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When meditating, do the controlled breathing for 1/2 the time of meditation, then 1/2 the way through, relax and continue your meditatation, without controlling your breath and breath naturally. Meditation might last for a period of 5 - 90 minutes Before meditation, think of all that has occurred during the day/night, and deal with it then and there, then put it down. Next think of all that you are going to do, then put it down. The posture for meditation, should be relaxed, centered, balanced and somewhat comfortable, so as not to distract. The two most reliable positions are kneeling, and cross legged. For the first half of the meditation, inhale and hold the breath, then exhale and hold the breath the same amount of time. The second half of the meditation, breath naturally. NO THING The first area of meditation, is to meditate on the concept of no thing. Not a vacuum, just emptiness without dwelling on any one thing. THIRD EYEAnother meditation is to focus on a point before your eyes, and become one with it, not seperating the observed point, from the observer (you). Other good focus points are:
The next meditation is meditating on the feeling/concept/essence of water except that of wetness. All of your experiences, feelings, and perceptions, and what is common to all of them, the universal. Do not dwell on analytical concepts or theories. Hold feelings and perceptions simulteneously, not as seperate aspects, but as different views of the same thing. Chi is most closely associated with this. This is why water is used in some faiths ot bless oneself. Holy Water additionally contains some salt, like the water in the human body, and like sea water. Whether you meditate on fresh water, or the concept of sea water, is up to you. KNIFE PASSINGAnother meditation is that of a knife passing through water. Although the knife can cut, the water conforms and yields to the knife. The knife slides through the water, without damage to the water, because the water does not esist, and has no attachments to the water. When this is mastered, along with the no thing, distractions are recognized for what they are, and pass through your mind, without reaction. WALL GAZINGDa Mo or Bodhidharma spent nine years in meditation, where he used to sit facing the rock wall of a cave that's about a mile from the Shaolin Temple. Thus he won the title "the wall-gazing brahmin". Some stories say that Da Mo burned a hole into the rock that he was meditating in front of. Wall-gazing, modern psychologists have found, is a great way to induce alpha in both its upper and lower (and even upper theta) frequency ranges. The technique, called 'ganzfeld' - a German word which means complete field - alpha waves are generated by staring at a blank, preferably white, bright visual field and holding the eyes steadily upon it. A white-wall fulfills this condition. All that is necessary is that the wall occupy the complete field of vision so that distractions are eliminated. Sit facing as closely as is necessary to have the wall fill the field of vision at a:
Stare at the wall, observing its texture and color patterns. Be aware of differences and commonalities of the wall, without favor to either. Observe patterns forming in the field of vision. At times you may fix all attention upon them. Other times watch them as you would the water surface of a running river. Empty your mind of all thoughts. Thoughts will continuously pop into your mind but do not dwell on them. Treat your mind as you would treat a child you are taking for a walk. Whenever your attention starts to get stuck on a thought, it must be gently pulled away. Say to it, "Sorry, but we can't stop now, we will think about it another time”.
Use peripheral vision, being aware of the focus of your attention There were a number of focuses that learned when doing wall gazing, a point on the wall, eyes closed, a distance between meditator and the wall and the peripheral vision. There is quite a bit of discussion about the level, type and benefits of wall gazing, compared to other Buddhist meditations. Some claim it is an advanced method, others have questions. My recommndation, is to practice it after the no thing meditation. This is an excellant training method for keeping your awareness and calm, in stressed and distracting situations. Better than a poker face for me, since one is not hardened, but aware. After these have been mastered, the Chi Sau meditaion/exercices start. |