Meditation

For some people passive awareness occurs spontaneously - often between sleep and wakefulness. It is during this time that their best ideas come and that they experience a sense of harmony both within themselves and in relation to the rest of the world. Most of us, however, have a fear of letting go, thinking that if we give up control of things we won't be able to think clearly and independently or work well, or that someone is likely to put something over on us. In fact, just the opposite is true. When you are able to enter a state of deep relaxation at will, this frees you from patterns of living and thinking to which you tend to be a slave - although usually an unconscious one. It enables you to think more clearly and simply and to act more directly when action is called for.

Another interesting benefit from the daily practice of deep relaxation is a reduction of negative habits such as drug taking - of both prescription and mind-altering drugs - alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking. Research carried out in the United States involving 2,000 students between the ages of nineteen and twenty-three who had practiced a form of meditation for periods of between a few months to a couple of years, showed that their dependence on alcohol, drugs and cigarettes dropped sharply. In the first six months of doing the practice reduced by half the number of smokers. By twenty-one months it was down to one-third. And these changes were entirely spontaneous - at no time was any suggestion made that relaxation or meditation would change any of these habits.

bridge your inner and outer world

Harvard professor and expert in behavioral medicine, Herbert Benson MD, did the first studies into the effects of Transcendental Meditation many years ago. He has since continued to investigate this state of psychophysical relaxation and has shown that each of us has what he calls the `relaxation response' - a natural ability to experience the relaxed state with all its benefits. All we need to tap into it is a method to turn it on. The possibilities are many. They range from meditation, yoga, breathing exercises, zazen, silent repetition of a word and autogenic training to steady aerobic exercise and biofeedback. Each can be useful as a tool for silencing everyday thoughts and for temporarily shutting off habitual ways of seeing the world and doing things. Practice one regularly and you build a powerful and useful bridge between your inner and outer world. All of them are different. Some will work better for you or be more enjoyable than others. That is why it is worthwhile to try a few different techniques until you discover which ones you prefer.

We live in an age where discipline is often looked down upon as something which interferes with spontaneity and freedom - something old-fashioned and stifling to life. We tend to rebel against it. But the kind of discipline needed for daily practice of meditation or deep relaxation tends - far from stifling one's ability to be involved in the spontaneous business of life - actually to free it.

Progressive relaxation is a technique based on the work of Edmund Jacobson, this is an excellent way to begin if you have never done any sort of relaxation or meditation technique before, because it gives most people some sense of what relaxation feels like even the first time you try it. As you repeat your technique (it is best done for fifteen minutes at least twice a day), you will find you enter a state of relaxation that is progressively deeper and deeper.

Zazen is one of the simplest ways of meditating, this technique involves nothing more than just being aware of your breathing. But don't be deceived by its simplicity. It is a potent tool for stilling the mind and regenerating the body. And concentrating your awareness on the breath is not as easy as it sounds.

"The lover and the beloved can be in a deep sexual embrace, just relaxing into each other with no hurry to ejaculate, with no hurry to end the affair. They can just relax into each other. And if this relaxation is total, they will both feel more life. They both will enrich each other."

Relax into sex, rather than excite into sex? What a novel idea, but also not so novel. There was also a familiarity to this idea of expanding, rather than contracting, in sex. And the more I read, the more strangely familiar this weird book's perspective felt.

"While making love, you are really making love to Existence itself. The woman is just a door; the man is just a door. Really, it happens that the whole of Existence becomes the other -- your beloved, your lover. One can remain in constant communion with the Existence. And you can do it in other dimensions also. Walking in the morning, you can do it. Looking at the moon you can do it. You can be in a sex act with the whole universe once you know how it happens."

"One who is interested in life and consciousness will automatically become interested in sex because sex is the source of life, of love, of all this is happening in the world of consciousness. So if a seeker is not interested in sex, he is not a seeker at all. He may be a philosopher, but he is not a seeker. And philosophy is, more or less, nonsense -- thinking about things which are of no use."

"If you know only one woman, sooner or later your attraction for that woman will wither away, but your attraction for women will remain.... If a man moves amidst women -- many women -- he will not only be beyond one: he will go beyond the opposite sex. The very knowledge of many women will help him to transcend. And this is right, but dangerous, because it gives you license. That is the problem with Tantra."

"The unreal personality is always against enjoying anything. It is always for sacrificing things, sacrificing yourself for others. But I tell you, unless you can enjoy yourself you cannot help anyone to enjoy. Unless you are overflowing with your own bliss, you are a danger to society, because a person who sacrifices always becomes a sadist."

It was like getting glasses for the first time: suddenly everything that had seemed fuzzy, vague and obscure jumped into sharp focus.

"Positions are irrelevant. The real thing is the attitude -- not the position of the body, but the position of the mind."
"Shaking is just wonderful because when you shake in the sex act the energy starts flowing all over the body. Every cell of the body is involved then. Every cell becomes alive because very cell is a sex cell."
"You can call the Tantra orgasm a valley orgasm. In it you are not coming to the peak of excitement, but to the very deepest valley of relaxation."

"All the religions are against sex, afraid of it, because it is such a great energy. Once you are in it you are no more, and then the current will take you anywhere; that is why the fear."

"Of necessity, every morality creates hypocrisy. Morality gives you the ideal and you are not the ideal. Then you start feeling that you are wrong and that this wrongness is natural. You cannot transform it; that is not so easy. You can only suppress it.... So your reality goes on moving downward into the unconscious and your unreality becomes your conscious. You are divided, and the more you try to pretend, the greater will be the gap." [[vs jesus is the way]]

"Sex and death... are basic and deeply related. They are so deeply related that even upon entering sex you enter a certain death. The ego has disappeared, time has disappeared, your individuality has disappeared, and you are dying. If you can know that sex is a subtle death, death can become a great sexual orgasm."

"Approach the sex act as if you are approaching the temple of the Divine. That is why [Tantrics] pictured the sex act on their holy temples. Approach the sex act as if it is prayer, as if it is meditation. Feel the holiness of it."

whatsoever is done with your body reaches the mind and whatsoever is done with the mind reaches the body

When an animal gets angry, he gets angry. He has no morality about it, no teaching about it. He simply gets angry and the anger is released. When you get angry, you get angry in a way similar to any animal. But then there is society, morality, etiquette, and thousands of other things. You have to push the anger down. You have to show that you are not angry; you have to smile – a painted smile! You have to create a smile, and you push the anger down. What is happening to the body? The body was ready to fight – either to fight or to fly, to escape from the danger, either to face it or escape from it. The body was ready to do something: anger is just a readiness to do something. The body was going to be violent, aggressive.

If you could be violent and aggressive, then the energy would be released. But you cannot be – it is not convenient, so you push it down. Then what will happen to all those muscles which were ready to be aggressive? They will become crippled. The energy pushes them to be aggressive, and you push them backwards not to be aggressive. There will be a conflict. In your muscles, in your blood, in your body tissues, there will be conflict. They are ready to express something and you are pushing them not to express. You are suppressing them. Then your body becomes crippled.

This happens with every emotion and this goes on day after day for years. Then your body becomes crippled all over. All the nerves become crippled. They are not flowing, they are not liquid, they are not alive. They have become dead, they have become poisoned and they have all become entangled. They are not natural. So when you start meditating, all these poisons will be released. And wherever the body has become stagnant, it will have to melt, it will become liquid again.

My mind has [castration/lobotomization] anxiety.

It fears I will cast it out in the same way some religions vilify sexuality.

The mind has value, like the major muscles have value, but they shouldn't exceed their jurisdiction.

World is Satan. Mind is Satan. Busy busy to distract. Busy busy just to be active, even if it's just noise. Why do people and stores and signs attract my attention when I bike-ride?

Problem-solving
Systems-thinking - recognizing problems as symptoms. We still trying to solve problems, but now we are working on the holistic problem. Problems cannot be solved by working on pieces of the whole.

Accept the flow? Is that the solution?

When I let my mind run, it produces thoughts of value, like this critique of mind.

Is it meditation if I am clearing the mind in order to create a more productive mental workspace?

'Oh! I need to figure this out before the Vipassana course or else I'll be confused and troubled so unable to progress!' 'No, mind, relax your fearful need to control, to know.'

The movement segment began with sitting in or chairs and doing deep breathing exercises. I gradually picked up to where we were supporting our faces with our hands and keeping our hands in touch with our bodies. At a certain point, I felt the desire to do a modified form Zen prostrations as an expression of gratitude. I continued moving about on the floor for quite a while, returning to the prostrated position quite frequently. Then the movement picked up all over the room and my energy began to accelerate. Mostly, I was dancing alone, but there were quite wonderful encounters with other dancers, and soon, most of the group was dancing together. I spontaneously moved into the third stage of the "chaotic meditation" that I learned at the Ashram from Rajneesh. This is the stage where "With raised arms, jump up and down shouting the mantra HOO!...HOO!...HOO! as deeply as possible, coming from the bottom of your belly."

Janov would claim that religion and the belief in a God are defenses, and that spiritual experiences employ the energy of repressed material, as in sublimation, or are reaction formations to such pain. Specifically, Janov has stated that meditation is "anti-Primal."

Basically, I differ with Janov in that I believe that primal and meditation are congruent techniques beneath their surface differences. I believe that this is evident in the similarity of the phenomena experienced in each and in the similarity of effects each has on the personality. Their congruence is further indicated by the fact that transpersonal phenomena do seem to occur to advanced primalers, contrary to Janov's claims. Though experiences of both primalers and LSD subjects seem to indicate that much of what is generally considered transpersonal phenomena is derivative of traumatic life experiences, particularly those occurring at birth or in the womb, there is much of transpersonal experience that cannot be explained away in that manner.

The alternative explanation I am presenting rests on the idea that the purpose of the spiritual disciplines is, as Castaneda has termed it, to stop the "internal dialogue." This corresponds on primal therapy to the attempts to get "below" the rationalizations, intellectualizations, and defenses that are laid down in the cortex, to the real body feelings underneath. It would seem that both methods are engaged in an attempt to delve into and experience aspects of consciousness that are nonverbal, nonsymbolic, noncortical, and nonneurotic.3

Neurosis has often been defined as a narrowing of consciousness. One way of viewing this is that it entails being cut off from large areas of awareness and experience that are tied up with painful memories and feelings. In this light it is interesting to consider a statement by Paramahansa Yogananda, who was discussing his experience of returning to a physical body in his reincarnation on earth. he writes, "Like a prodigal child, I had run away from my macrocosmic home and imprisoned myself in a narrow microcosm" (1946, p. 168).

One way of viewing the human condition, then, is as a "neurotic" state in that it entails a narrowing of consciousness. We see neurosis in the pathological sense as simply a more extreme narrowing of consciousness than what is accepted as normal.

In this way we can see the function of the spiritual disciplines, which is to increase the capacity of the individual to accept the "larger reality," as parallel to the purpose of primal therapy, which is to increase the capacity of the person to accept walled-off portions of her or his personal reality. As they apparently deal with different "levels" of reality, one might suspect that there would be differences in technique. But, conversely, I propose that primal and spiritual techniques are complementary, despite their surface differences, with either being helpful depending on the material to be worked through. Further and more specifically, i propose that primal can aid the spiritual process by clearing out negative material from the personal unconsciousness that would otherwise distort and impede that process, whereas spiritual techniques sometimes can be helpful in extending the arena of growth beyond the borders of strictly primal (or personal) reality.

4. I was surprised to discover, after originally proposing this relation between catharsis and meditation, that Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh had already made the same kind of formulation coming at it from a different direction. It is described in his book, Meditation: The Art of Ecstasy (1976). See especially the chapter on "Chaotic Meditation."

In these descriptions of emotional discharge/release we can see similarities to what is described as occurring in primal therapy. But the descriptions of spontaneous and automatic movement are especially interesting. In many respects they recall the experiences that primalers with access to their "first-line" pain (preverbal, usually surrounding birth) frequently encounter. In fact, it is exactly this kind of relation (between the physical and emotional experiences reported by Kapleau, Kornfield, and others and "perinatal" e experiences occurring outside of the spiritual disciplines) that is noted by Bache (1981). The bliss and equanimity described in the spiritual literature are thus associated most strongly with the advanced states of meditation and should not be confused with the experiences entailed in the process of getting there.

The point is that there is more to meditation than mere relaxation. Although evidently, as Rowan (1983) put it recently, "Most of what passes for meditation has nothing much to do with mystical experiences at all -- it is just the achievement of a very calm state" (p.21). Still, as he continues, "it is possible to get small or large peak experiences through meditation" (p.21). Thus, it appears that the techniques of relaxation have to do with attempting to still the vagaries of pain-derived tension, the internal dialogue, so as to gain access to areas of consciousness that are "outside" and more fundamental than these vagaries. And contact with those areas may not be so relaxing!

This technique is in some ways exactly opposite to primal ones. Primal involves the "tossing out" of all the vagaries - the manifesting in a verbal or physical way of the tensions existing in the body at the moment. But the results of each appear the same. Characteristically, following a primal one finds oneself sinking into a serene and markedly relaxed state. It appears that spiritual techniques differ from primal in attempting to reach that state directly by conscious control over the body/mind. Once that state is reached, it allows further abatement of physiological processes and, hence, access to even subtler realms of consciousness.

A primaler also can be viewed as open to subtler energies after having reached a "cleared out" relaxed state via primaling, and could conceivably use a technique like meditation to increase that access.4 Primal then becomes a method of dealing with the grosser manifestations of psychobiological energy that keep the body in a tense and overdetermined state. Once these energies are dealt with and released, it becomes possible to employ a "mindfulness" type of meditation to deal with subtler energies, to connect with and dissipate those subtler energies, and thereby to gain access to subtler energies still.

Another way to look at the relation between catharsis and calmness, and the benefits that one can have for the other, is suggested by Heider (1974). He points out in his article, "Catharsis in Human Potential Encounter," that "as a rule the person actually going through catharsis reports no feelings of fear even at times when he appeared most fearful: it is as if there is a detached observer who knows that the process is natural and even necessary" (p.37). Indeed, one can let go into extreme emotional states time and time again and remain always aware of the "detached observer" part of oneself. A major benefit of catharsis is that as this continually happens one becomes increasingly conscious of a part that is unaffected by the turmoil -- the part that is there, observing at the onset of agitation, that "sits quietly by" watching in the midst of catharsis, and that is there to silently aid one through "re-entry" and into the calm state afterward.

Thus, catharsis makes us distinctly aware, through contrast, of a strong, silent, unaffected self within; it makes us aware of an "unchanging" that contrasts with all the violent changingness. In so doing it helps us to be more in contact with that self and its subtler pushes, pulls, and impulses -- its subtler pattern. We become increasingly aware of a more fundamental self that is unmoved by all the chaos of consciousness. To that extent, it corresponds to those phases of meditation that entail the encounter with disruptive material with the admonition not to get caught up in them, to refuse them energy by believing in them. Indeed this attitude can be the result of catharsis. We can release the explosive energy born of "attachment," in the Buddhist sense, and hence gain insight into the illusion of "maya," the fleeting changingness, and gain rootedness in a more inviolable self.

Rajneesh's 'chaotic meditation" is probably the most potent-and dangerous for the naïve participants. Where he has them jump and move up and down screaming for hours at a time and then brings them to an immediate standstill in silence.

HANG LOOSE!
By Ashvina Vakil

Inhibition the crippling inability to let go, to hang loose without any thought to societal disapproval.
Almost all of us suffer from an involuntary freeze frame when it comes to dropping our everyday mask to allow underlying emotion to express itself. Rigid conditioning controls our lives and only the very brave dare to scoff at established patterns of behavior.
We seethe, we simmer, we stew helplessly but very rarely do we give in to the urge to rave and rant and generally make an exhibition of ourselves.
Our stresses get more deeply ingrained as a result, and suddenly life in a chaotic city or odious office becomes unbearable. Meditate, say the new age practitioners and other semi-enlightened souls. Sit silently and look inside. Witness. If you’re open to suggestion you might darken the room, sit in a lotus position and try to blank out all thoughts from your mind. It’s not easy. In fact it’s downright impossible. Little snatches of conversation will float in and out, unholy thoughts persist, distractions abound. All the hidden traumas rear their ugly heads. the transition from overactive mind to no-mind proves to be an absolutely arduous task.
In mid-June, a worldwide phenomenon was initiated whereby more than 200 Osho centers across the globe assisted people in the practice of Dynamic Meditation, the most effective cathartic meditation introduced by Osho. The 21-day meditation is ideally suited to modern man, burdened with the tensions of a fast life, conditioning, repressions and violence which cannot be released by merely sitting silently.
Silence is only a small part of the hour-long, 5-stage Dynamic. The first three stages are quite riotous, a total shedding of inhibitions as participants undergo ten minutes of chaotic breathing, followed by ten minutes of total let-go, during which they can laugh, scream, cry, jump or do whatever comes to mind. This is the real catharsis — an ejection of all repressions.
The third stage involves jumping with raised arms, loudly shouting the Sufi mantra ‘Hoo!’
The expiration caused by the exclamation creates a vacuum above the sex center, causing energy to flow upwards. When done with utmost totality, no energy is left static within so that the mind has no more energy left to create disturbing thoughts or dreams.
And then the fourth stage happens — meditators are required to freeze in whatever position they find themselves. The sudden stop throws a person to the inner center — he becomes an observer, a witness of his body and mind.
The final stage is a celebration — a harmonious blend of music and dance; an acceptance of grace. "You feel a wonderful weightlessness, as if you’re flying,” exclaims Swami Prem Atul, an avowed Dynamic practitioner. "Dynamic Meditation sets the stage for silent meditation.”
Dynamic meditation helps clean at all levels, ridding the self of pent-up emotions, tensions and conflicts, after which silent meditation happens. The technique causes no harm to self or others and is increasingly being used all over the world to solve stress situations. It was even introduced in the Tihar Jail in 1993!
Interestingly, effective though it may be as a form of group therapy, it is this very aspect of Dynamic that might inhibit first-time practitioners. To shout, scream or laugh insanely in a group might prove difficult to most. However while Dynamic can be practiced in solitude, the combined energy of a group of people is said to be beneficial to the process.
The Osho Commune has long tried to lead people into meditation— and they certainly know how to attune themselves to the times. It is becoming increasingly evident that a worldwide awakening is happening and more and more people are turning inwards to ‘seek answers’ or a better understanding of themselves. The accumulation of a lifetime’s baggage can weigh heavy on anyone, unnecessary obstacles that are better done away with. A catharsis may be a new beginning.

	Mindfulness
	Focusing
	vs Prayer
	vs Affirmations
	Meditation in Movement
	Meditation in Action


	Color - red
	Physical Location - base of the spine
	Purposes - kinesthetic feelings, movement
	Spiritual Lesson - material world lessons
	Physical Dysfunctions- lower back pain, sciatica, varicose veins, rectal tumors, depression, immune related disorders
	Mental and Emotional Issues - survival, self esteem, social order, security, family
	Information Stored Inside Root Chakra - familial beliefs, superstitions, loyalty, instincts, physical pleasure or pain, touch
	Area of Body Governed- spinal column, kidneys, legs, feet, rectum, immune system

zazen

count your breaths

stress release

passive awareness

bridge your inner and outer world

Body Grounding Exercise

Balancing the physical with the spiritual

Chakra 1 - Root Chakra

Chakra One - Exploring the Major Chakras

GROUNDING
MEDITATION

HEAL THE PLANET
MEDITATION

Ritual Grounding

	Formal sitting in which the body is held immobile and the attention controlled. e.g., Zazen, Vipassana
	Expressive practices , in which the body is let free and anything can happen. e.g., Siddha Yoga, the Latihan, the chaotic meditation of Rajneesh.
	The practice of going about one's daily round of activities mindfully. e.g., Mahamudra, Shikan Taza, Gurdjieff's "self-remembering".

	Gemstones - Hematite, Black Tourmaline, Onyx
	Flower Essences - Corn, Clematis, Rosemary

zazen

count your breaths

stress release

passive awareness

bridge your inner and outer world

Body Grounding Exercise

Balancing the physical with the spiritual

Chakra 1 - Root Chakra

Chakra One - Exploring the Major Chakras

GROUNDING MEDITATION

HEAL THE PLANET MEDITATION

Ritual Grounding

GROUNDING
MEDITATION

HEAL THE PLANET
MEDITATION