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Meditation – Dwelling deeply

“Meditation is an activity where we deliberately go deeper than we usually would into a subject by focusing on it for an extended period”

Dear Integral Meditators,

What is meditation and how do you do it? This weeks article looks at one paradigm for answering this question!
In the spirit of seeking, finding and abiding,

Toby

 

 

 

 


Meditation – Dwelling deeply

If someone asks you a profound question about your life that you feel like you need to think about, you might say “Let me go away and meditate on it for a while”. This use of language illustrates one main aspect of meditation, which is that it is an activity where we deliberately go deeper than we usually would into a subject by focusing on it for an extended period. From this point of view meditation is the process of learning how to “dwell deeply on things”.

Seeking, finding, abiding, remaining
When I was a Buddhist monk, this was one simple formula that I was taught. In order to meditate on an something you need to do four things:

  1. Seek it out – If you want to dwell deeply on the breathing, you first need to notice it and see it clearly. If you want to meditate on love for others, you need to know what you mean by love, and then look to bring to mind things that generate it. If you want to meditate on self-acceptance, you need to define what you mean by it, and then look for the state of acceptance. You first need to seek the thing that you want to meditate upon.
  2. Finding – As a result of seeking your meditation object, sooner or later you will “find” it. Once you have found the breathing, or the feeling of love, or the sense of self-acceptance (etc…) you have the thing that you want to meditate upon.
  3. Abiding – Now that you have your object of meditation, the task is to stay with it! To keep your attention on it with as little distraction as possible, and go deeply into your experience of it. For example, in the case of self-acceptance, you are staying with the feeling of accepting yourself, working to make it not just an intellectual recognition, but something that you can feel viscerally in your body. Make it something that you experience as a part of who you are, not just an intellectual recognition or abstract idea!
  4. Remaining – As you attempt to keep your attention ‘abiding’ on your object, you will find your attention wanting to wander. ‘Remaining’ is the process and discipline or resisting that wandering mind and, when you do get distracted, bringing your attention back to the meditation object. Occasionally you might get so distracted that you have to go back to ‘seeking and finding’ for a bit in order to re-generate the object in your minds eye.

So then, basically any meditation session involves using all four of these stages to find and dwell deeply upon the thing that you wish to meditate on and with. With this process you can learn to build concentration, develop qualities and states of mind more strongly than others, and investigate deeply any area of your life. Once you have sat down to meditate, in any moment you are either seeking, finding, abiding or remaining. Abiding is the main activity, with the other three acting as supports for this main one!

Related articleIntention, dedication, meditation

Article content © Toby Ouvry & Integral Meditation Asia 2020. you are welcome to share, but please cite the source, thanks! Contact info@tobyouvry.com


Introduction to Integral Meditation & Mindfulness Practice – A four-week course

This is both a Live & Livestream, four-week course

Overview: Integral Meditation Practice (IMP) is a different kind of mind-body training, that aims to provide optimal inner peace, centeredness, energy and insight for the contemporary meditation practitioner. It combines eastern and western forms of practice, as well as ancient and modern ones into a series of integrative practices. The practices enable the meditator to remain resilient, energized and creative in the face of the multi-faceted challenges of modern life. These four classes give an introduction to IMP, in a simple, accessible manner.

The course modules:

Tues 12th, Weds 13th Jan, Module 2 – Integral Meditation Practice 1: Simplicity, awareness, positivity, creativity (NoteWednesday class for Module 2 is online only)

Tues 19th, Weds 20th Jan, Module 3 – Integral Meditation Practice 2: Building a mind of ease, relaxation and wellbeing

Tues 26th, Weds 27th Jan, Module 4 – How to create your own integral meditations! (NoteWednesday class for Module 4 is online only)
Read full details


Saturday 9th & 23rd January – Shamanic meditation Masterclass and Mini-retreat

In a sentence: Learn how to practice the fundamentals of the most ancient meditation tradition on the planet in a clear, practical and concise manner, and understand its relevance and value to you and the challenges that you face in your life.

  • The Masterclass on the 9th January will give an overview and introduce some simple but profound shamanic practices
  • The Mini-retreat on the 23rd will be a deeper dive into Shamanic meditation practices

Read full details


Life-fullness – The Integral Life-Coaching Program with Toby

Are you looking a coach who can help you to:

  • Meet the challenges, stress and changes that you face in a more effective and mindful way
  • Become happier within yourself, in your relationships and at work
  • Be actively accountable for finding a sense of balance/well-being in your life and fulfilling your personal potential?
  • Guide you to find and operate from a deeper sense of meaning, motivation and connectivity in your life?
Read full details

All upcoming classes and workshops for at IMA in January:

Ongoing – Weekly Tuesday, Wednesday Online class schedule

Ongoing on Wednesday’s, 7.30-8.30pm – Wednesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby (Bukit Timah)

Ongoing on Tuesday evenings, 7.30-8.30pm – Tuesday Meditation for stress transformation and positive energy with Toby  (East Coast)

Starts Tuesday 5/6th January – Introduction to Integral Meditation & Mindfulness Practice – A four-week course

Saturday 9th & 23rd January – Shamanic meditation Masterclass and Mini-retreat


Integral Meditation Asia

Online Courses 1:1 Coaching * Books * Live Workshops * Corporate Mindfulness Training *Life-Coaching *  Meditation Technology