This section scratches the surface on some meditation techniques I have utilized in my own progression. These may not work for you, but they did for me, so I view then as important additions to the field of deep meditation, without the fluff of a religious framework or other belief structures that most likely just get in the way to begin with. These suggestions should be used to learn how to get lost in the fabric of your mind. Once this is accomplished, the sky is the limit, and only you know how to navigate your own consciousness anyway.
My Master Meditative Goal:
This involves the idea of mind awake, body asleep syndrome described precisely by Robert Monroe. In this state your mind is allowed to drift and exist in a space quite different from your ordinary waking state consciousness. The idea is to walk the tight-rope between awake and asleep.
So the first step in my own practices is to get comfortable, and close your eyes. The only point of focus you should have at first is that of your body awareness. Feel your body wherever it is, and relax every muscle. Once you get really good at this first relaxation phase, you should naturally feel that your body doesn’t exist anymore. It seems to disappear from your perception, signaling to you that your body is almost asleep. Once there, it is time for the next phase.
This part is utilized to focus the mind, and stopping the chatter of endless incoherent thoughts that you experienced in the first phase. The best way for me to start this phase is to open my eyes, but remaining to keep my body as still and unmoving as possible. Only open your eyes for a quick moment, maybe a second or two. Your goal here is to reconnect to your eyes scope of awareness. Test your peripheral vision, and the edges of what you can see, then close your eyes again while still focusing on that edge of periphery. Try to sense it all at once.
To enhance this experience may I suggest these exercises that I refer to as “eye-stretches.”
1) Try to focus the lenses of your eyes to a point in space that you perceive to be very far from you. Do this with eyes closed, and really force it, feel the difference but for a small amount of time, maybe 10 to 30 seconds depending on your own judgments.
2) Now do the opposite: Focus your eyes to a point right in front of you, still eyes closed, but feel your eyes focus changing from far away to close. Stretch your perception back and forth as many times as necessary for you to get a good feel of the outer reaches of your field of view. I go back and forth between 3 and 5 times before I move on to step 3.
3) Now that your eyes have been stretched, you really have to be focused from here on out. Your mind will start throwing images and thoughts to you, but just let them pass. I suggest you try is this. Watch your field of vision, and take note of any contrast between light and dark that you see warping past your eyes. I myself feel and sense spots that are darker, and spots that are lighter in contrast. As I start to notice these small variations, more and more complex structures appear to me. Colors come into play, and flashes of extremely detailed pictures fly by. Don’t be surprised if you get sudden bursts of light, or start to hear voices, it’s all normal. Get rid of your fear, and enjoy the experience. Relax into any anxiety that may bubble up, and remember to not fall asleep. Falling asleep at this stage voids all the hard work you’ve already put into this.
Most importantly, focus on the space between your thoughts, and attempt to “be” in a state outside of rational thought and logic. Only by going beyond what we know as reason, can the mind experience the singularity of reality, where all notions of opposites dissolve away.
We can always utilize the breath as a mental focus, and then our perception of sound can begin to change. At a certain point, don’t be surprised if you hear your heart beat or blood flowing around your head. Sometimes the blood flowing is enough to wake me up from my focused state. Beyond that, we can all learn to develop a sense of sight in the otherworldly realms. We encounter many spheres of energy, and everyone must go at their own pace. Only experience can guide us here, and rushing things will only slow you down. Rid yourself of purpose, and thought, and just flow with the current of the conscious cosmos at large.
I hope this has at least inspired some individuals to take up the serious task of meditation, and relaxing the mind. Your life will start to change with practice, and continued efforts.
1 comment:
This is a very good post because you get into the really practical aspects of what it "looks like" when you're laying there with your eyes closed. I am just getting back into meditation and trying to "project" and I get too caught up in worrying that I am thinking too much and end up giving up and just going to sleep. Anyway, keep up the good work.
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