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World
> Senses >
Body >
Breath >
Mind >
Silence
(click on the six links above)
Knowing the whole: Yoga meditation is holistic. Yoga comes
from "yuj" which means "to join," to bring together
the aspects of yourself that were never divided in the first place. Yoga
meditation systematically brings your awareness inward, through all the
levels of your being, so as to experience the eternal center of
consciousness, by whatever name you choose to call it.
Remembering the simplicity: It
is extremely useful to often remember the simplicity of the process, in
that there are only a few major levels to be systematically encountered
and transcended. While it may not be easy, the frequent
remembering that the process is also simple can be very
inspiring.
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meditation:
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| World
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- First, be aware of the
external world, however broad that may be for you: universe, galaxy,
earth, country, city, home.
- Be aware of the world in a peaceful,
contemplative way.
- Reflect on the nature of your
relationship with that external world, cultivating and meditating on
attitudes of lovingness, compassion, goodwill and acceptance.
- Dialogue with yourself, such as:
"What do I want, at the highest level? What is that one,
highest goal that is the guide for my decisions in life? Who am I?
What do I need to let go of, or cease doing? What do I need to do
more of, or start doing? How will I do these things? When?
- Gradually bring
your attention closer from the vast, external world, to the closer
world of your daily life, finally coming to the space your body is
occupying.
- After some time, let go of awareness of the external world, turning
attention inward, so as to systematically move through the layers of senses, body,
breath, and mind to the center of consciousness.
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| Senses
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- Next, after letting go of the
external world, become aware of the individual senses and means of
expression indriyas, exploring
your sensory awareness. (more on indriyas)
- First, be aware of your
ability to move, but that you are not moving; of grasping, but that
you are letting go; of speaking, but of no longer forming any words
(the karmendriyas).
- Maintain mindfulness that these are
the exporters of actions into the external world.
- Then, systematically be aware of five
senses of smell, taste, seeing, touching, hearing (the jnanendriyas).
- Maintain mindfulness that those senses are
the importers of information and insights from the external world.
- Then, close the temple
doors called senses, and bring your attention inward, so that you can explore within, through the
levels of body, breath, mind, and beyond.
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| Body
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- Next, after making peace with the world and exploring your
senses, explore the body
internally through a variety of methods of inner surveying.
(more on methods of surveying)
- Survey the body
from head to toe and toe to head. Do this systematically; so that
the path you follow each time is similar, though the experience may
be different.
- However you
experience the body is okay: parts, systems, sensations.
- Do this as if you
are really curious to explore within. Be an interior researcher.
- Remain mindful of only the body--not
breath, nor mind--only body.
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Then,
shift awareness still more inward to the breath, then to the mind, and
then to the silence beyond, finally leading to the center of
consciousness.
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| Breath
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Next, after exploring the world, senses, and body,
allow your breath to be smooth, slow, calm and serene
through a variety of energizing, balancing and centering breath
practices. (more on breath techniques)
- Explore the breath as if you are really
curious, as if you are a professional interior researcher.
- First, be aware of
breath at the diaphragm, eliminating jerks and pauses, and making
breath steady, smooth, and comfortably slow.
- Then, do invigorating
breathing practices, pranayama, along with locks, within your
comfortable capacity.
- Then, breath as though
exhaling down from the top of the head to the base of the spine.
Inhale as though inhaling up from the base of the spine to the top
of the head.
- Then, bring attention
to breath at the bridge of the nostrils, feeling the touch of the
air as it flows. Feel the touch of the flow.
- Remain mindful of only the
breath--not body, nor mind--only breath.
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Then
there is a process like forgetting you are breathing, as attention goes
deeper or more inward, beyond the breath to the
mind itself, and to silence.
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| Mind
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Next, after exploring the world, senses, body, and breath, you begin to allow the
conscious mind to still itself.
- First, be aware of the
process of mind, while continuing to focus on the breath at the
nostrils. Become a witness to the inner functioning of the mind. (more
on functions of mind)
- Allow the streams of
thoughts to flow naturally, without interruption, yet remaining
focused. (more on inviting thoughts)
- Next, allow your attention
to rest either in the heart or the eyebrow center, following your own predisposition.
In the heart, it is a palm-sized space, and in the eyebrow center,
it is a tiny circle.
- Keep attention in that space, not
allowing it to wander either to the left or right, or up or down.
- Then, bring your
attention to your chosen object
of meditation (inside that space), whether a seen, heard, or felt
object; whether gross, subtle, or beyond. For example, it may be a point of
light, an inner sound, a visualized object or a mantra. (more
on meditation objects)
- Remain aware of only this inner
focus--not body, nor senses, nor breath, nor the streams of the
mind--only this one space and object.
- Allow the natural insights of the
subtler mental processes and insights to emerge, and to flow through the field of
mind.
- Continue to allow
thoughts to flow, cultivating two skills: remaining focused in the
space, while at the same time letting go of the thought patterns.
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Then,
after the conscious mind is no longer a distraction or disturbance, the
unconscious and latent aspects of mind are allowed to come forward,
are examined, and
then allowed to let go. Mind is not stopped or suppressed, but rather is
gone beyond, into silence. (more
on functions of mind; more on
witnessing)
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| Silence
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- Next, after systematically examining and letting go
of the world, senses, body, breath, and mind, you gradually come to a place of
deep Stillness and Silence.
- As meditation
deepens, either watch into
the space for the invisible source of all light, or listen into the
space for the silent source of all sound.
- Gradually, experience the
convergence of practices of meditation, contemplation, prayer and
mantra. (more on convergence)
- Allow the inner
peace or spiritual truth to come forward, experiencing the heights
of Samadhi and Turiya, the fourth state, beyond waking, dreaming,
and deep sleep. (more on Samadhi;
more on Turiya)
- At some point, experience the
awakening of Kundalini, and its rising to Sahasrara, the crown
chakra. (more on Kundalini
rising to the crown)
- Eventually, allow the meditations to
converge on that innermost point (Bindu) out of which mind, time,
space and causation have emerged. (more on Bindu)
- When finished with your meditation,
bring outward, into your external world and daily life whatever
depth of stillness and silence you have touched. Allow that to guide
and balance daily life, being ever mindful of the higher realities
within.
- Resolve to often return to that
place of Stillness and Silence in meditation.
See also:
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This site is devoted
to presenting the ancient Self-Realization path of the Tradition of
the Himalayan masters in simple, understandable and beneficial ways,
while not compromising quality or depth. The goal of our sadhana or
practices is the highest Joy that comes from the Realization in
direct experience of the center of consciousness, the Self, the
Atman or Purusha, which is one and the same with the Absolute
Reality. This Self-Realization comes through Yoga meditation of the
Yoga Sutras, the contemplative insight of Advaita Vedanta, and the
intense devotion of Samaya Sri Vidya Tantra, the three of which
complement one another like fingers on a hand. We employ the
classical approaches of Raja, Jnana, Karma, and Bhakti Yoga, as well
as Hatha, Kriya, Kundalini, Laya, Mantra, Nada, Siddha, and Tantra
Yoga. Meditation, contemplation, mantra and prayer finally converge
into a unified force directed towards the final stage, piercing the
pearl of wisdom called bindu, leading to the Absolute.
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