contemplatives. Your practice could be much like theirs. It could be much like that of a dancer. A dancer may dance for pleasurer and also to continue to dance well.So, it may be a  like going to the gym to keep in shape. It may even be a bit like eating for your health! Your practice works to keep you well, able, and ready; relaxed too. A time could come when you feel a great gratitude for the good your practice has brought into your life.

How You Meditate:

                    You may meditate as you will and change your practice as you will.

                    I have meditated by holding a word in mind. You can too. Another has meditates by by watching the flame of a candle. You can too. I usually meditate with my eyes closed. so can you. More detailed examples are possible. I can say that my choice of word is important to me. Your choices in meditation are important. It can be important that you stick with your choices for practice long enough. I may choose a word which seems to point directly to that which seems clearly real. Another may be pleased that her meditation takes her to places beyond language and word.

                    Your choice of focus or concentration is important, but it is your choice. Your attention creates much of your life. So, the nature of your attention effects the nature an quality of your life. In meditation we may be much like the expectant hunter waiting for a deer. If he dreams of a love or watches the movement of a bealtal at his feet, his family may go hungry. For me in my meditation it is good to stay alert, awake, and aware of my chosen focus. A focus can be motherhood, a spark plug, Jesus, the sea or a pebble. It can be capitalism or one's hand, or a mathematic equation. You could choose love or an kind of love. Your choice is yours. It may be that the more real the choice the more health the choice.

Getting Ready to Actually Practice.

                    Getting ready may include: selecting a focus, subject, or object; deciding on a time, place and mode of your intended practice. Ah, "mode," may include walking, sitting, lying down, eyes opened or closed and much else of the sort. For now let's chose seated with eyes closed. Let's set an alarm-clock to sound in half an hour. We sit and arrange our posture. A straight back seems important.

It may also be good to have at the edge of consciousness the idea that "how you do it is often more important than what you do."

                    This getting ready can be thought of as part of the practice. Let's say that we are now sitting in chairs, backs straight, but comfortable. We can our bring our breathing to mind and settle into some more rhythmic and smooth breathing. We can then bring our "object"of focus to mind with the objective of  keeping it there. This is a sketch of a beginning. We can add detail and explanation as you continue to practice.We are doing pretty well to be seated and aware of our breath, posture and "subject" of focus. 

                    Let's continue a little further. My eyes are closed and I am keeping and am keeping my intended focus of this meditation in mind. How about you? 

We may be meditating! Now I may find that my mind has strayed to thoughts of the person I was sitting next to yesterday. Thoughts of tomorrow's work may come into your mind. As you are becoming a meditator you take note of your present thoughts and ask yourself what they have to do with your present point of focus. You may find that they do seem to relate. You consider how they relate and then gently return to your intended focus. You are beginning to practice very well!

                    You are meditating! One who meditates is a meditator. There is more to learn and more to practice. There are some surprises to come, most will be pleasant.

It's fair to find aids to your practice:

                    Perhaps all of your learning and practice can be done without a coach, guru, or teacher. However, a good coach can be valuable, especially in the beginning. A good coach needs to come to know you and the present state of your practice. When you have developed a realistic trust in that coach his, or her, coaching can be a treasure. 

                    I am not your teacher, guru, or coach, but if you ask a question in "comments" below, I intent to answer. I may be slow to do so. Also there are more posts, essays, and a couple of videos on this site right now that you may not have looked over yet. Also I intend to publish more here. I might even essay to to reply to a question from you in a new post on this site.

                    Ah, yes, group. It is possible to find a suitable practice groups. Some may have a religious purpose, but still may help. You could even start a group of your own. A group of fellow meditators can be a useful support. I have sat with a Buddhist meditation group and found it to be pleasant and beneficial. They called their practice sitting. Sitting with others can be good for our practice. It can provide company, inspiration, support, motivation, and sometimes useful feedback. Then again you may find that it is not for you.

                    May these thoughts on meditation and its practice prove of value to you. As you have probably read this piece this far, it is likely that you have them to be of some interest. I will end this piece with a few reminders: Keep wide a wake and alert. Meditation is not a time for sleep. Even so, there those who find their practice is a time to relieve their tensions and a needed time of restfulness. Relief and rest are very important, but I believe that they should be in addition to meditation and not to be ones practice. Even so, one's practice time is one's own.

                    More reminders. Remembering one's self seems difficult, but remembering your posture and your breath may be a start. Keeping your thoughts and practice honest and positive seems worth some effort. A practice which in which one is relaxed, comfortable, and alert seems good. It may be worth remembering that none of us is perfect, but we can often be a bit better. Your well being during your practice is important and deserved.

                    Thank you for reading!!

                                                                                                        rcs

   

Freedom Contemplation

                     Let in more open awareness at the moment of most adversion.

It may be said that:

~ One who sleeps is less conscious of emotions.

~ One is awake in so far as one is aware of being aware of feelings.

~ Awarness of feelings without grasping or adversion brings freedom.

                    Let there be a courageous, open, and spacious sense of self.

                    With awareness can come wholeness, well-being, freedom, and a natural flow of life.

A Meditation:

Sit an be aware ofthat which arises in mind and watch itas it moves on.

Where there are repeated patterns, let your awareness expand.

Sense what is asking for acceptance; it may be reality.

Repeating patterns often exist where you resist. Ask, "How am I receiving this?" "Is there a fear or difficulty?"

                    With awarness can come wholeness, well-being, freedom, and a natural flow of life. Still without awareness can come bliss.

                    Let a part of your meditation be an investigation and discovery. Let difficulty, conflict, and pain lead you to higher levels of freedom.

                    Meditation takes some time.

                    Thank you for taking the time to read this post.

                                                                                                    rcs

            

Introductory Notes Related to Meditation Practice

     Ways and Kinds of Meditation:               

                  One may know that there are many ways to meditate and many kinds of meditation, but only a few sorts are regularly practiced. There are reasons for that. Most of us appreciate simplicity and effectiveness, so we choose a practice which we find effective and simple. Over time we may we may come to be grateful for the ways and varieties of meditation from which we may choose.

                Body position or movement can represent ways and varieties and may include variations of walking, sitting, and lying down. There are also a number of ways of guided meditation. There are solo meditations and group meditations. There are those that include yoga postures. Meditation is done for a variety of purposes which call for a variety of practices.

                A teacher can help one to sort out these ways, means, purposes and attitudes of meditation. I have been a student of meditation and have some experience and knowledge of the practice. I have learned that for me it is best to keep it simple, to aim for good effect, and to treat it as a sort of exploration.

Preparing to Meditate:                

For one contemplating practice, some preparation is helpful. Reading this little essay may count for som preparation as can looking over other posts on this blog. Finding a good instructor, teacher, guru, can be useful preparation.

                There are many ways to prepare. Some have to do with personal preferences. For example, I feel better when I have some sort of timer  which I can set to tell me when the time I have alloted for a session has been completed.  

                Just sitting in awareness or mindfulness is good preparation. I is also meditating! Still, such sitting calls for having an appropriate place to sit. That is, one has preparation to complete. 

                Starting to meditate may be the most important act to begin meditating! Just quietly is a real start when you know you are doing so.

                More good preparation can be to get a well qualified meditation coach. A qualified coach is one who keeps up to date with what you are doing and how you are doing, he, or she, is one who knows the state of your practice today.

                You are the one most responsible for your meditation. You are the only one who can do your meditation. You are well positioned to know what you are doing and how you are doing it. The thing is to do it and to find out more about what it is by way of your observation. As a meditator you are a learner. You may come to note that much learning includes practice and observation. 

Beginning to Practice:                

For me, practice often begins with me seated in a good chair and closing my eyes. Neither the sitting nor the eyeclosing is necessary, but they both have helped me to a good sort of meditation, and so are often part of my meditation. 

                A timer isn't necessary for good meditation either, butI have found it helpful. One thing it does is to tell me when the time I have chosen to meditate is concluded. I sometimes have divided a meditation in to parts and the timer can remind me of when to begin the next part. For more of what I chosen to do in meditation, you can search the posts of this blog. You may discover something unexpected.

                Sitting in a meditation group has been good for me, but I have often been pleased to meditate alone. I like a calm quiet place and  a comfortable chair, but not a chair so comfortable that sleep would tempt me. Actually sleep does not tempt me, but my thoughts of sleep certainly can. However, we can use our power over our thoughts, can't we? For me, meditating includes an awake, alive, alert, observing process. And it is so even when I stretch out on the grass or floor to meditate.

                It seems important to add that my meditation is often the practice of maintaining focus. It is way to develop my skill of maintaining attention on that which I have chosen to attend to. It reminds me of the hunter who has decided to come home with fresh venison. He chooses a position from which he expects to see a deer. He waits expectantly. He avoids thoughts or sights that so divert his attention so as to cause him to miss the coming of the deer.

                I expect that you are now clear that determining a time and place to meditate is useful preparation for meditation. As further preparation for meditating I, upon arriving at the time and place to meditate, would check to see that my timer and chair were ready. I would arrange my mind to make ready to observe and pay attention to my doings and intentions. Not difficult perhaps, but important. You have probably heard that concentration and focus are often important parts of meditation.

                Without my timer I have  found myself meditating far beyond my allotted time. Others learn to avoid that problem without a timer, but I have not. at another time I have opened my eyes ready to go on to other doings only to find that only ten minutes of my allotted time of 45 minutes had passed! 

                It seems to soon to cover much more in any detail. I have covered more in posts available here and will add more in future posts. And, you can use the the "comments" app just below to ask questions as well as to make comments. I try to respond to "comments" promptly in a useful way.

                I do have a bit more to write ab0ut before closing this post.

Details of Practice:

                For me, meditation practice ought to be about attention and attentiveness and most often it is just that. In each practice, I tend to focus on a limited, defined topic. The hunter had his deer. I have often chosen a word or short phrase on which to focus. The hunter perhaps chose a vision. I attend to all that comes up and may ask myself what it has to do with my chosen focus. Then I let it pass and resume my intended focus.

                I may decide that I shall focus on my breath and that process I shall count them. To begin I might count rounds of four. Counting entails words or symbols and that is fair. An inhalation and an exhalation may represent one complete breath and four such breaths complete round. I may think the word "in" as in inhale and "out" as I exhale. An 'in' and an "out" would count as on breath in my rounds of 4 breaths. As I continue the practice I may add attending to the difference of feeling air passing in through my nostrils to the air passing out.

Meditate Now:                

                  You can meditate right now if you wish. Sit with good posture. Take a few full breaths. Now as you continue to be aware of your breath try repeating "good posture, no pain" slowly and calmly. Breath normally or slightly deeper than usual. Intend to breathe smoothly, regularly, rhythmically. When you find yourself not repeating your phrases remind yourself to do so. When you find that you are not breathing as intended, remind yourself to return to doing so. Continue until you have completed the time you have allotted to the session. That's fairly big time meditation. You may now know enough to to develop your practice well for the next many months.

                When the above seems too complicated for comfort, set your timer for ten minutes and sit quietly for that time. That's good meditation. Just sit quietly without using the timer. That's meditation too.

                Congratulations! You have learned a lot about meditation. You may have moved from esoteric to exoteric. You may have meditated and also have learned a bit about yourself.

               Thank you for the visit. 

               Come back to explore and find out more. 

                                                                                                RCS