By Dominique Harrier
"Would you think it odd if Hafiz said, I am in love with every church and mosque and temple and any kind of shrine; because I know that it is there that people say the different names of the one God." - HAFIZ
Meditation does not belong exclusively to New Age teaching, or only Esoteric thinking. From Hinduism and Buddhism through Christianity, Taoism, Islam, Sikhism and Judaism and many widely differing religious beliefs and philosophies, encourage meditation. And there are as many varied styles of mediation as beliefs.
If you're one of the countless that have felt intimidated by the pictures of persons meditating with their legs crossed and wrapped around each, you are certainly not alone. However it is so much more important to be very comfortable, than it is, to adopt any prescribed position. This should be obvious otherwise people worth conditions such as arthritis or others would not qualify for the benefits of meditation. When you start off a meditation session in a really comfortable position, without straining to hold any particular position, it becomes easy to forget about your body. This is one less distraction that you can easily remove.
You can meditate while walking, or even sitting up in bed and leaning against the headboard with your legs stretched out in front of you, if that happens to be your idea of comfort. Sitting loosely cross-legged is also just as acceptable. And if at any time during the meditation session you feel that you need to change your position because you've become uncomfortable, then simply do so and then become quiet again.
The goal of this website is to teach self reliance, that is to say, reliance on the inner self. A second but no less important goal is to demystify the Spiritual Awakening process in plain language. I ask for your indulgence whenever I resort to using my own experiences to illustrate a point; whether that point is achieving effortless deep meditation or some other spiritual ability or lesson. When I decided to start meditating, I had no 'spiritual method' and no certainly no clearly defined expectation of what the benefits or even the goal would be. What I reasoned and ultimately decided on, was that if the purpose of meditation was to become aware of the connection with my higher self, then surely the position I adopted should not matter.
The first three weeks were extremely difficult, nothing worthwhile, that I could see, happened. I found it excruciating to sit still and try not to think and wait for some sign that I was doing 'it' right. Being impatient at the time, I seriously considered giving up. I had set out to learn from my own intuition all that I needed to know about the spiritual life and enlightenment but so far, lesson one on the subject of meditation was not working.
The other thing that was happening without my intention was that I would invariably find myself focusing on the point between my brows as if I was looking out through my closed eyes. This would only become uncomfortable whenever I tried to help things along by taking over and forcing myself to focus even more strenuously. Whenever I just went along with things and remained relaxed, everything went well.
My body, under the direction of my inner teacher appeared to know exactly what to do. I occasionally tried to use the mantra of aum or om, but since that also was too distracting to me personally, I quickly gave up the idea of mantras and just looked forward to feeling calm and peaceful. Soon I noticed that I was free from the usual over activity of mind or intrusive thoughts. I was soon so happy with my liberation from the prison of endless driving thoughts that I began to love meditation. It became a priority and I meditated twice each day, once in the mornings before I went to work, and again at night before I went to bed sometimes for more than an hour at a time.
Next I noticed that my intuition had become razor sharp. Even though I had always been intuitive, this was more like a constant update on the reality of all manner of things. I soon felt happier and more at peace and my energy level was higher than it had been for a long time. Then just when I thought that things could not be any better, one morning while meditating, I slowly became aware that I no longer seemed to be breathing in and out, or if I was, I could not recognize any movement associated with breathing. I simply could not feel the rise or fall of my breath.
It is very difficult to fully explain this even now as I think about that time. What was happening was decidedly way outside of the normal state of things. I realized that I was able to observe myself without breaking the deep serenity that engulfed my being. I could calmly watch myself watching myself, as I tried to catch myself breathing, all the while remaining incredibly calm and serene with all thinking stopped. I was outside of myself, watching myself, watching myself, sitting with my spine bolt upright; erect, yet relaxed, and not as I could see, breathing or thinking. Added to this, heightened awareness was also a heightened nothingness.
This was completely unexpected. It was also blissful, and I liked it I was encouraged by my progress to spend more time learning and communing with myself. These moments were my very first lessons on the importance of just letting go and allowing. Being very self motivated, trusting myself and my own instincts and intuition, comes naturally.
I was quickly and intuitively guided to be, and to do, exactly what was right and that allowed me to experience exactly what I did not even know that I was seeking. This state of breathlessness and mindlessness soon became the norm for me as I continued to meditate daily and many pleasant and peaceful and unexpected things continued to occur.
I am well aware that it might not be as easy for everyone to renounce the usually prescribed, more formal method of meditating. However I know that ultimately it will be more than worth the courage and the commitment that it might require, to go with the guidance of the Inner (higher) Self. It will work especially if you have tried unsuccessfully to meditate by following what you have been told is the right way to do it.
Article from:
http://dominiqueharrier.blogspot.com/2013/10/would-you-think-it-odd-if-hafiz-said-i.html
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