The most peculiar thing about human mind is that it needs a thought or a concentrating point to dwell upon.
When one begins to meditate, there are many thoughts in the mind-space. When one transcends these, he achieves the state of peace & tranquillity. As simple as that. The mind has ever been trained to dwell on outer object and life. It always creates the problem in learning new things and, especially, when it has to unlearn all the things, just imagine complexity in the task.
In all & as per my experience, there are 5 different ways to go into the zone of peace and abide in the ever-blissful self:
Senses
Imagine yourself travelling in Himalayas or best beach in your country and the picture takes you in a state of wonder!
Sometimes on a radio, a song from your college or young days comes up and you forget all else for those next 5 minutes.
Again you feel a sense of inner-satisfaction when you eat the chocolate laden ice-cream or mouth-watering delicious burger full of molten cheese.
A hot water bath on a cold, icy day rejuvenate the entire being.
Thus, these senses also leads us to our inner chamber.
- A person can eat a little chocolate to smoother the mind waves, followed by meditation.
- She can sing the most melodious song dedicated to her isht (chosen) deity or guru and enter the chambers of silence automatically.
- By concentrating on the body in the mindful way, one can transcend the mind-space of thoughts.
Breath
As the old adage goes, try not eating and you can live for few days, try not sleeping and you can still survive for few days but, try not breathing. A great seer and protagonist of unity in all religions, guru of great Vedantist Swami Vivekananda, Ramakrishna Paramhansa said that if someone wants to tread the path of yoga, he should start with the breath.
Try this !
1. Lay down in your bed in the most comfortable position
2. Put a gentle smile
3. Breath ..
I was not much of a fan of pranayam (prana=energy, yama = exercise). But, my master's master have bought a spiritual revolution in the world just because of 20 minutes of unique set of breathing exercises. H.H. Dalai Lama provided the following point of view, " This pranayama takes you directly into the zone". Moreover, all Indian past masters have written much on the breathing exercises. Because of laziness, I avoided breathing exercises all together and went straight for meditation. But, because of a severe digestion problem, I had to do it. What I found was that my breath became much more soothing. Through out the day, whenever I concentrate the mind on breath, the mind becomes peaceful and gentle within seconds as the breath itself is deep & slow.
Try this!
1. Nadi Shodhan .. 5 minutes
It’s not that easy to concentrate on breath and enter the no thought zone easily. The mind is addicted to information or action. Just focusing on breath, at least initially or with no earlier practice/guidance, will make you open eyes within minutes. Hence, try doing some gentle exercises, followed by 10 minutes of nadi shodhan or alternate nostril breathing exercise. Thereafter, the state of peace becomes much more easy.
Divine Love
They are of two types emotions - good & bad. But, there exists one more - intoxicating love. This love could not be attributed to any physical object. It is in-built in every human. All one needs is the access to its medium.
Jesus Christ have this emotion in the form of a child towards her father as does Ramakrishna Paramhansa towards mother Kali. Radha saw Krishna (God complete incarnation) as his beloved. This is why in Indian traditions it is proposed to have a relationship with god; as a mother, sister, father, son or which ever way your heart connects. The sole purpose of so many gods & goddesses in India is to start such divine connection between individual soul and universal soul.
The only aspect is when that emotion comes up, it erupts like a volcano and all else in mind field dies; leaving only love.
The meditator can use such an emotion and experience the state of ananda directly. The beauty is that this method is effortless.
Physical manipulations
You will always find that fitness enthusiasts who are regular in their gym, running or any other sports or physical activity have a better state of mind when compared to a normal, average mind. The physical activities keep the energy within the body at good levels. And, when the body feels healthy, why wouldn't the entire being !!
Similarly, one can do a bit of mindful walking, simple hath yoga or physical exercises to reach a state with fewer thoughts. What happens is that while exercising, mind concentrates on bodily actions and shifts attention from other mundane objects. This way when you actually sit for meditation, the silencing of the mind has already been done.
One point to consider here is that while the exercises are being performed, the person should verily concentrate on exercising and avoid other mental notes.
Jnana Yoga
Sit, relax & seek, 'Who Am I'?
