Category: Empty Mind

Empty Mind Meditation, Stilling Thoughts, No Internal Dialogue

—Empty-Mind, Stilling Thoughts and Stopping Internal Dialogue—

This article is on the subject of empty-mind “no-mind” meditation, and slowing (or even stopping) the internal chatter and internal dialogue of the mind— all as a result of meditation practice. It is a tribute to what meditating has brought me in terms of practicing mindfulness in day-to-day activities. To me, this is the point of meditation, which in my case is sitting meditation (as far as types of meditation go). I began taking meditation seriously only a few years ago and have seen steady growth, personal empowerment and a tangible peace translate into everyday life.

I had an experience the other day that I would like to share. I found myself at a social gathering. It was a birthday party for a girl turning five held at a public place. There were a number of adults there also. It struck me about half way through the party how incredibly relaxed I was. Of course none of the kids were mine. I’m sure this helped. What I found interesting is how little I was thinking, if at all.

The kids were fascinating. The parents were fascinating. Let’s face it—I was fascinated. I participated in conversations. I laughed when something funny happened. I was involved fully, but I was doing almost no thinking. I found myself remembering how awful this would have been for me in the past. I would have been thinking up a storm. I would have been worried about what others were thinking. I would have been an absolute mess.

I began to appreciate this difference and how far I have come. How had I managed to move out of that old space? What secret had I learned? The truth is that it has all been due to meditation. At some point I just gave up worrying having realized the absolute absurdity of it. What is the point after all? Nothing is going to ever happen the way we imagine it anyway. We can only prepare to be utterly unprepared.

If instead we prepare by not preparing we will be totally prepared—for there will be no prevailing judgments in our way. We will be free to be spontaneous and honestly responsive. So somehow in the last however many years I have managed to integrate this insight into my every day behavior. The contrast between this present state and my past is nothing short of amazing.

I remember the past very well. I remember encountering individuals who appeared to feel as comfortable then as I feel now. I remember how terrified I was of them. They were obviously capable of saying and doing anything. As this occurred to me I felt compassion and respect for where others could potentially be in terms of this process.

I also wanted to just enjoy the new level of relaxation. I was determined to thoroughly appreciate the work I have done on myself—or rather, the work that has been “done on me” by nature and circumstance. I am so grateful for awareness and comprehension. All the struggling and wriggling around of the psyche to let light simply be light—to let light join with all light. It is the light that is doing all the work.

Let the light in. Let the light out. Let the light shine. Let. Allow. Be. Express. All this without thinking—without being overwhelmed by worries or concerns over what might happen a second—a minute—an hour from now. To learn how to let go and trust that we are in the hands of a beautiful and wondrous all-pervasive, all-loving awareness is very sweet indeed.

Related articles include Ramana Maharshi, his ‘”I” Thought’ method of meditation, and non-doing practices.

Deep Meditation, How to Meditate Deeply, Empty Mind

—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.

Empty Mind, Expanded Consciousness, Meditation Teachers

—An Interview with Michelle Wood, Part Two—
Go to Part One of Michelle Wood’s Interview—
Shamanic Healing Practices, Healing Energy Meditations

Meditation How: What a beautiful story. Again, I have many questions, so I will try to navigate my way through them. When you went outside to meditate that summer day, were you already familiar with meditation? What made you approach it the way you did? What happened as you were sitting for the first time? What was going on for you?

Michelle: When I went outside that day, yes, I was already familiar with meditation as a consciousness-expanding practice. I had not been meditating with the goal of the empty mind, rather with the idea of expanded awareness and clairvoyance. Empty Mind and Oneness practices came a bit later. I would have to say that intuition made me approach it the way I did. I had already learned that you can’t seek an answer, just open yourself and allow it to come to you.

Seeking is too much of a distraction, and frequently gets in the way of attaining the goal which is an answer to your question or problem. Seeking an answer through meditation requires the expectation of an answer and at the same time surrender to the outcome. In other words, seeking guidance through meditation isn’t a way to find out what you think you what you want to know, it’s there to tell you what you Need to know. There is that requirement that you just let go and drift down the stream.

Empty mind practices are similar in that if you are thinking of an empty mind, you are still thinking! I wish I could say that my very early experiences, say the first few months, with meditation were expansive, ground breaking, and left me wildly excited and breathless. The fact is, they were quite uneventful, and sometimes frustrating. The least little sound would distract me and break my concentration. Thoughts would intrude in a seemingly never-ending stream. Sometimes, sheer doggedness kept me at it.

My desire for expanded consciousness was that strong, but working alone without a guide or teacher was a challenge, and it probably took longer to get to a level of proper meditation, expanded consciousness or empty mind. Meditation is something that you can learn on your own, you have everything you need to do it, but here in the West, people have a lot of cultural education and conditioning to overcome; we are taught from an early age to be going and doing all the time, making goals and working on plans, getting ahead and accomplishing things, and it’s a real challenge for many of us to find that quiet space within. I think that is where a teacher or guide is extremely beneficial. Once I had someone helping and guiding me, I made great progress.

Meditation How: I really enjoyed your response. In particular, the bit about non-seeking and non-doing as a means to surrendering to what is next in terms of inspiration. It resonates with both “art of allowing” and “waiting meditation” as well. I too persevered early on, bent on some higher consciousness or greater awareness. You spoke briefly about the value of teachers. Do you believe a teacher is essential? I want to get on with a deeper discussion of your current preferred meditation practice, but I didn’t want to miss the opportunity to ask the question regarding teachers.

Michelle: Thank you. There are indeed wonderful feelings of connection when we finally experience that level of Consciousness. Congratulations on your dedication! My thoughts on teachers…….. A teacher is only essential if the student believes he/she needs one. A lot of people use the phrase, “The teacher will come when the student is ready,” which leads some people to believe they aren’t “ready” since no teacher has come into their lives. I think that idea makes a lot of people put their progress on hold when they should just be going ahead with what feels good and feels right.

I don’t think that everyone requires a teacher. Many people are able to follow their intuition and build a practice without additional guidance; all they need to know really does reside within. The need for a teacher arises when a person has a block in belief, they think they don’t already have the knowledge or capability they need (which is sometimes lack of self-confidence), or an inner conflict keeps the student from reaching deeply within to access that inner knowing. I think teachers have a great responsibility to not imbue their own beliefs on students, but rather to help students build confidence and unveil their inner knowing, or resolve the conflict that stagnates their progress.

In my opinion, a good teacher says, “here is what I do, and here is how I do it. Follow my instructions and you will succeed.” The basics may be very well taught, but there is a string attached to the success and the success is measured by how well the student follows instructions and attains the goal or level the teacher expects. A great teacher says “here is what I do, and here is how I do it. Now, use what works for you, forget the rest, and make it yours. You will succeed.” No strings, no expectations, just allowing, just success.

Continue with An Interview with Michelle Wood, Part Three

Trust, Feelings, The Heart and The Art of Allowing

—Mistakes versus The Art of Allowing, Part Two—
Go to Part One

“Free will” is an idea that lives in our heads right next to the idea of “mistakes”. They are both mental constructs. Dimensional life can be divided between organic nature that arises effortlessly by itself and inorganic nature that is imposed due to “free will” and the idea of “choice”. To take my life as an example—nothing that I pushed into being out of decision has ever gone well.

By contrast, everything that ever happened by itself to me has proved to be extremely harmonic. These I consider mistakes as they emerged out a struggle in the mind over various options. In short, my only mistakes were due to a belief in mistakes. This is the difference between the two poems above. We CAN make mistakes by going with our minds instead of our hearts (feelings).

Choosing Out of No-Mind or the Heart
Without our mental struggles it is the heart that takes over. I should point out here that awareness is still very present when the mind is empty. For those unfamiliar with the experience of awareness without mental preoccupation, it must be said: we have greater awareness of possibility when the mind is stilled.

It is fear that has us forcing decisions. The idea of abandoning our dimensional lives to the wisdom of Mother Nature is just too much to consider. It seems a foolish idea. So we struggle over various options and miss much of what the present moment would otherwise offer. This is what leads us to live in perpetual inner argument. All of life becomes political and inorganic.

Is it a wonder that we struggle with so much disease and disintegration? Mind-directed life energies can distort our biological lives. Society and circumstance presses us down and natural energy patterns in the gross and subtle bodies become distorted. Body, Mind and Spirit all suffer. It is true that meditation can turn much of this around, even if only practiced intermittently.

Indifference and Freedom
I want to bring up the idea of indifference. The popular understanding of the word “indifference” has negative connotations—and has come to mean “not caring—not supportive—abandoned”. This is skewed. Indifference in truth leaves one free to express anything. Indifference is synonymous with absolute freedom. Indifference implies we have not made any decision in the matter.

I don’t feel that I have ever experienced this level of freedom. Judgments are so deeply ingrained. We spend our whole lives navigating by dodging this and embracing that according to what we have been programmed to expect. Can we really live without making choices and instead let choices make themselves? Without this natural wisdom in play I feel I am dabbling in an art I will continue to fail miserably at.

I was never meant to choose. The very act of choosing expresses doubts and a lack of trust in nature. Will providence be present? Is life so abundant that my needs will be met through Mother Nature’s wisdom? I want to trust that just as my heart beats all by itself so will fulfillment occur on all other levels. Do I become an unattended pinball in a great pinball machine or does the machine of life (nature) observe a harmony that will prevail more fully in the absence of my disruptive identity-based choices?

Nature: Effortless and Harmonious
It is the struggles that go on in the mind that lead us to overwhelmingly oppressive and negative emotions. Given the opportunity to free oneself with the knowledge that no mistake can be made, things begin to lighten up. According to the law of attraction, the unburdened psyche out of relief is more attractive and positive and will attract accordingly. If we build our circumstantial and social lives in this effortless way do they not continue to function in a harmonious manner?

As a part of nature myself, am I not naturally and organically directed towards my own personal fulfillment— directed wholly by the energies in my person manifesting as impulse and vision, or must I impose ideas and strategies?

How do you feel about this subject?

Related to this post are two interviews. The first with Caroline Manrique on choosing a path with heart and the second with Cabernet Lazarus on waiting for natural guidance.

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The “I” Thought Method, Ramana Maharshi’s Technique

—The “I” Thought Method, Ramana Maharshi’s Technique, Part One—

Ramana Maharshi in a number of books which are in fact references to his teachings, including many word-for-word quotes, offers those of us seeking to still the mind an incredible technique one might call “the “I” thought technique”. I will describe it as best I can here. However, if you want to really get into it, check out the book “Be As You Are—The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi”.

I spent a great deal of time reading various descriptions of this process over and over, trying it again and again until I finally figured out how to do it. This may be the value of providing an account of my successful experiences with it. If there is still some confusion as to the value of stilling the mind (also referred to as emptying the mind, stilling the thoughts, no-mind, etc.) then please feel free to read this article on the nature of thought at www.meditationpyramids.info’s sister site, www.hownatureheals.com.

For those who delve deeply into meditation stilling the thoughts quite quickly becomes a compelling interest. The beauty of awareness in its pure form is unbelievably sweet. We get hints and glances of it, but being able to sustain it is rare as the mind is slippery. The gratefulness I have to Ramana Maharshi for providing us with an actual technique for stilling the mind is immense.

Practiced at length, this technique can bring very real results. It is not an easy technique. However for those of us bent on experiencing the bliss that stilling the thoughts brings, easy needn’t be the case. The first thing I need to address before presenting the actual technique is the polarity of subject and object and how consciousness (or pure awareness) is aware of “things”.

The ego is the one that identifies with experience and claims to be the one who is experiencing. This is the subject. The things experienced and the circumstances witnessed are the objects. Subject witnesses object. There is he who is conscious and then what he is conscious of. The “conscious of” is the object while consciousness (or the conscious one) is the subject.

As redundant as all this may seem now, this perspective will come in handy as things get more subtle. The description of the experience in the previous paragraph is how we go about our daily lives as individuals. My car of which I observe and drive is a matter of subject and object. I am the subject and my car is the object. Awareness however IS in truth—singular—one. It is an undivided experience. One feels absolutely at one with all that is. There is no “two”.

>>> Part Two: The “I” Thought Method

Stopping the Mind, Thoughts – Meditation, Paying Attention

—An Interview with Benjamin Dean, Part Four—
>>> Part One: First Meditation – Meditation Experience (Self, Identification)

Meditation How: What is your response to folks who may “desire” to wake up and yet, they feel that they don’t have the time or it is too late to devote 30 years to the process. Do you have a recommendation for another person who “thinks” they are ‘just beginning’ this process to awaken?

Benjamin: I have to offer another annoying quote here and that is “infinite patience produces immediate results”. There is some confusion about whose quote this is. I believe it was originally part of “A Course in Miracles”. There are also many Zen parables about the monk who is comfortable if it takes forever and the monk who is in a hurry. Of course the first monk awakens the following day. I also remember this actually coming out of someone’s mouth towards my wife and I at one point in our travels—the words (and I quote exactly) “I can’t afford to be generous”.

Before I earnestly began slowing the traffic of thoughts in my mind through meditation I believed that it was a black and white issue—that at some point in the future when I had completed the process I would experience the result. I was excited to discover that improvement occurs by degrees—the slower the traffic the greater the joy. I have a poem that I like and I believe it goes like this— “Time is for those who need something to happen”.

So people who don’t have the time to devote to meditation are basically choosing to chase after the carrot on the stick. They will never get the carrot and be miserable chasing it the entire time. My advice is to forget about the carrot. There is usually a deeper pain that has us chasing the carrot in the first place and when we drop the carrot all of the other more painful issues descend and must be dealt with and processed. Once some people see all of this they remember why they started chasing carrots and the attraction to vegetables begins again, usually spinach and cauliflower, LOL.

The advice I would give to those who believe they are just beginning is to realize deeply that there is nowhere to go. Krishnamurti insists that “self-knowledge is not cumulative” and I agree with him. Who wouldn’t? It’s not like you have a basket with a bunch of “you” in it and you are shopping for the rest of yourself. You never go anywhere. You can only be found now. You can only find yourself now— but only if you stop looking. Then the seeker and the sought can reconcile the whole problem together. Development and growth are biological only.

You NEVER change so stop looking for yourself in the future. The will is an interesting thing—motive—desire, etc. It is an imposed thing. When motive or desire is dropped then one becomes absolutely receptive. Motive can be dropped in any moment. Motive is synonymous with thinking. Mind and desire are one. Without these there is no longer any division and one is whole. Absolute receptivity is the same as being whole. Everything is yours. By giving up everything you become everything and so the way to get what you want is to stop wanting it. We stop wanting it by stopping the mind and its thoughts. Full unbridled awareness is what remains.

Meditation How: So, in my experience, I say: “Why meditate?” And in your experience, you say: “Why not?”

Benjamin: So, why meditate? The value in meditation in terms of sitting still is to begin where you must start… with self. Yes, you take yourself with you everywhere you go and as soon as you start walking motive kicks in almost automatically. I am interviewing a friend about walking meditation. It is really interesting to start paying attention to movement and the “why” of it. For me, sitting still allows healing to take place in my body. The clearing of chakras and the sometimes subtle bodily responses are not confused with other physical activity. Everything works. People have diverse needs. My path has had a lot of healing as part of it. This is an important benefit for me.

The clearing of chakras is the cleaning out or residual un-lived life and fears held in the energy centers. Depending on the level of fear or trauma experienced this can take some time. I want to add at the risk of making a gender-based faux pas, that walking around and being receptive is likely to feel more natural to women, whereas for men we immediately resume the hunt. Sitting still reminds us that we are not after anything… physical at least. Again, gender really is not the issue here as both sexes may be inclined to either.

Meditation How: Yes, I know this is not a gender faux pas, in the least. There is deep truth involved with the masculine/feminine energies… of which we all contain both. The collective conditioning with regards to the female form…is deep indeed… and therefore a woman will have a very different experience with this.

Stopping the Mind, Thoughts - Meditation, Paying AttentionAbout Benjamin: Benjamin lives in Northern Colorado. He has been meditating off and on for thirty years. He writes articles on meditation and natural healing as well as short form prose and poems. His blog on natural healing (from an esoteric and holistic perspective can be found at www.hownatureheals.com, and you can find his short zen poems at www.short-zen-poems.com.