Simple Meditation(s)

Naran S Balakumar Remaining silent is meditation Meditation is an experience that nobody can teach you. Neither can we go to deep into meditation suddenly as it’s a practice and a habit that is formed over a period of time. Meditation means, to remain silent. Though, thoughts keep appearing. If any thought is present then it’s not meditation. How to remain thoughtless? How to remain silent in spite of thoughts? Mind can cling to picture or a mantra. Do we have a mantra for silence? There is no mantra for silence. However, there is a technique to create silence. The technique is as follows… When a thought comes don’t resist it. Say inside you, ‘this is my thought’. Thus, you disassociate yourself from the thought. Then ask the question to yourself, ‘Can I let go this thought?’ It will go. You can also say “release”. Then it will go. Now, there will be at least a one second gap between two thoughts. This is equivalent to one hour of meditation. In general, we never have a gap between thoughts as we might have ten thoughts in one second. If you do not want the “let go” step, then form your own mantra or word. When we say that mantra, we create a gap between the thoughts. When a thought comes, interrupt it with the mantra and you will become silent. When another thought comes, say the mantra once again. The silence thus formed in between chanting the mantra is meditation. Pranic and physical bodies has to be in coordination Our pranic body and physical body have to be in coordination. Otherwise, we can’t meditate. If we regulate our breathing pattern or do pranayama then they will be in coordination. This is because both breathing and prana have the same origin. When breathing is regulated, prana is regulated too. Pranic body has to be clear of impurities When the pranic body is clean, then the meditation can be done successfully. Why so much impurities in the Pranic field? It’s due to the mind. Our own sadness and worries create these impurities. With the help of pranayama, one can clear these impurities. How to acquire a good breathing pattern? When you meditate, place the index finger at the base of the thumb on both the hands. Breathing will get deeper and you could meditate properly, as shallow breathing spoils the meditation. Don’t take the index finger straight away move your finger to the base of the thumb. First touch the tip of thumb with the index finger. Then after some time, move the index finger to the middle of the thumb, and finally to the base of the thumb. Don’t do it mechanically. Feel the breath with a conscious awareness. Observing your breathing is also a good way to meditate. This is part of meditation known as Vipasana meditation. Do the space meditation now After learning to breathe well, do the space meditation. Be aware of the space between the chair you are sitting and the wall in front of you. Don’t look at the wall. Instead look at the space between you and the wall. This is known as ‘Space Meditation’. Keep the eyes open throughout. Bach Flower Remedies as Aids to Meditation The Bach flower remedy WHITE CHESTNUT helps to remove our thoughts CHESTNUT BUD not to have any distractions WILLOW if you think one person or the other is bothering you Chanting mantra during meditation It’s nature of our mind to cling to something. You can choose a mantra to do that. After sometime you should be able to say goodbye to it. Mantra by itself is not divine. Chanting means constantly thinking about a word, which is a mantra. Ultimately that also should go. When it will go? We don’t know. May be, it’s not in this Janma.