Note 3: Maddening Mind Chatter

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Meditation Series :21 notes for Meditators: Answers for Questions you never asked!

Contrary to popular belief that once you start meditating that you mind noise will come down, you will actually feel the other way after few hard yards into meditation. _Today let’s talk about one of the important hurdles meditators have to overcome._

As I mentioned before, first lesson in  meditation is always to learn how to watch your mind.  Unless you know how to witness your thoughts there is no starting of meditation. When you start meditating usually you can watch your thoughts only during meditation. After sometime into meditation practice, you can watch your thoughts even when you are not sitting for meditation. Most of the meditators have no idea about how noisy mind is.  I would like to share an analogy with you. Assume that you have a house near train tracks. And every time train passes by you are hit with a loud noise of passing by train on tracks. Now just imagine whole day without a minute break, trains keep passing by. Imagine the noise you have to face. Similar way your mind is usually full of thoughts 24/7, when you live unconsciously. 99.99% of people live their entire life with train passing inside their head!

As your ability to witness thoughts beyond meditation hours makes progress, you will start noticing thoughts everywhere. You experience flashes of witnessing while sitting, reading, taking bath, walking, while working.. so on. These thoughts were always there but your ability to watch was not there.  So what happens now is that you begin to feel that your mind chatter has become more.  Actually it is not the case. It is your witnessing which has made progress. But this noise and continuous chattering of mind is so much that meditators start getting tired of the madness. They start to feel restless and tired. At this stage the more you make progress the more you get mad because of so much thoughts going continuously in your head.

At this point lots of meditators feel frustrated. They feel that after starting meditation they have lost peace of mind. It is not the case. You have been used to living unconsciously. So with the witnessing you are overwhelmed by the rubbish inside your head.

And it gets worse. If you keep on meditating then you will witness more and more noise. This is the point where most of the students give up Meditation. This phase is acid test for most of the meditators.  This phase is also the longest one to overcome.

What can you do?

Actually nothing other than continue to meditate.  The only thing you can remind yourself is that your mind chattering is not increased but your ability to witness mind has become sharper. Instead of getting frustrated, start accepting this paranoid state. Start telling yourself that you have the will power to overcome this and keep meditating. Please remember that it is not the witnessing which is causing the headache for you but the fact that you have to watch such rubbish uncontrolled thoughts you have been carrying

Note to help:

As and when you feel there is too much noise. Keep taking few deep breaths and continue witnessing. Conscious breathing reduces the pain of witnessing chattering of mind. Also slow down as much as possible. Walking, talking, working…wherever possible bring your attention to body as much as to your mind. Over a period of time along with witnessing, you will also learn to live with unconsciousness. This is what East calls being a warrior. Warrior is the one who fights with Un-consciousness. Not in a fighting way but thorough meditation and awareness. Be a Warrior, keep on meditating and you will turn a corner sooner or later.

I send you love and awareness

~Suresh Gundappa

Image right: Derky

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Note 2: Encounter with Consciousness!

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Meditation series:21 notes for Meditators: Answers for Questions you never asked!

In every progressive meditators life there comes a time where he or she has to encounter with consciousness for the first time.  Usually nothing can prepare you for the same. It is the encounter which leaves fear in belly for the most of meditators. Lets talk about it today.

For most of the meditators, turning point in their meditation arrives when they can watch their mind with awareness.  Silent stand by observer for the first time gives glimpse of the present moment.  But this is not awareness. This is not the consciousness usually teachers talk about.  The reason is simple. As long as someone is there to experience present moment, someone is there to experience awareness, someone is there to feel consciousness – you haven’t experienced it yet.

First encounter with consciousness happens almost like an explosion, It is usually aha moment! In our day to day to life we can relate it to getting a sudden electric shock . Your first encounter lasts usually for 10-20 seconds

It doesn’t matter how many scriptures and books you have read, nothing can prepare you for this moment. During this moment you suddenly disappear. You will suddenly hit darkness and oblivion..  It is almost like you have dissolved into atmosphere. This experience can be so disruptive for the first time when you come out of it, you feel like hit by thunderbolt or shock.  This is a moment where not an ounce of you remain but only consciousness is.   Because you were not present during this explosion of awareness, to call it as an experience is also wrong.  It is just an event of timelessness.

This is the moment usually meditation teacher refers to as dying to the moment. Let me give you an analogy but not close enough to express truth.  If there is a dance then assume dancing, dancer has merged into dance and only dance remain.  Similarly meditation, meditator has merged into consciousness and nothing remains.

The moment you come out of this event , your first experience usually is fear in belly.  You feel like you have seen a ghost or at a loss of words.  Most of the meditators who experience this go into shell for few hours.  Fairly so it leaves you confused.  You are trying to grasp un-graspable.  You are also trying to recall which cannot exist in memory.   First sign of such an event is usually fear like lingering feeling inside your belly.  This fear usually lasts for hours and sometimes for a day. Most of meditators lose the plot here because they cannot grasp the event. Usually meditators describe this event as they felt like they have died for a minute or they say something like “I felt like I plunged into darkness for a moment”. Most of the meditators after this event actually resist meditation for some time.   For next few hours you can expect them to walk like zombies and walk with sense of lost balance.

What can you do when this happens to you?

First sign of this event fear in belly , second sign is usually loss of words and loss of balance. I want you to know this is a gift. And rare one!  Use this opportunity to go deep into meditation. If you keep yourself on the path then these encounters happen often and frequently. Over a period of time you will not only come into grip with the event but will also make tremendous progress in your inner journey. So do not fear this experience but celebrate. Offer gratitude for the showers!  Keep quiet and do not share this much. More and more you talk about it, more and more you away from the effects of the event.

Note to help:

I recommend you two techniques next time you are blessed with this deep explosion of consciousness.
First is lie down on your face towards floor with your bare belly hugging or touching Mother Earth.  Lie down eyes closed bringing all your attention to breathing.  Mother earth will guide you from there on.
Second technique is simple. Sit comfortably and belly breath.  Breathe deeply from your belly and slowly.  Keep your hand on your belly. I encourage you to carry on this technique for few days after the event. Slowly you will find your way with answers.

*Parting note:*
Lots of my notes are concentrated and some of you might find it hard to digest. But this series is aimed at people who are on this path for some time.  I am sure advanced meditators can relate to it. I have been getting flood of questions and I may not be able to answer everything due to lack of time. Please pardon me. I’ll try my best to reply and share wherever possible.

~love….Suresh Gundappa

Image right: Medusa Art

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Originally published on meditation community on Google plus

Note 1: Body-Aches for Meditators

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Meditation series :21 notes for Meditators: Answers for Questions you never asked!

Welcome to the new series and I hope and wish this journey is going to be rich and rewarding for both of us. I wish you love and awareness.

First effect of meditation is not really on mind but on body.  Once you start meditating, it is possible to experience body and joint pains.
Today let’s talk about it.

Every emotional pain you have experienced from birth carries a storage space inside your body and mind. It keeps on accumulating past experiences with new ones. Most of the unconscious living happens through this pain body. Anger, violence, rage, depression, hatred, grief, emotional drama are some of the characteristics of this pain body reflected in your life. Pain body feeds on unconsciousness and pain body lives within you and Consciousness is the anti-dote to pain body

As and when you start Meditating, you start healing process and you start healing your pain body. Once you make progress in meditation then parts of your body starts relaxing. Usually hands, legs and shoulders are the first one to relax, however back and pelvic region takes more time to relax. As and when body parts relax then part of the tension moves to other ones.

Basically your body is trying to tell you something.  For example if you are predominantly angry person then you carry lot of tension in shoulders and hands. If you are depressed chronically then your hip and back areas tend to be tighter. If you are fear oriented then pelvic and stomach tends to be in more tension.  If you are worry-round-the-clock person then you may even feel severe headaches

So as and when your meditation makes a progress, you will begin to experience Body-pain often and this may derail your awareness. Please note this as an opportunity and sign of progress. Your body demands attention and your unconscious dominating energy needs your awareness.

Your dominant unconscious energy manifests itself into pain and tension and you start feeling body aches.  Universe is helping you to pay attention and your Meditation progress is helped by body awareness.

You have to exercise your body often and regularly.  If you do not relax your body, you cannot go deep in to meditation. You can walk, swim or jog.  Idea is to involve in a physical activity so that you become aware of your body. Yoga can help you but not a must. Gardening, cooking, cleaning anything which you can do with awareness and joy will help. Make it a habit to meditate after physical activity. If not immediately, at least try and meditate within few hours of exercise.

Observe what part of body pains often after meditation. It can tell you something and you will figure it out yourself. That answer can open up energy channels so much that you will wonder where this energy was.

Note to understand and overcome body ache:

Here is a small technique to help you overcome your Body ache.
Sit in a quiet corner and Meditate about everything that bothers and hurts you. Take one issue at a time. It could be relationships, money,love, fear, depression parents, love, career ..anything.  When you contemplate on each of these issues, pay attention to your body and you will exactly locate pain and tension points.

It is that identified body part you have to relax and it is that unresolved issue you have to meditate on
There will be interconnection and you will figure out a solution while you meditate.

I welcome your experience and would love your comments and know that your own sharing can help fellow travelers.

Love…..Suresh Gundappa
Image Right belongs : art by John Dalton

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21 notes for Meditators: Answers for Questions you never asked!

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21notestomeditators, Meditation, SureshGundappa

Advanced guidelines and tips to help People of the path

Starting this week, we are starting a new series of posts on Meditation community to help seekers and students of the Inner journey. Meditators often carry many questions but most of the questions have origin in mind & ego and hence they become irrelevant to any progress on Meditation. However there are signs and lamp-posts which reflect challenges of a Meditator. Unless you have a teacher around you or good guide with you, there is a possibility that you can be stuck with these questions for sometime. But meditators eventually will overcome these questions on their own!

Entire intention behind these series is to share notes to help you find your own answer. Please remember there is no right answer or only answer but you can point a finger towards right direction. My request to you is not to analyse or dissect these guidelines but meditate or contemplate on the same.

Next 21 days, I intend to share a note a day. Every note here is based on the personal experience of meditation and working with students of meditation. Please note that these guidelines and notes are more useful to those who have worked on meditation and to those who have spent considerable effort to understand the nature of the mind. New meditators may tend to get confused over these notes, however experienced ones can relate to it.
Please share your notes so that we help this community of meditators to celebrate consciousness and awareness.

I send you love and green lights

~Suresh Gundappa

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This article was originally published as series in Meditation community on Google plus