In reading an article in the latest installment of Yoga Wisdom, a free e-newsletter provided by Yoga Journal, I was struck by the timeliness of the topic: meditation as a means of quieting the mind.
Numerous students, especially more and more over the past couple of years, have posed questions about meditation – either addressing their own practice and knowledge about it or just simply requesting it as a part of our class to relax more deeply and mitigate stress.
One sentence that I enjoyed in the article sums it up best about the mind and meditation: “Quieting the mind doesn’t have to mean shushing your many inner voices. By letting them have their say, you can discover the all-encompassing stillness of Big Mind.”
Okay, but now, I wondered: What is ‘Big Mind’?
Essentially, the article covers the different voices that we encounter (the different ’selves’ of ourself) during meditation and the process of going within. While this can sound quite strange to someone new to meditation, most of us can identify with the different thoughts (and ‘voices’) that go through our mind in the span of a day. It can feel maddening and frustrating at some points, like a runaway train, when these thoughts are in control of us rather than the other way around. “The monkey mind,” as one fellow yoga teacher’s daughter described it. “Meditation is about taming the monkey mind,” she said. Indeed!
In the article, the author mentions the Nonseeking Mind. In Kundalini yoga, this is called the neutral mind. It is the state of the mind where you are not seeking nor judging, but Being. Once you reach, dhyana, this state of meditation, you access the Big Mind, or as I like to understand it – your Higher Self and the part of you which is part of the greater all. Heavy, eh? Well, just know at least that with this state of mind, you have tamed your monkey mind and are able to be in a relaxed state without being unconscious. Awesome? You bet.
Read more about the Big Mind meditation here and try it for yourself. I welcome your comments, suggestions, questions on and experiences with meditation.
Humbly on the mat taming my monkey mind,
Lisa
2 comments
Comments feed for this article
February 18, 2009 at 8:36 am
ishanathayoga
Hi Lisa,
I teach meditation after studying with my guru for 7 years. She is from the Natha lineage in India, which is the same lineage Jesus (Isha Natha) was from.
Dharana is stilling the mind from many thoughts to one thought. The one thought is the chosen object of focus, such as a mantra or visualisation. Matching a mantra to the breath (japa) is a very effective dharana to use. The belly moves out on the in breath, in on the out breath. “Big Mind” is a dharana intended to move you through dhyan to samadhi. Another good dharana is the blue pearl, the shining star in the third eye.
Then is dhyan, or present awareness. The linear-thought mind becomes still, but you remain awake, aware, functioning. Meditation is not a state of obliteration. We fear and expect that it is, from so many of our birth, death and orgasm experiences, in which we lose consciousness. The goal of yoga is to remain MORE conscious, never to be obliterated, throughout birth, death and sex. In dhyan you are very awake, very aware, very you. The term NO-MIND simply means, no linear thoughts bugging you, no to-do list. It doesn’t mean YOU disappear. You remain aware. You are, you are eternal, only the body will die. This you is something you have always known and will always know.
After dhyan is samadhi. In dhyan remains a trace of having to keep tabs on yourself. In samadhi is total trust. It is no longer you having to remain aware. You simply are, aware. This state is a great relief. I am sure I have only experienced the lower levels of samadhi, usually in my guru Gayatri’s company, but even these lower levels are full of bliss. It is a peace that surpasses even the desire for sex. It is as though you have been touched by That tender love which you have always been seeking.
I hope this is of some help. Good luck, take care and be at peace. Sometimes when the mind is seeking hard to improve itself it cannot relax into the awareness that is already there. You are already there. Aum/Amen.
February 18, 2009 at 1:16 pm
satnamaste
Thank you very much for the beautiful explanation of the progression through the meditative states to samadhi. Wonderful! I will admit that my meditation practice has not been as regular as I would like, but I have reach dhyan and similar to you, some lower states of samadhi. It has been through extensive meditation and mostly through my yoga teacher training which has been a few years ago. Best wishes to you on your path!