Evolution of Consciusness (36)-Meditation & Gurjeff Self-Remembering

Meditation and Self-Remembering

The word Meditation has become too common like Love.

So, it is not very clear to the common man what exactly it means.

If we look at the word meditation, it contains meanings such as To Ponder, Going into an

issue deeply and so on.

In religious or spiritual context it has deeper meaning like communion with God or Super

Consciousness.           

Normally,

In religious traditions meditation is practiced to attain their religious goal – Mukti,

Nirvana,  Salvation etc.

They may do so in a monastery, ashram or even in a mountain cave isolated from the

material world.

                                                              

For a common man,

Several schools based on various religious traditions (Hindu, Buddhist, Christianity, and

Sufi etc) or otherwise teaches methods of Meditation.

Normally they are aimed at achieving good health, peaceful mind, concentration etc.

These methods generally constitute Prayer, Breathing techniques, chanting Etc, derived

from religious traditions.

.

They are generally successful in their aims with testimonials to support the claim.

Now,

We will see little detail about the techniques and depth psychology explanation.

Prayer

Prayer is normally a petition made with utmost faith,

The faith and the surrender of the self silences the active conscious mind,

This quietness enables the conscious mind to be in a receptive mode,

Then the unconscious which has more depth and clarity projects an answer to the prayer

into the conscious mind. 

Probably it must be so, because

Not only saintly people,

Even a terrorist or a leader prays before planting a bomb or bombing a country and their

Prayers are answered.                                   

It must be their unconscious mind - God can not be a party to those affairs.

Breathing

Breathing techniques are based on the theory that breathing pattern is related to state of

Mind.

                                                               

We can normally notice the difference in breathing when angry and normal.

But there are subtle pattern changes in the breathing, which are not so obvious but related

to particular thoughts, feeling or abstract state of mind.

So, by regulating or controlling the breathing pattern, it is possible to alter the state of

Mind or acquire the desired state of mind.

By regularly plasticizing and prolonging the duration of desirable breathing patterns, the

other breathing patterns are used less and  less, and over time because of disuse thoughts

related to the patterns loose their dominance and wither out.

It is like muscle entropy, where muscles die out of disuse.

Chanting

Chanting involves repeating a particular word or phrase, generally a positive suggestion.

Constant repetition dulls and silences the conscious mind and the unconscious accepts the

Positive Suggestion,

Over time that brings changes in the conscious level of the person without being aware.

Concentration

Concentrating on an Image or Personal God excludes the other thoughts and focus on a

single thought or image silences the conscious mind, putting it in the receptive mode.

The unconscious works on the demand.

Some may have vision of the Deity or God and hear inner voice projected by the

unconscious mind in to the conscious mind.

 

One can see, in all these there is a demand or aim for fulfillment, and since the conscious

mind is made quite, the unconscious mind find ways to fulfill the demand.

That is,

This ‘Meditative’ state of mind is more efficient than the normal active mind but same in

its essence,

Because the problems addressed are Personal and ego-centric issues.

So, by being successful, they can only strengthen and advance the ego-self.

These explanations are meant only for a common man, because the same traditional

approaches practiced by austere Saints or Monks can have ultimate effect of dissolution

of Ego-Self, since their Prayers and Aims are not ego-centric.                 

So meditation can be practiced for relative fulfillment of personal mind or absolute

dissolution of the same.

But it is better and also imperative that one has to understand the personal mind

before going for its fulfillment or dissolution.

.

Common Man’s Meditation technique to understand the Personal Mind or Ego-Self     

                                                                                                     

We know about Gurdjeiff’s   self-remembering and fairly discussed about it in the earlier

posts.

Remembering one self is becoming conscious of every action and response

It includes even normal acts like walking, eating and talking etc.

No act or thought should escape one’s awareness, however trivial.

Normally, as habit one does not ‘Remember one self’, whether ‘acting’ or ‘responding’.

One acts or responds mechanically and impulsively based on past memory.

This Mechanical act or response does not bring about understanding of the situation

Or the ‘Me’.

So, to understand, one has to stop the mechanical response.                                                     

For that to happen,

One has to remember one self during the act.

In other words,

Apprehending the consciousness as it acts.

To understand what is “Apprehending the consciousness as it acts”

Saint to a Disciple: What are you meditating on?

           

Disciple: I am meditating on Anger

           

Saint     : Are you angry now?                                                                                 

Disciple: No

 Saint     :  Meditate on Anger, when you are angry.

 So,

Apprehending the consciousness as it acts is self-remembering and also meditation.

It will stop the mechanical response,

That is consciousness is arrested from appealing to the ‘Me’, which provides the ground

for an automated reaction from the past memory.

Added to that,

One become conscious of the particular 'Memory' or 'Experiance'  that qualifies

the situation (Good or Bad) and subsequent automated response.

Here,

Since consciousness is arrested at the act and not yet associated  with the the ‘Memory’,

One become conscious of the 'Memory' but not influenced by it,

So, the response now can be based on merit or fact of the situation, not necessarily on

memory alone.

It may appear little misty in the narration.

By testing   ‘Self-Remembering ’, one can gain complete clarity.

So,

                          

Self-Remembering is the simplest (not easy) Meditation technique for a common man to

understand the Self and its contents (Desires, Motives, Prejudices etc).

Because,

It makes no demand except attention and also it can be practiced any time, any where and

for any duration.

We will visit Meditation again later.