by DeusMauzzim 36 Replies latest jw friends
The wtbts always has meditation as a topic on conventions. They always state that eastern meditation makes the mind "blank", so this is a no no.
Of course WE know that it is actually the convention that makes the mind blank :)
So what are your thoughts on meditation now?
Regards,
Deus Mauzzim
I attempt to detach from my thinking mind and all it's "noise".
That which observes my thoughts is my true nature, true essence.
I'm new at this.
I still have problems.
I still find the apparent futility of it all(life) overwhelming at times.
But, it has given me a measure of peace. I feel it has given me a sharper vision of reality.
Maybe, in the end, none of that matters.
i used to suck at it, when i tried i'd get a vision of winnie the pooh tapping his head going " think think think" and crack up.
what helps me is to have a purpose for meditation, "i'm meditating to relax" " i'm meditating to cleanse" "i'm meditating to clear my mind of clutter so i can figure something out"
deus....my experience above is uneducated meditation, i havent really read much on it. i think the mind can do wonderous powerful things though and there's no one dictating what you can and can't do with your time anymore.. so go for it if it interests you.
it is not possible to make the mind "blank" If you did that you would not be alive.
A quiet mind is not the same as a blank mind. Meditaion is a higher state of consciousness not less consciousness.
So what are your thoughts on meditation now?
My feelings are that meditation is simply being consciously aware. Aware of the experience of the senses, aware of thoughts as mere thoughts, aware of emotions as reactions to thoughts, etc.
In my view meditation is not some form of temporary mental manipulation, but rather should be the continuous simple and open awareness to what is.
Without this awareness, the mind takes over and weaves an imitation of reality that we -- unaware -- unquestionably accept as "reality".
j
Our minds are almost constantly meditating on one thing or another.
The past few days, I've been stopping to focus on Walt Whitman's "Song Of Myself" in honour and memory of a friend who liked Whitman a lot. Now this is a meditation too. There are many kinds, including negative ones, like the JW brainwashing that we might allow to play over in our minds.
Meditation is a conscious choice. It can be about dishwashing, a blade of grass, the movement of machinery, the lines in the road. It's not altogether mystical or magical or dangerous unless you choose for it to be.
As usual, the Watchtower is full of "it" when it comes to their distorted view on meditation. Real meditation has nothing to do with "meditating on God's Word and the publications" as they like to say. It is a mental exercise that helps improve one's mental focus and awareness. Want to meditate? Try this:
Sit upright comfortably in a chair preferably in a quiet room with no distractions. Breath in and out calmly. Focus on your breathing by counting each breath. Count 1 to 10 and repeat for ten minutes. If you become aware that your thoughts have wandered, gently bring your awareness back to your breath and your mental counting.
That's all it takes for a simple meditation. Of course, there are many variations. One can meditate while walking, for instance. One can repeat a mantra during meditation. There are books that go into lots of detail and also talk about the physical health benefits to be enjoyed by those who regularly practice meditation, such as lowering blood pressure. One can tie it in to one's spirituality, but it is not necessary if one doesn't feel so inclined.
Take that Watchtower writing department!
Dave
I think positive affirmations everyday are beneficial. I think reprograming oneselve from the negativity of Wactower land is essential.
If ones life is hectic the blanking of the mind sounds like it would be very therapuetic. I havent done any of that since the 80's when I was intensely recovering from the wactower plague. But, I got through those days with a degree of sanity. I practiced silva mind control. Which certain witnoids claimed was demonized. I never noticed any spirits or abnormalities other than I transformed my mind and being to a somewhat more useful productive state. And I got out of the dark forest of religious captivity.
I have only been meditating for a year and a half, so I am very much a beginner.
I have learned that the purpose of meditation is not to "empty the mind" and achieve a state of blankness. This is probably impossible for most people to achieve. The purpose of it is to achieve awareness. Observe your thoughts. Observe how they arise. Observe how they dissipate. They are not "reality". They are only thoughts. Our minds are not empty, but most of what occupies our mind is emptiness. It is without substance. The mind attempts to make sense of what the 5 senses perceive. It attempts to make meanings. It serves a useful purpose in planning, comparing, using judgement etc, when those things are necessary to survival. It also has the ability to never shut off even when what is thinking is no longer useful or productive. The mind focuses on past memories. It imagines futures as yet unrealized. Meditation attempts to discipline the mind and body to stay in the present moment, to focus on what is real, right now. What are we truly experiencing in the moment, without the added stories, dramas and meanings conjured up and layered over top of present experience.
Meditation is very simple and at the same time extremely difficult. That is why it is a lifetime practice. You do not suddenly become "aware" and then you are aware for life. The time we sit in meditation is just a small practice for everything else we do in our entire day. To experienced meditators, every action becomes a meditation, eating, drinking, walking, working, playing. Do we stay in the present with what we are doing or do our minds constantly drift off into imagination, into what is not "real".
Now that I have spent a little time meditating, I realize that no witnesses have any clue what meditation really is. I wouldn't even try to explain it to them because it is the antithesis of the entire JW mindset, whose entire focus is on an imagined future story that will never happen. Meditation is about being in touch with reality. JW's are all about fantasy.
Due to childhood conditioning and training, and a very active imagination, my thoughts used to constantly run away with me into depressive dark pits, or highly stressful bouts of anxiety and busy-ness. It got to the point where my thoughts controlled me and caused me so much distress that I need anti-depressants and anti-anxiety medications to sleep or to get out of bed and engage in the world. PTSD was my official diagnosis. I took medication off and on for 10 years. After meditating for a year and half, I no longer need such medications. I can control my own distressing trains of thought and see that they are just a process, they are not "real". My body's physiological stress responses to my own thinking are also under my control. I am aware now that "meditating" as a JW did nothing for me mentally or physically or spiritually, They meditate constantly upon a horrific fairytale of lies, murder, revenge, and destruction of the masses and call it "love". Their minds are narrowed and defined by what they choose to feed it constantly.
We can choose to stop, be still, and become aware of what is "real" and what is just a thought or a story. The reason JW's don't want people to meditate and become aware is because they would lose all their followers once they became aware that have been substituting a fantasy for real life.
Cog
i used to suck at it, when i tried i'd get a vision of winnie the pooh tapping his head going " think think think" and crack up.
Thank you Candi for that image.
Now my attempts at "slipping between my thoughts" will be near impossible.
