Greetings!
Please enjoy this edition of Inward Bound and share
it with others by using the link on the bottom of the
page.
 |
 |
 |
A Great Place to Meet Yourself
A journey to the gap
The practice of meditation takes you on a journey
where you can find out who you really are - and make
conscious contact with the creative energy of life itself -
the real you. But how can you do that, where is
the 'real you'?
You are not your thoughts, right? You are the one who
thinks the thoughts. But with 60,000 thoughts a day,
about one every two seconds, there really isn't room to
meet the thinker of your thoughts. Between one
thought and the next are all possibilities, but we
habitually think the same thoughts day in, day out.
Each of us is usually focused on the world outside
ourselves so we rarely consciously experience the
space between our thoughts in our everyday activities.
In meditation we can use a technique that allows our
awareness to settle to quieter and quieter levels of the
mind,and eventually slip into the gap. This is the
experience of pure silence, where all possibilities
exist. It is not something we can 'try' to do, because
trying keeps us at the level of the thoughts. It is
something that happens when we practice meditation
correctly.
The 'gap' is a word to describe the pure potentiality of
the silent spaces between your thoughts. And when
you experience the gap and spend time there for
segments of your meditation, you will have a different
experience when you return to the world of form and
phenomenon. You will then know your answer to the
question: "Why meditate?"
The experience of the gap can be called glimpsing the
soul or the Spirit. It is the direct experience of our own
essential nature, which is Spirit, or pure
consciousness. It is difficult to describe the true
experience of slipping into the gap. It's as if I were
describing the taste of an apple to you: you never
get the direct experience until you eat one yourself.
Pure consciousness, or Spirit, is beyond space and
time, and beyond thought, therefore it cannot really be
described or understood. I think the closest we can
come to expressing it is saying 'awareness', but it is
awareness in general, not awareness of any one
thing.
Pure consciousness is the force that
underlies all creation. It is the field of intelligence that
underlies all intelligence. Pure consciousness is an
abstract, yet very real force. Abstract and real, like
gravity. We can't point to gravity, yet we can feel its
effect. That is how Spirit is.
Anytime we allow ourselves to be silent, truly silent, as
in meditation or in nature, we have the potential to slip
into the gap and experience Spirit. And that is a great
reason to meditate.
Learn more about Primordial Sound Meditation
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
Q & A
Do I need to practice yoga to meditate?
Yoga is becoming more popular these days. When I
used to get on the floor to practice yoga postures in
the gym in the early 80's, people thought I was odd.
But now it is completely accepted and popular.
Today, most people think of yoga as purely
the physical postures, but meditation is part of yoga
too. The physical exercises or postures are not
necessary to practice meditation, though they can
enhance your experience.
The discovery of Yoga has been attributed to a great
sage from India named Patanjali -over a thousand
years ago. Patanjali wrote verses about the union of
mind, body, spirit, and environment in the book the Yoga
Sutras. He shares that yoga poses, breathing
exercises, peaceful behaviors, relaxation and
concentration all contribute to the preparation of a
more settled nervous system, one that has less
stress and is more conducive to meditation.
There are several sitting postures the body can
assume when meditating, although the classic yogic
posture is sitting comfortably on a mat or a pillow with
spine erect and legs folded, hands resting on the
knees.
Sitting cross-legged, or in the lotus pose, works well
for some people and it looks really cool. But this pose
does nothing for meditation that can't be done in other
ways. The main virtue of the cross-legged posture is
that it's handy if you have no furniture, are homeless,
or are outdoors.
I do enjoy the cross-legged pose. I've used it about
half the time in my eighteen years of meditation. If you
can sit with total comfort that way for half an hour
without your feet going to sleep or getting
uncomfortable - even a little - then go ahead.
Remember, though, hurting your knees or being
uncomfortable has nothing to do with meditating
correctly.
Read more about meditation
|
 |
Wishing you fulfillment of your desires,
|