PITFALLS IN 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

Now to warn you about a few obvious pitfalls: You may start by feeling self-conscious about the entire procedure— much more so than about, say, deep breathing or concentration which are in a sense more tangible practices. If you do, try to keep in mind that this is a natural early reaction for the average Western mind. Try also to take an honest look at yourself and see whether the self-consciousness isn't a mask for laziness or for procrastination. We all have a degree of resistance against routines and disciplines, and fasten on to any excuse which presents itself. Simply refuse to accept your own excuse, however plausible it may sound. Continue practiring daily, if only for a few minutes, and soon Meditation will have become a stimulating, natural habit.

A sense of self-consciousness, of just feeling foolish about it, may also mask a lack of self-confidence. You may be convinced that you are not a "thinker" and so cannot possibly succeed. This, of course, is very far from the truth. Meditation is for anyone who stays with it; no one demands of you that you be a Spinoza or a Plato. Choose subjects that are harmonious with your own Self; make friends, so to speak, with your own mind and your own spirit.

To return once more to the rather striking parallel between Yoga Meditation and modern psychoanalysis: Analysis is largely built on the realization that knowledge of our mental mechanisms gives us insight and, more importantly, power over them; but analysts assume that in order to gain such knowledge and power we need trained help. Yoga, on the other hand, maintains that man is completely capable of doing the job himself and that he will grow, mature and become a better person in the doing if only he has the will to proceed.

It was the Greek philosopher Pythagoras who used to advise his followers to make a habit of reviewing each night their actions for that day and the day preceding it. In your quest for self-knowledge you would do well to follow the same system. But do this not in a spirit of self-flagellation, but objectively, so that having once recognized your own weaknesses you will be on the lookout for them.

Be on guard not to use your Meditation period as a whipping-post of conscience. Too often persons who are too hard on themselves during their moments of introspection unconsciously assume the attitude that, having already punished themselves, they have wiped the slate clean and are free to make the same mistakes over again. Remember that the purpose of Yoga Meditation is not punishment but serene change.