I have been studying with a shaman for awhile now and some of the exercises she has me doing are very much this type of thing.........I remember the first time it happened......everything became so ALIVE.........I saw things with a clarity that was incredible........every leaf, every blade of grass........colors even were more intense......
An Observation About Life
by JamesThomas 86 Replies latest jw friends
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jst2laws
JameThomas, also Evilforce and poppers,
Early in this thread, back in May of last year, I joined in this discussion and said,
Many, especially those like myself who want to keep a grip on the allusion of reality, will not take the leap until we see some room for validation from science. No science, not even Quantum Mechanics, promotes this type experience because science is not into "experiencing" in research but only OBSERVATION. Yet anyone who understands what Quantum Physics has found, contrary to what they expected to find according to the Newtonian world view, must fight the tendency to wonder about the possibility that our perception of reality is only that, A PERCEPTION. From there even skeptics as myself may feel justified in asking, "is there a reality beyond this perception". I have, since youth, had a sense of connection to something. After leaving the WT I decided it was all a fraud and my feelings were imagined. Then I got hooked on science and found more reason to question my perception of reality then to question my spiritual "experience".
I was ready then to trust "experience" at that point. In the mid summer a friend responding to my interests gave me a book on meditation: "The Eight Minute Guide to Meditaion". I cannot describe what an impact it has had on me. (example: my blood pressure was lower than it had been in 15 years, and off meds)
Yet my appreciation for the "allusion" (physical world) I refer to above has increased. I still occasionally let myself get caught up in the daily anxieties but no longer refer to them as "anxieties of life". They are the anxieties that rob us of "life".
Thanks again for starting this thread. How about a new one on MEDITATION?
Steve
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JamesThomas
Sunnygale:
I have been studying with a shaman for awhile now and some of the exercises she has me doing are very much this type of thing.........I remember the first time it happened......everything became so ALIVE.........I saw things with a clarity that was incredible........every leaf, every blade of grass........colors even were more intense......
When the senses become momentarily unhindered by a believed-self which is separate from all else, they are open to experiencing more clearly the intimacy and oneness with what is. What is experiencing all this? In what does all this beautiful intensity of life and nature unfold? Steve, no matter what is being "experienced", what/who is it that is witnessing it all? What is hearing, seeing, smelling, tasting and feeling? What's at the fount and core of it? If all senses and experiences were removed, what remains? What am I, really? I don't know much about meditation. It's more about becoming ever more aware and openly present with this moment of life. Watch the mind and thoughts, really feel the senses and emotions. Begin to see what all these are moving within is most close and intimate, and remains pristine and untouched by what ever is being experienced. Be present, diligent and aware. Make this moment of reality your subject of sincere, earnest, open, honest and intense investigation. There is a treasure of truth and self, here that has been missed which is vaster than the minds interpretations and all that has ever been believed. What is it??? What am I, really??? It's simply about seeing what is real and actual. Call this meditation, if you like. j
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toreador
Hello Steve,
I would really like to get a hole of the book you speak of. I tried a search with Google and came up empty except for this link.Is this the book you speak of. Its not exactly the name you have in parenthesis. I have high blood pressure and would very much like to treat it w/o meds.
Tor
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Enigma One
I remember lurking here at JWD when that thread was going on. I've found that studying eastern philosophy that it has truly made me appreciate my own life and the others around me. I used to get angry at a great many things. Now I let off steam by simply meditating or just letting things go. Much easier than bottling them up like the Witlesses used to teach. How completely mentally unhealthy is all that pent up rage, repression, and frustration.
It's why I don't get mad at JW's in general. Their own burden is far worse than what they are trying to inflict on them. Hopefully one day most will leave. Although to be honest, there seems to be a few Witnoids, that deserve to stay in the WTBS. Mean, hurtful folks. -
Sunnygal41
What is experiencing all this? In what does all this beautiful intensity of life and nature unfold?
pure consciousness............the I AM...........
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poppers
jst2laws said, "Yet my appreciation for the "allusion" (physical world) I refer to above has increased. I still occasionally let myself get caught up in the daily anxieties but no longer refer to them as "anxieties of life". They are the anxieties that rob us of "life".
Thanks again for starting this thread. How about a new one on MEDITATION?"
No longer referring to them as "anxieties of life" is a very wise step, a step which puts "space" between them and what "you" really are. Now, take another step toward consciously experiencing your true essence and don't refer to them even as "anxieties". Instead, when there is a feeling within you which has heretofore been labeled "anxious", just be with the sensation without any label - let there be a naked and raw "sitting" with the sensation and WATCH it without attaching a "story" to it - this is a very courageous act, and goes against the grain of our conditioning, but it is essential. This will allow the sensation to run its course and leave the body. Telling yourself a story about the sensation will keep it in place; by letting it be there you are giving it space to "be", and when they are here presently there is nothing to be gained by resisting them.
This "watching" of sensations, emotions, and thoughts will cultivate a realization: That You are not your mind, emotions, or sensations, but are instead that in which they arise and fade away. You are the PRESENCE in which all else appears; you are the conscious spaciousness which allows all else to be. There will grow a sense that "you" are always here - calm, peaceful, content, and everything else comes and goes. This is freedom, and it is here now in this very moment.
Your interest in meditation is laudable, for there is much to be gained from such a practice: increased health benefits, discipline, a calm mind, and many others. But, as JamesThomas alluded to, the purest form of meditation is being fully present in the moment while life unfolds. When fully present, the mind has nothing to "do" and is naturally quiet, the aim of most meditation techniques. So, if practiced for the purpose of living a healthier lifestyle meditation is great, but as a practice to gain the most profound realization (knowing what you really are) meditation can actually get in the way - take it from me, someone who practiced meditation for nearly 30 years and never got any closer to what was promised by every meditation teacher/technique that came my way.
That being said, if you have any questions about meditation I will answer them as best I can base on my many years of practice.