In preparation for the Oneness Blessing, that I have been writing about, it is imperative to quiet the mind. To stop most of the chattering going on that we are so used to. There are many ways to meditate, and I enjoy them - mantra, pranayama (heavy breathing),chanting sacred words,sutras(sacred movements of the hands and fingers mostly) closely watching a sunset, a candle or another physical object, walking in complete awareness, etc. Most meditations have a combination of several of them.
In my search from freedom - mostly from my self-critical inner voice and outer restrictions, I have rebelled from authority, becoming a "peace, love and flower child", from there to a pot-smoking "hippie" rebel. After my dear younger brother was killed in Viet Nam, I sailed away for geographical freedom. All of these were escapist-type hedonistic attempts at freedom, with still serious efforts to be free of that self-abuser inside - my Dad's voice - "you will never be any good, worthless.", my Mother's voice - "Ronnie is my little doctor. & that is one, two..." (at "three", I would be subject to my Father's belt-beating).
In the Oneness Movement, emphasis is rightly put on self-acceptance - "love must begin with loving yourself."(Sri. Bhagavan"). In my attempts to accept myself, I have found that Vipassana Meditation has been the best for me. I became enamored with Vipassana by watching a documentary of these prisoners for life in a Alabama prison. They experienced a Ten Day Vipassana Meditation Retreat, the first step for Vipassana students. It is called "The Dhamma Brothers". Dhamma is the Pali (Buddha's language) word for the Sanskrit "Dharma". I would recommend, at least, looking up the trailor of the film on Google or You Tube. After ten hard days, these prisoners became some of the freest men I have ever seen. I was very impressed by the teachers, who were locked up with the prisoners for the 11 days (ten full days of silent meditation and instruction). So I decided that I wanted to experience these ten days also.
So I went on line and was delighted to find a new Vipassana "Retreat" in Jesup Georgia. And to top it all off, it was free. At that time, it filled the bill for my desperate attempt at real freedom from my negative thinking. "All that we are is the result of what we have thought." Buddha
And here is where "the paradox of freedom" comes in. I kept wanting to leave the strict pure silence (no form of communication allowed except for a few minutes with the teacher a day, and to ask for something essential from a volunteer server), the ten to eleven hours of meditation per day - holding your body as still as possible. You are closely watched by the teachers for any signs of disturbance in your sitting. To end the long day (awakened at 4 AM) there is a two hour discourse by the teacher on the meaning of Vipassana Meditation. It would seem that with "freedom", I could just get up and leave, however my goal is to "free my mind of the tensions and prejudices that disturb the flow of everyday life." Of the self-abusing critic & other-abusing judge in my mind. So the paradox is that to find True Freedom - 'freedom of all suffering, purity of mind and enlightenment" - I needed discipline, self-control. As a youth I had rebelled against the type of abusive belt-beating "discipline" administered by my ex-marine Dad. Then in my spiritual seeking, I realized the root word of discipline is "disciple". Now I am a disciple of Goenka, the recognized Master Teacher of Vispassana and all of his teachers who he has appointed. To make a long story shorter, I am going back to a Silent Vipassana Retreat to realize more "True Freedom" and resultantly experience more "True Oneness." Metta (May All Beings Be Happy)!
Comment by Dr. Sohiniben Shukla Dear Ron,
You know much more about the subject but I just suggest you that if we go within then all the ques. are lost and we will be contented !
Everything, all sciences and their roots are within us !
Just we have to connect our higher self with the Source and that will be O.K.
We can get every thing, every answer from within !!!
Sohiniben.
Thanks Dr. Sohiniben, I think you are right - "no thoughts" - "no mind" = peace, right? ron
No comments:
Post a Comment