Meditation without a technique? Freestyle meditation

[Naviy]

During meditation I started to notice that often I do not want to use any particular technique. When I try to force myself to use a technique (any of those I know), it feels like it is actually holding me back, limits me.

Instead, I kind of want to do "just meditation" without any technique (for myself I call it "freestyle meditation"). It feels like a mix of all techniques' goals.

I am being aware, at the same time concentrated, at the same time letting go of control over attention, at the same time paying attention to objects, at the same time getting out of thought hypnosis, at the same time letting thoughts and everything be, at the same time kind of self-inquiring automatically a little bit,  etc.

And I'm kind of naturally finding balance between all the "things you do" during meditation. Be gentle, but not lazy. Be concentrated, but don't forget to accept and let go. Do something like become aware of an object, but also do not do anything.

It's very difficult to track progress, so I do not know what is more effective - doing this "freestyle meditation" or sticking to a particular technique (like mindfulness with labeling or focus on breath or letting thoughts go or do nothing or being aware of thought without controlling them).

So. Is it just ego being lazy and resists doing any techniques, or this "meditation without a technique" is legitimate? Could you give an advice?  

[Toby]

This is what Adya is handing out on his retreats for the meditation sessions and is kinda fitting here: https://www.adyashanti.org/index.php?file=writings_inner&writingid=12

Edited November 23, 2017 by Toby

[Shin]

9 hours ago, Naviy said:

 

So. Is it just ego being lazy and resists doing any techniques, or this "meditation without a technique" is legitimate? Could you give an advice?  

I also do this.

This is good, you don't need a specific technique if you don't find one that feels natural to you.
After all, meditation is just about being present, and nothing else.
Although, when you start and your mind is extremely agitated, it is better to stick to one technique (like breathing or body scan) until you are able to choose to be present.

You can use certain meditations to increase your concentration to a very high degree (and this can be very helpful if this is what you want), but this isn't necessary, what matters is how much you can stay in the present and feel at peace with what is.

Trust your own intuitions about this, sometimes you'll feel you need to practice body scan meditation, sometimes you'll feel that you want to do some Do nothing, that's ok to switch (if it's not neurotic and intuition based), because that means your body/mind needs specific types of awareness at this specific moments.

[Naviy]

Thanks.

@Shin

Yes, this is what I do. Before I used to force myself to stick only to one technique at least for a month. I remember when I first tried a new technique, I was doing only it for at least 2 months. It was fine for me and it was effective.

Now I kind of feel what will work the most today - "freestyle" or some particular technique and do it. Recently I whether mix different techniques, switching from one to another during meditation, or do "just meditation", just how I feel it.  

[stevegan928]

I do the same, I sit down with a vague instruction like "allow" or "be" or "let go". but also sometimes no instruction at all, It'll seamlessly blend from do nothing, to self-inquiry, to meditation,  to contemplation and so on.  probably the best way to do it since research has shown most meditation techniques stop yielding any results after a certain amount of time and then it's best to switch to a new one that does.