A Systematic Mastery of Meditation

[okulele]

Meditation is my passion. I want to devote my life to studying an practicing this art.

Even though my meditation practice was pretty unsystematic until now, I am very pleased with my spiritual progress. I can foresee, that if I make my practice and study into a system, even greater benefits can be achieved for me and for others.

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BASIC OUTLINE OF THE SYSTEM

The goal: Mastering meditation.

Components:

Practice:

Formal: Specific place. Specific duration. Specific technique. All attention is put into meditation.

Informal: All day long. Specific technique.

Study:

Reading, watching, listening.

Creating:

Mediation notes: A short note after each meditation session.

Other: ?

 

My informal practice so far was self-inquiry, breath-awareness and body-awareness.

My formal practice so far was do-noting, self-inquiry, body scan, metta etc.

 

I want to study Shinzen Young's Unified Mindfulness.

I think Shinzen's system doesn't include energy work (Kundalini, Qi Gong...), so I'd like to study that separately. I want to study Neidan, the Taoist energy works.

 

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THE STRATEGY:

Formal practice:

15' Inner Smile (let's call it this for now)

60' Body Awareness (let's call it this for now)

10' Metta (let's call it this for now)

10' Text contemplation (let's call it this for now)

Informal practice:

Breath and Body Awareness (let's call it this for now)

Study:

Shinzen Young's Unified Mindfulness

Neidan

Creating:

A short note with insights after each mediation

 

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GOALS

until 24.3.2019

Create a cheat-sheet for Inner Smile

Set up a notebook for this system

until 31.3.2019

Complete the Unified Mindfulness CORE Training

 

 

This is more or less it for now.

I'll be expanding on it soon.

Edited March 23, 2019 by okulele

[okulele]

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GOALS

until 24.3.2019

Create a cheat-sheet for Inner Smile

Set up a notebook for this system

until 31.3.2019

Complete the Unified Mindfulness CORE Training

 

Quote

 

THE CHEAT-SHEET FOR INNER SMILE

1. Ground yourself.
2. Generate smiling energy.
3. Smile into the BRAIN.
4. Smile into the LIVER and GALLBLADDER visualizing GREEN.
5. Smile into the HEART and SMALL INTESTINES visualizing RED.
6. Smile into the SPLEEN, STOMACH and PANCREAS visualizing YELLOW.
7. Smile into the LUNGS and LARGE INTESTINES visualizing WHITE.
8. Smile into the KIDNEYS, BLADDER and SEXUAL ORGANS visualizing DEEP BLUE.
9. Draw the energy into the navel area.

The brain controls all functions of the body and interprets information from the outside world.

The liver's main job is to filter the blood coming from the digestive tract, before passing it to the rest of the body. The liver also detoxifies chemicals and metabolizes drugs.

The gallbladder is a small pouch that sits just under the liver. The gallbladder stores bile produced by the liver. Bile helps digest fats.

The heart pumps blood through the network of arteries and veins called the cardiovascular system.

The small intestines' job is to absorb most of the nutrients from what we eat and drink.

The spleen plays multiple supporting roles in the body. It acts as a filter for blood as part of the immune system. Old red blood cells are recycled in the spleen, and platelets and white blood cells are stored there. The spleen also helps fight certain kinds of bacteria that cause pneumonia and meningitis.

The stomach secretes acid and enzymes that digest food. The stomach muscles contract periodically, churning food to enhance digestion.

In the lungs oxygen from the air is absorbed into the blood.

The large intestines absorbs water from wastes, creating stool. As stool enters the rectum, nerves there create the urge to defecate.

The kidneys' job is to filter your blood. They remove wastes, control the body's fluid balance, and keep the right levels of electrolytes.

The bladder stores urine, allowing urination to be infrequent and controlled.

The sexual organs produce, maintain, and transport sperm and protective fluid. Produce and secrete sex hormones.

resources:

https://www.webmd.com/

https://mayfieldclinic.com/

http://developyourenergy.net/2015/03/22/internal-organ-meditation/

 

I believe bringing a smile (loving awareness) into the internal organs can have a great benefit for the body's health.

 

[okulele]

Shinzen Young's Outline of Practice

https://www.shinzen.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/AnOutlineOfPractice_ver2.5.pdf

Beautiful. Just as I thought, Shinzen created a very detailed and systematic approach to meditation. It seems to go very deep and very broad at the same time.

The question I am facing here is, how far can I go with consciousness work? In the past the goal was to get 'enlightened', but as I understand it today, that is a rather vague concept. Get enlightened is a poor map. I need a better map. This one seems very clear.

The goal will probably be to implement this map into my life, so that each part of my experience can be lived as consciously as possible.

[okulele]

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GOALS

We 27.3.

Set up a plan for 2-day-retreat

Th 28.3. - Fr 29.3.

2-day-retreat (since these are my days off)

until 31.3.2019.

Complete the Unified Mindfulness CORE Training

 

[lacsativ]

Very interesting. I'm curious about your opinion on Culadasa (John Yates Ph.D) - The Mind Illuminated if you are familiar with it. It outlines a ten-stage system towards the path of Enlightenment, somewhat similar to the Ten Pictures of Ox-Herding. 
Do you have any experience with binaural-beats enhanced meditation, like Centerpointe's Holosync?

I really like the idea of differentiating between formal and informal consciousness work. Could you elaborate a bit on this? 

Also, what would you recommend to someone who wants to start a consistent meditation practice? What techniques/types of meditation do you recommend to a beginner like me? Is there anything you wish you knew before starting your meditation practice(s)? Are there any specific books/programs/systems/paths you recommend? 
 

[okulele]

Hi @lacsativ !

23 hours ago, lacsativ said:

Very interesting. I'm curious about your opinion on Culadasa (John Yates Ph.D) - The Mind Illuminated if you are familiar with it. It outlines a ten-stage system towards the path of Enlightenment, somewhat similar to the Ten Pictures of Ox-Herding. 

I am not familiar with Culadasa, although I heard about the book before. I might read it at some point, if I get the chance. Thanks for the recommendation

I am familiar with the Ten Pictures of Ox-Herding. I love this system as it seems pretty consistent with my experience so far. I read about in this short book and I saw Leo's video, which was great. Oh, and also Shinzen's videos about it are amazing.

23 hours ago, lacsativ said:

Do you have any experience with binaural-beats enhanced meditation, like Centerpointe's Holosync?

Not with binaural-beats exactly, but I use Kip Mazuy's music for meditation. I find it very effective. Like this:

23 hours ago, lacsativ said:

I really like the idea of differentiating between formal and informal consciousness work. Could you elaborate a bit on this? 

Quite simple really.

The formal meditation is exactly what you imagine a meditation to be. You sit down, set a timer, choose a technique and give your all to it.

The informal meditation begins when you open your eyes in the morning. I usually set an intention right then to, let's say watch my breath and emotions all day, and try to keep it as best I can. Most of the day it's going on its own really, just a background thing, but every now and then when my attention is more free, I really give myself into it. I do it until I fall asleep.

23 hours ago, lacsativ said:

Also, what would you recommend to someone who wants to start a consistent meditation practice?

I would say, get in touch with the fact, that life is really a fascinating mystery. When you get it, meditation will seem very natural, as it is basically observing what is actually going on. For me, Alan Watts is someone who first really triggered this interest in me.

Pick a time and spot where you will meditate every day. Start now.

Use the forum, there are some great meditators here. Get inspired, get help. Anything you need. Maybe even start your own journal about your meditation and help yourself stay consistent that way?

23 hours ago, lacsativ said:

What techniques/types of meditation do you recommend to a beginner like me? Is there anything you wish you knew before starting your meditation practice(s)? Are there any specific books/programs/systems/paths you recommend? 

What are you drawn to? You mentioned Culadasa. Maybe his teachings are something you would like to look into and start following? Buddhism is definitely a valid path. I'd say trust your gut and go with a system/technique that seems appealing to you. Don't worry so much about getting the perfect technique or something, just start doing it. All of them lead to the same place ultimately.

23 hours ago, lacsativ said:

Is there anything you wish you knew before starting your meditation practice(s)?

Yes. It's a life-long journey, and it's totally worth it

Edited March 26, 2019 by okulele

[okulele]

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GOALS

We 27.3.

Set up a plan for 2-day-retreat

Th 28.3. - Fr 29.3.

2-day-retreat (since these are my days off)

until 31.3.2019.

Complete the Unified Mindfulness CORE Training

 

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2-DAY-RETREAT PLAN

6.00-6.30   Breath & Body Awareness Sitting

6.00-6.40   Loving Kindness

6.40-7.00   Contemplating 'The Zen Teachings of Huang Po' (book)

7.00-8.00   breakfast

8.00-8.55   Breath & Body Awareness Sitting

9.00-9.25   Breath & Body Awareness Walking

9.30-10.10   Self Inquiry Sitting

10.15-10.30   Self Inquiry Walking

10.35-11.25   Breath & Body Awareness Sitting

11.30-11.55   Contemplating ' You are the perceiver of change. Therefore, you are apart from this.  ' (Mooji's quote)

12.00-13.00   lunch

13.00-13.25   Breath & Body Awareness Walking

13.30-14.00   Self Inquiry Sitting

14.00-14.25   Self Inquiry Walking

14.30-15.30   Breath & Body Awareness Workout + shower

15.30-16.30   dinner

16.30-16.55   Breath & Body Awareness Walking

17.00-17.55   Breath & Body Awareness Sitting

18.00-19.30   x

19.30-19.50   Vizualization

19.50-20.00   Inner Smile

20.00-20.30   x

20.30-21.00   Self Inquiry

21.05-22.00   Breath & Body Awareness Sitting

Let's see how this tight schedule works

[okulele]

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GOALS

Th 28.3. - Fr 29.3.

2-day-retreat (since these are my days off)

until 31.3.2019.

Complete the Unified Mindfulness CORE Training

until 7.4.2019

Read Shinzen's "What Is Mindfulness"

Start exploring Hawkins' "Scale of Consciousness"

general

Continue studying Shinzen

Explore David R. Hawkins' "Scale of Consciousness"

Explore the chakra system

Explore the 3 gunas system

Study shamanism

Find a good definition of Self-Inquiry

Although I have done only 1 and 1/2 days of meditation, I am happy with the result. It was definitely a good to idea to schedule a concrete plan. This helped me avoid deciding what to do in the mids of the retreat.

By exploring (see Goals) I don't mean conceptualizing. I mean exploring it in the body, bringing the thing itself into consciousness.

I dropped Inner Smile. It's fine, but I am not excited about it. I don't see myself exploring Neidan any time soon.

[okulele]

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Letting Go Technique

This technique was described in the book 'Letting Go' by David R. Hawkins.

This technique focuses on releasing all and any bodily feelings that come up. As negative feelings are being released, higher and higher feelings emerge, which are released also. It is done continuously, until nothing is left.

1. Spot a feeling.

2. Expand your awareness, so that it encompasses the feeling, but also beyond.

3. Hold the feeling in that open awareness until it's gone.

*train yourself, so that every time you a feeling comes up, your reaction is 'open up!'

 

 

Edited March 30, 2019 by okulele

[okulele]

 

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GOALS

until 31.3.2019.

Complete the Unified Mindfulness CORE Training

until 7.4.2019

Read Shinzen's "What Is Mindfulness"

Start exploring Hawkins' "Scale of Consciousness"

general

Continue studying Shinzen

Explore David R. Hawkins' "Scale of Consciousness"

Explore the chakra system

Explore the 3 gunas system

Study shamanism

Find a good definition of Self-Inquiry

 

 

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SUMMARY OF 'THE UNIFIED MINDFULNESS CORE TRAINING'

Mindfulness

A set of 3 attentional skills: Concentration Power, Sensory Clarity & Equanimity all working together.

Benefits

• reduce suffering
• heighten fulfillment
• deeper spiritual connection
• positive behavior change
• spirit of loving service

Concentration Power

The ability to focus on whatever sensory experience you choose.

Sensory Clarity

The ability to track and explore sensory experience in real time.

Equanimity

The ability to welcome and allow sensory experience to come and go without push and pull.

Sensory Experience

The moment by moment information you are getting from your senses.

• SEE
  • see out = sights of the world
  • see in = visual thinking
• HEAR
  • hear out = sounds of the world
  • hear in = auditory thinking
• FEEL
  • feel out = physical sensations
  • feel in = emotional sensations

Each category of experience includes sense activity and a restful state. The latter is called 'rest'

Every sensory experience, whether active or restful, has a lifespan. The moment it disappears is called 'gone'.

 

This short course was very basic, but really fulfilled my expectations as to categorize different dimensions of meditation. This vocabulary seems highly useful.

Edited March 31, 2019 by okulele

[okulele]

 

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3 TYPES OF MEDITATION

Awakening

- the aim is to understand reality and the self

- e.g. Self-Inquiry

Healing

- the aim it to break free from physical, emotional and mental negative patterns

- e.g. Letting Go

Creating

- the aim is to create physical, emotional and mental positive patterns

- e.g. Loving-Kindness

 

This is a brief idea of how meditation could be categorized. Of course, all of these are interconnected, but I find that we can focus on these three basic aim when meditating.

[okulele]

AWAKENING AND HEALING

https://non-duality.rupertspira.com/introduction

"Enlightenment is the recognition that our true nature – the essential experience of ‘being aware’ or Awareness itself – does not share the limits or destiny of the body."

- this is what I meant by Awakening in the post above. It might seem like a one time thing, but in my experience the recognition takes practice. We tend to recognize, only to forget and recognize again. As we recognize again and again, it becomes a) much more frequent b) intuitively known. It is the abandoning of seeking. This recognition can be practiced by e.g. Neti-Neti (negating everything).

"This understanding is then gradually integrated into every part of daily life."

- this is what I meant by Healing in the post above. It involves recognizing who we are, and exploring the part of the ego that needs to be healed (emotion, tension in the body, thought...). While in the Awakening we negate everything right away and turn to Awareness as much possible, in Healing we recognize Awareness, but also turn to the experience in order to heal it. This healing can be practiced by e.g. Noting (as described by Shinzen Young)

[okulele]

Mastering meditation is mastering the mind. Mastering the mind is seeing through the mind. That is no easy task, as the mind does not want to be seen through. For a long time I did not appreciate just how intelligent the ego-mind is. It is cunning, deceptive, very sneaky. If you have an ego-mind, you have the greatest villain of all times inside of you, working against you. He is so smart, you probably have little idea of his presence, or at least of his magnitude. Leo really nailed it by calling him the Devil. It fits very well.

I want to write about some of the experiences I have been having:

 

No meaning.

There is no meaning to anything. No thing has a name. No thing is anything. There is no thing. It's just a one giant blaaaaab! Even though stuff is recognized, named and explained by the mind, I am beyond and see that it means nothing at all.

"I repeat to you that all phenomena are devoid of distinctions of form." - Huang Po

I had this experience when reading this quote. I understood it and experienced it as no boundaries between one object and another. No boundary between a sound and a sight. Just one giant blaaaaaab! This automatically results in no meaning.

This experience is very peaceful, as there is nothing here. That means, nothing to disturb me.

 

No self.

The body is moving by itself. The mind is thinking by itself. All is the same, but as I am looking at the place where I expected to see my self, I see nothing. Consequently, there is no problem. There is nobody to have a problem. There is no mistake. There is nobody to judge it so.

This can be experienced in various depths.

 

Everything is being born and dying now.

This moment was never here before. This moment will never be here again. It is being created and destroyed at the same time. It is seen to be most valuable and beautiful. It's like a very subtle orgasm. It cannot be seen as good or bad, it's just an explosion. It is here and it is gone. No time to judge.

It is amazing to see people in this state. Everyone is acting like they will be here forever, yet I clearly see that they are already dying. The need to pursue anything or to look into the future for anything at all, is absurd. The one who would do the looking is already dying, so what is the purpose?

There is only this magnificent explosion. This bittersweet symphony, that's life.

 

Everything is made of stillness.

All matter is very real. Very still. Suspended in this incredible space. Space of existence. All perception is the same. Very real, very still. Movement is very still. It is a still universe, so anything that manifests is still.

 

 

...all of these are the same experience really, but seen differently. I don't understand it myself. I just know, that see in these ways, brings great joy, peace and love. I know this is right, and writing about it makes me see it again.

[lacsativ]

57 minutes ago, okulele said:

No meaning.

There is no meaning to anything. No thing has a name. No thing is anything. There is no thing. It's just a one giant blaaaaab! Even though stuff is recognized, named and explained by the mind, I am beyond and see that it means nothing at all.

"I repeat to you that all phenomena are devoid of distinctions of form." - Huang Po

I had this experience when reading this quote. I understood it and experienced it as no boundaries between one object and another. No boundary between a sound and a sight. Just one giant blaaaaaab! This automatically results in no meaning.

This experience is very peaceful, as there is nothing here. That means, nothing to disturb me.

 

It is in the realization of no-meaning that I found the glimpse of the absolute - and for a while I understood that:

• Only madmen try to make sense of all this
• There is nothing to run for and nothing to run from
• There isn't anything out there other than what already is - out there is already here

And in both tears and laughter I kept wondering to myself, what do I keep looking for that isn't what I already am; what do I expect to find that is not already here? There's nothing to be looked for, there's nothing to be found, it only is. Why all this suffering, why all this fear, why all these explanations, what for? What meaning, what proof, what sense: when in this meaninglessness I find infinite meaning - when I realize that life is it's own meaning and it cannot grasp or understand itself - it can only be. 

Thank you for the post, it reminded me of my most intimate experience. I hope one day I'll see "it" as clearly as I did then and forget myself again. 

[okulele]

@lacsativ I am glad you liked it. Thanks for the comment

[okulele]

My practices
 

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Do-Nothing Meditation

I sit down cross legged (usually the burmese pose) and put my hands in my lap (often in the Zen Mudra, as I am fond of Zen). By now, my system know automatically what to do and calms down quickly. My only job here is not to get in the way. The only time I interfere is if I get sleepy - I bring myself back, so to say.

This develops, as Shnizen would say, deep equanimity. Nothing, good or bad, can move me.

 

 

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Loving-Kindness Meditation

Right after the Do-Nothing, I go into Loving-Kindness. I usually say "I love you" to myself, and this gives a signal to my awareness to move more into the heart space. A very pleasant feeling reveals itself in my chest and spreads over my body. I bask in this for a while. After a minute or so, I proceed to tell myself "May I be happy", "May I be free", "May I be healthy", "May I be safe". Each of these often brings different emotional reactions, resistances. My job here is to notice that even though this hesitation comes, the feeling of loving-kindness stays all the time. By noticing this, these feelings 'get loved to death'. They are allowed to release. After doing it on myself I do it on - a loved one, a person not important to me (like a bus driver) and an enemy. I visualize them in front of me and extend the feeling of loving-kindness to the space around them. I repeat the prayers. After all that, I imagine all four of us sitting together and I say "I love you" to all of us. The goal here is to notice, that the feeling of loving-kindness is the same for all of us. For me, friend, just someone and enemy. After this I say "May all beings be happy" and the other prayers in this way. This encourages my awareness to extend as far as it can, over the entire universe. The goal here is to notice that the feeling of loving-kindness is here for everyone.

This develops the ability to love and feel compassion. It help greatly with personal emotions, as well as with relating to others.

 

 

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Contemplating spiritual texts

After the Loving-Kindness, I take a book to contemplate. I used Huang Po's teachings, Rumi's poetry etc. Right now I am using Gangaji's 'The Diamond in Your Pocket'. I open the book and look at it without reading. I just feel it. I might even imagine, that there is energy coming from the book into me. I start reading slowly, stopping between sentences. I don't give much value to understanding the meaning, the goal here is to feel the stillness emanating from the book. Of course, the mind will make conclusions, and that is great. But the focus here is to feel the book.

This often results in a sort of breakthrough. Something that I read clicks and the my state of consciousness changes (usually for a while). Insight comes about.

 

 

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Satsang

Similar to contemplating spiritual texts. I sit and listen to satsang (lately it was Mooji's) not necessarily to get intellectually what the person is saying, but to get the feeling of what he/she is trying to convey. Again, often the mind will be trying to figure it out, and that is fine. In this way, either it 'burns itself out', or some insight may come.

This usually results in feeling very, very empty not even knowing how. The ego can get exposed and we see that it is not our buddy.

 

 

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Mindful Life

This practice is taught by Thich Nhat Hanh. It involves mindfulness of our movements, mindfulness of our breath and smiling at all times. Essentially, I find, it is very much tied to the Loving-Kindness practice. Basically all we do, we do with the feeling of loving-kindness. We walk with loving-kindness, we look with loving-kindness, we breath with loving-kindness. In other words, we enjoy everything very much.

This is an awesome practice. This is where real joy comes in. Every 'mundane' moment is filled with happiness, love, beauty and gratitude.

 

 

[okulele]

Taking care of the energies

As I am discovering 'the depths of my consciousness', I can often feel disturbances in my energies. Here is a good recourse I found that helps me balance these out:

Mukti - A Yogic Qi Gong Routine with Instruction