 |
Reply
| |
When you begin to develop and direct your awareness in meditation, you’re
faced with the challenge of putting all the pieces together into an integrated
practice that’s uniquely suited to your needs. (For more on designing your
own practice, see Chapter 13.) For example, you may find yourself drawn to
forms of meditation that emphasize focused concentration and have only
minimal interest in the more open, allowing quality of receptive awareness.
Or you may cherish the peace and relaxation you experience when you
simply sit quietly without any effort or focus, not even the effort to be aware.
Or you may have a specific purpose for meditating, such as healing an illness
Chapter 1: What Meditation Is �?and Isn’t 23
or resolving a disturbing psychological issue, and only feel drawn to
approaches that help you meet your goals. |
|
 First
Previous
2-3 of 3
Next
Last
|
Reply
| |
The key is to experiment with different forms of meditation and trust your intuition
to tell you which ones are best suited for you at this particular point on
your journey up the mountain. Inevitably, yin and yang tend to balance each
other out; that is, you may start out with intense concentration and end up
with more relaxed, receptive awareness �?or begin in a more receptive mode
and gradually discover the virtues of focus. The journey of meditation has its
own lessons to teach, and no matter what your intentions may be, you’ll generally
end up encountering those lessons that you were destined to learn. |
|
Reply
| |
Of course, if you intend to maintain your practice from week to week and
month to month, which is the only way to reap the benefits of meditation,
you’ll probably need to draw on some of those time-honored qualities that
every sustained enterprise requires: motivation, discipline, and commitment
(see Chapters 4 and 9). Though they’ve gotten a bad rap in Western culture,
where people generally expect to have their needs met right now, if not
sooner, these qualities are actually not difficult to cultivate and in fact arise
naturally when you’re engaged in and �?dare I say it �?passionate about
what you’re doing. |
|
|
Free Forum Hosting
Important Announcement
