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Just joined this class and have not had much practice at the levels to make a worthwhile report of it but I hope to practice a whole lot more in the coming days!
I've been making an effort to maintain awareness but haven't been very succesful yet. Hopefully this course will help me get better at LD-ing by improving discipline!
Version 1: Listening to a Noisy World.
Level 1: Started off this meditation while taking a break at office. Before closing my eyes I realised I was aware of colleagues talking behind me, an extremely loud printer right in front of me, the creaking of un-greased rubber wheels of the office chairs while they were moved around and the occasional phone ringing. All the noises were sporadic and so I found it quite easy to get momentarily distracted by loud noises (especially the industrial grade printer in front of me).
After closing my eyes and starting to look out for the noises I had not been aware of earlier, I noticed that I could hear a lot more sounds from the other end of the floor; much more than I thought possible.
I began the meditation by focussing on sounds directly in front of me, which included the loud printer but also the softer hum of a photocopier and the rustling of papers and plastic. Moving anti-clockwise, I began noticing the sounds of keys being pressed, numbers being dialed, people talking in hushed voices, some footsteps. While turning my attention to the noises coming from the left, the printer ahead of me burst to life again, distracting me, but when the its noise died down, I noticed that I could hear people talking in to phones all the other way at the end of the floor. Alot of hushed discussions, some laughter, some voices on speakerphone and some telephones ringing. I sit in the right hand corner of my office so its natural that most of the action would come from my left. I slowly began turning my attention to the noises coming from behind me - not much there - the creak of some wheels, keyboards being pressed and colleagues talking sporadically. To my right - I couldn't hear a thing cuz I sit next to the wall.
All in all, I'm surprised how many sounds I could hear coming from the other end of the office. I would never have considered the floor to be very noisy but I guess if you pay enough attention, you can realise just how much is actually going on around you.
Level 2: Because I did this meditation in office, where 90% of the noises are erratic, I figured I would need a different way to go about this exercise. I took out my headphones and went on to youtube to find songs that are fairly long and build up slowly using many different instruments. (if anyone is interested, i used the song 'The Sixth Revelation' by Shpongle). I listened to the song once using the level 1 exercise to get an idea of how many different sounds were there - I counted in excess of 12 sounds/instrument riffs, with a maximum of about 10 different layers to the song at its peak.
So I started listening to the song focusing on the level 2 meditation this time, the song starts off with 3 layers, dropping to 2 before picking up again. I find that awareness of 3 layers is attainable regardless of my mental state. But it gets REALLY hard when I try to go for 4 and 5 layer awareness. 4 layers is manageable if I concentrate a little but it begins to drain me mentally. 5 layers was very very hard and I could not hold it for too long before realising that I had lost awareness of one layer of the song (usually after a period of about 1-1.5 mins). One thing I noticed towards the end of my practice was that mental disposition affected the number of layers I could achieve awareness of. I'm not sure I can explain this well in words, but i'll try.. it seemed to me that 'reaching out' for awareness of an additional layer caused me to lose awareness of a previous layer; so the best strategy would be to let the awareness 'come to you'. Only when I followed that maxim was I able to hold awareness of 5 layers.
Therefore my suggested meditation for next time: 'Let the awareness come to you' (for lack of better words). Also, I intend to try the level 2 meditation in a less controlled environment i.e. the real world, not a song. If that is too difficult, given the erratic nature of the sounds, I'm going to try and combine level 1 and 2 by being aware of every sound coming from one area of my surroundings while simply being aware that sounds are originating from other areas. Hopefully that would stop my brain from overloading!
P.S. Sorry for that mega huge post!! I'll try and keep it more concise next time...
Hi! I am glad you joined the class. It sounnds like your first two attempts went well, and that you are realizing some things about the process of awareness. Boy, that number 5 is real hard! It seems to be the magic point where you loose the earlier sounds. I did version 1 level 2 a couple nights ago, and it was like magic. I would hold 4 sounds (frogs, crickets, motor, fan) in full awareness and the start adding more. I could hold 5 (it was very taxing) but if I tried to add a six either the frogs or crickets would disappear. They flat outwould disappear. If I dropped awareness back down to 4 sounds, then the missing noise would rush back. How strange the human mind is. Good job so far.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sanjayb
Being from India, do you have a sound knowledge base as far as yogic tradition, or any thing like that?
The human mind is just mind-boggling (pun intended lol)!! I really wish I had studied something related to neuro-physiology or something, in retrospect.Quote:
Originally Posted by sivason
Well, it really depends on how you define 'sound knowledge base'. I'd like to think I know the basics but i've never had any formal training. There are so many branches to learn of as well so I don't thin I know a significant amount of any one branch to count as 'knowledgeable'.
Also, by yogic tradition are you referring to yoga strictly as a means of meditation or as a form of exercise too?
I mostly just mean the base concept like maya, samsara, prana, shakti or anything that should be common in most systems. That is probably what I would think of as sound knowledge. However, any familiarity with standard thoughts like mantra, karma, and so on will be helpful. I will present things in a less formal manner than the yogic schools would, and no prior knowledge os needed.
I will be teaching very little exercise or phyisical yoga, so just give me an idea of any meditation or esoteric experience you may already have. Thanks.
Yes I think I was correct in guessing that our ideas of 'sound knowledge base' would be different. I am familiar with the concepts you have mentioned but unfortunately I only have experience in exercise yogas (and that too, very little).
But anyway, i'm looking forward to learning more from you!
Just a small update on my practice:
Version 1: Listening to a Noisy World.
Level 2: Practiced some what during the weekend. I'm beginning to find it easier to maintain awareness of 4 sounds. Distracting thoughts often come in the way but I feel as though they are easier to manage now. Maintaining awareness of that elusive 5th sound is still quite hard though!
Would you recommend I try other versions of this meditation now i.e. Feel an intense world or Mixing it up?
I would recommend doing every version and pushing them as far as you can. However, you have your whole life to prefect them. I am going slow as far as posting my knowledge, because these are meditations you should keep exploring for decades. I like it when tthe student stumbles on some of the answers or ideas on their own. So, yes explore each version.
I will post some more skills before long, but they are not to be read, considered, and put aside. Learn them, and keep them; they are very powerful tools that take time to master.
Hi everyone! It has been almost two weeks. I hope everyone got a chance to practice. The thread Dream Yoga Basic Skills: Lesson 1, has been updated. I have shared a few ways these skills will be useful in LDs, and the thread is now open to Q & A.
Hi Sivason,Quote:
Originally Posted by sivason
Wanted to ask you for some advice: I've been trying to do Version 2 "Feel an Intense World" but i'm never really sure if i'm ever truly aware of any one particular body. I.e. I'm not sure if i'm actually aware of something that body part is feeling or if its all coming from my head!
Any advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
P.S. Am i correct in guessing that Sivason is derived from 'Shiva son'? Just going by your profile picture here...
Yes, it is, although when Shiva is The Master of Dreams he is often refered to as Siva, so Sivason.Quote:
Originally Posted by Sanjayb
It would be very easy to trick yourselfinto feeling made up things. That will actually be involved in some of the skills I will teach. For now, you are after a true biological sense of touch. Look for minor stimuli that will help you move your attention to a know point. For instance, if the tag inside the back of your pants is a differant material, and you move your attention there, you should be able to find the tag mentally by awareness, Then you may trace the points wheree your belt is slightly constricting your hips. So start with fairly easy to identify items, and build up to harder to pick up on preceptions. I can basically feel the effects that gravity and suble air currents havee as they effect the hairs on my fore arms. That is only when I pay attention, but the point is that within time you will be able to tell that you are actually able to feel every part of your body.