PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS OF MEDITATION

Articles In This Section:

· MEDITATION WITH YOGA

· DOUBTLESS IN YOURSELF

· PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS OF MEDITATION

· CORRECT BREATHING IS ESSENTIAL IN MEDITATION

· MEDITATION IS AN ACQUIRED ART

· PITFALLS IN MEDITATION

· PURPOSE OF MEDITATION

To learn to control your thinking and emotions at the source, to subdue restlessness, calm the nerves and literally will yourself to bring out what is best in you, to shut yourself off from worry and all negative attitudes, these are the realistic goals of Meditation which you may set up for yourself. Begin with the following deceptively simple exercise: For twelve seconds, try keeping your mind on a single point—let us say the spot between the eyebrows, where the mystical "third eye" is supposed to be. Visualize that potential "third eye"; consider the benefits clairvoyance might give you, were you to achieve it; consider the uses to which seers have put their own clairvoyance. In short, meditate on every angle of the subject that suggests itself to you. Twelve seconds of such meditation is called Dharana. If you stay with your thought twelve times twelve seconds, permitting an unhampered flow of related images to come freely to mind, you have achieved Dhyana, or true Meditation. The Yogis teach that once you learn this you may eventually also achieve Samadhi, which is variously described as a state of super-consciousness and a state of infinite bliss. But Samadhi is not a goal for us to strive after, since it is completely alien to our own outlook.

Now for the actual procedures, the physical requirements for Meditation. To begin with, you must be alone and undisturbed when you attempt it. Therefore choose a time of day when it is easiest for you to be alone. Shut your door—lock it if necessary—to insure privacy. Be sure you are away from the phone, from loud noises, and that no one will try to speak or call to you. For if you are in the least uneasy about possible interruptions you cannot relax, and without relaxation neither Deep Concentration nor Meditation are at all possible.

You can now readily see why for most persons an early morning or late night period is the most desirable time, exactly as with most other Yoga practices. Remember you must wear completely comfortable, loose clothing, avoid the glare of bright sunshine or other light directly in your eyes and also avoid bright, disturbing decor in the room. Let the background be unobtrusive. If it should be impossible for you to settle on an appropriate spot inside your own house, try a park bench in clement weather or a library reading room in winter —any place where, in the midst of strangers, you will be left very much alone. Then the occasional sounds of the life around you will merge into the background of your consciousness. They will be much easier to shut out than the demands of your intimate, personal world.