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Meditation Techniques
In keeping with our recent conversation on prayer & meditation, I’d love to hear about other people’s meditation techniques. I only recently found something that works for me, via a book by Robert Laremy called Spiritual Cleansings and Psychic Defenses. Laremy’s book is written from the perspective of Catholic syncretized Afro-Carribean religions, so he uses a lot of Christian imagery, which is fine with me. The basic technique is simply to repeat the line from Psalm 46: “Peace, Be still, and know that I am God.” You can do it audibly or inaudibly and he recommends imagining purple light streaming down from your head filling your body. For whatever damned reason, this technique just “clicked” for me, and I’ve since modified it using other lines from the Bible for various purposes.
I’ve tried meditation in the past and been less than successful. Not sure what the difference is now. Likely it’s in me. But the whole Eastern idea of just trying to “empty my mind” never ever worked. Nor did visualization, nor repeating mantras in other language. For me, this technique Laremy describes puts me into a fully conscious hypnagogic/liminal state within just a few minutes. Using it, I’ve had highly relevant and potent visions and imagery appear to me. Anyway, what kind of techniques do you personally use that you have success with? Seems like the kind of thing that is highly individual, and different stuff meshes with different people for whatever reason.
August 29th, 2005 at 2:39 pm
Wow! You’re a talented meditator. I’ve spent hours and hours trying various techniques, and I almost never get good imagery. For me (and probably most people) the line between normal waking consciousness and sleep is razor thin. A great technique I read about in Anna Wise’s books is to focus on relaxing your tongue, because your mind tends to relax with it.
Also, Gurdjieff’s practice is about being in a meditative state all the time, as you’re doing your normal daily stuff. The best technique I’ve discovered for that is to pretend I’m inside a video game. It really puts me “in the moment.”
August 29th, 2005 at 2:46 pm
Well, I don’t know if there’s talent so much as finding a technique that works for you. That’s something I’ve always been missing. Seems like the key to all of it is patience though. But I’m sure there are people who think that meditation that includes imagery is a negative rather than a positive…
I’m planning another post on the idea of interpreting waking moments like they are dreams, which I think is another good technique for what you’re talking about in the second part there…
August 29th, 2005 at 2:47 pm
here’s a post on my preferred meditation method, with which i’ve had great success:
http://www.snant.com/fp/archives/gnosticism-in-action-gnostic-meditation/
August 29th, 2005 at 2:49 pm
it is interesting that you see colour associated with the mantra naturally. i find that in closed eye meditations i have always seen colours first and then formed images and ideas after. i find that with different thought targets that different colours come. it would make sense from a shakra standpoint that a mantra about god would resonate with the colour purple, associated with the crown shakra.
my visualisations came to a focus during my soccer playing youth, where i would visualise games i had played in precise detail and replayed the events that i had mastered. i can still remember games from thirty years ago as if they happened yeaterday. i believe that i probably sythesised my mother`s yoga practice into a tool for improving my athletic performance. none of my coaches talked about visualisation and the media wasn`t full of “new age” concepts then.
i find that on long bike rides, usually an hour or more into the ride i will experience an idea flow and solutions that i haven`t access to in any other way. it is great to come down the road home full of insights and ideas!
i teach creative visualisation to individuals and groups and i like to take people on journeys, much like shaggy-dog stories, until they are deep into the woods in thier minds, at a point where they have accessed intuitive levels……….whatever that means, and i have them reach down into thier pocket and pull out whatever has been sitting in there. people are constantly surprised at what they pull out. it tells a lot about the person too.
my favorite visualisation practice is meeting the higher me. i made a digital recording of describing me going on a journey to meet myself as the highest manifestation of my purpose here in this consciousness. travelling and arriving where i lived. seeing in great detail my home and walking in the front door to be greeted and embraced by the ascended me. i spend time feeling the acceptance and love of the experience and becoming accustomed to the surroundings as my own and then finally leaving promising to return.
i listen to this recording on a regular basis and i find it deeply moving.
August 29th, 2005 at 3:04 pm
[…] im Boucher
An Agreement With God
Speaking of meditative imagery, I saw this yesterday morning while using the John the Bap […]
August 29th, 2005 at 3:34 pm
[…] he mantra “everything is fucking stupid.” What do you guys think of all this? Ran had some comments in a previous post that were something sim […]
August 29th, 2005 at 7:54 pm
Ran sez
“… Gurdjieff’s practice is about being in a meditative state all the time, as you’re doing your normal daily stuff. …”
I _love_ it when clear heads collide. The Tibetan sage Milarepa in one of his songs/poems/whatever says basically just that, meditating whilst doing all manner of mundane things like eating, sleeping (!) etc. Sample:
“I, your father, Milarepa,
sometimes meditate and meditate while doing and doing things.
When I meditate while doing and doing things,
I have the oral instructions for liberating all actions into _dharmata_.
I have (this); all do not.
If all had (this), I would be happy. …”
September 1st, 2005 at 2:48 am
I teach silent mantra meditation “Primordial Sound.” Each individual’s mantra is chosen depending upon the time, place and date of birth. When the mantra is repeated over and over (silently) our thoughts eventually disappear and we go into “The Gap” - the space between thoughts, where there are no thoughts. It really works! It sounds as though you found something similar. Ommmmm…..