• All-round Meditation ☥
• Pyramid Thinking
• Not All Are Sound

All-round Meditation

Study the fathoming steps first, then practice a little.

Meditation trains the mind to focus and be relaxed. Both are useful. Many different methods use different "things" to focus on. Some are described in books, and thus available to the general public. In Tibetan books edited by W. Y. Evans-Wentz there are some methods to look into, for example.

As a fruit of successful contemplation (dhyana, Zen, meditation), you may improve your presence of mind and derive other benefits, research on some of the methods shows. As for methods, some deal with sounds in various ways, others with the breath, others direct the gaze, and a convenient posture or more is into much of it, eventually. Many methods combine from among these elements in a repertoire, and then there are subtleties (finer aspects) to learn too, for those who press on. It may be hard work. While a little meditation may assist you, too much of it may crowd out other activities, take much time, and so on. If you do no replenish your resources in a nice and balanced all-round lifestyle, there is a need to think twice about something, a need to consider the ends and means in a life, that is.

In wanting to improve your focus and not get tense, try to find the best methods and stick to them - adhering to that "too much of a good thing is a bad thing", and also that "too much of a bad thing is not a good thing" -

If you want to learn a mantra technique, first study the scientific research of it, the ancient texts of it, and compare with practitioners if you meet any. You may train yourself to see and think better for yourself, taking care not to overreach yourself and practice within bounds.

This series (collection) or articles is not to replace medical diagnosis, attention and treatment in the case of prolonged diseases. If in doubt, consult your doctor (MD).

Calm down at your ease

SIT in a comfortable posture while you keep the spine erect without tensing the back or other parts of the body.

PRELIMINARY: Breathe in slowly from the belly, measuredly, counting to three or five. Now breathe out slowly to the same count. Repeat five to ten times. This is to calm down, and that could be all you need too.

LET the breath flow by itself. Just watch it very neutrally mentally without directing it. Maybe this will do. It is a breathing technique. ◊

Close your eyes and calm down

YOU do not have to make much of finer points and facets of the art of meditation as a beginner. Just close your eyes or keep them half-closed and see if it helps the calming down.

Sit and relax

Rest slows down the breath. Many are stressed. A stressed person needs to relax more often.

A little training helps in keeping your mind focused. Also, when you become aware that your mind has drifted, simply readjust to mental, very neutral watching (here it is of the flow of the breath) as described.

Sit for two-three minutes after the session, tuning in to calm and harmony as best you can. That could help too.

Be attentive in your life conditions. To learn to observe calmly and detachedly is a boon that can be cultivated well. (7)

A quite regular schedule is usually fit. Depending on the technique and how much you put into it, you may have many sittings, for example two longer ones and a brief one before going to sleep at night. It is up to you. Detailed instructions are to be found elsewhere. (10)

Summary

1. Watch a while to calm down initially.
2. Close your eyes and breathe calmer if you can.
3. Watch the breath as it flows of its own accord to adjust more or better to the now, the present.

Calm down in a congenital setting if there is one. There you may close your eyes and let the breath flow as you keep a steady focus on it. The training is to keep a steady focus and drop disturbing ideas as an integral part of the process.

Pyramid Thinking

Figure 1. Three levels of inside and outside.

In Fig. 1 there is a pyramid that is divided into three levels (1, 2, and 3). The rocket inside it is the result of getting more aware - also "getting inwards" in the mind - by focused awareness - that is, by deep meditation (Zen), also called contemplation. The three levels inside your awareness (the rocket) are from top of the figure: (A) physical aspects of yourself, (B) feelings or emotions, and (C) thoughts, thinking.

Still inside the pyramid and around the rocket are the same three layers. These parts stand for things you are at present unaware of - at least in theory. There are aspects of how the triune body-mind-soul works that some have not (yet) plumbed, for example feminine sides of men, and masculine sides of women. As with the aware parts (inside the rocket), the levels are conveniently seen as of three layers only - physical, emotional and mental.

Around the pyramid of yourself is the surroundings. Exchanges between what is inside you and around you, takes places through the senses and mind - and on many levels too.

Figure 1 serves to point out some things. For example: The beginner can accomplish the whole thing alone, but it may be very rare. Most beginners can do much on level 1, and that level is fit for self-help and easy instructions. If the instructions are good, they lead to good meditations, and at times experiences that are not welcome. Some with latent disorders may flare up in meditation, so to speak.

Let us -

Let us suppose the central part of the figure, "the rocket", is what you can manage yourself rather unaided, but preferably with a mentor (a teacher and so on) even at this stage.

Let us also suggest that the surrounding parts in the pyramid are things you should get help with by professionals.

Let us say level B and C require years of training for some.

Let us also say that now and then when you go further (bore deeper inside) than the familiar, something unexpected might appear, and then you might profit from wise instruction more than ever.

The simple figure is designed as a memento: The deeper you go (plumb), the greater the need for clarity and sanity inside. And the wider you go on a level, the more you could benefit from study and added instructions fit for the sort and range of experiences that present themselves.

The point is, you have to know how to deal with some recurrent and typical problems for beginners if you want to profit the most from your effort. Wise efforts and care could save you a lot of time and trouble.

To bore inside on the levels suggested, and integrate the good insights and handy wisdom you come up with in your living, is a life-long challenge that should be pleasant and work for good somehow.

Three Help Levels

Let us take a look at "three levels of help" too, with the help of Figure 1. As a pure beginner (level A) you need substantial facts about contemplation first, to try out the techniques you get or buy with much freedom. The need for firm counsel and precise instructions or regulations is definitely present here.

If you go on and get better rapport (contact) with your feelings (level B) - many suppress much and do not heed a lot of recurrent dreams right - the instructions may vary, and become more "flimsy", less substantial. From bodily aspects - how to sit, how to think the mantra, and so on, you learn to manage feelings too. And since the emotional life is rich and of many layers in itself (repressed emotions are there too), the "circle widens" - there is more to deal with if something goes wrong, and possible corrections may take more time.

On the third level (level C) the challenges to tackle gets even more subtle and flimsy, and on this level the help given depends on good diagnosis from your teacher, if you have any. The circle of possible troubles has widened again, and to the degree you deviate from the exact methods to prosper from (near the central axis), the more to tackle, presumably.

Thus, to meditate well, learn a method that combines the best parts of three levels and try to keep centred while you do the meditation techniques. It is required that you tackle getting inward (the top of the pyramid). The inward-turning "click" is called pratyahara in Sanskrit.

Not All Are Sound

Meditation can be used for many ends. Some use its techniques to explore deeper, inner sides of their minds. Other do it for the benefits in daily living, such as more relaxation. Others might want to do it, aided or unaided, but should refrain to go forth unaided for health reasons. We go into many sides of it.

Figure 2. Wellness estimates.

Fig. 2 is a rough way of presenting the lay of the land in a nutshell. The people is grouped along the horizontal line: those suffering from bad health to the left, those in good health to the right.

Also, a theoretical surplus health is above the line, and ill-health, variously defined, is beneath it. Most people have ailments or troubles of various sort, but not all show them, or show them similarly. Instead some seek to show off while they meticulously hide or cover troubles. Neurotic defences may set in next - who can tell?

Experts estimate that the psychic health in Scandinavian countries is not top. According to the Norwegian mental health authority Nils Retterstøl, up to 25 percent of the population might preferably be hospitalised - but there are not enough hospital beds. Other estimates may be 20 percent, if it matters. The figure has blurred boundaries between the groups because estimates vary and definitions of health are tricky: There is no strict consensus about many definitions of mental disorders either.

Another sizeable part of the population could benefit from stays in hospital, not as more or less permanent residents there.

As an example, about one third of the population in the Trondheim municipality receive a national insurance contribution (social security).

The pressed "middle group" consists of people who manage to work on, but with more or less severe problems to handle or repress.

The healthy few - according to Abraham Maslow - may go on and gain from it too, but I suspect they are few. If you need hard facts added to Figure 2, the Statistisk sentralbyrå (a governmental office of statistics) in Norway supplies plenty of information. They are on-line.

Interestingly, Norway is a great country to live in according to UN, and so are its neighbouring countries. [Link]

Overloads and winning streaks

If you begin some meditation regime, it could be that suppressed troubles start churning in your mind, and you do not feel better from the practice. The more effective the techniques, the worse it might get. It happens to some. Therefore, adapt to the situation and condition.

The tragedy to some is that those who might need the benefits of meditation the most, are unable to get them because over an overload of quite unsettled mental problems and troubles in the outer world.

For reasons such as these - putting safety first - consider yourself, your situations, the documented benefits of a meditation technique, and the way of instruction first. Is it self-help, is ig group-aided, mentor-led? These things matter. You should have at least some "winning streaks" to begin with, if unaided.

Gentle techniques may still be put forth in public, though, to be within reach of seekers. And general hints on how to proceed is not barred from anyone either.

Onword

Basic considerations for meditating ones have been given above. Some wider perspectives have been delineated by help of a pyramid and simple statistics-founded estimates.

On the next page there is more to look into. The yoga dictionary (link on top of the page) might be good to have at hand in a separate window. Should you need tips on how to arrange such a setting, here they are: [Link]