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Thread: Meditation trouble?

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    Canada Avalon Member Gillian's Avatar
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    Default Re: Meditation trouble?

    I too have been known to fall asleep during meditation. While not desirable, maybe the sleep is needed more than the calm state of mind. Anyway, I remember Simon Parkes in a very recent show, saying that people with quite a bit of reptilian in them have trouble meditating. He recommended using nature and natural settings as aids to induce a meditative state.

    I found a very good guided Vedic meditation on YouTube that I used for quite a while. It kept my mind busy at the outset, but busy with controlled activities like listening to a bird singing, and over the seventeen minutes or so, the mind was gradually let go of until it was given nothing to do for a period of time. It was gentle and I found that there was a sort of biofeedback component which allowed me to return to the calm meditative state in a matter of seconds and for brief moments whenever life allowed me to, say when stopped at a traffic light or washing dishes.

    Adyashanti talks about this. His teacher, Arvis Joen Justi raised five children while becoming enlightened. Adyashanti said that she would meditate while walking along the hall of her house because life didn't afford her time or the luxury to indulge in lengthy meditations.

    Ultimately, I think we want to do the Pema Chodron style meditation where we observe without getting involved, everything that arises in the mind, but if Simon is correct, maybe some of us would do better to lose ourselves in gardening.

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    Netherlands Avalon Retired Member
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    Default Re: Meditation trouble?

    Dipa ma supposedly slept for days after she started to meditate at age 53 I think it was.. It had to get out of her system before she could deepen her concentration to the level it did.

    Quote "For each of us, the process of developing concentration is an individual thing. So you have to explore. There's no telling exactly what kind of breathing is going to be good for you, or whether there are times when you need to focus on something else instead: like recollecting the Buddha, recollecting the Dhamma, the Sangha, contemplating of the body, developing thoughts of goodwill, compassion, empathetic joy, or equanimity. It's really a personal matter which of these is going to work for you.
    ~
    There's no one-size-fits-all kind of meditation. Breath meditation comes the closest to a universal object because, after all, we all have a breath, and for all of us it's an important part of our lives. Ajaan Lee recommends taking it as your home base. It's the safest of all meditation objects. But there are times when you need to forage around in other areas. You may find yourself way off in left field and have to find your way back to home base. It may require thoughts of goodwill to get back there or it may require contemplation of the body. This is something you have to explore for yourself. You have to experiment. You have to learn how to observe to see what works.
    ~
    The same principle applies not only to tranquility but also to insight. There's a sutta called The Riddle Tree in which a monk goes to different senior monks and asks them, "What topic do you contemplate in order to gain awakening?" One monk says, "the five aggregates," another one says, "the six sense media," another one says, "the six elements," another one says "dependent co-arising." The monk was not satisfied with all these different answers, because he couldn't understand why their answers should be so different.
    ~
    So he went to see the Buddha. And the Buddha said that the different answers were like the Riddle tree. Apparently, there's a tree in India that's kind of like the coral tree: During some seasons it has leaves, and at other seasons it has no leaves at all, and when it has no leaves it puts out red flowers. It's called the Riddle tree because people would say, "What's black like coal in the winter and red like meat in the spring?" That sort of thing. In other words, the appearance of the tree depends on which time of year you're talking about. "In the same way," the Buddha said, "those different monks answered in different ways because for each of them a different topic worked, so they talked in line with what had worked for them."
    ~
    So again with regard to insight, there's no one-size-fits-all, no one technique that's going to work for everyone. But if you're observant while you calm down the mind, you begin to see the way your mind works. That's really what you want to know..."
    ❀❀❀
    Thanissaro Bhikkhu
    The Riddle Tree
    ~
    http://www.dhammatalks.org/Arch…/Writings/eDhammaTalks_3.pdf
    With Love
    Eelco

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    Mauritius Avalon Member Guish's Avatar
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    Default Re: Meditation trouble?

    Quote Posted by Catsquotl (here)
    Dipa ma supposedly slept for days after she started to meditate at age 53 I think it was.. It had to get out of her system before she could deepen her concentration to the level it did.

    Quote "For each of us, the process of developing concentration is an individual thing. So you have to explore. There's no telling exactly what kind of breathing is going to be good for you, or whether there are times when you need to focus on something else instead: like recollecting the Buddha, recollecting the Dhamma, the Sangha, contemplating of the body, developing thoughts of goodwill, compassion, empathetic joy, or equanimity. It's really a personal matter which of these is going to work for you.
    ~
    There's no one-size-fits-all kind of meditation. Breath meditation comes the closest to a universal object because, after all, we all have a breath, and for all of us it's an important part of our lives. Ajaan Lee recommends taking it as your home base. It's the safest of all meditation objects. But there are times when you need to forage around in other areas. You may find yourself way off in left field and have to find your way back to home base. It may require thoughts of goodwill to get back there or it may require contemplation of the body. This is something you have to explore for yourself. You have to experiment. You have to learn how to observe to see what works.
    ~
    The same principle applies not only to tranquility but also to insight. There's a sutta called The Riddle Tree in which a monk goes to different senior monks and asks them, "What topic do you contemplate in order to gain awakening?" One monk says, "the five aggregates," another one says, "the six sense media," another one says, "the six elements," another one says "dependent co-arising." The monk was not satisfied with all these different answers, because he couldn't understand why their answers should be so different.
    ~
    So he went to see the Buddha. And the Buddha said that the different answers were like the Riddle tree. Apparently, there's a tree in India that's kind of like the coral tree: During some seasons it has leaves, and at other seasons it has no leaves at all, and when it has no leaves it puts out red flowers. It's called the Riddle tree because people would say, "What's black like coal in the winter and red like meat in the spring?" That sort of thing. In other words, the appearance of the tree depends on which time of year you're talking about. "In the same way," the Buddha said, "those different monks answered in different ways because for each of them a different topic worked, so they talked in line with what had worked for them."
    ~
    So again with regard to insight, there's no one-size-fits-all, no one technique that's going to work for everyone. But if you're observant while you calm down the mind, you begin to see the way your mind works. That's really what you want to know..."
    ❀❀❀
    Thanissaro Bhikkhu
    The Riddle Tree
    ~
    http://www.dhammatalks.org/Arch…/Writings/eDhammaTalks_3.pdf
    With Love
    Eelco
    Thnaks Eelco. Eventually, meditation is both pure experience and a self discovery exercise. It's good to maintain what works and discard what doesn't. However, the body and the mind are both connected. Everything which is done to the body will affect the mind and vice versa Healthy eating habits and appropriate exercise will help the one meditating.
    Experience reality beyond the senses
    https://www.facebook.com/geerishhealer/

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    Spain Avalon Member betoobig's Avatar
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    Default Re: Meditation trouble?

    Quote Posted by DNA (here)
    Stop meditating with your eyes closed.
    Do open eye meditations.
    They key is to fix your gaze on something and not move your eyes.

    Have you ever done an open eye meditation? Eye movement instantly snaps you out of meditation, strangely, it is harder to keep your eyes still while they are closed, as such, open eye meditation works wonders. I get mine from Carlos Castaneda, my favorite is using a small pebble to stare at to exclusion of everything else. The pebble, especially granite, absorbs your energy and starts to feel like a part of you, making it a deeper, easier meditation. You must keep your vision and attention focused on the object without breaking.

    After doing this for a while (each person is different), the pebble being filled with energy from staring at it becomes "wavy" in a short while, everything becomes "wavy", I do believe this is the field that connects all living things. It is my experience that this practice of meditation not only prevents one from falling asleep, it is also the quickest to activate the third eye.
    That "wavy" field I was talking about that connects all things is your third eye awakening, and it is the activation of the third eye which changes the vibration of your entire being.
    Thanks DNA.
    Contemplation is great way of meditation. You can sit contemplating a plant, see what happens.
    Also neti neti is great, you denied evrything, you say inside " i am not who is breathing" "i am not who is thinking" "i am not the one sitting here" etc... see what happens. contemplating thought
    Another great meditation is to contemplate the thought : " i am" "i am".... see what your body tells you...wonderfull.

    But, really, all is good, so if you fall asleep...enjoy it. One human one path, so the most reliable info is your experience. DO not let "you going to sleep while meditating" a problem at all, i bet it wont allways happen.
    Lots of great advise around, thanks to all.
    Much love
    honoring White Feather: SHIFT HAPPENED

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  9. Link to Post #25
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    Default Re: Meditation trouble?

    Miaspri,

    I've been doing TM (Transcendental Meditation) since '86. I sometimes fall asleep and I was taught that if you fall asleep, it is because you need it and so, not to worry. I did the 20 minutes twice a day till 1996 and now it is 50 minutes 2x a day, so lot of sleep time potential there.

    BTW part of the meditation is to be sure and rest briefly afterwards, (best on your back) because your skin produces Ojas during meditation and it continues after you stop. Also don't wash yourself for at least twenty minutes after meditating, so this Ojas can sink into your skin.

    http://ojas-the-staff-of-life.blogspot.ca/

    However not long after I learned meditation I did a weekend retreat where I learned a few asanas or Yoga poses. I find that when I do them, they get the blood moving, so I do not fall asleep. Only takes maybe 5 to 15 minutes and is a great pick-me-up anyways. Start off with;

    a few sun salutations and then
    some - on your back, knees to chest roll side to side 3x each side and then
    forward and back rolls x6. Then
    a couple of cobras, then
    spinal twist, then
    a couple of forward bends to touch toes.
    Then stand and touch toes.

    Of course there's lots of others you may like, but these will get the blood flowing, break up the blood pooling and so wake you up.

    Another thing you can do is to lightly and rapidly slap the top of your head maybe 5 - 10 times. Gently and not enough to hurt.

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