The Issue I Have With Meditation

[Guest SC GM]

Meditation as "done" in an islolated place seems to miss it's point. For the most part we do not spend time in isolated places, but at work, when you go shopping etc. Calming the mind when it's quiet is easier as when you are sucked up by life. Here comes the challenge! Remain as awareness THEN. What I'm seeing a lot is people with thousand of hours of isolated meditation still going round in the world forgetting about their true self when a bit of wind comes up. This is why I prefer to stop and pause multiple times during the day where ever I am - even if it's just for a few seconds. Just stop what you are doing, and remain in awareness.  

Mediation reminds me of the athlete world- Just instead of miles and paces, hours of mediations are beeing chased just to share awakening stories with others and please the imposter self with another gratification. If you are really awakening there will be no need to share with the world. You will be coming closer to silence and less like talk.  

 

[How to be wise]

You could try contemplating on this issue. 

[Prabhaker]

On 6/6/2017 at 10:26 PM, SC GM said:

Meditation as "done" in an islolated place seems to miss it's point.

Always remember the difference between isolation and solitude. This is the difference. Isolation is a sort of suppression – forcing yourself to be still, being alone, cutting yourself off from other people. Solitude is not isolation. You are not cutting anything, because there is nothing to cut. You are not trying to be alone; you are simply alone, and there is no effort involved.

Become a solitude. Isolation is negative, because one wants to break all communication with the world. One is fed up with all relationships and with love. One simply wants to withdraw into oneself. The whole thing is negative. You are left in a negative emptiness, a sort of darkness.

Solitude is very positive. It is not going away from society, or cutting relationships. On the contrary, it is not a withdrawal but a dipping into your own being; it is an in-going. In withdrawal the focus is on the other, you are going away from the other. In solitude the focus is no longer on the other, you are simply sinking into your own being. Before you can communicate, you have to enter into your own shrine to bring something to share.

One becomes depleted leading the ordinary life – with the thousand and one problems and anxieties and worries. Solitude is like moving into your own world to become revitalised, to be rejuvenated, refreshed and overflowing, so that you can come back to the world again and share.

 

[Shin]

Meditation is to be maintained to be able to be still enough to practice mindfullness.

You can be mindful without having a meditation practice, but for some very neurotics people (which is a lot of people), it almost impossible to do it.

They don't even know what it's like to be thoughtless for a single second, how could they even begin to understand their thoughts are not really them ?

[Guest SC GM]

@Prabhaker I agree with what you are saying. Isolation is different that solitude. But what I wanted to say is that you can "be in meditation" at any given moment as it is your natural state, there is no need to lock yourself away for it all the time. Our true self is locationless, so it doesn't matter where the physical self is, at home alone, or at work. For starters, meditating in a room by yourself is necessary, I agree with that as well. But there is no need to do hundreds of hours. At the beginning it might seems you are withdrawing into yourself, until you realize there is nothing to be withdrawn from...because it is all right there:-)

[Guest SC GM]

@Shin I guess I was generalizing a bit when I said meditation in isolated places doesn't work. It sure depends on how conscious you are. What I'm currently witnessing are people who have been around the spiritual community for quiet a bit, are very disciplined when it comes to meditation for hours, but it never reflects much in their every day life. A good way to practice is to go out, explore the world and include the teachings actively, when it matters most. When Leo for instance says you need thousands of hours of meditation, I disagree.