TM is easy. Good for the easily distracted.

TM How to

When thoughts intrude, let the mantra go, then start it again. That usually clears the thoughts.

Just don't overdo it, or you end up like this guy:
https://www.theonion.com/monk-...mpionship-1819563855

i started meditating in college. looking back, i was not at all good at it because i did not understand it. years went by without meditating.

then when i moved to missoula, a new friend introduced me to the local buddhist community. the leader of the sangha was an extraordinary teacher--in fact he was also a professor of philosophy at the local university.

suddenly meditation became something i had never imagined. and there are no words.

but those of us who are musical do it all the time. being present in one moment and the next moment and the next.

in one of our lessons, the sangha director put on a recording of glenn gould playing the goldberg variations. he asked us to pay attention to the initiating melody of a fugue, and stay with that line of melody, while also, at the same time, be aware of all the other voices happening simultaneously.

that is deep meditation, right there.

he also talked about driving a car, how when you drive a car, you put your attention on the road, however you are also simultaneously aware of everything else going on around you and to the sides of the road. at least, if you are driving with full awareness.

that is what meditation is. full awareness.

i lost interest in buddhism because in my personal experience, as my meditation practice deepened, i discovered that all the trappings of buddhism were meaningless. i mean, there's the seven thises, and the five thats, the various different practices and traditions. but they are just sign posts to an experience. what matters is the experience, however you get there.

a book that was seminal for me is eckhard tolle's "the power of now"
also a very difficult little book called "wholeness and the implicate order" which tries to articulate in words what reality is.

tolle's book does the best job of any book i have read in pointing the way to present moment awareness, which is all that meditation is. also pema chodron has good exercises for getting there.

one of her exercises that has helped when my mind is deep in craziness:
look at the sky while taking just *three* conscious breaths. that means as you take the breaths, you are 100 percent focused on the sky and the breath, and nothing else.

might take several tries, but when you finally get to that third conscious breath, you become utterly present and the world shifts. then you go on with your day.

regularly practicing these things very slowly and almost imperceptibly transforms your life in profound ways. and when i say very slowly i mean many years.

but it doesn't matter. when you think of it, look at the sky and take three conscious breaths. or when you wake up in the morning, scan your body from foot to head to foot again. it is these small breaks in the mental obsession that allow your awareness to grow.

these days, my mode of meditation is horseback riding and being with my horse. being with a horse is probably the fastest track i know of to present moment awareness and learning how to be in that place more and more. a horse is the best teacher because they always show you right away when you've lost your focus.

when you can merge energetically with a horse and they meet you halfway to form a partnership and together you become a centaur, with the same nervous system, circulatory system, muscular system, skeletal system--when you have experienced that, even once, you'll never forget it, and increasingly you can return to that place in your body, even away from the horse. it bleeds into and transforms the rest of your life.

enlightenment has a shape. the way to enlightenment is in the body. just be with your breath.

methods, no method. really, there is no method. each person has to find their own way to this.

I don't meditate. But find that playing the piano and concentrating, I can get lost in the piece.

Might be a much better way.

Find something where you can get so lost, your mind gets itself out of all the worlds problems.

quote:

Originally posted by pianojuggler:
Just don't overdo it, or you end up like this guy:
https://www.theonion.com/monk-...mpionship-1819563855

Ok, suppose I had better tone it down.

I’m not terribly good at meditating, but have tried to bring it into my life in small ways since I ran into a pretty severe mental health issue a couple years ago. For those of you whose minds wander, one of the things my counsellor told me that really helped me was to think about it like floating down a river. Think of those intruding thoughts like other floating objects coming toward you. Gently push them away and watch them float down the river. When he said it it sounded really corny, but it actually has really helped me when I’m trying to meditate or if I’m having trouble falling asleep.

quote:

Originally posted by piqué:

but those of us who are musical do it all the time. being present in one moment and the next moment and the next.
...
methods, no method. really, there is no method. each person has to find their own way to this.

I found something similar when I started juggling and passing clubs. You have to both focus and let go at the same time.

I would meet up with a guy once a week and practice passing clubs for an hour. One time, I was just dropping them, missing passes, and generally screwing up. He stopped and just asked "what's bothering you today?" I said I'd had a rough day at work. I don't remember exactly what he said, but it was something like "you're here now, just juggle, feel the catches, feel the throws, find your rhythm, and just juggle."

I wouldn't say that everything instantly got better, but I think this was my first introduction to mindfulness and I just juggled for the next 45 minutes and found something in there that let me focus on that and let go of everything else.

I've periodically found the same thing in both playing and listening to music.

Meditation has improved my focus when playing
or learning music.
I believe making music is a form of meditation, but it is not all I need.
My brain seems to need meditation.
Wish I had started years ago.

I used to do a martial art (Aikido) and some of the goals for mindfulness come up in that, as you might expect. I always thought it was interesting that mindfulness, which seems so simple, is so very hard.

I have never tried sitting meditation, but I often feel that a good walk (brisk, breathing becomes very rhythmic) is meditative. Same with really concentrating on playing piano.

I have also really enjoyed the experience of playing with someone else. Making music myself and listening to and monitoring what I'm playing, while also listening to and monitoring the music of my partner, making sure we are in time etc., is in some ways different from the concentration that you experience when you play alone...

The attention needed to practice music seems to me different from what happens in meditation, though it's quite possible they're related.

There's a mental state often called "flow" that describes a feeling of intense engagement in an endeavor (like making music) such that everything else falls away and you are successfully on the road to accomplishment, often for extended periods of time.

I think of meditation more like getting rid of thoughts, impulses, needs, stimuli, and aiming toward a kind of emptiness...which eventually may lead to enlightenment.

I have often been in the "flow" state when practicing, and it's extremely satisfying. But I don't think the resultant state ever made a material difference in other aspects of life and thought, as meditation can. Just my 2 1/2 cents.

RP, I wonder if those of us who don't play at a professional level, or just those of us who don't have music-related professions, experience music practice differently... For me, having really good, lose-myself practice sessions, does seem to make a difference in other parts of my life.

And I do suspect it's different from flow.... Maybe not, but I'm thinking of times when I have a really productive writing session or am working on data analysis and "lose myself" in that. I think that's probably "flow" but at the time same time, it doesn't feel the same as a really nice, brisk walk in a quiet, outdoor place.

I dunno, it's interesting to think about the distinctions. At the same time, I think have all of these elements (practice time at the piano, time out walking etc.) and being able to experience them on most days, is the biggest thing for me. I don't see myself pursuing a more traditional meditation practice any time soon. But, work hard, play (piano) hard, walk hard, seems to be a good recipe?

quote:

But, work hard, play (piano) hard, walk hard, seems to be a good recipe?

I think what's most important is that you are present during the process and don't get too attached to the result.

Meditation is kind of like an exercise program for the brain that supports the rest of your life. Like a tennis player or golfer who does weight training to make them better in their sport.

Well, except with meditation you aren't doing because you're *trying* to do something. You're just *doing* it.

It is the foundation for everything in life. It helps you to build the skills that allow you to be present in everything you do rather than rushing through life without really experiencing it. It supports your ability to observe strong emotions such as fear and anger and to recognize them for the transient things they are and to let them go, rather than letting them take over your thinking.

quote:

I think what's most important is that you are present during the process and don't get too attached to the result.

Exactly, that's why I suspect it's different for someone who is a hobby-pianist... and also why recording isn't anywhere near as relaxing or as fun as just playing or working on a new piece of music. Because, when I'm recording, I *very* attached to getting a share-able result! :P

quote:

Well, except with meditation you aren't doing because you're *trying* to do something. You're just *doing* it.

And this, maybe, is part of "flow" and why sometimes we can experience flow when working (like I have with a particularly productive and intense-in-a-good-way writing session), because we get into that state and are absorbed in the doing of the activity and not focused on the outcome of the activity.

quote:

It is the foundation for everything in life. It helps you to build the skills that allow you to be present in everything you do rather than rushing through life without really experiencing it. It supports your ability to observe strong emotions such as fear and anger and to recognize them for the transient things they are and to let them go, rather than letting them take over your thinking.

And this.. and, maybe... is why actual meditation is different from flow... again, maybe. I think a lot of activities which have some meditative qualities may not contribute to one's ability to detach...

Hmm, maybe I need to work on that as a part of working on controlling my performance anxiety....

Yup. I think performance anxiety is a good example of one of those emotions that can take over our present thinking. A meditation practice helps give you the ability to recognize when the *beast* is rising up, and to simply stop, acknowledge it, and recognize that it is something that will pass. You learn not to give it importance and can just let it drift away.

The concept is simple; the execution, not so much.

Is TM a scam? Of course it is, just like
this is

St. Peters Cathedral

Some scams are more successful than others.