Eliminate Mental Clutter Through Meditation

[nandm]

Thank you stone, great contributions.

[nandm]

How do I know I'm meditating?

Whew! THis is a hard one. Meditation means different things to different folks. To a religious person, meditation may mean contemplation of God, in prayer or study. To a Zen practitioner, it is entering a space of "sacred emptiness." To a Transcendental meditator, it could be the mental repitition of a sound to the exclusion of all else. And that's just for starters. There are infinite roads to that intangible state called meditation, yet there is a commonality running through all its forms.

[nandm]

The stages of meditation

As you develop your practice of meditation, you will most likely find yourself moving through progressively deeper levels of stillness.

When you first meditate, you will get drawn into the mind's drama, then you will realize you've been drawn in. Little by little you begin to watch the mental activity. As would a benevolent observer, you just watch the mind. This is the process of the fifth of Patanjali's eight limbs, praryahara, or inner focus.

With practice, your mind will eventually settle down and behave itself. By aligning the breath and the inner focus, you experience one-pointed concentration. You find that you are able to direct your mind with your will and imagination. This is the realm of dharana.

As you go deeper, you will open into an inner space of awareness that changes constantly, yet you are solid and sitting, aware of all your thoughts without being involved in them. This is dhyna.

The last of the eight limbs of yoga is samadhi, the master realm of total identification with the spirit. You live as one who is grounded in what is often called higher awareness, or your higher nature.

[mike_mass]

I've been doing Zen meditation for over 6 months now with a group that meets Monday nights in Worcester. I have really grown to like it. I find that the practices I learn there (staying in the present, breathing) can be applied throughout the day.

[nandm]

Yoga means literally to yoke, to unite, to be whole. It comes from the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit. The Sanskrit word "yug" is the great-grandfather, so to speak, of the English word "yoke." Yoga's aim is to unite the body, mind, and spirit.

Every philosophy, every religion, and every therapy addresses the human need to feel whole. That's because when you feel whole, you feel happy, with everything finding its place---and its peace. This is where yoga comes in, harmonizing body, mind, and spirit.

A life that incorporates a practice of yoga is a healthy, happy, whole life, as modern as it is ancient. Even better, you don't have to believe anything in particular, or even give up on your own beliefs to practice it, because yoga is just between you and yourself. Yoga "yokes" all the separate parts of you into an integrated whole. This is why many people say that yoga makes them feel peaceful: You feel at peace when you are not conflicted, when your mind is not tugged in ten different directions, and when your body is relaxed.

You may experience what dedicated yoga practitioners confirm: That a peaceful calm seems to emanate from them and transform their relationships with others. When you practice yoga people will say, "You seem different somehow. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's there." What they are sensing is your inner peace.

[nandm]

"A rose by any other name smells as sweet," and yoga by any other name creates health and inner peace. Taking a few deep breaths before you do something rash is yoga. So is stretching your body toward the sky while taking a deep breath, then letting it hang forward as you exhale, after a long stretch of driving. You can call these practices whatever you like, but the tool, the technology, and the process of getting to a place of peace within yourself began in a land that, in its original language of Sanskrit, called it yoga.

Forget those images of acrobatic backbends and pretzel-like postures! You are not required to be in perfect pysical shape to do yoga. Yoga is vastly adaptable. It works for you simply if you are alive and breathing.

TRIVIA:
Yoga journal magazine recently commissioned the Roper Poll in the US to do a nationwide survey exploring people's views on yoga. It found that 6 million Americans practice yoga regularly. An additional 16 million expresssed an interest in taking classes.

[stone]

Can Meditation Be Fun?
by Alan Watts

What we call meditation or contemplation -- for want of a better word -- is really supposed to be fun. I have some difficulty in conveying this idea because most people take anything to do with religion seriously -- and you must understand that I am not a serious person. I may be sincere, but never serious, because I don't think the universe is serious.

And the trouble comes into the world largely because various beings take themselves seriously, instead of playfully. After all, you must become serious if you think that something is desperately important, but you will only think that something is desperately important if you are afraid of losing it. In one way, however, if you fear losing something, it isn't really worth having. There are people who live in dread, and then drag on living because they are afraid to die. They will probably teach their children to do the same, and their children will in turn teach their own children to live that way. And so it goes on and on.

But let me ask you, if you were God, would you be serious? Would you want people to treat you as if you were serious? Would you want to be prayed to? Think of all the awful things that people say in their prayers. Would you want to listen to that all the time? Would you encourage it? No, not if you were God.

In the same way, meditation is different from the sort of things that people are supposed to take seriously. It doesn't have any purpose, and when you talk about practicing meditation, it's not like practicing tennis or playing the piano, which one does in order to attain a certain perfection. You practice music to become better at it, maybe even with the idea that you may someday go on stage and perform. But you don't practice meditation that way, because if you do, you are not meditating.

THE PRACTICE OF MEDITATION

The only way you can talk about practice in the context of meditation is to use the word practice in the same way as when somebody says that they practice medicine. That is their way of life, their vocation, and they do it nearly every day. Perhaps they do it the same way, day after day -- and that's fine for meditation too, because in meditation there is no right way and there is no idea of time.

In practicing and learning things, time is usually of the essence. We try to do it as fast as possible, and even find a faster way of learning how to do things. In meditation a faster way of learning is of no importance whatsoever, because one's focus is always on the present. And although growth may occur in the process, it is growth in the same way that a plant grows.

THE ESSENTIAL PROCESS

This is the beginning of meditation. You don't know what you're supposed to do, so what can you do? Well, if you don't know what you're supposed to do, you watch. You simply watch what is going on.

When somebody plays music, you listen. You just follow those sounds, and eventually you understand the music. The point can't be explained in words because music is not words, but after listening for a while, you understand the point of it, and that point is the music itself.

In exactly the same way, you can listen to all experiences, because all experiences of any kind are vibrations coming at you. As a matter of fact, you are these vibrations, and if you really feel what is happening, the awareness you have of you and of everything else is all the same. It's a sound, a vibration, all kinds of vibrations on different bands of the spectrum. Sight vibrations, emotion vibrations, touch vibrations, sound vibrations -- all these things come together and are woven, all the senses are woven, and you are a pattern in the weaving, and that pattern is the picture of what you now feel. This is always going on, whether you pay attention to it or not.

Now instead of asking what you should do about it, you experience it, because who knows what to do about it? To know what to do about this you would have to know everything, and if you don't, then the only way to begin is to watch.

Watch what's going on. Watch not only what's going on outside, but what's going on inside. Treat your own thoughts, your own reactions, your own emotions about what's going on outside as if those inside reactions were also outside things. But you are just watching. Just follow along, and simply observe how they go.

Now, you may say that this is difficult, and that you are bored by watching what is going on. But if you sit quite still, you are simply observing what is happening: all the sounds outside, all the different shapes and lights in front of your eyes, all the feelings on your skin, inside your skin, belly rumbles, thoughts going on inside your head -- chatter, chatter, chatter. "I ought to be writing a letter to so-and-so.... I should have done this" -- all this bilge is going on, but you just watch it.

You say to yourself, "But this is boring". Now watch that too. What kind of a funny feeling is it that makes you say it's boring? Where is it? Where do you feel it? "I should be doing something else instead." What's that feeling? What part of your body is it in? Is it in your head, is it in your belly, is it in the soles of your feet? Where is it? The feeling of boredom can be very interesting if you look into it.

Simply watch everything going on without attempting to change it in any way, without judging it, without calling it good or bad. Just watch it. That is the essential process of meditation.

[nandm]

A tree is often used as an analogy for explaining the structure of yoga. I like to think of yoga as a large banyon tree. There is nothing common about this common tree of India with its exposed gnarled roots, its trunk so thick that five people holding hands will just about span it, and its snake-like branches that reach down low enough to invite climbers to reach awe-inspiring heights. And, come to think of it, yoga is like that, too. It reaches you exactly where you are, and takes you to your heights, supporting you with its trunk---a solid foundation.

[nandm]

The ancient science of yoga developed in more than one wise old civilization, but under different names, of course. Archeological discoveries have confirmed forms of yoga in ancient Chinese and Mayan cultures, as well as in India and Tibet.

Thousands of years ago, highly evolved humans in each of these civilizations created the system of yoga. Through their own personal experience of yoga this ancient science developed and eventually was passed on from master to student, from generation to generation.

Although forms of yoga have been discovered in various cultures, it was along the ancient Indus River that this body/mind/spirit science was first fully developed and preserved. Imagine an advanced culture flourishing along the banks of the Indus and Saraswati rivers: Multistory baked brick buildings abound; there is a huge public bath waterproofed with bitumen; the brick roads are laid out in geometric pattersn; and the sewage system is so advanced it rivals that of the Roman Empire. All of this, dating from somewhere between 3,000 - 1,900 BC!

Within the Rig-Veda, there are references to the Saraswati River, which is belived to have dried up around or before 1,900 BC. This means that this ancient text must have been contemporary with the Indus-Saraswati culture, where yoga first developed.

I may say that yoga developed thousands of years ago, but it could be as much as tens of thousands of years ago. No one really knows the absolute beginning of yoga, but ancient scrolls found in Tibet dating as far back as 40,000 BC describe recognizable forms of yoga.

Yoga's birth date of somewhere around 3,000 - 19,000 BC has been confirmed by references in the RIg-Veda, which is the oldest known text in any Indo-European language. Parts of it were composed in the third or even fourth millennium BC.

Books made of palm leaves were used for the writings of Inana yoga, one of the number of different yoga paths.

[nandm]

The trunk, or foundation, of yoga is that we are spiritual beings in human form who are here to find out that we are spiritual beings in human form! I am oversimplifying, of course, but according to the basic science of yoga, there is the soul, or transcendental self, called the atman, and there is the mind-body. Our true identity is found in merging these parts into a unified whole. This, then, is the trunk of yog from which the spreading limbs, or guiding principles, of yoga emerge and derive their strength. The science of yoga was known and practiced but not clearly documented until AD 200, when a physician-sage named Patanjali systematized and codified the science of yoga into eight limbs. The name given to this text is the Yoga sutras.

There is a lucid and very readable book on Patanjali's Yoga called How to Know God, by Christopher Isherwood and Swami Prabhavanda. This work is a "must have" classic for serious students of life!

The Yoga Sutras are the codification of yoga's principles into a written system. Sutra means "thread" (as in the Latin "suture"). Just as you might thread keys on a chain, one for your car and one for your house, in order to keep track of them, the Yoga sutras served to thread together and keep track of yoga's teachings for many centuries.

[nandm]

Patanjali's system of yoga is a map of the process of awakening the possible human in each of us. Although the eight limbs, or basic beliefs, or yoga are intertwined, rather than linear, for clarity's sake I will divide them into two groups. The first four are associated with how a person conducts his life. I think of them as the "goods" of yoga. They are:

• Yama. Do good. This boils down to the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." The yamas encourage moderation and discourage violence, stealing, lying, and possessiveness.
• Niyama. Be good. The niyamas give the ground rules for self-discipline and inner awareness. They encourage purity, contentment, chastity, self-study, and awareness of the spirit.
• Asana. Feel good. The physical body is a temple for the spirit. Yoga postures, or asanas, keep the body healthy and the mind calm, creating an atmosphere in which the spirit can more easily flow. Asanas, literally, "steady poses," are yoga postures and exercises that enhance physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.
• Pranayama. Live good. Pranayama focuses on understanding the link between the breath, mind, and body. The practice of conscious breath control allows for a vital and long life.

The importance of theses four first limbs is reflected in yoga as it is practiced today. Sometimes yoga is further reduced to a simple emphasis on the physical body through asanas (yoga poses). But, as you will see, the second four teachings are just as important in developing the body/mind/spirit connection. They focus on meditation, which is the process of quieting or controlling the constant waves of thought. They are:

• Pratyahara. Inner focus. This is the process of becoming aware of, and learning to control, thought patterns. One's attention is drawn away from the five senses of sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell. Instead, the meditator is focused inwardly in order to quiet the mind.
• Dharana. One-pointedness. The mind, once withdrawn into itself, is fixed in one-pointed inner concentration.
• Dyana. Deep meditation. This is meditation without focus on an object, and is rooted in a deep, inner space of awareness.
• Samadhi. Absorption. This is the ecstatic state of being in which the mediator becomes one with the object of meditation. Here, one is spiritually awake and absorbed in the Infinite.

[nandm]

To extend the image of the yoga tree, with its core trunk and limbs, explore the branches. Remember climbing trees as a kid? Just as there were many branches to choose from as you climbed, there are many types of yoga from which to choose as well. You can choose all of them if you like!

• Hatha yoga.
• Raja yoga.
• Karma yoga.
• Bhakti yoga.
• Jnana yoga.
• Tantra yoga.
• Mantra yoga.

[nandm]

Hatha yoga. This is what most people think of as yoga. Here you find the physical postures, poses, and exercises that work directly on the body and, in turn, on the mind. People are attracted to Hatha yoga because its benefits are felt immediately. It relaxes the body, calms the mind, and brings greater awareness to your life. The most popular form of yoga today can be defined in two ways. First the word divides into "ha," which in Sanskrt means snu, and "that," which is the moon. Therefore, Hatha is often interpreted to mean the "balance" of opposites (male) and (female) within a person. Another meaning of Hatha is "forceful" or "effort," which signifies transformation through the effort or force of the physical body.

[nandm]

Raja yoga. Raja literally means "royal," and it is commonly known as classic yoga. The eight limbs discussed earlier fall under Raja yoga. The focus here is on training the mind to serve the spirit through meditation. The practice of Raja yoga typeically starts with Hatha yoga in order to prepare the body and mind for meditation. Raja yoga emphasizes training the mid through meditation and is generally preceeded by Hatha yoga, which adds mental prepartation.

[nandm]

Karma yoga. Karma means "right" action. People who love to serve others and help out whenever they can, without any thought of reward, are practicing Karma yoga. It's amazing, but you can feel just as great slaying away for something you really believe in as you would if you practices a lot of Hatha yoga and meditation.

[nandm]

Bhakti yoga. Bhakti means devotion and selfless love. Have you ever heard someone say, "MY heart just went out to her, and I offered to help"? That's Bhakti yoga, and it is Karma yoga, too. Bhakti yoga and Karma yoga oftne are thought of as two sides of the same coin. When you feel love, you want to serve, and when you serve in a selfless way, you also feel the love and devotion of that action.

[nandm]

Jnana yoga. this is the path of wisdom and of discerning that which is real from that which is unreal. Through this path of wisdeom comes the inspiration to view life from the perspective of huams as spiritual beings. The writings of the great sage Jiddu Krishnamutrit are a good example of Jnana yoga.

[nandm]

Tantra yoga. Tantra means the place where opposites meet and become one. For this reason, it is often associated with sexual union. But the bit picure of Tantra teaches that here is no difference between the big opposites----the finite and the infinite, or the Divine with a capital D and the divinity that is ordinary life. Because of the powerful nature of Tantra, it should always be taught by a master teacher.

[nandm]

Mantra yoga. Sometimes considered an aspect of Tantra yoga. Mantra yoga is the yoga of potent sound. The word mantra translates literally as "mind projection." It is a technique for using patterns of sound (through chanting or reciting) to help focus the mind.

[nandm]

Two great examples of practitioners of Karma-Bhakti yoga are Mother Teresa and Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati.

Mother Teresa attended to the needs of India's untouchable caste, people who had leprosy and were dying with no one to care for them. Her love and devotion inspired the world so much that she won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.

Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati, who is known simply as "Ma," carries out her labor of love for people who are dying of cancer and AIDS, helping them make the transition into death. Children of AIDS victims find a loving and spiritual home at her center in Florida. To learn more about Ma's work, see her web site: Kashi Ashram: Interfaith Spiritual Community

[Fluttering]

nandm.. you are a wonderful wealth of information. Thank You

[nandm]

www.yrec.org

Check this site for an in-depth understanding of the who, the what , and the where of yoga. Its founder, Georg Feurstein, is one of the top ten yoga scholars and he has written numerous books on yoga, including Living Yoga, authored with Stephan Bodian, and The Shambhala Encyclopedia of Yoga.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
kra.org
Krishnamurti Information Network

Both of these sites are dedicated to the teachings of J. Krishnamurti: One is the site of the Krishnamurti Foundation of America, founded by J. Krishnamurti in 1969, and the other features volumes of books and articles by Krishnamurti

[nandm]

J. Krishnamurti (1895-1986) was undoubtedly one of the greatest philosophical minds of the 20th century. A speaker, author, and educator from India, he conveyed a profound sense of truth to audiences around the world for more than half a century. The following quote is from his book, Life Ahead:

To experience what is solitude and what is meditation, one must be in a state of inquiry; only a mind that is in a state of inquiry is capable of learning. But when inquiry is suppressed by previous knowledge, or by the authority and experience of another, then learning becomes mere imitation, and imitation causes a human being to repeat what is learnt without experiencing it.

[nandm]

When something works as well as yoga does, you can't keep it a secret forever. Considering how long it's been around, it is pretty remarkable that yoga didn't make its debut in the Western world (specifically the United States) until the mid-1800s. At that time groups of intellectual wrtiers discovered yoga through their interest in teh esoteric teachings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Amos Bronson Alcott. Some time later, a Victorian-era biography of Guatama Buddha called the Light of Asia, by Edwin Ranold, sold half a million copies. So, at least within intellectual circles in the West, Eastern philosophy had arrived.

A real live yogi came on the scene at the Parliamnet of Religions held in Chicago in 1893. It was at this event that the young Swami Vivekananda, who came to the United States at the request of his teacher, even though he didn't know a soul, made a big and lasting impression on the American people. In the years that followed, he traveled and taught widely, attracting many to yoga in the process.

DEFINITION:
A yogi s an accomplished male student of yoga.
A female is called a yogini.
Swami is a title for a spiritual master.

[nandm]

Swami Vivekananda taught Raja yoga, which concentrates on meditation and control of the mind. Hatha yoga was introduced to America by Yogendra mastamani, who came to New York in 1919. Then, in 1920, the International Congress of Religious Liberals hosted the Indian spiritual leader Paramahansa Yogananda at its conference in Boston, and 5 yeras later he founded the Self Realization Fellowship in Los Angeles. In 1946, Paramahansa Yogananda wrote the classic Autobiography of a Yogi, a miraculous story of his spiritual life, which has done more to introduce the Western world to yoga and meditation than any other publication.

Hatha yoga, the yoga of physical postures, entered mainstream America when the Russian-born Indra Devi opened a studio in Hollywood in 1947 and began to teach movie stars like Jennifer Jones, Gloria Swanson, and Robert Ryan. "The First Lady of Yoga," now in her 90's is still an influential voice in yoga.

TRIVIA:
The British colonization of India helped introduce yoga to the West by translating sacred texts containing yoga themes, like The Bhagavad Gita, into English.