Meditation Techniques

[JonB]

Hello all,

I post today looking to open up discussion on meditation techniques.

As some background, I have been meditating on and off for about 6 or 7 years now, attending various short courses and retreats.  While I still struggle with the self-discipline required to sit every day, my practice as of late has been a little more consistent.  I would consider myself very much a novice meditator when compared to the potential range of experiences discussed on this forum.

Lately, my meditations last about 30-45 minutes and they seem to be following a recurring pattern.  I focus on the breath and the mind slows down.  After the mind becomes relatively quiet, I begin to hear a high pitched noise.  If I continue to meditate, I sometimes feel a tingling/pressure sensation between my eyes.  I'm finding that the pressure between my eyes is staying with me for portions of the day.

I'm looking for some advice on how to proceed with my meditation.  When these sensations arise during meditation, should I direct my attention away from the breath, and onto the sensations?  Or just continue to focus on the breath, and just leave them be?

When they come up during the day, should I focus on them?

Any advice or personal experience from others would be very helpful.  Thanks!!

Jon

[Jhanananda]

Hello, Jon, it is a pleasure to receive your meditation question.  You are welcome to ask such questions on the forum (fruit of the contemplative life).  You will note that I moved this topic to Meditation Techniques, which had not been made active yet.

Basically, the meditation object, such as the breath, is only a vehicle to the charisms, such as the sounds and sensations you described.  So, once those sounds and sensations arise, then it is time to dump the meditation object and bring your attention to the sounds and sensations as your new meditation object. 

If the sounds and sensations disappear and internal dialog reappears, then do return to the meditation object until the sounds and sensations (charisms) reappear, then go back to the charisms as your meditation object.  This is true for throughout the day as well. 

Your goal, as a mystic, is to saturate your awareness with the various charisms 24-7.  If you do, then you will be transformed by this practice.

The sensation between the eyes is known as opening the third eye.  The third eye is also the 7th chakra.

The charismatic sounds one can hear in meditation is known as the "divine ear" in Buddhist literature.  Most mystics report hearing various sounds.  Terese of Avila wrote about these sounds:

The Interior Castle, St. Teresa of Avila,
Pg 93) “As I write this, by the way, I can’t help but wonder what’s going on inside my own head.  Those noises I told you about in the beginning are getting so loud that it’s almost impossible for me to obey the order to write this. It sounds like there are a multitude of rushing rivers inside my head, their waters cascading downward, surrounded by many little birds and other whistling sounds.  This is all unfolding not in the ears but the upper part of the head, where they say the higher part of the soul resides.  I have spent long periods in these regions.  The spirit seems to push its way upward with great power and speed…all of this turmoil doe not hinder my prayer or interfere with what I am trying to say.  Instead, my soul is whole within its quietude, its love, its longing, and its clarity of consciousness.”
translation and introduction by Mirabai Star. Riverhead Books, Published by the Berkley Publishing Group a division of Penguin Group USA Inc. 375 Hudson Street, New York NY 10014, 2003

Best regards, Jhananda

[danny]

dear jhananda,

i think you may be able to help me. i am also feeling a tightening/pressure at the 3rd eye point. it happens with any type of meditation after about 5-10mins. now this sensation has become something that i dislike and it is starting to become a hindrance to my meditation practice.

is there a way for me to get rid of this pressure? or how exactly should i deal with it?

also when i meditate, i see a sort of a white/golden cloud of light. it sometimes stays still and sometimes moves around. what should i be doing when this phenomena appears? at the moment im trying to keep my attention on the main meditation object while ignoring the light.

oh and this is the meditation technique that im mostly doing these days: http://tiny.cc/mdtt

any help would be highly appreciated.

thanks and best regards,
danny.

[Jhanananda]

Thank-you Danny for posting your meditation question.  Since the focus of this forum is the fruit, or attainments, of meditation, then my reply will be from that perspective.

Siddhartha Gautama stated in the Anapanasati Sutta (MN 118) the following:

"Meditation upon in-and-out breathing, when developed and pursued, can lead to superior fruit (maha-pphalà), which is of great benefit."

The superior fruit (maha-pphalà) are defined in the Samana-Phala sutta (DN-2) and the Kaya-gati-sati sutta (MN119).  In these suttas these superior fruit (maha-pphalà) are described, and they include the religious experience as defined by the terms 'jhana' and 'samadhi.'  It is there that we learn that there are certain conditions that are required for these religious experiences to occur.

The conditions for the occurrence of the religious experience is basically one pointedness (ekagata) and tranquility.  Tranquility is the stilling of the mind, and requires the cessation of the meditation object, while sustaining the still mind.

Once the mind is still and the meditation object has been suspended then there are various self-arising phenomena that occur.  Those self-arising phenomena include sensations associated with the chakras, such as the sensations you reported that arise at your third eye.

So, the take-away bit here is, the meditation object or technique is nothing more than training wheels for the mind, and if you want to go deeper, then you have to dump the meditation object and let the religious experience take over.  This means learning to enjoy the feeling of a tightening/pressure at the 3rd eye point and the white/golden cloud of light.  After that it gets even better.

[danny]

thank you for your detailed reply.

i think i understand now. but to be completely clear, should i try to focus my attention on the self arising phenomena or simply let it be and maintain awareness of it?

and is the mind at a state of jhana when these phenomenon arises or, is jhana achieved after being with the phenomenon for a prolonged period of time.

sorry about all these questions but im confused by the information found on the net cos different people seem to have different opinions on these matters.

thanks,
danny.

[Jhanananda]

Hello Danny, I can understand why you have these questions.  There just seems to be a lot of confusion in the contemplative world about the religious experience (samadhi/jhana).  I guess it is because too few people who teach meditation have them.

So, here it is: The meditation technique/object is only for helping to still the mind.  The mind cannot be said to be still as long as one is actively engages in a meditation object/technique, so the meditation object/technique has to go as the mind becomes still.

Various charismatic phenomena arise during the progression from meditation to religions experience.  When one recognizes these various charismatic phenomena arise during meditation we then say contemplation has now arisen, and meditation is no longer taking place.  At that point a skilful contemplative attends to the various charismatic phenomena in much the same way one attends to a meditation object.  However, we continues to relax and submit and allow the various charismatic phenomena to deepen and intensify.

The various charismatic phenomena are also known in Christianity as the Holy Spirit.  In Judaism it is called the Shekhinah.  In early Buddhism these phenomena represented jhana.  In later Buddhism and Hinsuism these phenomena are called samadhi.

[danny]

dear jhanananda,

thank you so much for your response. i now understand clearly. the confusion is no more :-)
highly appreciate your help.

thanks & may all your wishes come true!!!

best regards,
danny.

[Jhanananda]

You are welcome Danny.  I do hope you post a case history for us as you explore the charisms as a meditation object.

[Oliver]

Hello, Jhanananda.

This has been helpful.

So you recommend dropping the meditation support after the mind has become still, right? Does it depend on the charisms to arise first, or do they arise after we drop the support?

Some teachers, like Adyashanti, also recommend dropping the support, but so far I had the greatest trouble with that as I did not know when it was appropriate to do so. So your explanations are helpful to remedy this.

(I always thought I would keep the support in the back of my mind because I thought the support was necessary to anchor me in the present moment. On reflection this seems not really one-pointed, but I never thought about it like that.)

Thank you

[Jhanananda]

Good question, Oliver, I have met Adyashanti on a number of occasions.  Since he is only into non-dualism, and there is nothing in his discourses that refer to the various charisms, then we can conclude that at best he meditates to the second jhana, and that is it.

Regarding the support, I go back to the support of a meditation object if I find my mind has reasserted itself.  When the mind stills, then I suspend the meditation object/technique. 

Generally the charisms arise after the mind has stilled; however, those who have been meditating deeply for a long time will find that the charisms are with them all day long.  These people can then just use the charism as the meditation object.  They will whisk past the 1st and 2nd jhanas and into the 3rd, 4th and beyond, like a snap.

[Oliver]

Thanks for clarifying.

[JonB]

Hello all,

  Just wanted to follow up with recent happenings, and some new questions.  I've maintained the same meditation practice (daily 30-45 minute sits), and have been consistent over the past couple of months.  The ringing in the ears and the pressure between the eyes still comes and goes throughout the day.  As of late, I have also been feeling some slight pressure/warmth sensations at the base of the spine during meditation, and occasionally during the day.

  When feeling multiple sensations during meditation (hearing, pressure at multiple places on the body), how should one proceed - focus attention primarily on one or try to keep all in your attention at the same time?

  I have also had a couple of nights with extremely vivid dreams, accompanied by intense fear.  This is new for me, and I'm becoming worried about these experiences.  My main question today is around the origin of the fear, and how to deal with it.  Is it a product of incorrect meditation practice or poor lifestyle choices?  Any advice on how to handle this?

Thanks!
 
Jon

[Jhanananda]

Hello all,

  Just wanted to follow up with recent happenings, and some new questions.  I've maintained the same meditation practice (daily 30-45 minute sits), and have been consistent over the past couple of months.  The ringing in the ears and the pressure between the eyes still comes and goes throughout the day.  As of late, I have also been feeling some slight pressure/warmth sensations at the base of the spine during meditation, and occasionally during the day.

Welcome, JonB, to fruit of the contemplative life.  It sounds like you are meditating correctly when you hear the ringing sounds and feel the pressure in the chakras, etc. 

When feeling multiple sensations during meditation (hearing, pressure at multiple places on the body), how should one proceed - focus attention primarily on one or try to keep all in your attention at the same time?

I make all of the charisms that arise during meditation my object of meditation.  Doing so requires equanimity.  When I do, I find I go deeper into the religious experience (samdhi). See how it goes for you.

I have also had a couple of nights with extremely vivid dreams, accompanied by intense fear.  This is new for me, and I'm becoming worried about these experiences.  My main question today is around the origin of the fear, and how to deal with it.  Is it a product of incorrect meditation practice or poor lifestyle choices?  Any advice on how to handle this?

Thanks!
 
Jon

Yes, lucid dreaming is a common charism that arises for contemplative who meditate deeply.  Eventually it becomes out-of-body-experiences.  I believe this is what was described as amata in the suttas, which means the "deathless."  Some primitive cultures believed the dream state was the same as the death state.  So, when one gained lucidity in one's dream state, then one had entered the "deathless," because if one was conscious during sleep, then one would be conscious during death.  This would be consistent with Young's concept of the collective unconscious, except such a contemplative would not be unconscious.

Going deeper into meditation often makes us aware of our unconscious anxieties.  Treat these anxieties as something that you are discovering about yourself, and work on letting them go.  You will find bringing your awareness back to the charisms will relieve your anxieties.