Meditation: It's A Heck of A Lot Simpler Than Everyone Thinks“Meditation is not concentration. In concentration we narrow the mind, and a narrow mind is a limited mind. We need that limited, pointed, concentrated mind to probe into any subject, to solve problems, to learn a language, to fly an airplane. We need it. But not in meditation. In concentration we build a wall of resistance, and in the effort to control the mind, we lose
energy. Some people meditate that way for an hour, and when they’re finished, they feel tired, because for that hour they were fighting and fighting, negating everything, saying no to all thoughts and perceptions, trying to focus the mind. Concentration is all-exclusive, but meditation is all-inclusive. Meditation is open, choiceless awareness. Everything is welcome. Meditation says yes to everything, while concentration says no to everything.
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In meditation there is no effort, [only] freedom. You are just sitting quietly and listening to everything, whether it is the call of a bird, the cry of a child, the rustle of the leaves. Every sound is welcome. Whatever the sound [or thought], allow it to come to you.
In listening to any kind of sound without judgment, without criticism, without liking or disliking, you become the center and all sounds rush toward you, to dissolve into you. Follow the sound. Allow it to pass through you. Don’t resist. Then a magical phenomenon happens. You become empty. You become silent, pure existence. When a breeze comes to you, allow that breeze to pass through you. No effort, no resistance. Remember, peace is not the opposite of sound. Every sound dissolves into peace.
You are that peace, and sound comes to meet with you and dissolve into you. Look at any object, a tree, a flower, even the wall. There is no choice in the looking, no judgment, just choiceless observation.
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Awareness is the act of listening, the act of looking. No effort is required, no concentration. In awareness, in meditation, concentration happens naturally. It is given to you as a gift. But in concentration, in choosing, you miss meditation. In expanded, empty consciousness, thinking stops, breathing becomes quiet, and one simply exists as pure awareness. In that state there is great joy, beauty, and love. Individual consciousness merges with Cosmic Consciousness, and one goes beyond time and thought. In that state, whether the eyes are open or closed does not matter. It comes like a breeze without invitation, because this state is your true nature—love, bliss, beauty, and awareness. There is no fear, no depression, no anxiety, no worry, no stress. One becomes the witness of anxieties, worries, and stress. In that state, healing occurs.” Excerpt From: Vasant Lad, M.A.Sc. “The Complete Book of Ayurvedic Home Remedies.” Crown Publishing Group, 2012-02-08. iBooks.
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