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digofarias
Brazil
63 Posts |
 Posted - Mar 12 2014 : 2:54:10 PM
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Just wondering. I tried many different meditation techniques where I had to sit for more than an hour to get to the same 'place' as when I do 20 minutes of DM which makes it the perfect technique for busy people like me.
I wanted to hear from you if that seems your personal truth as well because maybe it is just me. Who knows? |
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PureAwareness
USA
8 Posts |
Posted - Mar 13 2014 : 09:11:38 AM
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In my experience it is the most effective in terms of it yields the results of other meditations much quicker than others, and it requires no effort, so in terms of effort and time, by far the most effective method I've tried. This technique is very similar to the Transcendental Meditation technique popularized by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 1960's ( I think that's the right time period, I could be wrong) And there have been hundreds of scientific studies on this technique.
I read a book on the scientific studies and it said something along the lines of: TM ( Transcendental Meditation AKA Deep Meditation) yields the same benefits over a period of weeks or months that zen practitioners do not gain for years and years ( I believe it actually said a decade) so, is it the most powerful? If you define powerful as rapid progression in a short amount of time requiring no effort at all, then yes, it is definitely ONE of the most "powerful" techniques. |
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tonightsthenight
846 Posts |
Posted - Mar 13 2014 : 10:56:00 AM
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DM isn't so different from other types of Samatha meditation. What is different is the AYP ethic of disregarding theory in favor of praxis. THAT, in my opinion, is what is so effective.
We don't waste our time arguing and discussing all the nuances of meditation. We don't need to talk about the scenery. We just do it, by going back to the object, over and over and..
So we don't get caught up in all the stuff that doesn't matter. Yogani explains theory just well enough to get people started on their way, and then its up to them. Gently favor the practices  |
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mr_anderson
USA
734 Posts |
Posted - Mar 15 2014 : 12:35:53 AM
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I have tried zen style (just sitting), concentrating on a visual point (sitting staring at floor/wall), concentration on the breath, consciously connected breathing, and mantra meditation. In fact, I do all of these regularly (except visual point). DM is my core twice daily practice, but I often go into spontaneous blissful silence of just sitting at quiet moments during the day, first thing upon awakening, and last thing before going to sleep. Consciously connected breathing naturally arises and keeps the mind present and centered on the odd occasions that strong emotions and thoughts happen to be arising (let's say a stressful event triggered them) or simply say when lying awake at night, unable to sleep, yet preferring to remain present and centered rather than having mind wander aimlessly lost in thought.
Without doubt (in my mind), mantra meditation is many times as powerful as all of the aforementioned techniques. I think if you read around the AYP forums, you'll find a pretty high consensus from other AYP practitioners that mantra meditation is more powerful than other types. For me, mantra meditation combined with SBP was a breakthrough. Prior to 2009, I'd tried many different techniques. However mantra within a very short time (6 months twice daily) cracked open inner ecstatic bliss and growingly unshakeable inner silence.
Hence why there are so many posts on the AYP forums from people who overload from mantra meditation, and have to scale back to breath meditation, and in some cases have to scale back even further to no object at all and do just sitting.
Furthermore, the mantra enhancements aren't just "woo woo" ideas Yogani dreamed up. They have tangible results. Plain "I am" is something I'm very stable with now, it's a lot easier to overload with the second or third mantra enhancements. Try skipping to the second or third enhancement twice daily for a few days, before you're ready for it, and watch yourself become insanely irritable  .
I can do breath meditation or just sitting meditation on retreat for many hours at a time, but attempt to do DM for more than 20 minutes and there will be hell to pay in terms of overload symptoms.
After meditation on a mantra for years, you can eventually feel how the mantra penetrates your inner network of obstructions. Its taken me about 5 years of DM twice daily to develop the sensitivity to notice it, but "I am" works on a very different level to "Sree, Om, Sree, Om, I am, I am, Namah, Namah" - you can feel the latter moving through the body mind/energy body/chakras over multiple layers.
Yogani refers to the AYP techniques as being like a super-highway to spiritual 'opening' or whatever. As far as I'm concerned, and I think most other long-term practitioners of DM are concerned, this isn't a spurious claim. I always remain open to other techniques (and often practice other techniques as supplementary practice), but the way mantra meditation cracks open the reality of true nature and non-dual experience does not compare to lighter techniques that I've experienced. |
Edited by - mr_anderson on Mar 15 2014 12:43:49 AM |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Mar 15 2014 : 08:34:01 AM
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Great post, mr. anderson. Also, a fine use of the adverb "growingly" to enhance unshakable inner silence.
I think Deep Meditation is so powerful because it uses an inner vibration via the inner ego voice to descend into the depths of tranquility. It's kind of like "grabbing the bull by the horns", except with way more finesse. How else can I repeat the mantra unless I use my own inner ego voice? So, ironically, what is most often feared and bashed ("the ego") is actually the tool of transcendence.
The sound of the mantra has merged and been present in many levels of the mind for me, and since it can holographically adapt to whatever level I'm at, there is no territory that is out of bounds. A perfect mixture of consistency and versatility. It's like a torch that illuminates the hidden recesses of a complex cave system. Well, I guess it's pure awareness that is the real torch, and the mantra becomes That through the process of refinement.
Thank you for the topic.  |
Edited by - Bodhi Tree on Mar 15 2014 08:36:35 AM |
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Ecdyonurus
Switzerland
479 Posts |
Posted - Mar 15 2014 : 10:18:14 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by digofarias
Just wondering. I tried many different meditation techniques where I had to sit for more than an hour to get to the same 'place' as when I do 20 minutes of DM which makes it the perfect technique for busy people like me.
I wanted to hear from you if that seems your personal truth as well because maybe it is just me. Who knows?
My knowledge in this field is limited, but compared to other approaches I tried in the past the AYP approach has been really fast and effective from the very first DM sitting. It was the first time I used a mantra, it immediately felt like a diver propulsion device - just start that device and things happen by themselves, all you have to do is to keep the grip on the device. Very basic and easy to learn. |
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Bodhi Tree
2972 Posts |
Posted - Mar 15 2014 : 10:22:43 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Ecdyonurus
it immediately felt like a diver propulsion device - just start that device and things happen by themselves
Yes. |
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adishivayogi
USA
197 Posts |
Posted - Mar 15 2014 : 10:58:03 AM
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| ive had more success in mental kriya. i fall asleep during mantra meditation, sure i come back and go back to the mantra it just feels like wasted time. with mental kriya i can get into that emptiness without ever losing concentration. infact its my concentration that turns into that |
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Ecdyonurus
Switzerland
479 Posts |
Posted - Mar 15 2014 : 11:08:10 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by adishivayogi
ive had more success in mental kriya. i fall asleep during mantra meditation, sure i come back and go back to the mantra it just feels like wasted time. with mental kriya i can get into that emptiness without ever losing concentration. infact its my concentration that turns into that
I find it amazing and beautyful that people can be that different!
In my case, mantra meditation brings me in a state that is just the opposite of falling asleep. Even after DM I can't sleep at all. |
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Will Power
Spain
415 Posts |
Posted - Mar 15 2014 : 11:51:04 AM
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Yeah very interesting topic to read.
For me after Spinal Breathing, Deep Meditation is much more logical to use (in my case)than breath meditation, since the breath is absent for some time and irregular. If I focus on breathing then, I'd get less still.
However I think that one should start by learning the So Ham technique, and have it in your arsenal of practices. It may come handy any time. For instance, in cases of bone fracture where the pain was at its peak, So Ham is the only technique that seemed to help me relax. Sometimes I coupled it with Spinal breathing, that is, going up in the inhalation and down in the exhalation, but without controlling the breath. |
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digofarias
Brazil
63 Posts |
Posted - Mar 15 2014 : 8:34:05 PM
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| WOW! Thank you all for sharing your experiences. I'm glad this topic was useful. I had to ask if more people had the same sort of view as the gap between DM and other meditation techniques for me is huge. Just a couple of days doing DM had much more impact than a whole year doing breath meditation. I'm still stunned why most yogis don't recommend or use this technique. |
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Etherfish
USA
3615 Posts |
Posted - Mar 16 2014 : 10:18:27 AM
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Yes DM was much more effective for me, after doing Yogananda's meditation and kriyas for hours every day for years. I saw better results from DM within a few days.
That doesn't mean "DM is the most powerful meditation technique ever", although for me it is. 
Other methods work well for some people.
But is does seem that DM is effective for a large number of people, maybe a majority, judging by this forum. |
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tonightsthenight
846 Posts |
Posted - Mar 16 2014 : 2:29:45 PM
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Mantra meditation is very powerful, but so is breath meditation.
For me, DM with enhancements is a quick way to fall into samadhi. It activates the nervous system in a predictable way. It keeps everything in the central channel.
However, breath meditation brings me to a fuller experience of samdhi, and with it more peace and ecstacy. But its more unpredictable. And there is a feeling of soaring prana in and out of the body.
Everyone will experience the fruits of these techniques differently.
I just want to add, there is so much work to be done. We hardly understand the workings of these techniques.
Yesterday I was lying down, still reeling from an overload earlier in the week. Unmanageable feelings of grief and uncertainty, fear of death. I noticed my hands were doing auto mudras, switching thumbs to different fingers. The currents were drastically changed depending on which finger the thumb was touching. And the sensations of currents were very distinctstill are, I just tried it again. Thumb to each finger sends a strong current up. |
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Is DM the most powerful meditation technique ever?
