—Deep Meditation Techniques – How to Meditate Deeply—
I have been meditating for thirty years. I might more accurately say that I have been trying to meditate for thirty years. Still, the intent has been there all along. I also must admit that over those thirty years my interest has ebbed and flowed. Only within the last five or ten years have I established deep meditation techniques. I say that “I” have established them, but the truth is that they have established themselves in me. What I have offered is patience.
My goal has always been to meditate deeply. Who begins meditation with the goal to meditate in a shallow way? I suppose it differs from person to person in terms of what the reason for meditating is, but for me it has always been to arrive at a deeper understanding of myself and life in general. The ultimate goal being some sense of enlightenment. I never approached meditation as a tool for relaxation, though meditation has always resulted in this.
Deep Meditation or Deep Escape
For some, a deep meditation technique is one that utterly relaxes their bodies, taking them out of the stress of everyday life. To achieve this one might include music or a guided meditation tape, but the goal is always escape. I can see the value in this, and I have experimented with these techniques. However, these techniques do not offer any long-term value. For the length of the tape or CD or whatever, one is distracted. When it is over, so is the value. A good movie can do this.
For others, and this includes myself, a deep meditation technique will offer lasting effects and is both powerful and transformative. Meditation can only do this when one remains alert throughout. For those accustomed only to the stress-relief techniques mentioned above, this may sound like a contradiction. After all, how can one truly relax if one remains alert and attentive to all that is going on. Isn’t this what we are so eager to escape from?
Sitting Still, Doing Nothing, Being Present
There is an aspect of this deep yet attentive type of meditation that must be understood before its value can be understood. The deep meditation technique that I am advocating requires only that you sit still. You just sit. That is all. In Zen circles this method is called Shikantaza, and it is a form of Zazen practice. One just sits doing nothing else. The “doing nothing” is the key. This is the part that can be a bit confusing. And there is no need to call it Zen. Anyone can do it.
When we sit still, our minds can still be going strong, wildly thinking about this and that. Just because our bodies are sitting still does not mean we are doing nothing. Doing nothing requires that the mind be still. This is often called “No-Mind” and refers to a stilled mind or empty mind. The still or empty mind is not a dull mind or a lack of consciousness. On the contrary, the empty mind is a mind open to all— a consciousness free to experience.
Deep, Transformative, and Healing
Stress is a product of mental activity taking place in the mind. All doing begins in the mind. Emptying the mind alleviates this stress. So the escape we are seeking is achieved without actually escaping. One is still quite present, conscious and alert. What is so readily misunderstood is how both escape and attention can be occurring in the same instance. It is the force of our relentless thinking that we seek to escape. Dis-engaged from the thinking process, we are relaxed, open, and peaceful consciousness.
This is the deepest of meditation techniques. It is transformative. It is a healing form of meditation because more intelligent instinctive patterns of energy are no longer disrupted by our thoughts. The body recovers its patterns and energetic integrity in the absence of imposed ideas and oppressive mental constructs. We become deeply connected to everything, for what has disconnected us in the first place are our prevailing thought patterns that support division, “I” and ego.
Wisdom, Understanding, Getting Started
Absent of trains and parades of habitual thoughts, consciousness is free to become deeply insightful and clear. Universal truths become abundantly evident and obvious as our ego-based patterns of thought subside. This method is transformative, healing and leads to deeper understandings and wisdom. What is the next step for those interested in practicing this form of meditation? There are techniques for stopping internal dialogue in meditation. I recommend reading this related article on the “I” thought method purported by Ramana Maharshi.
