Oceanic Mind
The Deeper Meditation Training Course
By Tom Von Deck
Monkey Wisdom Meditation and Workplace Stress Management
www.DeeperMeditation.net
Front cover art by Amaloba
Interior and back cover art by Katie Rose Nelson (minus censor bubbles)
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© 2009-2011 by Monkey Wisdom and Tom Von Deck
Short quotes of this book with attribution are ok, including the sharing of specific techniques with friends or in noncommercial writings, but it would be nice to provide a link to the website. For-profit entities should contact the Author if they wish to reprint this work in whole or in part, except for brief quotes or an exercise or two.
This notice is to prevent plagiarism and unauthorized marketing. It is directed more toward the sharks than the fish. On that note, how about some inner peace? Shall we?
Table of Contents
Introduction to the Integrative Tuning Approach …..11
What is Meditation (and What the Hell is Yoga for That Matter)? ………………………………………………………..18
Is Meditation Religious? …………………………………………22
Monkey Business …………………………………………………..23
Benefits of Meditation ………………………………………..…24
Preliminaries ………………………………………………………...25
Regularity and Consistency ………………………………......25
Avoid Spiritual Materialism ……………………………………27
Meditation and Food …………………………………………....30
Momentum …………………………………………………………..30
The Five Minute Intertwine ……………………………….....31
Posture ………………………………………………………………….32
Standing Posture ……………………………………………..…32
Sitting Posture on a Cushion ………………………........34
Sitting Posture on a Chair ……………………………………36
Breathing Preliminaries –
Two Fundamental Breaths ………………………………………………36
Diaphragmatic Breathing ………………………………….36
The Yogic Full Breath …………………………………………38
The Theravada Buddhist Breath ………………………..38
Detoxification Reactions ……………………………………….39
Fixing Bad Habits …………………………………………………..41
More Preliminaries for Deeper Meditation …………..42
Mindfulness and Relaxing Into the flow ………………..42
LSD – Love Surrender Devotion ………………………......42
Rising and Falling ………………………………………………..…46
Sensory Orientation ………………………………………......…46
Inner Awareness Exercise ……………………………….…47
Sensory Orientation Exercise:
Practicing Presence with Others ………………………..48
Going Deeper Yet ……………………………………………….…51
Your Magic Portal(s) ………………………………………………51
Levels of Personhood …………………………………………….51
The Four Styles of Information Processing …………….52
Warm Ups “Tune” the
Mind and Body for Meditation ..........................................54
The Five Minute Intertwine Revisited ………………….55
Developing a Routine ………………………………………....56
Movement into Stillness, Form into Spirit …………..56
Projection of Energy –
Prayer, Healing, Manifesting, Action …………………...60
“Bathing” – Basking in the Peace ……………………..….65
Integration –
Integrating Meditation into the Sensory World…….65
Authentic Connection Breath or
“Integrating Breath” ………………………………………….66
A Word about the Imagination …………………………….67
“Symbolitus” ………………………………………………………..67
The Role of the Imagination in Meditation,
Intuitive Development and the Law of Attraction…………….71
The “7+1 Tuning Method” -
Some Warm Up Exercises …..……………………………….73
Inner Smile – Qigong’s Most Obvious Secret ……….74
Clench and Release – A Gem from Hatha Yoga …….75
Stretch and Release ……………………………………………..76
Exercises for the Muscles and Soft Tissues ……………77
Stretching and Compressing the Spine ……………..78
Shake Up …………………………………………………………..79
Twist Up …………………………………………………………….79
Eye Exercise ……………………………………………………….81
Toe Touching, Spinal Bounce ……………………………..82
Spinal Twist …………………………………………………………83
Yoga Stretch ……………………………………………………….83
Heat Massage …………………………………………………….84
Core Awareness Exercise …………………………………..85
Breath of Fire ……………………………………………………..86
Belly Bounce ……………………………………………………….87
Slapping and Wiping …………………………………………..88
Ploughing the Thighs ……………………………………….….89
Gather Chi into your Navel Tan Tien ……………….….90
Self Massage ……………………………………………………...91
Energy and Nature Exercises ……………………………95
Gathering Chi ……………………………………………….95
Glowing Skeleton ………………………………………..97
Condensing Breath ……………………………………..99
Inner Fire …………………………………………………....100
Earth Scan Preliminary Exercise …………………..101
Earth Scan ……………………………………………..…….102
More Hand Sensitization Exercises …………..….103
Chi Cocktails ………………………………………………….105
Kinesthetic Exercise for Concentration
and Focusing Chi ………………………………………………………..106
Chakra Clearing …………………………………………..…107
Exercises for the Imagination …………………………….113
Black Box of Roses ………………………………………….113
Ocean …………………………………………………………….114
Meet Your Soul ………………………………………………115
Ecstatic Waterfall of Light ………………………………117
Grounding into Earth and Sky ………………………..119
Exercises for the Intellect …………………………………..122
Exercises for the Emotions ………………………………123
Steps for Effective Chanting ………………………..123
Sanskrit Chants …………………………………………….125
Other Chants ………………………………………………..129
Global Smile ………………………………………………….132
Spoken Metta ……………………………………………….132
Radiant Light ………………………………………………….133
Breath Exercises ………………………………………………...136
Alternate Nostril Breathing Pranayama …………..136
Ujjayi Pranayama and Chi Circulation –
Beginning and Advanced ……………………………………………………………138
Magic Portal Exercises …………………………………………143
Meditation Techniques ………………………………………144
Body Scan ……………………………………………………………………..144
Vipassana (Mindfulness) ……………………………………………...146
Breath Counting …………………………………………………………….149
Presence Meditation ……………………………………………………..151
Inner Light and Sound Meditation ……………………………......152
Third Eye Meditations …………………………………………….....…155
Om Meditation ……………………………………………………..……156
Cathartic Meditation …………………………………………..……..157
Binaural Beats ………………………………………………….………..158
Progressive Relaxation ……………………………………………...160
Mantra and Prayer Meditations ………………………………...161
Sensual Meditation ………………………………………………….…162
Walking Meditation …………………………………………………….163
Concept Meditation ……………………………………………………165
Grounding Meditation into Everyday Life …………..166
Bonus Appendix:
Resolving Conflict with our Whole Being …………….171
Suggestions for Further Reading …………………………192
Toasts
Pour yourself a glass of wine or juice for this.
A toast to the late Ann Martin, a healing arts teacher from Prescott who always knew how to listen to “Creator”. To Arthur, the mime teacher who sees the value of physical training in the theater arts. To Dr. Munz, the philosophy professor who provided me with many tools to use my intellect properly. One cannot “transcend” the intellect until one understands it and learns how to use it properly and skillfully. To William Martino, a former monk, Kung Fu master and meditation master who is a pioneer of integrative approaches to meditation training. To Phyllis, a Hatha Yoga teacher who really knew what she was doing. To Swami Vidyadhishananda, who taught me Kriya Yoga. To Mark and Maya, good friends and fully devoted seekers and teachers (give me a ring). To Swami Paramahamsa Prajnanananda who showed me what the unhindered divine presence in a human being actually looks like. To Bill, a high school Latin teacher and former priest who led his classes in meditation every Friday. To Richard, a devoted Bhakta. To the Boulder Kirtan, where I learned many many devotional songs. To Neem Karoli Baba, who showed me Samadhi long after his earthly passing. To my dad and stepmom, John and Fay, two devoted seekers who answer the call of service. To my mom and stepdad, Paula and Art, two highly devoted seekers of Jesus… I’m getting kind of tipsy. Let’s wrap this up… To the Most High, whoever that is, and all its manifestations or children, depending on how one sees it. To atheists, who challenge our mistaken symbolic representations of reality (and hopefully their own as well). For all the atheists reading this book… to Nothing! It brings great joy to say that.
Introduction to the Integrative Tuning Approach
The meditation manual which you are about to read may be considered “unique” by many people. This work revolves around the “Integrative Tuning” (IT) approach to meditation training, sometimes known as “Monkey fusion” depending on mood. In IT, we are tuning ourselves on every level of being in preparation for deep meditation. This is not a specific technique being taught here. You will definitely learn some techniques in this program. However, IT is an “approach” that is compatible with all spiritual and stress reduction techniques. Therefore, IT is for the beginning student of meditation/Yoga who wishes to learn a technique as well as the advanced student who has already found a compatible practice.
The process of IT begins with the “7+1 Tuning Method”, a personalized warm up program which works with all aspects of one’s “matter and energy” - muscles, energy, nature, intellect, imagination, emotions and breath – from gross (physical) to fine (internal activity and breath). The “+1” refers to Spirit, i.e. the stillness behind all energy and form. The exercise associated with Spirit is the meditation itself.
Tuning yourself for deep meditation does not strictly involve warm up workouts just prior to meditation. IT offers a complete method of integrating both this tuning process and meditation into everyday activity for a profound momentum of peace on even the most hectic time schedule.
IT is neither secular nor religious. However, IT is as secular or religious as the individual who practices this strategy. The author uses the words “spirit”, “God” and “soul” in this book. You do not need to do the same. These words are individual preferences.
In this book, you will learn a structured approach to IT. However, as your intuition develops, the approach may be altered according to your own intuitive wisdom. Everyone’s intuition will guide them in unique ways.
Just because IT has a neat sounding name, that does not make the approach a new invention. All the material has been around for thousands of years. Furthermore, there are other teachers who present similar approaches, to one degree or another, for entering deep states of inner communion. Despite this, IT and similar approaches are still rare in meditation and Yoga training.
One of the reasons for the rarity of IT type approaches is that every lineage, technique and school of thought has its own “pet” set of techniques, ways of teaching, emphasis and warm up exercises (if any). In this age, such protectionism is quickly changing, however.
When we can break through the factionalism, we are then able to see commonalities between traditions. Once we accomplish that, along with regularly plunging into the ocean of consciousness over a long period, we can then extract the gems from each faction and integrate them in new and profound ways.
Such is true for the myriad forms within Qigong (aka Chi Gong, Chi Kung or Taoist Yoga), healing arts, different religions as well as spiritual and stress reduction disciplines of all kinds.
The purpose of this book is not to knock down factionalism. Some people find it necessary to protect the purity of a particular teaching for future generations of people who connect with that teaching. There is a lot of merit to that.
There are others who practice specific techniques for years and years. They teach what they are most comfortable with. There is much nobility in this.
Another group of people are devoted to factionalism. They are following a tendency of the human ego which desires to overpower other identities with its own sense of identity. Fundamentalism is a prime example of this. The fundamentalist creates an identity through symbols or a practice that he/she is already used to and then attempts to ensure that his/her/their symbols reign supreme. It is the conqueror’s approach. A fundamentalist has a hard time seeing the reality beyond their symbols (e.g. a redheaded Irishman named Jesus vs. the reality of pure consciousness). Such a tendency is less noble than the protection of purity of a particular teaching. See the “Symbolitus” section for more on this topic.
Another reason for the relative uniqueness of this text is that most practices do not include work that is specifically directed toward all levels of being – intellect, body, emotions, energy, the “stillness” beyond energy and form, imagination, etc. All effective practices ultimately work on all these levels. However, they don’t necessarily do so directly with conscious intent from the start.
Most traditions do have warm up strategies to prepare the mind and body for meditation. They also typically have prescriptions for integrating meditation into daily Life. Some prescribe ways to “project” or to share your cultivated meditative peace with the rest of the world, such as in the healing and shamanic practices in Qigong. Oceanic Mind provides you with the resources to develop the strategies and techniques that you are most compatible with so that you resonate with every aspect of your meditation and mind body training program.
IT is merely an indicator that the world is becoming smaller. Think about this. Factionalism was much easier when there were a billion people (or a few million) on Earth with no telephones, airplanes or internet. Now, we’re forced to get to know each other a little better.
If you wish to help this project, then there are some things that you can do. You can tell all of your friends that they can find this training course at www.DeeperMeditation.net. The first 100 out of 193 pages are free in pdf format. Donations for the rest of the book can be sent via Paypal for the rest of the book. You can also tell them, of course, that paperbacks, The Deeper Meditation Audio Course and employee meditation seminars and products for workplaces are available. If one honestly cannot afford these training materials, they can contact the author. No one will be locked out for lack of funds.
Such an approach is much better than the common method of providing you with watered down “teaser” garbage, then asking you to sign up for the “full course” for $249.95. These are the times to really heal ourselves for the collective good. We should not be locked out of this process because of a lack of funds. Such mentalities invite pirates, probably for good reason.
I’m sounding a little feisty toward folks who tease people and hold their teachings ransom. Keep in mind that the goal of meditation is not to become passive and apparently “nice” from an intellectually conceived perspective. Meditation allows you to become a clearer and clearer vessel of the Supreme Love. The Supreme Love does not necessarily enlist passive vessels to do its work. Love comes from within the deepest self rather than from an intellectual concept of “being nice”. Love is not necessarily “nice” in the usual sense. Think of the Goddess Kali. She wears the skulls of demons around her neck. Behind her ferocious appearance is the face of pure love. Otherwise, she would not be the “Divine Mother”.
Do not mistake this principle for an excuse to be mean to others. If feistiness truly comes from the heart, inner stillness, nonattachment and intuition, you will know it. Otherwise, “Be nice”, whatever you think that means.
The intent here is not to tell you what to do. Your boss is not me. Your innermost self – your “still soft voice” - is your boss and your job is to develop the stillness of mind to listen to it on deeper and deeper levels until it becomes the only one worth listening to.
Anyway, I’m just kidding. I do understand the fear of not being able to make a living. The feisty talk is just to rattle some cages and make a few good points about what meditation is not. I was designed to work with all types of people – rich, poor and everyone else. It makes sense, then, that I would not keep people who lack funds out of the loop.
If you’re relatively healthy and are not pregnant or menstruating, you may have no issues with any of the exercises in this book. However, if you are pregnant (or recently gave birth), menstruating *, or if you have blood pressure and asthma issues, then you may wish to avoid “hot” exercises that involve dynamic breathing and dynamic body movement.
It is best to consult a doctor before trying any of these exercises if you are unsure. The above mentioned health conditions (and blessings in one of those cases) are common in the list of contraindications for various mind-body training techniques. Two more that come to mind are Epilepsy and Diabetes.
Exercises discussed here without contraindications include very gentle self massage, soft flowing movement without strain, exercises from the Breathing Preliminaries section, singing, imagination and intellect exercises, sitting meditations and certain forms of gentle energy work. Again, if there is any question, even for these exercises, consult a good doctor. The reader must assume full responsibility for the results of the practices in this book. I’ve never had problems in the past 2+ decades of meditation practice, but I’ve always been fairly healthy. Epileptics should be cautious about all the exercises in this book.
It is recommended for prenatal and recently postnatal moms that they attend prenatal and postnatal Yoga classes. The teachers of such classes are well trained to keep your baby safe. Read this book anyway, however. It may greatly enhance any specific techniques that you choose.
Nothing in this book is claiming to cure or prevent any disease or to replace the advice of medical personnel. In other words, I am a puppet of the Food and Drug Administration. Hi Ho the Merry – O!
Another thing: For every mind-body training technique, there are many schools of thought. Be ready for people to tell you that you’re doing it wrong. Welcome to the world of meditation!
If you receive any feedback about what you learned here, please send them my way. This book is a work in progress and feedback is welcome. There may be a few revisions of this book over time. Feedback from meditation teachers and students, doctors and healers is essential for this type of literature. If you personally have questions about the instructions in this book, please ask. The content may be changed accordingly for greater clarity. An email with a relevant subject line works best for this.
A little word about myself: I am an internationally available workplace meditation trainer, stress management speaker, spiritual speaker and author. I also create products for employee wellness programs such as the 400 minute long audio course.
The Deeper Meditation Audio Course features all the exercises in this book plus lots of information on making meditation a much easier and more customized process for people of all religions, temperaments and hectic time schedules. There is less spiritual terminology in the audio course and therefore less cultural distractions. There is also a more secular and wellness oriented edition of this book. A secular approach is often vital when working with a culturally diverse workforce. Visit DeeperMeditation.Net for info on any of these services.
The exercises in Oceanic Mind are carefully chosen for their ability to be transmitted through the written word. They are also thoroughly tested for “user friendly” qualities, so hopefully you’ll find that the exercises are easy to follow and learn.
Enjoy,
Your friendly Monkey Wizard
Tom Von Deck
What is Meditation (and What the Hell is Yoga for that Matter)?
When a wave settles down, then it instantly recognizes that its source in ocean – infinite, silent, and unchanging - was always there.
-Deepak Chopra, M.D.
Meditation means to tap into the core of Being. Sounds trippy. We can speculate on this all we wish, perhaps at the nearest coffee shop. It only makes sense, however, when speculation gives way to pure experience. The words “tapping into the core of Being” did not precede Being. Being came first. Meditation is the bridge to understanding this concept from the depths of Being – beyond intellectual concepts.
We can liken our egos to the waves of the ocean. The waves are in constant motion and flux. The ocean beneath the waves, however, is deep and still. Meditation gradually allows us to experience ourselves as the ocean rather than just the waves. The experience of the oceanic mind has been described by yogis as “absolute existence, absolute consciousness and absolute bliss”.
Do we really understand this concept? Do we now know the answer to life, the universe and everything? Not even close. This is all talk. Talk is always in symbolic form. Symbols can only inspire and lead us toward reality. When we confuse the symbols for the reality, we find ourselves in fights and quarrels over whose symbols are better.
Some people describe meditation as a digestive process of the mind. We accumulate experiences. When we don’t “digest” these experiences properly, we get clogged up with indigestion. Our psychological/spiritual digestive system is just as important as our physical one.
To present meditation in another way, one can say that it is perception of perception. When we are fully conscious of our perception, we realize how full of crap we really are. The Big Joker in the sky honks our nose, sprays us in the face with a seltzer bottle, laughs maniacally and tells us how funny we were while repeatedly smacking us on the shoulder and continuing to laugh maniacally, dropping the cigar and choking on the smoke. Then, we pee our shorts in agreement and realize that the Big Joker was within us all along, laughing maniacally.
Maybe this isn’t true, or maybe it is. If not, it’s pretty close. Perhaps I’m full of crap. Ok, I’m definitely full of crap.
When we fully realize how full of crap we really are, extreme happiness, bliss and love results. That is because we’ve tapped into the source of all these things. This source goes beyond all conditioning and intellectual definitions of reality.
But don’t ask me. Practice meditation and ask yourself.
All this talk about “going beyond intellectual concepts” may lead one to believe that meditation is a “right brain” activity. It is not. Meditation facilitates the integration of all parts of the brain; left/right, top/bottom, center/periphery. Neurons create more synapses (the connectors between brain cells) and impulses gradually travel around the brain and nervous system more efficiently and coherently. The suppression of the “left brain” can only lead to problems. Don’t abandon the intellect. When the intellect is truly in sync with the rest of you, it becomes your best friend.
Yoga is derived from the Sanskrit word “yog” which literally means “yolk”. The connotation is “union” – union with “God” (who?), union with our deepest self and the union of all parts of ourselves. Pantanjali, in the Yoga Sutras, described Yoga as “the cessation of the fluctuations of the mind”. The more we meditate, the more we understand what he meant.
In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna described Yoga as the spiritual path. Every yogic practice he mentioned is universal to the mystic path (the path of direct experience and realization) of every religion. Therefore, Yoga, in its purest sense, is not a set of Indian practices for better health, fitness and maybe some spirituality. Yoga is THE spiritual path. Just because the word is in Sanskrit, this does not mean that it must only be associated with cultures affiliated with Sanskrit. Only the symbols and emphases vary in the various cultural and individual manifestations of the one path – Yoga.
In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna mentions Karma Yoga, one of the fundamental premises of the Bible’s Book of Matthew. Karma Yoga involves selfless service without “blowing your trumpet”. You are offering the credit to the one who gives you life. If you’ve stilled the mind to the point where the “still small voice” leads you, then Karma Yoga means to follow that voice without being attached to the fruits of your actions – reward or punishment. It all begins as “do good without bragging” and becomes more refined from there.
As you advance on the path to paradise, this teaching becomes even more refined. Never read a scripture and say “I get it”. “Getting it” is a process. Stay on the path and, in 10 years, the spiritual readings you are looking at today will take on a whole different meaning.
In light of this, there is a reason why this book may seem to be “talking down” to you at times. We may, to some extent, “get” a spiritual truth such as “listen to your innermost self”. However, do we truly “get it”? “You either get it or you don’t” does not apply here. The unfolding of consciousness is a process. We should leave all or nothing thinking to fundamentalism.
We all think we’re so enlightened, don’t we? Align yourself even more with your truest self. Get it?
Anyway, Bhakti Yoga is the Yoga of devotion. In India, Bhaktas usually practice Bhakti through singing the “names of God”. Some just meditate on God in one or another symbolic form until they transcend that symbolic form and see God directly. For example, If you meditate on a redheaded Irishman named Jesus (Jesus was never his name) long enough, you will gradually begin to see what people mean when they say the word “God” (who is not Irish. Well, not normally.). Bhakti is fundamental in every religion and spiritual path.
The path of meditation was another one mentioned by Krishna. Krishna said that this path is very very important.
Is Meditation Religious?
Meditators come from all religious backgrounds and some have no religious beliefs at all. There is no need for religious beliefs. In fact, the Buddha said not to believe anything until it is directly experienced. This expression was mistaken by many to be a call to atheism. He only said this because people became too caught up in symbolic representations of reality. In other words, they forgot the reality behind such nonsense words as God, Soul, etc. because they were too caught up in words and ideas.
Meditation is an experience that gradually transcends all symbolic belief. However, you may, while meditating, accidentally access the fundamental root of all religious belief systems and symbols. Meditation awakens our consciousness and soul perception (why did he just use those nonsense words again, Claudia?).
What do the terms consciousness and soul perception mean? Nothing until we experience such things directly. Until then, such thoughts are nothing but gibberish.
Keep meditating. The knowing process is cumulative, always unfolding until you “get it”, decide that you know everything, then “get it” again, decide that you now finally know everything and then “get it” yet again.
To be fair, the talk about gibberish words is not exactly true. Don’t believe everything this crazy author says. Spiritual concepts can be vehicles leading to the direct experience of the reality behind them if we use them correctly. The Yogis often meditate on a symbol or concept of God until the reality behind the concept is revealed to them through direct experience. The symbol (thought form), in this case, is used as a tuning device to “tune” into reality like a radio dial. It begins as an approximation of reality and expands from there. There is a positive role for symbols. Otherwise, this book would have no value.
If you’re just looking for no-nonsense health and vitality rather than the mumbojumbo, then go for it. You’ll find improved health and maybe you’ll eventually begin to understand some of the mumbojumbo woowoo stuff.
One thing that can be said of the intellect is that it is only a fragment of your consciousness. Therefore, it will never truly understand the spiritual mumbojumbo, scripture or anything else. Understanding only occurs through the whole being. The intellect always tries to dominate and declare its knowledge superior. Don’t believe it. Integrate the intellect with the rest of your being and declare that you don’t know jack poop.
Oh, and be sure to declare your truth to the world. The world needs it.
Monkey Business
Before concluding this chapter, it may be nice to explain all this monkey business. Buddhists often compare the mind to a monkey (the monkey mind). Monkeys swing from tree to tree picking fruit off each one. One can say that monkeys are “all over the place”. Such is the mind.
How do we tame the monkey? Do we beat it? Do we force it to be still? When we try to force the mind to be still, it will bombard us with even more thoughts. Some describe meditation as the absence of thought. Perhaps there is some truth to that. However, this is not the starting point. The mind is tamed with love and self compassion, not force.
When our monkeys are tamed, they become Hanuman (Hahn’-oo-mahn) – the monkey god of Hindu lore. Hanuman was single mindedly devoted to Ram (pronounced Rom), a king. Ram symbolized God and sometimes, more specifically, he symbolized God in the aspect of the deepest truth behind all our symbols and concepts. Hanuman is pure devotion. The tamed monkey becomes a tool leading us to the Unfathomable Ultimate Reality – something that can never be found through a coffee shop conversation or a book, but through direct experience over time as stillness of mind is cultivated.
Benefits of Meditation
Meditation allows us to condition ourselves to enter the essence of life itself. We’re plunging into the center of it all. When we do this, all aspects of life receive the benefit. Therefore, the answer to the question “what are the benefits of meditation?” is “who cares?” If you need a list of all the aspects of life, you can Google “benefits of meditation” and you will receive a list of all aspects of life.
Preliminaries
Regularity and Consistency
Every book on meditation practice for beginners emphasizes the importance of a regular practice in a particular place (chair, couch, room, Zen garden, etc.) at a particular time of day. Pavlov’s experiments with the salivating dogs and the bell confirmed what meditators have always known. If we associate our beds with sleeping, it may not be a good idea to meditate on our beds. Meditating on our beds can lead to drowsiness rather than the calm and alert state that meditation requires. However, if we associate a particular pillow, chair or time of day with meditation practice, then it becomes easier to enter a meditative state on that pillow, chair or during that time of day.
As for times of day to meditate, it is best to devote some time in the morning and some time at night. Sunrise is a wonderful time if you can handle waking up that early without harming the rest of your day. It is true that some folks have tight schedules. Consider every minute spent in meditation a time investment that improves every other activity, including sleep. If you can only do your practice in the morning or at night, then that is ok. Consistency is what is most important.
Another point to make about consistency is that it is better to meditate for one minute seven days per week than it is to meditate for seven minutes one day per week. It is the routine that is important.
That is not to say, however, that you must never skip a day. Just don’t screw up your overall habit that you created. If you do, then you can gently recreate the habit without blaming yourself.
One day at a time. Yes, we’re all addicts. That’s why the AA motto works for everyone.
Speaking of “screwing up”… When you develop the good habits of consistent meditation practice, it is tempting to become overly attached to it. The mind may associate meditation with “good” and other activities as “not as good”, creating a false dichotomy. This association can lead some people to forsake fun, parties, active engagement in the world, etc. Such an association is merely a concept that exists in our minds.
Our intuitive guidance may be whispering to us to go out and have fun at the ‘80’s dance party rather than meditate. However, if we have the false dichotomy in our heads, then we will not listen to such guidance and our spiritual development will suffer.
During one period of intense practice, I was invited to a party. My intuition had been telling me for at least a year that I needed to party more often. I got a little drunk and exchanged good stories with 8-10 others. The next morning, when I woke up, I felt calm and clear like I spent the whole night meditating instead of partying. It was exactly what was needed. I continued to practice the following night.
The moral of the story is this. Do not succumb to asceticism. It is an addiction which can be as damaging as burgers and fries and general “sense slavery” as the yogis call it. Asceticism and “sense slavery” are two sides of the same coin. Avoid such extreme polar opposites. Develop stillness of mind, tap into your intuition and follow it. Then, allow your inner stillness and intuition to deepen over time and follow it some more. Repeat.
Do you believe the last paragraph? Pretty sound, right? You shouldn’t believe it. Some people are called, by their innermost selves to become ascetics, at least for awhile. For these folks, asceticism is not a dangerous addiction. It is what these individuals need today for optimum growth in the long run or perhaps to properly dispense an important teaching to the right people.
We are taught by our social institutions that “outward” is the way to be. At some point on the path, we realize that we should be heeding the call to go inward. We must not get stuck in such a rebellious state and remain “inward” all the time, thinking that this is superior. Eventually, it becomes time to integrate the internal with the external. Hermithood may be an intermediary step in this direction for some people.
So, do not believe me when I make a generalization about what everyone needs, ok? Not everyone needs to avoid the ascetic lifestyle just as not everyone needs to become an ascetic. Align yourself with your deepest intuitive self and find out for yourself whether you are being called into hermithood.
This all leads us to another question. Does everyone need to align themselves with their deepest intuitive self? Align yourself with your deepest intuitive self and find out.
Did you see that one coming?
Avoid Spiritual Materialism
Chogyam Trungpa, the Tibetan Rinpoche who cofounded Naropa University (with Allen Ginsberg) and the Shambhala Center in Boulder, Colorado, spoke and wrote extensively about “spiritual materialism” – attachment to “spiritual phenomena” and to the “spiritual experience”.
The false dichotomy of spiritual materialism is a concept that flows along the following lines. Visions, ecstatic trance, psychic phenomena, feelings of deep bliss, miraculous healings, etc EQUAL spiritual development. Furthermore, a lack of such wild experiences EQUALS a lack of “spirituality”. This dichotomy causes people to chase after the so-called spiritual experience. Superiority trips sometimes occur if phenomena become frequent.
Phenomena rise and fall as you walk the path. If you’re attached to it, it can only hinder you so that you become stuck, unable to walk further on the path. You’re chasing after a sensation like an addict chasing after heroin. In other words, you’re engaging in sense slavery. While meditating, if such extraordinary phenomena happen (and they will when the time is ripe), just let them rise and fall like your breath. Appreciate their special purpose in the moment. When you let go of your attachment to these things, then they will become more consistent anyway as your circuitry is gently opened and conditioned over time. If you remain attached, they will either become more elusive or bring you some powerful, perhaps unwelcome, lessons about attachment. Let it all rise and fall like waves on the ocean.