|
|
 |
|
| Author |
 Topic  |
|
|
Xiaojiyi
USA
2 Posts |
 Posted - Sep 03 2013 : 08:07:32 AM
|
Hello all,
Toward the beginning of this year, I was taught a method of deep meditation using the Prayer of the Heart as a mantra ("Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, Have Mercy On Me"). During the meditation the I allow the mantra to repeat but do not force it and it will gradually fade away and the gradually come back. I am just wondering about the experiences I have during meditation:
Whenever I start meditation, I notice within the first minute or two that my head starts to bob back and forth very slightly. Why is this?
I also notice that at the beginning of meditation, I notice periods of quiet (i.e. little to no thought), but as I get deeper into meditation, I will notice lots of strange random thoughts come up. When I notice this, I will gently let these thoughts out and allow the mantra to start up again and allow the quiet back in. It seems like this process allows me to bring quiet deeper and deeper, but I find that my meditation is naturally stopped at around 20 minutes and I find it difficult to meditate any longer. Why is this?
Lastly, I have found that I remember a great many past events, often in great detail. I have also found that I put together whole strings of events that hinged on one specific detail. For example, I traced a career changing course from a book someone gave me. Does this seem strange?
I appreciate any thoughts or guidance on this matter. My goal with meditation is to help calm my mind and eliminate fears from my life (which it has to some extent).
Thank you |
|
|
mr_anderson
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Sep 03 2013 : 09:40:51 AM
|
Dear Xiaojiyi,
What is meditation doing? The body-mind tends to contain latent impressions of everything we have ever experienced in this lifetime. Every emotion we have ever felt, every thought that has ever occurred, every belief we have ever held, every sense impression we have ever perceived... All of these things leave a mark on the body-mind and nervous system in some small (or not so small) way.
Usually in daily life we are so busy with the activities of thinking, feeling and perceiving that we are constantly adding more and more latent impressions into the body-mind and nervous system. If you imagine the body-mind as a room, and the accumulating impressions as the contents in the room: you have an increasingly crowded room.
During meditation, we are ceasing to continue constantly adding to this never-ending series of impressions. In fact, we are opening the door and letting out a whole load of the junk. Furthermore, we are developing the ability to see our body and mind from the perspective of pure witnessing awareness, giving us a bit of freedom from its habitual ways of thinking and feeling. The result? Increased peace and inner stillness. Decreased fear, unhappiness and anxiety.
"Unless you become like little children again, you shall never enter the kingdom of Heaven"
In some sense, during meditation we are acting on this advice given to us by Jesus. Releasing all our habitual emotional responses, releasing our past and how that caused us to respond and interpret the world, and seeing life as thought it were entirely new: through the eyes of a child, before his heart was filled with painful experiences and fears, and before his mind was filled with never-ending streams of thought.
A lot of this junk will be released below the level our conscious attention. Other stuff may be come up into our conscious awareness in the form of memories from the past, random thoughts and so on. This is part of the process. Best not to pay too much attention to it, as you are already wisely doing.
The head-bobbing is likely also a symptom of purification in the nervous system. Some movements like this are quite common. My spine likes to gently undulate occasionally during meditation.
The manner in which you are practicing is exactly as it should be. 20 minutes, twice daily, is good amount of time for this type of meditation. Doing any longer might cause the purification symptoms to become uncomfortable (because there is only so much one can release at one time).
At the point where you are firmly established your meditation practice and have been for a month or so, you may want to consider adding Spinal Breathing to your routine. It will enhance the positive effects you are already experiencing:
http://www.aypsite.org/41.html
Be careful, however, to regulate and self-pace:
http://www.aypsite.org/38.html
With love,
Josh |
Edited by - mr_anderson on Sep 03 2013 09:57:48 AM |
 |
|
|
Xiaojiyi
USA
2 Posts |
Posted - Sep 03 2013 : 11:04:41 AM
|
| Thank you Josh. Is there some point where I should try to meditate for longer than 20 minutes or will this occur as a natural progression on its own? |
|
|
|
mr_anderson
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Sep 03 2013 : 11:32:22 AM
|
You're welcome. Normally twenty minutes twice a day is enough for most people. If you're getting results with this, there won't likely be a need to add more. Follow your heart, with caution.
If and when you feel an inner call for faster or more progress, adding the spinal breathing will be the next best step. Joining an AYP or other style of meditation retreat is also a good fast track for progress.
The results of meditation tend to gradually accumulate, over periods of months and years. At first, there's just a little more stillness, a little more calm.
Eventually our entire daily life is pervaded an immovable sense of peace and serenity. |
|
|
| |
Topic |
|
|
|
| AYP Public Forum |
© Contributing Authors (opinions and advice belong to the respective authors) |
|
|
|
|
Looking for some guidance
