Counting Meditation

[Rilles]

Has anyone tried this??

Slowly counting 1 2 3 4 over and over and focusing on the space between? 

Just did this while doing SDS and it made me very focused

I think in Zen they do something similar 

[Preetom]

@Rilles Yeah I've tried it. It's actually a very precise and simple concentration meditation, makes the mind calm and alert.

The way I did it was counting breaths..in and out..1..1..2..2..3..3.....upto 10..then repeat from 1

[Rilles]

7 minutes ago, Preetom said:

@Rilles Yeah I've tried it. It's actually a very precise and simple concentration meditation, makes the mind calm and alert.

The way I did it was counting breaths..in and out..1..1..2..2..3..3.....upto 10..then repeat from 1

Hm... seems I will use this technique in the future...(The now) Thanks

[Preetom]

5 minutes ago, Rilles said:

Hm... seems I will use this technique in the future...(The now) Thanks

Another huge upside of adding this counting in breath concentration meditation is that it really shuts the mind down much more effectively than just focusing on breathing.

As the mental verbal faculty is kept busy counting breaths, it cannot usually spin more thoughts that easily

[Rilles]

Just now, Preetom said:

As the mental verbal faculty is kept busy counting breaths, it cannot usually spin more thoughts that easily

yes! This is why its great! Peter Ralston has a video where he talks about that there cant be two thoughts at the same time, if we consciously use the faculty of thoughts they cant run off haha, like leashing a dog. Hence no monkey mind, but I dont know, Ill try it before i yap too much. 

[Preetom]

5 minutes ago, Rilles said:

yes! This is why its great! Peter Ralston has a video where he talks about that there cant be two thoughts at the same time, if we consciously use the faculty of thoughts they cant run off haha, like leashing a dog. Hence no monkey mind, but I dont know, Ill try it before i yap too much. 

haha Ramana Maharshi gave the analogy of giving an elephant a chain to carry in it's trunk, so that it won't go for anything else to pick up.

This is the essence of concentration meditation. 

I was reading Sanatana Gamana's book where he/she mentions that there are 2 ways to effectively quieten the mind.

1) Either by holding 1 thought in exclusion of all other thoughts(which is basically concentration meditation)

2) or by letting go of all thoughts and holding on to the subjective feeling of the self that knows all thoughts(which is basically self-inquiry)

[Hellspeed]

What something more challenging and profound?

Listen to the silence in between heartbeats. 

[SoonHei]

4 hours ago, Preetom said:

The way I did it was counting breaths..in and out..1..1..2..2..3..3.....upto 10..then repeat from 1

this sounds good. thanks

[Rilles]

3 hours ago, Preetom said:

1) Either by holding 1 thought in exclusion of all other thoughts(which is basically concentration meditation)

2) or by letting go of all thoughts and holding on to the subjective feeling of the self that knows all thoughts(which is basically self-inquiry)

That sounds like the one Im talking about

I usually mix inquiry and meditation

@Hellspeed wow, sounds like you need hella focus to do that, gonna try that

[Preetom]

2 minutes ago, Rilles said:

I usually mix inquiry and meditation

Concentration is always towards an object

While inquiry/contemplation is attention turning on itself and resting in it's source

13 minutes ago, SoonHei said:

this sounds good. thanks

try it and let us know 

[Rilles]

Just now, Preetom said:

While inquiry/contemplation is attention turning on itself and resting in it's source

I dont really know what the source is yet, only done inquiry for a few months getting there...

[Preetom]

6 minutes ago, Rilles said:

I dont really know what the source is yet, only done inquiry for a few months getting there...

the source is the all pervading, non objective aware presence.

You are really knowing it right now! In fact, that's the only thing you're knowing and you've ever known. But it still eludes you because you are imagining and searching for it as something which it is not and thus denying it's presence.

It's exactly like you are watching a movie on TV but you are saying that I need to focus for 1 more hour to see the screen. You are already looking at the screen! WAKE UP!

You are expecting that the screen will one day show up in the movie. It won't! The screen is ever present at where it's at.

Edited December 31, 2018 by Preetom

[Rilles]

1 hour ago, Preetom said:

the source is the all pervading, non objective aware presence.

You are really knowing it right now! In fact, that's the only thing you're knowing and you've ever known. But it still eludes you because you are imagining and searching for it as something which it is not and thus denying it's presence.

It's exactly like you are watching a movie on TV but you are saying that I need to focus for 1 more hour to see the screen. You are already looking at the screen! WAKE UP!

You are expecting that the screen will one day show up in the movie. It won't! The screen is ever present at where it's at.

Yeah i know the theory... anyday now thanks man! im inspired