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Tibetan_Ice
Canada
758 Posts |
 Posted - May 31 2010 : 12:07:48 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by emc
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T_I,
I am not familiar with the term "nimitta". For me - everything that has form and is experienced as "something" is covered in the AYP term "scenery" and is enjoyed and then dropped during practices.
I am not really eager to go into discussions of other systems or approaches in this topic, but rather investigate if this is true, as you put it:
quote:
Originally posted by Tibetan_IcePerhaps I am correct in assuming that the purpose of both mantra repetition and breath awareness meditation is to gain a continuous stream of awareness while maintaining a state of deep relaxation, and that during the process, gross and subtle laxity will occur at which time I should crank up my vividness.
To continue with further associations, the description of the states IS truly very interesting. In which state/-s would you say that your breathing is following the mind? (Question based on the familiar presumption that breathing and mind activity both slow down simultaneously.)
For me - it's perfectly possible to have a very slow breathing (2-3 breaths/min) and a lot of long breath suspensions in between, plus having a totally relaxed body (head hanging down on my chest), and simultaneously being in the gross excitement phase, being out travelling on thought trains all the time...
Hi emc :)
Sorry for the late response but I wanted to take a week and test the onset of laxity with two kinds of meditation to see if vividness is really needed.
Regarding nimittas, a nimitta is a blob of light that is a sign that the mind is close to becoming dead still. When the mind is close to being dead still, the light from the soul shines through. That's all. And yes, we should perhaps keep to the topic in this post.. :)
I have been going back and forth between these two types of meditation:
Type 1) Repeating "I AM" from deep inside, watching where the mantra comes from, watching the mantra and then watching it dissolve. Also, I put the tongue on the back of the soft palatte and roll my eyes up (Sambhavi). I put a lot of concentration and effort into it. With this type of meditation I seem to get very deep because my body feels like a magnetic field and I end up in dark black space with colors/visions and other visual phenomenon that I have to ignore. I have to put a lot of effort and willpower into producing the mantra and keeping it favored. This is basically the type of mantra repetition that I've been doing for the last three years.
Type 2) Repeating (even just subvocalizing..) the "I AM" mantra very lightly, no kechari, no sambhavi, no nothing. Just letting the mantra go into silence, not trying, not even concentrating a lot, putting no emphasis on trying to do much of anything. This is my interpretation of Yogani's deep silence meditation. With this type of meditation I end up in a quiet whitish-grey luminous kind of place where I can see dreamlike visions if I look beyond, but I simply pull back and return to the 'slice' where the mantra is occuring and carry on. It is a gentle coaxing of the attention back to the mantra. The other phenomenon that I've noticed, apart from the luminous whitish background with this type of meditation, is that it seems very easy to dwell in the witness, that is, I'm noticing that there is a larger 'me' that seems to be clear that is watching the whole process. It is very pronounced, more so than during the "Type 1" meditation that I've described".
And, I've noticed that I can be in that witness state for a while when I'm doing daily activities. There is very little effort during this type of meditation and no need to increase vividness or anything. Just, it takes a bit of effort to recognize that one is being pulled into a dream or visions (but they seem to be more like dreams) whereupon I simply extricate my attention and go back to the mantra. The other comment I have is that this form of meditation is very easy and it feels kind of like being awake in the dream state. Hopefully, as it says in the lessons, this state will grow stronger and get deeper, as I do now believe that I've found the right technique to grow the witness and experience inner silence.
Another thing I thought I'd mention, in both types of meditation I make an effort not to let my head droop, as I believe that once the head droops, you are off in dreamland.. I think you have to keep the spine straight..
So, in keeping with the 'laxity' topic, in the type 2 meditation, I haven't hit a state of laxity yet so I see no need to increase the vividness. I think the effort of 'trying to do something other than return to the mantra might interfere with the process.. The effort in this type meditation seems to be "gently moving back to the mantra after one realizes that one is off the mantra".
I've also noticed that the breath seems to slow down a tremendous amount with the type 2 meditation. It hasn't stopped completely, but it is getting very close. So yes, I think there is a direct correspondence between the breath slowing down and the mind slowing down. Also, I've noticed that I'm getting kundalini jolts every now and then during the type 2 meditation and I think this is caused by moments of getting much deeper in meditation.
:)
TI |
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wav3
USA
4 Posts |
Posted - Jun 13 2010 : 06:23:38 AM
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| Isn't "I am" always here? It's pervasively, easily, intuitively ignored; I'm living proof of that. But, is it possible to extinguish it for a millisecond? I realize that talk is cheap, and this probably sounds like one more offering to the great pile of disembodied Advaita-babble. |
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