Coherence Techniques - Meditation - Origins, Free meditation tech

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INTRODUCING
BRAINWAVE
COHERENCE

COHERENCE
TECHNIQUES

MECHANICS
OF
EVOLUTION

PART 1
Meditation: Origins; Processes & Mechanisms;
Modernisation;.The Real Effects.
PART 2
Cannabis: Origins;
Processes & Mechanisms;
Demonization; Social Evil or
Spiritual Path?; A Psychedelics Codicil.
PART 3
ORMUS: Farming For Gold; Secrets of Science Past; Alchemist & Kitchen Sink; The Enlightenment Pill; A Personal Codicil.

COMING SOONISH
Part 4 - Brain Entrainment

..Mind,Myth & Magic

..Spiritual Science

..The Karma Papers

..Neuronplasticity &
......the Evolving Brain

HOME

INTRODUCING
BRAINWAVE COHERENCE

COHERENCE
TECHNIQUES
....Part 1: Meditation
....1. Origins of Meditation
....2. Processes and
.......................Mechanisms
....3. Modernization
....4. The Real Effects
....Part 2: Cannabis
....1. Origins of Cannabis Use
....2. Processes and
.......................Mechanisms
....3. Demonization
....4. Social Evil or
....................Spiritual Path?
....5. A Psychedelics Codicil
....Part 3: ORMUS
....1. Farming For Gold
....2. Secrets of Science Past
....3. The Alchemist & the
.........................Kitchen Sink
....4. The Enlightenment Pill
....5. A Personal Codicil
..

COMING SOON:
Part 4 - Brain Entrainment

BRAINWAVE COHERENCE
AND THE
TECHNIQUES THAT
SUPPORT IT

Part One

MEDITATION

An extremely ancient, esoteric and somewhat alien technique based in Eastern spiritual practises, meditation has gained a new lease of life over recent decades. Scientific research into its effects has endowed it with a new credibility that is based on the concerns of the current age and not those of an age long past. As individuals have taken up the practise themselves and experienced the benefits first hand, it has enhanced the credibility and opened up interest in the ancient philosophies from which the technique comes.

We are
now
on

and

MECHANICS
OF EVOLUTION
...1: Mind, Myth & Magic
...An introduction to thinking,
...consciousness, self-knowledge
...and evolution.

...2: Spiritual Science
...The appliance of science.
...What price faith and belief
...when we have science?

...3: The Karma Papers
...Everything you ever want to
...know about karma but didn't
...want to push your luck by
...asking.

...4: Neuronplasticity &
...the Evolving Brain
...Build yourself a new brain
...(glue not supplied.) Not quite
...but ever wondered what is
...going on inside your head
...when you meditate? Wonder
...no more. In this series we
...tell all

Chapter One
The Origins of Meditation

The technique of meditation is found in many Eastern cultures as an implict and long-standing part of the national religious practises. The first recorded references to meditation date from about 3000 BC and come from the Vedic culture of the Indus Valley in India. They coincide closely with the development of writing in that area of the world. It is, however, clear that meditation had been around for a long time before the written word. Some say that tantric meditation came into being between 10 and 15 thousand years ago but that seems to be a speculative date as no records exist for that time. Whenever meditation came into being, it is extremely old and certainly goes back a long way beyond recorded history.

As the development and codification of meditation techniques took place in India, it is Indian meditation that this article discusses. That does not imply that there are no other valid meditation techniques nor that other cultures were not involved in its development. It is, however, India that offers the most accessible sources regarding the nature and practise of meditation.

The first references to meditation appear in short instructional texts, called tantras. The word tantra actually means technique and tantras are designed to achieve a specific result -- usually self-realisation.

INSTANT GLOSSARY Number 1
Self-Realisation

One of the problems with ancient scriptural texts that deal with meditation is that they contain many terms that are not understood by Western intellects. Due to this lack of understanding the terms tend to get repeated verbatim but not explained. One such term is 'self-realisation.' This means something quite different from what one might think.
We all know what the individual self is. But that individual self has to start somewhere. And where it starts is in the same universal Self from where we all start. It is that Self (note the capitalisation) that the scriptures are talking about 'realising.' If that sounds like a lot of pseudo-spiritual claptrap to you, I can assure you it isn't. The Self is not theoretical. It is something we can all experience.

The tantras exerted a powerful influence over spiritual practises in India for millennia. It was not until the final two centuries before Christ that the technique was defined and formalised.

It was the great saint, still revered in India today, Patanjali who carried out this work. It is not too much to say that Patanjali was the father of yoga. In the Yoga Sutras he defined the ‘eight limbs of yoga’ and its ultimate aim. Resembling the Buddhist Eight Fold Path, the Yoga Sutras are said to represent the key to Enlightenment.

INSTANT GLOSSARY Number 2
Yoga

Although yoga has come to mean any collection of Indian-orientated exercises, that is a complete diminution and misinterpretation of its true meaning. The Sanskrit (Sanskrit is the ancient language of the Vedic culture) meaning of 'yoga' is union. In the ancient Vedic tradition it is the union of the individual self with universal consciousness. It describes the state of samadhi, a state where the mind becomes still without losing alertness. This is the state achieved in meditation. It is synonymous with the state of restful alertness which is the basis of brainwave coherence.
Enlightenment

So what exactly is Enlightenment? In the ancient texts 'Enlightenment' is described in many ways. Among these it is said to be a state in which the individual is in total union with the Cosmos and Cosmic Law. It is described as a state of total bliss, total wisdom, total understanding, total just about everything. In more up-to-date terms it seems to be a state in which the nervous system is totally without stress. In such a state, reverting back to ancient terminolgy, there is no karma left to play itself out in one's life. It is described as a state of ultimate freedom but amongst those freedoms are a number that most of us do not know even know exist. Enlightenment is not a theoretical state. It actually exists and can be achieved by anyone given enough time. Nor is Enlightenment an absolute. It is something that starts as a small glow but eventually achieves full radiance. And, finally, Enlightenment is not abstract; it is something that can actually be seen. At least that is my personal experience.

According to Patanjali the eight limbs of yoga consist of:
.............1. The Laws of Life (yama):
...................Non-violence (ahimsa);
...................Truthfulness (satya);
...................Integrity (atseya);
...................Chastity.(brahmacharya);
...................Non-attachment (aparigraha.)
.............2. The Rules of Living (niyama): ...................Simplicity (shaucha);
...................Contentment (santosha);
...................Purification.(tapas);
...................Refinement (swadhyaya);
...................Surrender to the Lord
...........................(tshvarapranidhana.)
.............3. Posture (asana.)
.............4. Breathing exercises (pranayama.)
.............5. Retirement of the senses
...........................(pratyahara.)
.............6. Focusing of attention (dharana.)
.............7. Meditation (dhyana.)
.............8. The settled mind (samadhi.)

However, some would say that Patanjali got the order of the limbs wrong. There are those who believe that the first and second limbs should be last as they seem to be qualities that derive from meditation and the experience of samadhi.

Following Patanjali’s model the practice of meditation starts with a series of exercises or asanas to loosen the spinal column and relax the muscles. It is these asanas that constitute the yogic system known as Hatha Yoga. It is Hatha Yoga that, in the West, had often been misinterpreted as being the whole of yoga. It is, however, as can be seen, merely a preparation for the main element of yoga -- meditation and the settled mind.

This is followed by a set of breathing exercises known as pranayama. If these are part of a prelude to meditation, the exercises are generally fairly gentle. They help to calm the body after the asanas and to focus the mind. Pranayama can, however, also be a yogic discipline all of its own. In that case the breathing exercises are much more elaborate. Some pranayama exercises can have a violent effect on the system and it, therefore, has a somewhat suspect reputation outside of the meditation context.

Assuming you are sitting down and not driving a vehicle, the next step is ‘retirement of the senses.’ Or, as normal people call it, closing one’s eyes.

The penultimate step on the path towards meditation the Patanjali way is dharana, focusing the mind. Contrary to popular interpretation this is not an instruction to concentrate or weld the mind to a particular thought. Concentration is an anathema to meditation. In fact the instruction relates to the moments immediately prior to actually starting the practise of meditation during which one notices the thoughts arising spontaneously within the mind.

Finally comes the act of meditation. This can take many forms but in the Patanjali model at this point a particular thought is introduced into the mind at the normal thinking level. Traditionally the thought is a mantra but it can be a shape (a yantra) or an image of a deity; the nature of the thought really does not matter much. As most meditations are based on mantras, let us discuss what happens when a mantra is introduced into the mind.

INSTANT GLOSSARY Number 3
Mantras

Mantras are often Sanskrit seed sounds and it is said that they replicate the sounds of the Cosmos in action. They are said to have the opposite effect to normal thought. The natural action of normal thought is from deep within outwards. Thoughts arise spontaneously deep within the mind and, like tiny bubbles rising from the depths of a pond, they ascend towards the surface of the mind. As they ascend the thoughts become more cohesive and coherent. When they reach the surface of the mind, like bubbles they burst and we become aware of them. Mantras are said to be endowed with the opposite effect. The mantra is started as a normal thought and then experienced at subtler and subtler levels in its development until the source of thought is reached.
Although mantras have the mythical attribute of taking the mind inwards, it has been demonstrated that any word or sound works. It is not the mantra that constitutes the act of meditating but the attitude of the mind and its (lack of) grip on thought.
As mentioned the mantra is introduced into the mind as any normal thought. It is gently repeated a few times but there is no concentration on the mantra. It is said that the mantra should be 'favoured' rather than being a point of concentration. There is no mental grip on the mantra and it is not repeated like a chant. If the mantra changes in any way it should be allowed to do so. If it disappears altogether that is fine. If thoughts intrude into the meditation, that is also absolutely okay. When the mind remembers that it is supposed to be meditating, the mantra is restarted but at the same intensity as the thoughts it replaces. The mantra is handled in a gentle fashion and the mind exercises only relaxed control over it.

The ultimate state that one experiences in meditation is described by Patanjali as ‘samadhi’ -- the settled mind. But that tells us little. Never a man for long paragraphs, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras consists of a collection of nothing but two line statements. So what does ‘the settled mind’ mean in real terms? In fact it has two meanings -- one describes the settled mind in meditation and the other describes the permanent, ultimate and final state of evolutionary consciousness, the state of Enlightenment.

As we have defined the latter meaning elsewhere, here we will talk about the settled mind in meditation. In meditation, as previously mentioned, the mind experiences finer and finer levels of thought. As one’s thinking becomes more refined thoughts become soft, vague and whispery, and the experience is one of increasing silence and light. Eventually one reaches the source of thought and passes beyond it. This is the state of the totally settled mind. It is, however, a state beyond thought and we do not, therefore, actually experience it. What we experience is passing in and out of the state. Just above the source of thought is a level of thinking that is known in India as ‘ananda.’ In Sanskrit ‘ananda’ means bliss and the experience of passing through this band of consciousness can only be described as exactly that.

The source of thought is the place beyond the point where we start as people. It is a state of pure consciousness without thought or action. It is the field where everything starts and it is, therefore, a field of infinite creative potential and intelligence.

Once again this is not a matter of theory or speculation but of fact. Everyone has the ability to experience this state for themselves.

THE GREAT TRADITION

As we have seen the Great Tradition of Yogic Masters extends into the mists of time. Within it are to be found an almost continuous line of great yogic masters, saints one and all, that includes not only the figures mentioned above but also the father of modern Hinduism, Adi Shankara. It was not until half-way through the first millennium after the birth of Christ that Adi Shankara started his mission. It is said that at the time the religious practices in India were confused and corrupt. Adi Shankara changed all that. A prolific writer and codifier of Vedic texts, Adi Shankara's great contribution to the formalisation of the Hindu religion was in the establishment of four great Maths (pronounced matts) monasteries, in each of the 'four corners of India.' It must be truly divine inspiration that finds four corners in a triangular country. But there ya go.
Each of the maths protects some aspect of the Hindu doctrine and each is headed by a Shankaracharya. All of the maths have a Great Tradition of Yogic Masters associated with them though there are many gaps when there was no one around who was thought to be knowledgeable and elevated enough to take the role. However, the Great Traditions do get revived and there is more than one that has recent additions.
The math that bears responsibility for protecting the knowledge of consciousness (though all the maths share in this responsibility) is situated in Uttar Pradesh, Northern India. Called Joytir Math, the Seat of Light, this is a math that has both an eminent recent addition and a current Shankaracharya who will no doubt be added on his death.
For over 160 years the seat at Joytir Math was empty. However, in the first decade of the 20th century a great saint emerged who was felt to be worthy to hold the post. Ordained by his Master, Swami Krishnanand, at the age of 36 he took the name Swami Brahmananda Saraswati and became a recluse living in the forests of Northern India. Emerging but rarely, somehow his reputation for divinity grew.
Emerging from seclusion every 12 years for the Great Kumbla Mela at Allahabad, the holyman was propositioned without success for over 20 years to accept the throne at Joyitr Math. In the early 1940s he finally agreed and was installed as Jagadguru Bhagavan Shankaracharya of Jyotir Math. Such was his elevation that he was awarded the honorary title of 'Jagadguru' that had only previously been applied to Shankara himself. Swami Brahmananda Saraswati, known to his many followers as Guru Dev (Beloved Guru), is regarded as the last Great Saint to appear in India. And it is to him and his influence that we owe the meditation technique that we offer on this site.
Jai Guru Dev

In the next part of this series we will be looking at the process, mechanisms and effects of meditation.

MEDITATION DOCUMENTS

If you would like to receive copies of the two pdfs that teach our system of meditation, please click here. Please include the words 'meditation pdfs' in your subject line. Thank you.
When you click the link above you get an email form. Sorry about that. Whilst we could have included the meditation documents on this page for download, there is a good reason why we require you to ask for the documents, at least we think it is a good reason. When you ask for the meditation documents you are expressing a desire for evolution and we believe that the Cosmos hears that expression. Simply downloading the documents does not have the same effect.
Space cadets to the very end, it is our belief that expressing a desire to evolve is a life-changing experience. Not, of course, as life-changing as practising the meditation but it all has to start somewhere.
Also now available in German. Please ask.
(Thank you Ingrid Freitag)

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Go to Chapter Two -- The Processes and Mechanisms of Meditation

Many references were used in writing this article including various translations of the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Purunas, the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, the Bhagavad Gita, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. The main source of information regarding Patanjali and the Yoga Sutras was: 'Effortless Being' by Alistair Shearer, currently out of print but formerly published by Bell Tower Books (ISBN: 0609609599.) Some new and used copies are still available on Amazon UK. Currently only available as a Kindle book in the USA. We recommend this as the only book that really seems to understand what the yoga sutras are all about.

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