Thinking is not the enemy!
- By Greg de Vries
- Published 07/31/2007
Greg de Vries
Greg de Vries is
the founder and webmaster of My Meditation
Coach and Meditation Review Greg
has been using creative visualization, self-hypnosis and meditation to create
his life since 1992.
He has also received his certification to teach meditation by Transformation Meditation Inc. in Boca Raton, Florida. When not running his various companies, Greg spends his time as a transformational life coach, author, public speaker, webmaster and evangelist for meditation and creative visualization.
I was talking to a friend the other day who is learning to meditate. He made the comment that "I try and try, but I just can't get my mind to shut up".
This is a very common misconception about meditation. There are two basic flaws in his statement.
First of all, it is very common and normal to have thoughts during meditation. The process is to observe those thoughts and let them float away like clouds. You then are in the state of being the "observer" or witness. As you progress in your meditation practice, you will notice that the space between thoughts gets longer and longer. This is the 'progressive settling' mentioned in the Yoga Sutras.
Secondly, you really cannot TRY to meditate. If you are trying - you probably aren't meditating. Meditation is a lot like sleep, if you try to force it - it will not come. Yo
u simply need to become peaceful and still.
In closing, remember not to look for the benefits of meditation DURING meditation. The results will begin to appear spontaneously during your normal activities. A sense of common and connection should begin to fill your life.
Until next time...
Namaste'
Greg
My Meditation Coach
Meditation Review
meditation
This is a very common misconception about meditation. There are two basic flaws in his statement.
First of all, it is very common and normal to have thoughts during meditation. The process is to observe those thoughts and let them float away like clouds. You then are in the state of being the "observer" or witness. As you progress in your meditation practice, you will notice that the space between thoughts gets longer and longer. This is the 'progressive settling' mentioned in the Yoga Sutras.
Secondly, you really cannot TRY to meditate. If you are trying - you probably aren't meditating. Meditation is a lot like sleep, if you try to force it - it will not come. Yo
In closing, remember not to look for the benefits of meditation DURING meditation. The results will begin to appear spontaneously during your normal activities. A sense of common and connection should begin to fill your life.
Until next time...
Namaste'
Greg
My Meditation Coach
Meditation Review
meditation
Spread The Word
Comments
Comment #1 (Posted by Brett Jennings)
When learning to meditate there can arise a sense of wanting to get it right or looking for a particular experience to validate that you are meditating correctly. This is a natural desire when your learning to meditate but can be a hindrance to allowing the natural state of meditation to unfold.
The conundrum in looking for an experience is that meditation is not about having any experience per se. Meditation is about feeling yourself as the awareness in which all experiences come and go. You (as awareness) are the context in which content (experience) happens.
It doesn't matter then what is the content of your awareness when meditating. This field of awareness can have anything in it, (an experience, thought, sensation) and you can be in a meditative state. The all important question to know if you are in a meditative state is "As I am aware of this, am I also aware of my own presence?" If you are aware of your own presence then you are in meditation.
So thoughts are not the enemy to meditation. At first it is helpful to seek a quiet mind because it's a lot easier to "feel" the silent essence of yourself when your mind settles down. But after a while the seeking of a quiet mind can drive us to think, and this is when it becomes time to let go of looking for a quiet mind.
Knowing that thoughts aren't the enemy to meditation allow us to drop our resistance to having thoughts and return to being the innocent witness of the thoughts as they come and go.
A poem I read by Arjuna this week articulates this beautifully and fits perfectly in applying the law of least effort to meditation.
Give Up the Struggle
you are already That for which you are seeking
all that is required to know this is to give up the struggle
it is so simple
and when I say give up the struggle
it doesn't mean you don't get stressed anymore
this is so simple, so undeniable
emotions coming and going are not a problem
strong emotions come and disappear again
strong thoughts come and disappear again
there is only one tiny thing that could possibly
create a problem in any of that
and it's such a tiny thing
you can pop it with a tiny pin
the only thing that could interfere
with everything being natural and relaxed
is the idea that you shouldn't have this stuff going on
that tiny idea
"i shouldn't have this thought or emotion"
creates this wall within yourself
and then the sense of presence is lost
the thoughts and emotions coming are not a problem
what is thought?
it is an imaginary object
it is something that does not exist
it has no power
something imaginary has no power over you
the only power it could possibly have is that you go into resistance to it
if you fantasize that the object is real you could suffer
but the imaginary object itself will never hurt you
how could something you already recognized to be an illusionary object affect you, except if you resist it?
a thought cannot hurt or touch you.
it has no power over you.
beyond this what is left that is real to hurt you in this moment?
~Arjuna