Developing the "REAL" doing nothing technique

[non_nothing]

Hey all,

I want to master "do nothing" technique but I'm really struggling on that.

I've mastered a lot other techniques such as "breathing, counting, scanning body, scanning environment.. etc' but these all like actually mean for me to doing something. I recently started to think and threat all these as 'cheating' somehow because I can just easily stick to one of methods above and it's really easy for me to complete an hour meditation with that.

 

I tried doing meditation without any technique "the real nothing that I call" but It's really hard to do. What're your insights or guidance would be here? Thanks helping.
(Background: I have 1+ years of meditation steak for everyday min 40 minutes)

[lhamilt18]

Try mindfulness meditation which is nothing more than witnessing. You sit with eyes closed and simply observe all that which is in your concious field. Think of it as "open monitoring." This includes but is not limited to thoughts, sensations and emotions. You simply observe without judgement or resistance. This is different from doing.

[non_nothing]

@lhamilt18 Good. That's what I've been trying to do. But It has tendency for mind to get easily get off and wander around. The problem with that is I usually find my mind having ended dreaming or thinking about something. I will try this for today. Thank you.

Edited August 8, 2018 by non_nothing

[Leo Gura]

@non_nothing The key to do nothing is letting go of all control. So you just sit there and every time you notice an attempt to manipulate your experience arise, you let it go. And you keep doing this over and over again until you are completely surrendered to just the present moment.

Surrender all techniques, surrender all desire to manipulate thoughts or change your experience in any way.

It's a wonderful method. But sometimes it also produces lots of monkey mind because you're letting go of all control. This is normal. The monkey mind will eventually subside.

But Kriya yoga is still far superior.

Do nothing becomes amazing after a few months/years of Kriya yoga.

[non_nothing]

Wow. Yeah. @Leo Gura

Quote

 you let it go

I get it. Even I should accept that mind dreams, thinks and wanders around. This is so powerful. This time I'll just let him wander around. Just as would you do for your child. Like let him/her play on playground. And observe him/her. Thank you.

[robdl]

2 hours ago, non_nothing said:

Hey all,

I want to master "do nothing" technique but I'm really struggling on that.

I've mastered a lot other techniques such as "breathing, counting, scanning body, scanning environment.. etc' but these all like actually mean for me to doing something. I recently started to think and threat all these as 'cheating' somehow because I can just easily stick to one of methods above and it's really easy for me to complete an hour meditation with that.

 

I tried doing meditation without any technique "the real nothing that I call" but It's really hard to do. What're your insights or guidance would be here? Thanks helping.
(Background: I have 1+ years of meditation steak for everyday min 40 minutes)

 

What is meditation? 

 

Can we start by saying what it is not?

Meditation isn't passively observing the passing of thoughts in order to quiet the mind to attain enlightenment.  This is how the term "meditation" is normally intended or implied.

True meditation is observing not only the passing of thoughts, but also even observing the desire/seeking in thought for enlightenment.  Total observation of all thought, including even the observation of volitional/desirous thoughts to quiet the mind.

Total observation, which is true meditation, is therefore effortless, goal-less.  To be aware of the movement of effort means the meditator is not unaware in exerting it (effort) to "attain" something through meditation.   Total observation, in this sense, is observation without the conditioned/biased lens of the "observer"; meditation without the influence of the "meditator".  

[InfinitePotential]

Peter Russell has some great talks and free (or pay as much as you want) guided meditations on "Effortless Meditation".

It's pretty much a different way of describing Do Nothing.  When you see that you are actively trying to do something or putting in any effort, soften it and relax that effort.  If you're trying to stop monkey mind, let go of trying to stop.  Etc.  Can provide immense relaxation gains.  If you stop doing absolutely everything you're doing, cool stuff is gonna happen.

[robdl]

2 hours ago, non_nothing said:

@lhamilt18 Good. That's what I've been trying to do. But It has tendency for mind to get easily get off and wander around. The problem with that is I usually find my mind having ended dreaming or thinking about something. I will try this for today. Thank you.

It’s a quality of attention that is whole, not excluding anything - that sees the whole process of thinking, not just thought content. Getting lost in the content of thought means that attention has become focused, partial, exclusive — which suggests the struggle, volition of thought in action.

Edited August 9, 2018 by robdl

[non_nothing]

Hey guys, thanks for your all support. I had a retrospective of the last meditation session that I had. If you're curious about you can read at:

 

[Joseph Maynor]

Just lay there and rest as awareness.  Nice all the stuff that's happening, but don't neurotically try to notice.  Just BE.  It's a very healthy practice for Enlightenment.  

Edited August 9, 2018 by Joseph Maynor

[non_nothing]

@Outer Please read the following section again:

Quote

....... I recently started to think and threat all these as 'cheating' somehow because I can just ............

 

[TheSomeBody]

let yourself to do alot of monkeymind staff, just watch it and its absurdety. at the right moment you will go to nothingness 

[TheSomeBody]

or try osho meditation, really empty the mind 

[Privet]

Quick outline of the quality do-nothing session: let your inner voice talk random shit till it gets bored of itself and shuts the fuck up.

[Viking]

3 hours ago, Privet said:

Quick outline of the quality do-nothing session: let your inner voice talk random shit till it gets bored of itself and shuts the fuck up.

it can sometimes not get bored

[Salvijus]

Sadhguru Shoonya meditation is something to look up to if you want nothingness.

[robdl]

Quote

Quick outline of the quality do-nothing session: let your inner voice talk random shit till it gets bored of itself and shuts the fuck up

2 hours ago, Viking said:

it can sometimes not get bored

we want to be passively aware, not try to control, reject, choose, or negatively/positively judge thoughts --- but we also need to be alert.  If attention is swept away by inner chatter with no end, that suggests a lack of alert passivity.  Alert in the sense of "quick to notice."  Is noticing occurring moment to moment or is noticing occurring 10 minutes after the fact of a long thought sequence?

[Privet]

9 hours ago, Viking said:

it can sometimes not get bored

Try 3 hour long session.

6 hours ago, robdl said:

we want to be passively aware, not try to control, reject, choose, or negatively/positively judge thoughts --- but we also need to be alert.  If attention is swept away by inner chatter with no end, that suggests a lack of alert passivity.  Alert in the sense of "quick to notice."  Is noticing occurring moment to moment or is noticing occurring 10 minutes after the fact of a long thought sequence?

That's not do-nothing. No control means no control.

If long thought sequence happens and you are unaware of it - let it happen. Otherwise you're trying to notice it, which is control, because you direct your attention on thoughts.

[Faceless]

1 hour ago, Privet said:

If long thought sequence happens and you are unaware of it - let it happen. Otherwise you're trying to notice it, which is control, because you direct your attention on thoughts.

Well to just be unaware is kind of a perpetuation of doing. 

To start with keep it simple and to simply be aware of inattention suffices. 

You will find by being attentive of innatention really takes away that sense of tension, agitation, friction, conflict. 

Ultimatly to understand the whole of thought-self is very important. To be able to identify(be familiar with thought-self activity) or (a doing). To be able to notice certain movements of (doings) that would ordinarily seem other than so. 

If we can see the connection of all ‘seemingly’ seperate and distint doings, and see them as being actually one unitary movement, this makes possible the necessity of that effortless passive attention. 

In all honesty until there is freedom-order in thought. This means one sees the implications of psychological time, and its effects of disorder in thought. To me, unless one does not have an insight into the whole of psychological time, do nothing or passive awareness, will be futile. 

To me, there must be order-freedom first. 

 

It’s not my intention to lecture and so on, this is just of particular interest to me. 

Edited August 10, 2018 by Faceless

[Privet]

1 hour ago, Faceless said:

Well to just be unaware is kind of a perpetuation of doing.

Perpetuation of doing is doing, effort.

1 hour ago, Faceless said:

To start with keep it simple and to simply be aware of inattention suffices.

Again, that's doing. You are describing the technique called 'noting': monitoring your state of mind. Noting requires control and effort, even though the form that you described requires minimal effort and control, yet it's not do-nothing.

Watch this video. Be really clear about what he says about the technique. The instruction for this type of meditation is two very precise sentences.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZ6cdIaUZCA