| Meditation Handbookmy home page © 1998 Christopher Calder MeditationHandbookA student helping student project. Meditation is innerastronomy. You discover the stars, the moon, and the sun are all insideyou. What is Meditation? Most dictionaries define the Western (Jewish, Christian,Islamic) meaning of the word 'meditation,' but usually do not describe theEastern (Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist) concept of meditation. The mostappropriate dictionary definition I could find reads as follows. "Ifyou meditate, you give your attention to one thing, and do not think aboutanything else, usually as a religious activity or as way of calming or relaxingyour mind." This definition implies that meditation means thinkingabout something, be it religious or mystical in nature, and that a constantthought process goes on while one meditates. The purest Eastern definitionof the word 'meditation' means not thinking at all, but rather focusingconsciousness on the cosmic whole, "the all and the everything," as GeorgeGurdjieff called it, without thought, judgment, or distraction. We can define 'meditation' as the art ofconsciousness becoming aware of itself on the grand and cosmic scale. Meditation cannot be called a science as yet, because science requiresobjective testing with objectively proven methods and results. Meditationis on the road to becoming a real science, however, and not just an intuitiveart veiled in mystery. [seebrain scans prove meditationchanges the brain] Why meditate? Meditation brings a sense of fullness and completion,and is the only permanent source of tranquility available to human beings. All other forms of serenity are temporary and dissolve into conflictand chaos over time. The euphoria of drugs quickly lead to misery andself-destruction. The wholesomeness of love, so beautiful and ethereal,is a relatively short lived and fleeting experience. As J. Krishnamurtisaid, meditation brings order and "That order is the order of the universe. It is irrevocable and doesn't depend on anything." Meditationis the eternal essence of nature taking on conscious form within the mortalhuman frame. Meditation is an adventure of self-discovery. Howcan you live without knowing who or what you are? If someone asks youwho you are during the day, you may state your name, as if a temporary labelactually means something important. Ask yourself who you are when youare in deep sleep, unconscious, and without even a dream to prove that youexist at all. Ask yourself who you were ten months before you wereborn, and who you will be just one moment after your body dies. Meditationincreases awareness of the natural phenomena that is actually going on behindyour own eyes. Self-knowledge has intrinsic value, even without theindescribable bliss nature generously unleashes in those who practice meditationwith sincerity and patience. Sitting Meditation Classic sitting meditation is a vital part of allmeditation traditions and has taken many forms, some more effective thanothers. Some traditional approaches demand that the student sit motionlessfor hours on end, as if becoming a frozen human statue is the key toenlightenment. A more scientific approach does not make the human bodyour enemy, but rather works with our natural physiology to allow more intensemeditation with less effort and discomfort. Masochism is not an effectivepath to self-realization. Begin by finding a relatively quiet place to meditatewhere you will not be disturbed. All forms of classic sitting meditationshould be done in silence, with no background music. You can sit crosslegged Asian style on a meditation pillow on the floor, or use the ReclinerChair Method described below. Eyes may be fully open, half open, orslightly open, letting in just two small slits of light. Meditatingwith eyes fully closed is fine as long as the room remains brightly lit,so that enough light passes through the eyelids to keep your brain alert. I use a powerful 500 watt halogen torchiere lamp to illuminate mymeditation room, and this lamp projects a pleasing yellow-orange glow onmy closed eyelids. Meditating in a darkened room presents fundamentalphysiological problems. When you sit quietly with your eyesclosed in darkness, your brain interprets this situation as a signal to startshutting itself down for sleep. Sleep inducing hormones such as melatoninare released at the same time your heart rate and circulation are reduceddue to lack of movement. You feel swept away on a sea ofquiet relaxation. This pleasant experience may be light sleep statehypnosis, not meditation at all, and thus does you little more good thantaking a nap. Meditation means that you are relaxed as if sleeping,but your consciousness is fully and intensely awake. Therefore, ifyou meditate with your eyes closed, the room must remain brightly lit, sothat a significant amount of light passes through the eyelids. The Sit-Stand Method Another defense against sleepiness is to break upyour formal meditation into three fifteen minute sessions that are easy foryour body to tolerate. Sit in quiet meditationfor fifteen minutes. Then stand for two minutes. Then sit foranother fifteen minutes. Then stand for two minutes. Then sitfor a final fifteen minute session. This forty-nine minute technique can be done once, twice, or threetimes a day for intense practice. You can time yourself by making atape recording with the sound of a bell or a gong to let you known when tostand up, sit down, and begin and end meditation sessions. The sit-stand method largely eliminates the problemof cramps, soreness, and numbness in legs often experienced by studentsattempting to sit for longer periods of time than the body was naturallymade to sit. The standing breaks increase blood circulation which helpswakefulness. Comfort is maintained and we avoid the light sleep statehypnosis problem mentioned earlier. The transitions between sitting and standing inthis method are an opportunity to practice meditation in action. Normally,unless we are physically ill, our waking lives are spent in motion and activity. Meditation must not be thought of as something that is only done ina physically rigid state, far removed from the world of work and play. Thegoal is to become meditative continuously, so that your very being becomescosmically conscious permanently and irrevocably. When you stand upand sit down during meditation sessions, feel the inner flow of meditationcontinue. Observe that your body is moving, but your basic existentialidentity remains the same.The Recliner Chair Method Sitting for long periods of time in the traditionalAsian cross legged position is uncomfortable for most Western students ofmeditation. This physical discomfort, which does nothing in itselfto aid meditation, can be entirely eliminated through the use of a reclinerchair. The Recliner Chair Method is the most healthful method of sittingas it avoids blocking vital blood circulation in the legs, yet has 100% ofthe benefits of sitting on the floor in the full lotus position with backheld rigidly straight. Every living cell in your body produces energy,and when you increase blood flow to your legs you increase the amount ofenergy produced by your leg muscles. This is significantbecause during meditation sessions you become acutely aware that your entirephysical energy output is one unified phenomena. Using this method,students who cannot comfortably sit for twenty minutes on the floor are oftenable to sit for one full hour or even longer without back pain, numbness,or leg cramps. I highly recommend the Recliner Chair Methodas the first choice sitting method for all Western students of meditation. Contrary to popular belief, sitting with the backheld rigidly straight does nothing to aid meditation. The energy thatrises up the back during meditation sessions is like water in a garden hose. If you gently bend a hose into a mild arch, the flow of water willnot be affected in any perceptible way. With the ReclinerChair Method, the back is held fairly straight in relationship to itself,but rests at an off-angle in relationship to the floor rather than exactlyperpendicular to the floor as in the full lotus position. In addition to our solid physical body that hasweight and form, human beings have a second body of energy created by theactive energy content of the total human nervous system. Theelectric like energy of the second body is constantly being washed out throughour hands and feet. This energy loss can be stopped by locking thehands and feet together, creating a closed loop of energy that builds upover time. This conserved energy is needed to strengthen the secondenergy body and push us higher into meditation. The Recliner ChairMethod is more effective than the full lotus position in recycling secondbody energy, and is therefore the fastest acting and most powerful sittingmethod available. [see explanation of the second energybody in The Realmsof Consciousness] With this method you sit in a recliner chairthat is set to a medium reclined position. Shoes and socksshould be removed for best results. If your feet get cold, drapea towel or light blanket over your feet to keep them warm. The baresoles of your feet should be pressed against each other and your legs relaxed,knees pointed out to the sides of the chair. Hands can be locked together,laying comfortably in your lap, or better yet, pressed against the centerof your chest, one on top of the other over the center of your emotionalheart. By using this technique, energy that is normally washed outthrough your hands is channeled directly into your heart center, which fortifiesboth your heart center and your hara (belly center) simultaneously, as allof your centers are connected. The exact internal wiring of your centersand their electrochemical relationships to corresponding nerve bundles inthe brain are not currently understood. Fortunately, you do not haveto scientifically understand the phenomena of internal psychic centers toenjoy their benefits. The Recliner Chair Method can be used in conjunctionwith any of the sitting meditation techniques described on this web page,and usually eliminates the need for the sit-stand method mentionedearlier. On occasion, I have had such intense meditationsessions using this technique that I lost track of time and meditated fortwo hours straight without the slightest physical discomfort. At theend of the session I easily stood up, with no numbness, soreness, or physicaldiscomfort of any kind. What do you do whilesitting? The most basic approach to meditation is to relax,let go, and do nothing. Surrender to the moment and watch yourselfas a silent witness. If thoughts come to mind, then observe the thoughtswithout adding to them by your active participation. Be a detachedand passive observer and simply feel your most basic fundamental being. This inherently immense entity has been called "the ground ofbeing." The enlightened teacher J. Krishnamurti used theterm "choiceless awareness" to describe his own meditation method. Thismeans being conscious without the thought process choosing something smallerthan your vast fundamental being to focus on. Consciousness is likea glass ball floating in the depth of space. Light and sensory inputflows into the field of consciousness from all directions. When youthink, you focus your attention on just one area of sensory input, or youcreate a thought from memory stored within the brain. With choicelessawareness, you are not thinking or remembering, just floating and lettingsensory input flow through you from all directions without manipulating thatinput with the thought process. You live in the moment and become totallyopen. This openness attracts energy from all sides of the universe,which pushes you even higher. Krishnamurti's choiceless awareness is the same"methodless method" that Zen monks call "mindfulness." Hindu yogissometimes call it "one pointed vision." A more accurate term mightbe one object vision. This means that you observe yourself,the sky, the trees, and the entire universe as one object. You no longersee the world as a multitude of parts and disconnected events. Instead,you accurately perceive the observer and the observed as exactly the samething, with no artificial wall of separation blocking the limits ofconsciousness. This singular entity becomes acutely aware of itselfin all its vastness. The one cosmic being, as Krishnamurti said, is"beyond time" and is "untouched by thought." The revered sage RamanaMaharshi described it as "infinite" and "bigger than the human race." Another useful method is to lend special awarenessto the breathing process felt in the belly. Just behind and below yournavel (belly button) lies the hara, which is felt as an ethereal ball ofenergy. The hara is a natural balancing point of yourconsciousness which can be thought of as the center of your being. Subjectively and poetically speaking, the hara is where man and universemeet. It is the gateway where we merge and become man-universeand universe-man. No one really knows what the hara actuallyis, but we can use it to our full advantage. Consciously developinga powerful hara center is the most important secret of meditation. When your consciousness is centered in the harainstead of the head, your thinking process slows down and you can relax inthe expanded world of being. Trying to stop distracting thoughts throughwill power alone leads to more thoughts and a self-defeating inner struggle. By transferring your center of awareness to the hara, thoughts graduallydisappear on their own without inner conflict. That is why you seeBuddha statues with a big belly. It is an esoteric message that thehara is the key to meditation. Sit quietly and focus on your belly as it movesin and out as you breathe. Over time the hara point will become morenoticeable as your meditation grows stronger. Sudden emergencies, suchas near collisions on the highway, tend to activate the hara center. Weoften get a "gut reaction" from sudden danger. You can nourish thefeeling of the hara by simply paying passive attention to it. Thisrelaxed concentration is very close to doing nothing, yet it is still a subtleeffort. Drinking herb tea or hot water before meditation sessions relaxesthe gut and facilitates awareness of the hara. Overeating and consumingcold drinks tends to make hara awareness more difficult. Here is apicture of RamanaMaharshi. If you look deeply into the photograph you can sensehis hara point. Energy from all corners of the universe is floodinginto his powerful hara center. Observe the look of sublime contentmenton his face. Those interested in the phenomena of the haramay be amused by myunproven theory about the hara. One can also concentrate on the heart center orthe forehead center during formal meditation sessions. The foreheadcenter may simply be the frontal lobes of the brain, which are known to become activated by meditation. I refuse to use the corny old"third eye" label. The hara, heart, and forehead center are all somehowconnected, but I suggest you maintain healthy skepticism as to the old Asianexplanations of exactly how they are connected. If you activate theheart or forehead center, the hara will automatically become energized. The forehead center can be physically stimulatedby gently rubbing the fingertips on the skull at a centerline spot just abovethe hairline. The forehead center internally feels like it is justbehind the upper forehead, but I have found its most effective finger stimulationspot to be higher into the front of the hairline. If you use the fullpalm of the hand instead of just the fingertips, however, then placing thepalm directly on the upper forehead seems to work best. This may varyfrom person to person as our skulls and exact brain locations are all a littledifferent. I therefore suggest you experiment as you gain progress. Trying to stimulate the forehead center before you feel a great dealof inner energy is probably a waste of time. It is not the physicaltouch that does the work. It is the energy coming off the palm andfingers that reaches the target. Sweeping House This easy technique is designedto quickly sweep the clutter of thoughts from your mind. It is oneof my favorite techniques, and I am continually amazed at how much it helpswith so little effort. It can be used at the start of formal sittingmeditation sessions, or you can continue repeating the method every ten minutesduring the meditation session itself. Begin by placing both hands behind your head. Rest your hands at the point where the neck and head meet. Thenquickly sweep your hands over the top of your head. Imagine that yourhands are gathering up all your thoughts as they move across the top of yourskull. When your hands reach just below your forehead, use a flickingmotion to throw your hands away from your face. Feel as if all of yourthoughts are being swept out of your head and thrown out into empty space. Repeat this rapidly between ten and thirty times as needed. Whileaccomplishing the sweeping motion, feel that your center of consciousnessis dropping down from your head to your hara center in your belly. Restin your hara center as you continue to meditate. Sweeping House with a Kicker A variation of the sweeping house technique is toadd a breathing stage after the sweeping stage is complete. Place yourright palm (reverse hands if you are lefthanded) on your upper forehead andplace your left palm on the back of the right hand. Now take four toseven deep breaths through the nose and feel as if you are drawing the airall the way down to your belly. Fully exhale in a normal and relaxedfashion after each breath. This breathing technique is not the bastrikamethod used in traditional yoga. It is ordinary deep breathing donewith intensity and fullness. After exhaling the last breath, sit motionlessfor a few moments with your hands still on your upper forehead. Cooperatewith any upward flow of energy you may feel. This energetic methodcan be done every ten minutes during an hour long sitting meditation sessionto create a safe and effective kundalini technique.WARNING Avoid the use of mantras andlong repetitive chanting. Repeating the same words over and over isa method of forgetfulness that will bore the mind and leads to the lightsleep state hypnosis problem mentioned earlier. I would define a mantraas the repetition of words, usually meaningless, for a period of two minutesor more. Mantras have traditionally been used for hours on end by studentswho become mentally calmed and dulled by their use. Mantras have proven to be medically helpful forsome, because they can unleash hormones that temporarily calm the mind. Mantras are healthier than taking tranquilizers, but are fundamentallydifferent from meditation, which relies on the purifying fire ofself-observation. Self-observation is a difficult task that requirescourage and an endurance of character and spirit. Real meditationhas the real payoff of leading to a naturally calm and expanded stateof consciousness, not just an artificially silenced mind that remainsfundamentally shallow. A Self-Inquiry Incantation The use of meaningful incantations is quite differentfrom mantra use, and can help bring consciousness to greater clarity. Words can help because our minds are organic hybridanalog-digital computers that process symbols, and words aresymbols. The words that deepen meditation form a strategic questioning,not a mantra. Ramana Maharshi was a beloved Indian teacher whoreached enlightenment through self-inquiry, by asking the most fundamentalquestion "Who am I?" Here is a self-inquiry technique that expandsRamana Maharshi's method to make it even more powerful. Speak out loudthe following incantation with total intensity before and/or duringformal sitting meditation sessions. By the term "totalintensity," I mean the same level of intensity you would feel if you werejust told that you only had one hour left to live. Be emotional, beItalian, use your hands and body language if it helps. Plead with theuniverse the following question.What is this ball of consciousness? What is this ball of consciousness? What is this ball ofconsciousness? - You can repeat thisquestion more than three times if the spirit moves you. Go with theflow.I am not this library of memories. Ihave no history. I have no biography.I am the space. I have always been thespace, and I crush these bonds of attachmentnow! When speaking the words,"I crush these bonds of attachmentnow!," strike yourupturned left palm with the back of your right hand, like a hammer hittingan anvil, upon saying the word"now!" Reverse handsif you are lefthanded. Do not overdo it and hurt your hands. Justhit forcefully enough to produce a soft cracking sound, which adds dramaand helps wake up the central nervous system. Resonate the words deep inside you without thinkingof intellectual explanations of who you are. Just asking this questionis purifying and ennobling. Self-inquiry is an innocent and fundamentalendeavor, and you need an innocently naked mind to see reality directly withoutthe distortions of memory and thought. You can use this questioningtechnique only at the beginning of formal sitting meditation sessions, oryou can repeat the incantation every ten minutes during meditation sessionsto help keep your energy focused. Over time you will find the words become a triggermechanism which allows you to instantly drop all peripheral involvement andcome home to your primordial eternal being. We all have the same essentialbeing, and that being is cosmic. No one is left out of thisuniverse. If you are part of the universe, you are all of theuniverse! The small 'I' is dropped, and only the big 'I' remains. Then you can have a good belly laugh, and that is the way I end mostof my own meditation sessions. I meditate until I start laughing fromthe hara center. Then I know I am cooked! A gentler, less rigorous approach to this methodis to mentally repeat the question,"What is this ball ofconsciousness?,"about a dozen times withoutvocalization. This small amount of repetitionwill enhance and center your consciousness rather than dull it. Formany students this softer approach is all that is needed. Word exercises are not for everyone. If youtry them and feel nothing, then concentrate on other methods first. Asyou slowly change your methods will change with you. A method thatis unusable now may be of great help to you in thefuture. Mirror Gazing Some students find that the use of a mirror virtuallydoubles the power of their meditation sessions. Sit in front of a mirrorand gaze into the reflected image, setting your focus just above the headso that you view the wall behind you. Looking directly at the faceor eyes may be too intense an experience for many students, and may leadto silly concern about personal appearance. Using this technique oneonly views the physical body as a shadowy peripheral silhouette. Continue gazing for twenty minutes, allowing the eyes todeeply relax their focus. Enjoy the mirror gazing for twenty minutes,then stand for two minutes, maintaining the heightened awareness asyou change position. Then resume sitting in quiet meditation for afurther twenty minutes with eyes closed. This mirror gazing techniquetakes forty-two minutes, but may be extended to one full hour if desired,with eyes open and eyes closed sections remaining equal. Please practicethis mirror gazing method no more than once a day. Strong meditationtechniques are medicine and you should not overdose. Mirror gazing is a form of tratak, the ancientyogic practice of fixing one's gaze on an object with total intensity. Youmay practice tratak by staring at a candle's flame, a distant tree, the pictureof an enlightened teacher, or any object that is pleasant to view. Whilepracticing tratak, one must remain motionless and allow oneself to becometotally absorbed by the object you are viewing.Eye Gazing To practice this technique you musthave a partner of the opposite sex, preferably someone you love. It is similar to the mirror gazing technique describedabove except that you look into the eyes of your loved one. Sit together,staring softly into your partners eyes for twenty minutes. Then standsilently for two minutes. Then sit in quiet meditation with eyes closedfor a further twenty minutes. This technique can readily lead to romanticintimacy, so pick your partner carefully. Cathartic Dancing Meditation Cathartic Dancing Meditation is a cosmic powerhousethat can be practiced by students in good health with a normal cardiovascularsystem. As it is a physically strenuous exercise, one should get acomplete physical examination by a competent physician before experimentingwith this technique. Explain the method to your doctor, and ask ifit would be physically dangerous for you to do. He probably won'tunderstand your motives for wanting to do it, but he can tell you if he thinksyour heart can safely handle it. As with jogging or mountain climbing,you must practice this method at your own risk. Cathartic Dancing Meditation is similar to RajneeshDynamic Meditation but is simpler, easier to do, and is more likely to keepyou interested month after month, year after year. Neither method isreally new. Sufis, Druids, and countless other esoteric and tribalcultures have used similar techniques for centuries. Most studentswill benefit from doing Cathartic Dancing Meditation daily for a period ofbetween one to five years. After five years it has usually done itsjob, and the student can then concentrate on more subtle meditationmethods. Cathartic Dancing Meditation changes you from headto toe, and benefits all the other meditation methods you practice. Italso helps develop a powerful hara center. I am reluctantto bring up the subject of kundalini (see definition near the bottom of thepage) because of the common misrepresentations of its manifestations. Ifeel compelled to inform you, however, that this physically vigorous meditationmethod is the most powerful kundalini awakening technique I know of. Cathartic Dancing Meditation has three stages and lasts for 40minutes. Stage #1 (tenminutes) Start by standing with your eyes closed and breathedeep and fast through your nose continuously. If you are only physicallycapable of doing deep breathing for five minutes, then reduce the lengthof the first stage. Remember that you are doing this method to helpyour meditation, not to physically injure yourself. Allow your bodyto move freely as you breathe. You can jump up and down, sway backand forth, or use any physical motion that helps you pump more oxygen intoyour lungs.Stage #2 (twenty minutes) The second stage is a celebration of catharsis and wild and spontaneousdancing. Totally let go and act as an ancient human dancing in tribalcelebration. Energetic, nonverbal background music is recommended. African tribal drum music works especially well. You may rollon the ground and do strange spontaneous body movements. Allow yourbody to move within the limits of not hurting yourself or others. Screaming is encouraged. You must act out any anger you may havein a safe way, such as beating the earth with your hands. All of thesuppressed emotions from your subconscious mind are to be released. If at anytime during the second stage you feel that your energylevel is starting to decline, you can resume deep and fast breathing to giveyourself a boost.Stage #3(tenminutes) This stage is complete quiet and relaxation. Flop down on your back, get comfortable, and just let go. Beas if a dead man totally surrendered to the cosmos. Enjoy the tremendousenergy you have unleashed in the first two stages, and be a silent witnessto it. Observe the feeling of the ocean flowing into the drop. Become the ocean. This spontaneous dancing meditation technique isintended to grow with the student and change as the studentchanges. After a few years of vigorously practicing this method, thefirst two stages of the meditation may drop away spontaneously. Youmay then begin the meditation by taking a few deep breaths and immediatelyenter the deep tranquility of the third stage. If practiced correctly,this method is health giving and fun. Almost all Westerners are head oriented and emotionallyrepressed. For us a chaotic, spontaneous, and emotionally cleansingtechnique like Cathartic Dancing Meditation is vital for serious progressto be made quickly. The physical benefits of this technique obviateany need for hatha yoga or traditional kundalini yogamethods. Istrongly recommend that the Cathartic Dancing Meditation technique only beused in combination with traditional quiet sitting meditation methods. While active meditation methods can be very helpful, they are not completesystems in themselves. If you rely on active meditation techniquesalone you will only be doing half of the internal work that needs to bedone. WARNING Obviously, one must practice CatharticDancing Meditation in a safe location and not near the edge of a cliff, oron a hard surface where one might fall and break one's skull. A largeroom or hall with thick carpeting is good. Outdoors in the early morningon a soft and well tended lawn with group participation is best. Doit on an empty stomach and avoid falling into dangerous objects such as windows. It is allowable to briefly open one's eyes occasionally to maintainyour location. Create a safety zone around your dancing and spontaneousbody movements. Be courteous to neighbors and delete the screamingif it will be heard by others.Total Awareness This advanced method is recommended for those studentswho have practiced other meditation techniques long enough to gain a feelingof floating bodilessness. Begin this method by sitting with eyes fullyopen. Softly gaze at a blank wall, or more preferably, look out a windowat a distant vista. With the mind's eye (the eye of consciousness behindyour body's purely physical eyes) define your field of visual consciousnessas a circle. Imagine the top of your field of consciousness as the12 o'clock position on a clock, and the bottom of your field of consciousnessas the 6 o'clock position. With your mind's eye, not your physicaleyes, slowly sweep your attention clockwise from the top 12 o'clock positiondown to the 6 o'clock position, then on to the 9 o'clock position, and thenback up to the 12 o'clock position. Repeat this process in thecounterclockwise direction. Mentally strain to observe the very outeredges of your visual field of consciousness where the light of consciousnessturns into the darkness of empty space. Go on repeatingthis process until you feel you have had enough. This is an powerful awareness exercise, not an eyeexam, and that is why it is recommended only for students with a number ofyears of experience in meditation. After practicing this method forsome time, you can begin to transform the method into one of sudden expansionof awareness. You can gain the ability to perceive the complete 360degrees of the outer edges of your consciousness in one jump. Thisfeels like stepping back, literally out of your own mind, and looking backinto your mind from a close and friendly distance. You become identifiedwith the Void, and the perception of deep space around the flame of consciousnessmakes the flame grow brighter. This esoteric method is difficult tofully explain, and there are aspects of it that you will have to learn onyour own through practice. One discovers from this technique that our visualfield of consciousness is roughly football shaped, with greater widththan height. This is because our brains evolved out of a need to lookfor food and danger more on the horizontal axis than on the vertically axis. To survive you need to be aware of what is on your right and left morethan what is directly below your feet or above your head. This powerfulawareness method has a deprogramming effect that allows one to appreciatethe play of existence as an ever changing drama. You feel as if youare in it, but also out of it and beyond it. You can be creative After you have become comfortable with the meditationtechniques individually, you can learn to incorporate them simultaneouslyto multiply their effectiveness. For example, combining hara awarenessand the use of the self-inquiry incantation can be an extremely powerfulmethod. There are no rigid one-size-fits-allmeditation techniques. Follow your intuition and let the methods evolveto fit your own individuality. Don't take the time suggestions formethods as set limits. If you desire to extend your meditation sessions,then go with the flow. How long should I meditate? The time a person needs to spend in formal meditationsessions to gain maximum benefit depends on ever-changing individualcircumstances. If you are meditating with a group, you will gain fromthe group energy and go further with less effort. If you are fortunateenough to be living close to an enlightened teacher, you may be able to absorbsome of his high energy without any effort at all. If you are meditatingalone, without support from others, then you will have to do all the heavylifting yourself. My general recommendation is that a single fortyminute meditation session practiced every day is a minimum effort, andscientists have proven that amount of meditation is enough to physicallyenlarge portions of the brain involved in awareness. Meditation onlyworks for those who are hungry for it, and if you cannot spare forty minutesa day you will probably not gain substantial benefits. If you wishto go faster, with clearly recognizable progress, then I suggest two or threeformal meditation sessions every day. A specific recommendationfor young, physically fit beginners would be to practice Cathartic DancingMeditation in the morning and one of the quiet sitting meditations atnight. It is of paramount importance to practice mindfulnessthroughout the day. To be of any real value, meditation must becomea full-time way of living rather than a strictly segregated activity. Choose methods that make you feel more positive. Meditation shouldbe a form of cosmic hedonism, not a penance one must perform as anobligation.The wanting mechanism What keeps us diverted from meditation in the hereand now? Look inside your mind and find the wanting mechanism. The wanting mechanism continuously constructs images of new experiencesthe mind desires, derived from memories of the past. The mind becomesenamored with these new fantasy images and is diverted away from what actuallyis, here and now. The eternal cosmic consciousness exists here andnow, never in the future, and never in the past. Future and past areillusory and do not exist in any real physical form outside of projectionsof our own minds. What exists now is everything, and you alreadyhave it. Wanting is part of life, creativity, family building,wealth creation, and the survival instinct. In the sense of preservingthe human race on planet earth, wanting is a very good thing. In thesense of an individual becoming an awakened Buddha, wanting is a hindrance. Wanting creates duality, the wanter and that which is desired. Siddhartha Gautama taught that desire is a root cause of suffering. The questions is, how many of us can and should take the last stepsto enlightenment by dropping the wanting mechanism entirely? Not wanting means not wanting anything, not justdropping the desire for sex, money, and power, but also dropping the desirefor justice, family, and nation. It is not what you want that matters,it is the wanting mechanism itself that is the barrier. Deep meditationis a giant leap beyond logic and the norms of society. It is dissolvinginto infinity and oblivion and not coming back. Very fewhumans have been able to manage that radical transformation totally, andthat is why enlightenment will always be an extremely rare phenomena. Ending the wanting mechanism brings time to a halt, annihilatesthe future and the past, and expands consciousness to the far reaches ofthe universe. If everyone in the world suddenly became enlightened,in my opinion, the human race would come to an end. There would bea lack of sufficient desire to keep people motivated enough to have families,raise children, grow crops, and protect society from all the natural threats,from disease to ecological disaster. That said, I certainly believethat enlightenment is a desirable goal for those who really want it, butyou can see the impossibility of the situation. When you "want"enlightenment your wanting mechanism is still active and enlightenment willnot happen to you. So we can all breathe easy that everyonein the world will not become enlightened, all at the same time, anytimesoon. Ask yourself these questions.1) If you want something, how can you stop thinkingabout it?2) If you don't want anything, what is there to thinkabout? 3) If you don't want anything, is there anything to be angryabout?4) If you don't want anything, is there anything to make youunhappy? Rocks and other inanimate objects do not want andthey do not suffer, but they are unconscious and dead. How does a livinghuman being enter a no-wanting state while fully conscious andfilled to the brim with life energy? That is the incredible contradictionand difficulty in becoming enlightened. At some point in your practice of meditation youmay see that wanting is a barrier to further progress. Only when youcan perceive this very clearly should you try to step back from the wantingmechanism, otherwise you will suppress desires and lead a false life. Stepping back from the wanting mechanism is a form of intenseself-observation, not suppression. You drop desires when you realizethey are painful; they are literally causing you pain. You find comfortand safety in the Void: its certainty and indestructibility. Things to do, things to avoid, and things toconsider Work in groups when possible as group energy can multiply the energy of an individual many times over. Remember that meditation is an escape to reality, not an escape from reality. Avoid any guru or group that asks you to deny truth. Don't limit yourself to just one teacher. The single guru approach can lead to cult thinking with its small mindedness and us vs. them syndrome. Hatha yoga can make you more energetic and fit for long meditation sessions, but do not take it too seriously, or become obsessed with extreme gymnastics. The easy and basic hatha yoga exercises work best. Extreme kundalini yoga exercises that involve fast breathing in bizarre positions may be dangerous and are not recommended. Men should never sit with their heels pressed behind their testicles, as some yogis and Buddhist monks instruct, as this practice is unhealthful and can cause sterility. Having a separate room used exclusively for meditation can be very helpful. It is possible to build up a vibration in a room so that the moment you enter it your mind becomes silent and ready for deep meditation. Avoid fads (see New Age therapists kill girl) and complicated philosophies that give your mind more to think about. Meditation is a step beyond the thought process. No philosophy can adequately describe man's place in the universe. Concentrate on meditation in this moment and not on ancient scriptures. Many old scriptures were written by madmen and fools, and have gained respect from society simply because they are so old and dusty. Food should not be made the fundamental basis of your practice. It is essential to maintain a nutritionally adequate diet without becoming a food fanatic. Most people find that a semivegetarian diet supplemented with dairy products and eggs is generally best for meditation, but not essential. Most Tibetan lamas and Asian Zen monks eat meat, so obviously meat consumption is not a serious obstacle to cosmic consciousness. There is no scientific evidence to suggest that a vegetarian diet extends lifespan or improves health. Nations with the highest longevity rates, such as Japan, Sweden, and Australia, are all populated by avid meat eaters. Fasting is a waste of time and will weaken you physically. Like taking LSD, fasting creates strangely entertaining short term experiences but produces no long term benefits and can cause permanent neurological damage. When you fast your body literally feeds upon itself. If your brain needs protein for repair work, your body will be directed to eat away its own own muscles, or worse, your own peripheral nerve cells. People fast because their heads feel cluttered with thoughts and they hope planned starvation will purify their minds. The human body is made of mud (water and dirt), so the idea of a perfect, spiritually purified physical body is misguided. The way to end the cluttered feeling is to change the way your brain and energy body function, and this can be accomplished through the use of meditation techniques. I do not recommend solitary meditation retreats longer than seven days duration. To maintain health one must eat a balanced diet and get rigorous physical exercise every day. To maintain full brain function one must also get mental exercise through interaction with other human beings and through problem solving. If you meditate in isolation for months or years continuously, your body and brain will become deconditioned and atrophy. You may develop strange hallucinations and delusions, and come back physically weaker with a measurably lower IQ. Avoid drugs and alcohol. Carlos Castaneda was a talented fiction writer who misled many people. Drugs are not an effective path to enlightenment, but they are a quick path to misery and insanity. Have sex when you wish and do not force celibacy upon yourself in the hopes that it will lead to enlightenment. To meditate one must be in a very natural and relaxed state of mind, without repression or tension. Celibacy can only be of value if it occurs spontaneously, without effort. The majority of famous gurus who have claimed celibacy publicly have practiced intercourse privately. Why make sex a big secret, and why have two faces? Many fully enlightened humans have had sexual relations even after enlightenment. Practice choiceless awareness (one object vision, mindfulness) throughout the day. Meditation must become as continuous and spontaneous as breathing. Don't make meditation a competition, and drop any hidden agenda you may have to use it to control others. Legitimate motives for meditation are the desire for tranquility and ecstasy, freedom from suffering, and the adventure of self-exploration. Don't turn your meditation into a business. People who make a profit from intercourse have turned something beautiful into something ugly. Those who make money from meditation have transformed a noble path into a sordid back alley. Whether you are a sexual prostitute or a spiritual prostitute, the fundamental quality of your mind is the same. Be completely honest and have just one face, not two. One of the most dangerous thoughts you can have is to think that you have lost your ego! For every action there is a reaction, not just in theoretical physics, but in ordinary human life as well. When you create positive actions you will eventually reap positive reactions for yourself and for others. In this way what we call ethics and morality are woven into the very fabric of the universe, right down to the subatomic level.Enlightenment It is my personal belief that full, dramatic, historic"enlightenment" is largely a biological, DNA driven quality of the brainthat cannot be achieved by any amount of effort. J. Krishnamurti oncestated that he was born empty, while others were born full. His stateof cosmic emptiness (the Void) was not the result of method, but was a freegift of nature. I also believe, however, that you can increase thepower of your consciousness in the same way you increase the size of yourmuscles through exercise. The high meditation energy of the majorityof famous Tibetan lamas and Zen monks comes largely through determined effortand practice, not from a purely natural born gift. The fastest way to make progress toward a constantstate of cosmic consciousness is to live in the company of an enlightenedhuman being. Enlightened teachers can expand your consciousness withoutthe slightest effort on your part; all you need to do is to be open to thespontaneous transfer of energy. Fully enlightened human are very rare. There may have been as few as seven fully enlightened teachers in thenow past 20th century. I do not know of any fully enlightened teachersstill living today, but that does not mean they do not exist. Moreenlightened teachers will be coming in the future, and it is your challengeto find them while avoiding the many fakes. When it comes to gurus, even fully enlightenedgurus, take the best and leave the rest. No human being hasever been perfect and without major flaws and limitations. [seeThe RidiculousTeachings of Wrong Way Rajneesh] Only myths can give you theillusion of perfection. That is why most of society continues to worshipinvented myths rather than accept reality as it is, warts and all. Enlightened humans are vastly expanded human beings, not perfect humanbeings. It is my educated opinion that the traditionalguru-disciple relationship is now passé and inappropriatefor Western students of meditation. The East has always had an imperialand authoritarian model for the teacher-student relationship. The Westmust develop its own more democratic traditions based on science and fact,not on myth and tradition. Be a devoted disciple, but make your guruthe total life experience itself, not just a single fallible humanbeing. Use human teachers as temporary tools on your path toself-realization, but do not allow yourself to become the captive servantof one fallible human mind. Christopher Calder email = calderhouse at yahoo.com my homepage Copyright notice: Please feel free to copy, repost, or publishMeditation Handbook (© 1998 ChristopherCalder). You may repost or publish anyof my essays without cost, but you must clearly state that the essayswere written by Christopher Calder, and you must not change any of my wordsor their meanings. I prefer that those who repost my essays installa web link to my homepage, but that request is not a demand. This is a 100% free website, published only forthe benefit of other students of meditation. * Definition: kundalini (k¢n´de-lê´nê)noun of Hindu origin. The ancient Hindus defined kundalinias a process whereby sexual energy that lies dormant near the base of thespine, in the "Muladhara chakra," is activated and directed upwardto the top of the head. A scientific, neurology based explanation forthe kundalini experience has not yet been discovered. Myown unproven theory is that all of the "chakras" and the kundalinichannel itself may reside within the human brain, with only correspondingpoints located in the lower body and spinal column. The real "Muladharachakra" (sex center) may reside as a bundle of nerves in the brain, and kundalinipractice may simply transfer the neural energy of our powerful sex driveupward to the higher centers of the brain which create cosmic consciousness. This would explain why doctors have not been able to find any physicalevidence of chakras in the lower body. The latest research shows thatthe "subtle body" that mystics claim is "immaterial" is just an illusioncreated by the material human brain itself. Useful linksU.G.Krishnamurti spoke more truth than any teacher I knowof. While other teachers lied and became wealthy, U.G. told the straighttruth and lived a modest life. Lies sell, while the truth is so hardto take that it has little commercial value. Jiddu Krishnamurti was a dry, publiclyhumorless teacher who was uniquely lovable. His powerful vibrationscan still be felt at Arya Vihara, Krishnamurti's former home in Ojai, California.Lives in the Shadow withJ. Krishnamurti This intriguing book is about J. Krishnamurti'spersonal life.Ramana Maharshi Every major religious group in India agreed that Ramana Maharshiwas enlightened.The "God" Part of theBrain, by Matthew Alper. Alper details the logical scientificargument that spirituality is the product of genetics and biochemistry, andthat God, soul, and reincarnation are inventions of the human brain, usedas a device to relieve the tremendous stress of death awareness.Note Opinions expressed on thispage must be viewed as the ideas of an ordinary student of meditation. While I truly believe everything I say, you should not believe anythingunless you see it, feel it, and know it for yourself. I make no claimsof infallibility. In fact I absolutely claim fallibility. my home page
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