In this article, we provide links to all related information, from definitions to practical applications.
What is Meditation?: A Definition
Meditation is a multifaceted practice that seeks inner stillness, concentration, and heightened self-awareness. The forms and methods of meditation vary across religions and cultures, with its history spanning back to ancient civilizations, practiced in diverse cultures and religious traditions.
Reference:【Meditation - Wikipedia】 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation
The meditation I will address here is rooted in my personal experiences and background. I grew up in a region where only temples of the Zen sect (Soto school) existed, giving me the opportunity to delve into Buddhist teachings like the Heart Sutra. Additionally, I've gained a rudimentary understanding of Vipassana meditation.
My practice begins by directing attention towards a specific object or thought. If distractions arise, I momentarily shift my focus to these intruding thoughts before returning to the initial point of focus. As the meditation deepens, the need to focus on a specific object fades, leading to a state of mere existence.
The Effects of Meditation
Imagine the crystal clarity of a pristine white canvas. Even a single dot on it becomes strikingly vivid. In a similar way, through meditation, I discern the subtle nuances of my emotions. What impacts me the most is the ability to identify subtle emotional changes and their exact moments with binary precision of 0 or 1.
For me, meditation serves as a lens, bringing into sharp focus the events within my heart and mind. It operates much like the bzero() function in the C language, which resets memory to clarity, allowing my mind to resonate sharply with new experiences and information. I can clearly identify emerging emotions and thoughts, pinpointing the exact moment they begin. This precision can be likened to distinguishing between truth and fiction or spotting a lone star in the vast darkness of the night sky. In a business context, it's as though I possess a POS register that instantly captures the timestamp and details of every change, like clocking each transaction.
Recognizing these intricate nuances is paramount for analyzing situations, adapting to them, and processing my emotions.
Related Articles:【Practicing Emotional Metacognition】
This approach is also effective for ego development, leading to more inclusive thinking and communication skills.
Related Articles:【The Role of Introspection in Self-Differentiation and Unification】
How Do I Do It? My Approach
- I don't obsess over posture.
- I place emphasis on deep breathing.
- My focus remains either on the breath, continuously sensing physical sensations like scanning the body, or counting numbers in my mind.
- I recognize states such as sensations, physicality, cognition, and emotions as they are. I might feel an itch, see images behind my eyelids, or sense the flow of air on the skin's surface.
- It's as if I'm pointing to these in my mind. I also become sensitive to thoughts that arise without intention.
During Zen Meditation:
In my case, as the depth of Zen meditation increases, the following series of events occur.
- Initially, I consciously perform abdominal breathing.
- As I try to slowly count to 20 with this breathing, distractions can cause me to lose track, making me restart from one.
- In moments of distraction, I check the sensations at my back or the soles of my feet.
- In addition to abdominal breathing, if I continue to get distracted, I breathe deeply, drawing air from my ribcage to my shoulders.
- By the time I can count to 20 without interruption, I start to feel an itch somewhere, especially on my face.
- I sense a refreshing airflow inside the skull, around the areas of my nostrils and temples.
- My eyelids don't see complete darkness; various colors appear behind them (like phosphenes). Occasionally, images, often landscapes, envelop my entire visual field for a few seconds.
Note: I haven’t had any divine or mystical experiences.
Meditating Before Sleep:
In addition to the events from my Zen meditation experience, I also encounter the following experiences.
- If I relax too much and let my body's energy dissipate, I sometimes feel a reaction similar to fear.
- In a semi-sleep state, I tend to dream more easily.
