| Cougar Press PO Box 894 Meadview AZ 86444 |
| Meditation |
Meditation is the seventh limb of Raja Yoga.
Under meditation, the dictionary says:
the pairs of opposites, focus on something easy to look at, listen to, taste, smell or touch,
something like a rose, or the wind in the leaves of a tree, a moon low on the horizon, the sound of
water falling, the fragrance of incense or sage, the taste of water, wine or chocolate, the feel of the
earth, sand or carpet on which you sit or recline, or maybe even the touch of a lover.
The concentration becomes meditation. Concentration is like starting the engine of a car.
Meditation is like letting the engine run. The difference is subtle. When asked how to meditate,
we are told to concentrate. Yet the difference is worth exploring. We might say that with
concentration we are approaching the practice from the outside, whereas with meditation we are
considering the situation from within. One of the common observations is that by the time the
Yogi notices the meditation, it is already in the past. As you slip out of it, you can suddenly see
what you were doing, but when you were actually doing it you were not aware of it because that is
not what you were focused on. One might say he had been transported. That word can be
shortened to trance. One might say she had been in a trance.
Meditation is not an unconscious state. We confuse the terms conscious and aware. There is such
a thing as unconscious awareness. In the wild borderland between awareness and consciousness,
there is an area where you can be unconscious and unaware. If either of those were to change, it
would become different. Hence, you could go to (or toward) becoming aware or conscious. Since
they are not the same, it's possible to be aware but unconscious, or conscious but not aware.
considering the latter, two possibilities are offered: you might have become conscious that you are
unaware, or you could be unaware that you are conscious.
Of course the ideal would be to go directly to conscious awareness, but often we move through
successive stages. An unconscious person can hear the phone ring. He can be that aware. On the
other hand, a conscious person can miss the phone if he is not aware.
When we meditate, we will be both conscious and aware. Whether or not we hear the telephone
ring will depend on factors more complex than the sound of the bell. We are focusing our
conscious awareness on the rose, or, I should say, our attention has been focused on the rose.
- III, 1. "Concentration is the binding of the mind to one place."
III, 2. "Meditation is continued mental effort there."
III, 3. "Contemplation is the same when there is the shining of the mere object alone,
- as if devoid of one's own form."
Under meditation, the dictionary says:
"the emptying of the mind of thoughts, or the concentration of the mind on one thing, in
order to aid mental or spiritual development, contemplation, or relaxation."
the pairs of opposites, focus on something easy to look at, listen to, taste, smell or touch,
something like a rose, or the wind in the leaves of a tree, a moon low on the horizon, the sound of
water falling, the fragrance of incense or sage, the taste of water, wine or chocolate, the feel of the
earth, sand or carpet on which you sit or recline, or maybe even the touch of a lover.
The concentration becomes meditation. Concentration is like starting the engine of a car.
Meditation is like letting the engine run. The difference is subtle. When asked how to meditate,
we are told to concentrate. Yet the difference is worth exploring. We might say that with
concentration we are approaching the practice from the outside, whereas with meditation we are
considering the situation from within. One of the common observations is that by the time the
Yogi notices the meditation, it is already in the past. As you slip out of it, you can suddenly see
what you were doing, but when you were actually doing it you were not aware of it because that is
not what you were focused on. One might say he had been transported. That word can be
shortened to trance. One might say she had been in a trance.
Meditation is not an unconscious state. We confuse the terms conscious and aware. There is such
a thing as unconscious awareness. In the wild borderland between awareness and consciousness,
there is an area where you can be unconscious and unaware. If either of those were to change, it
would become different. Hence, you could go to (or toward) becoming aware or conscious. Since
they are not the same, it's possible to be aware but unconscious, or conscious but not aware.
considering the latter, two possibilities are offered: you might have become conscious that you are
unaware, or you could be unaware that you are conscious.
Of course the ideal would be to go directly to conscious awareness, but often we move through
successive stages. An unconscious person can hear the phone ring. He can be that aware. On the
other hand, a conscious person can miss the phone if he is not aware.
When we meditate, we will be both conscious and aware. Whether or not we hear the telephone
ring will depend on factors more complex than the sound of the bell. We are focusing our
conscious awareness on the rose, or, I should say, our attention has been focused on the rose.
| Yoga for Carnivores by Jay Dyck |