Single Pointed Concentration on the Self

[Raptorsin7]

How do i apply single pointed concentration on the self to achieve awakening? Any guided self inquires where this technique is used? Also, can someone give me a detailed explanation of what this technique is, how to apply it in direct experience, and how to know if i'm doing it right or wrong.

Thanks! (:

[Nahm]

@Raptorsin7 The “cautions” info on these answers your inquiry pretty well. There’s many more in my link. Enjoy. 

 

Self Inquiry

This is a meditation technique to get enlightened, i.e. "self realization."  By realizing who you are, the bonds of suffering are broken. Besides this goal, self-inquiry delivers many of the same benefits as other meditation techniques, such as relaxation, enhanced experience of life, greater openness to change, greater creativity, a sense of joy and fulfillment, and so forth. 

Focus your attention on the feeling of being "me," to the exclusion of all other thoughts. 

1. Sit in any comfortable meditation posture. 
2. Allow your mind and body to settle. 
3. Now, let go of any thinking whatsoever. 
4. Place your attention on the inner feeling of being "me."
5. If a thought does arise (and it is probable that thoughts will arise on their own), ask yourself to whom this thought is occurring. This returns your attention to the feeling of being "me."
Continue this for as long as you like. 

This technique can also be done when going about any other activity. 

 

CAUTIONS:
Many people misunderstand the self-inquiry technique to mean that the person should sit and ask themselves the question, "Who am I?" over and over. This is an incorrect understanding of the technique. The questions "Who am I" or "To whom is this thought occurring?" are only used when a thought arises, in order to direct attention back to the feeling of being "me." At other times the mind is held in silence. 
 

This practice of Self-attention or awareness of the ‘I’-thought is a gentle technique, which bypasses the usual repressive methods of controlling the mind. It is not an exercise in concentration, nor does it aim at suppressing thoughts; it merely invokes awareness of the source from which the mind springs. The method and goal of self-enquiry is to abide in the source of the mind and to be aware of what one really is by withdrawing attention and interest from what one is not. In the early stages effort in the form of transferring attention from the thoughts to the thinker is essential, but once awareness of the ‘I’-feeling has been firmly established, further effort is counter-productive. From then on it is more a process of being than doing, of effortless being rather than an effort to be.

 

 

 

Concentration (One-Pointedness) Meditation

One of the hallmarks of modern life is the proliferation of distractions. As media become more pervasive, and media connections more ubiquitous, time away from distractions becomes ever harder to find. Previously, people were content to sit in restaurants, or stand in line, without a television screen to stare at. Now these have become standard. The result of all this, and many other causes, is that people find it increasingly difficult to focus their minds. 

Concentration is a necessary human skill. It makes proper thinking possible, increases intelligence, and allows a person to calm down and achieve their goals more effectively. A concentrated mind is like a laser beam, able to use all its powers in a single direction to great effect. 

Concentration is critical to many human endeavors. Being able to listen to another person, for example, in a compassionate and connected manner requires being able to shut out distractions. The experience of making love can be greatly enhanced when one is not, for example, thinking about other things. 

Concentration allows a person to stop being a "reaction machine" or "robot," simply responding to stimulii, and instead to become more thoughtful, self-directed, and confident. 

Concentration is an interesting thing. It is a very general ability. That means developing concentration in one area will help you concentrate in ALL areas. So, for example, if you learn to concentrate on a particular idea, it not only helps you think about that idea (which would be very limited), but actually helps you to concentrate on anything, which is very generally useful for everything! It's like lifting weights. It doesn't just make you strong for lifting weights, but strong for anything else you want to do!

Think about one thing. Every time you get distracted, return to that one thing. 

1. Find an object on which to concentrate. This can be a physical object, like a pebble or a feather. Or it can be a mental object like a particular idea. It could even be, say, your homework.

2. Cut off any sources of distraction. These include, but are not limited to, telephones, emails, computers, music, television, and so forth. Turn all of these off during your concentration practice. 

3. Begin your period of by mentally reminding yourself what you are concentrating on. 

4. Now begin to concentrate. If your concentration object is an external object, this may mean looking at it. If it is a mental object, then think about it. If it is your homework, then do it now.

5. Each time your mind (or eyes) wander from your concentration object, bring it back to the object. It is important to do this very gently and without judgment. 

6. Repeat this process of coming back to the concentration object for as long as you wish, or until your homework is done. 

Cultures worldwide have developed concentration practices for both spiritual and practical reasons. 

Concentration is called dharana in Hinduism, and samadhi or shamatha in Buddhism. It is considered to be a key skill for meditation.
 

CAUTIONS:

Concentration can at first seem to trigger a lot of anxiety. This is, however, not the fault of the concentration practice. Rather, it happens because many people use distraction to avoid feeling emotions. Then when the distractions are removed, a tremendous amount of ambient, unprocessed emotions (i.e. emotions you are feeling but were unaware of feeling) are present. So it is not the practice of concentration that is causing anxiety, but instead it is the habit of distracting ourselves from our emotions. This may be the root cause of much inability to focus and concentrate. If that is the case, try meditating on emotions (below). 

Concentration and meditation are not the same thing, although they are related. Meditation (usually) requires concentration, but also requires relaxation or equanimity.

 

[Raptorsin7]

@Nahm  Very well written! (: Your explanation of self inquiry was perfect, I feel like I know to where I go with my inquiry now. As for the concentration practice I've been doing a few minutes per day of focusing on a metronome before any meditation or study sessions so ill definitely keep that up. Thank you so much for your help, I see how much work you do on the forum and its very inspiring. I was worried no one was going to answer my question here haha. Good luck with whatever you're pursuing my guy 

[Dodo]

@Nahm Solid post, but I don't agree with the caution about the thought "Who am I?" over and over again. There is actually no difference between using the thought "Who am I" and any other thought for this self-enquiry. In fact the purpose of using the thought "Who am I?" is to kill all other thoughts and in the end the "Who am I" thought self-destructs as well, leaving the enquirer to a state of no-mind. 

[Jakeem Ortiz]

@Dodo I'd say nahms technique has a slightly better advantage because it is more passive. One lets the mind naturally think a thought and quickly reigns in the attention to focus on self-inquiry. The use of the question "who am I?" is merely part of the process or technique of directing the minds attention away from things (in this case, thoughts) that one is inclined to be distracted by and using the identity question as a mnemonic device and overall focus device, with the goal being that one will not find an answer and thus go back to a state of mental silence and stillness. Focusing explicitly on thoughts during self-inquiry is more akin to contemplative philosophy and in the grand scheme of things keeps the mind bound to conceptual content and theoretical knowledge, something that is antithetical to direct experience of sublime truths. Your explanation of the process of self-inquiry seems to me to be too "logical" wheras I think the character of our investigations should be closer to "phenomenology".

The goal, I imagine is to eventually kill the inclination to identify with thoughts and thus all conceptual content through sheer practice; something I'll admit you also advocate for as can be gleened from your reply. I imagine releasing oneself from this inclination will have the effect of the individual abiding in that mental stillness, not being confused by thoughts about identity and not ever feeling the need to seriously enquire into the essence of ones identity ever again. Something that upon reflection would reveal the "ego" to have been nothing but a thought.

[Nahm]

?? Appreciated - but check out the link in my signature, and on that thread...those are merely copy & pasted. ??

[Eu Sint]

On 23.09.2019 at 6:16 AM, Jakeem Ortiz said:

I imagine releasing oneself from this inclination will have the effect of the individual abiding in that mental stillness, not being confused by thoughts about identity and not ever feeling the need to seriously enquire into the essence of ones identity ever again. Something that upon reflection would reveal the "ego" to have been nothing but a thought.

Indeed, when you abide in that state of detached witness ,and when everything has as its starting point that stilness, you can no longer be deluded by any thought, emotion or feeling.No mental label can be attached to the silent witness, because it is so pure, that in it, any distinction loses its meaning, even the ideea of “ I” is disolved.No matter what we do, we must look at our minds. In this stilness ,the constant noise of the psychic life is absent. In the deep silence, The Self contemplates ,the body.. But for that, feelings and ideas should not lie between you and the field of consciousness. In the witness, the Absolute is reflected as conscious. Pure Consciousness becomes self-conscious. When there is a self, the Self-consciousness is the witness.?