Welcome to the Yahoo! Message Board for Meditation Society of America

The aim of the Meditation Society of America for
this club is to provide our members, friends, and
fellow seekers, a place to ask and answer questions
about meditation and share their experiences. There are
obstacles that virtually every meditator faces and the
potential to overcome them is increased greatly with the
wisdom and help of others. Following the ancient formula
acknowledging humility and compassion as the proper actions in
every righteous situation, we request that all
interactions here contain these divine properties. If this
message board helps you attain greater serenity,
knowledge, self control, and bliss, it will have served its
purpose.<br>Peace and blessings,<br>Bob Rose,
President,<br>Meditation Society of America

As a sample of the types of questions and snswers
you can expect to see on this message board, I have
copied a few of the ones from Meditation Stations FAQ.
If you would like to comment on them, that's what
this is all about. Do you have any questions of your
own? Ask and they shall be answered. Have you wanted
to share a concept or experience you have had?
Here's your chance. Enjoy!<br>Peace and
blessings,<br>Bob Rose, President,<br>Meditation Society of
America<br><br>Meditation Q & A<br><br>Question <br> I have been meditating
for about a year now, and although I feel I am doing
it correctly as I am able to relax almost at will, I
don't seem to be able to get past a certain point. How
can I progress in my meditation
practice?<br>Answer<br>The next step beyond interesting meditations, is to
undo those things that are preventing the universe
from filling you. Just as a pharmacist would never
fill a prescription and put it in a soiled vial, the
highest power can only fill the vessel you are to the
degree of purity you present. If you have anger, how
much room can there be for forgiveness, if you have
hate,<br>how can love be there, if you have mental, physical,
or emotional tension, how can there be tranquility.
Witnessing your life attentively, silently, honestly, and as
continuously as possible, will give you the
understanding<br>you need to end habitual, often subconscious
reactions that cause you to be filled with negativity. When
you realize that you have been hitting your head on
the wall, you will stop. And it will feel great,
allow a greater<br>functionality to your life, and save
money on Tylenol and bandages also. You must witness
your life as it takes place to do this. The silent
inner Witness that has always been there, and is aware
of everything your mind, body, and emotions
experience, is your Real Self. When we meditate, we gain a
recognition/experience of this. You already are a receiver of all the
energy in the universe. Your inner chatterer has
prevented you from realizing this. Stop it via meditation
techniques, become at one with your Witness, and live happily
ever after.<br><br>Question<br> I am a beginner at
meditating. Could you please give me a simple, beginners
program to meditating? <br>Answer<br>I suggest that you
read the Concepts of Meditation and What is Meditation
sections of Meditation Station. The last listed meditation
technique, 108, An Easy Hard Technique, is very good for
tracking your progress. I also want to emphasize that not
every type method is good for everyone, and that you
may have to try several different ones before you
find one that "works" for you. It works if it brings
you peace. It doesn't if it takes your peace away.
Experiment. One technique I have found to be very beneficial
is the chanting of a mantra. I'm pretty sure more
people are chanting OM than all the other techniques put
together. There is no better thing you can do for yourself
than learning and doing meditation. It will bring
clarity of thought, self control, and bliss to your life.

Question:<br>When i meditate i have some
difficulty feeling the energy flow beyond my hands. I desire
more than anything to fill my third eye to the
bursting point with energy.. Also, After i meditate, i am
<br>pulled to nature and any and everything natural. I can
feel the energy of life in the world when i step
outside. How can i make this feeling
concurrent?<br>Answer:<br>I too was drawn to 3rd eye experiences. They are
most inviting, beautiful and worthy of wanting to have
eternally. But that's the problem. I spent 20 years chasing
beautiful visions but didn't <br>actually attain inner
peace. Please be patient. If everyone on earth prayed
for you to have a continuing state of bliss, it still
wouldn't <br>help. These things are by Grace only. If you
think of the enormity of the universe, it will become
apparent that all of mankind has only been here for a
cosmic mini second and don't occupy one trillionth of
one trillionth of all there is. Just as all the
billions of ants could pray for a human to notice them,
can we expect Higher Powers or <br>whatever you want
to call them, to notice us? We are just another
swarming, mostly unconscious species that is just one grain
of sand on an infinite beach. And as individuals, we
are even less. So, the thing to do is to remove those
things that prevent us from knowing our universal
connection and forget about our individual
<br>salvation/bliss/freedom/knowledge. You feel wonderful when at one with
nature
because you are all of nature. You are a part of it, not
apart from it. Meditation has the potential to refocus
our focus and dissolve the separateness and the
slavery to the mind and the senses that egotistical
thinking brings. And at the exact time the universe knows
it is right, the veils of illusion that have made us
think we were not enlightened and apart from the Divine
will <br>disappear and we will live happily ever
after. Persevere. You're doing very well and are close.
Work on humility and compassion. The visions will come
and go, but the love will surely grow. Soon <br>there
will be no more room for anything else and you will
experience the recognition of your Divine Self
consistently.<br>Peace and blessings,<br>Bob Rose,
President,<br>meditation Society of America

Hi, I am looking to learn and try different forms
of meditation to better myself and my control the
self. Have I joined the right club. Oh and I don't have
to be American do I? Hope to hear soon.<br><br>Tony

Hi, I am looking to learn and try different forms
of meditation to better myself and my control the
self. Have I joined the right club. Oh and I don't have
to be American do I? Hope to hear soon.<br><br>Tony

Dear Tony,<br>Welcome. Right club, right time! Of
course you don't have to be American. Meditators in more
than 50 countries are involved in our web site and
projects. We offer techniques from every tradition and if
you will check out Meditation Station
<a href=http://www.meditationsociety.com
target=new>http://www.meditationsociety.com</a> you will find dozens of methods
and concepts that
are aimed at helping your experience of meditation be
a very beneficial one. If you ever have any
specific questions or just want to share, here is the
place to post. Welcome aboard!<br>Bob Rose

Question:<br>How does dispassion fit in with
anger?<br>Answer:<br>Remember the Tao. What it (and non-duality) is about is
found in the cliche about a coin having 2 sides.
Reality includes both heads and tales. Anger is the tales
to loves head and sad is the other side of happy.
What we are really talking about is Feeling, which is
the coin (with both sides of all emotions). So we sit
in the Tao and Witness. This arises and then that.
Without passionate reactivity to either this or that, not
letting ourselves get carried away and stuck on either
side of the coin, we absorb all the permiations and
float freely above,transcendent and ready to fill with
the pure Truth,Consciousness, and Bliss that is
available only when we are empty (calm and completely
dispassionate). As soon as we react, there will be another
reaction and we are no longer absorbed in the universal
and are flung back to the egoistic. Even "I'm so
blessed, this is so beautiful" can be a disqualifier.
Religions suggest that the only thing that we can "Get away
with" are praises to God. Ecstatic reaction is no less
a distraction to honoring God than violence is. God
is Peace and sometimes love can take your peace away
as well as anger. So, be at Peace and live happily
ever after.

If anger is the opposite of love, then I guess
anger would be the same as hate. Or, is anger just an
emotion which can turn to hate if you let yourself get
swept away in it? If you are witnessing your emotions
and anger comes up and you can't seem to let go of
it, what do you do?

Sorry it takes so long to reply but I am limited
in my access to the web, plus when I'm on most of
you are sound asleep. It is great to be personaly
welcomed to a club! I am looking for a meditation that
will aid me attain my full potential in life. I have
come accross a technique called Creative Visualisation
but I find it very hard to visualise images in my
mind, I don't know if thats because I'm not an arty
person, I don't know. But I know that in life I have a
great potential but seem to have this blockage that I
want to get rid of. I have described it as having a
rocket pack on my back but a 10 tonn weight straped to
my shoulders.<br><br>Thank you again. I only hope I
can give back what I take from this club.<br><br>Much
love<br><br>Tony

They say that you need to observe your emotion as
if you were looking from the eye of an outsider. But
when emotions are strong how can you overcome that
surge of electric like tention that comes within you. I
sometimes physically shake with anger for example when I
saw what happened last Tuesday.

Emotions and Visualization<br>When you witness
yourself being carried away by your emotional reactivity,
two "antidotes" are to visualize your self having the
opposite emotion. For example, if you see your self being
devoured by sadness, actually sit in meditation and
picture yourself as how you appear when you are happy.
This is a practical application of the biblical
direction that translates into "As you see yourself, so
shall you be". The other technique is to realize that
even a hurricane has an eye that is in its center
where all is still and unaffected by the turbulence
swirling around it. So in this visualization, see yourself
as being in the unmoving silent center. You will be
not just in the center of the storm of emotions, but
in the center of all the dualities of good/bad,
up/down, love/hate, and so on. We are truly at the center
of the universe at every moment. Our mind confuses
us to make us think we are stuck on one side of the
dualities. Sometimes our body follows suit, by being tense,
shaking, pain, etc., and our emotions chime in with
crying, grief, depression, etc. Visualize yourself as
unaffected and impervious to these ever-changing temporary
states and more and more you will elevate, transcend
them, and experience the eternal essence, the pure
consciousness that is your real Self. You are not your body,
you are not your emotions, you are not your mind. You
are the Witness to their changes. If you are unable
to reach this essence by visualization, perhaps that
is not the meditation technique that is the best for
you. Try mantra, breathing methods, bodily awareness,
and so on. Persevere. Meditate. You will learn from
your "failures" as well as your great visions.

Thank you for that advice. Yes we are not our
body or emotion. Control of these things will take
time and meditation. I will take heed of your advise.
I like the point that you made about it being a
'temporary state'. Perserverance is the key to my success.
<br>I am going to work now. Will log in later. Again
thank you!

I work in a hospital psych unit and have seen
remarkable things this past week. We have not had any
incidences of patients acting out at all. Usually there will
be a fairly dramatic one (hitting, screaming,
biting, etc.) virtually every night. They seem to be so
focused on the world's events that they have dropped
their personal manias, neediness, attention seeking,
etc. Another amazing thing I've seen is that our ICU
has no patients. We usually have 8-10. This has
never<br>happened before. Also, here in Philly, many people have
commented on how driving is much more a civil experience
than it has ever been. People are letting you cut into
their lanes, not honking their horns, and being
downright gracious. Road rage is now road
righteousness.<br>Semi-interesting, don't you think?<br><br>Bob Rose

I am practising meditation since last one
year.<br>Recently, I experience a noble silence in my mind<br>after
considerable time and the mind become<br>stagnant and do not
know what is to be done next<br>Shoud I continue
concentation irrespective of<br>vibration empowering my body?
I took training<br>in Vipassana Meditation in
Mumbai, India.<br>Can you help me by replying in simple
English?

I have noticed similar things over here. Could it
be that people have attained a sense of perception
in light of the recent atrocities?<br>It must be
difficult at times working on a Psych ward. My mother has
Manic Depression, my brother has paranoid
schizophrenia, my Dad had Clinical Depression and I had a
nervous breakdown and was diagnosed has having Anxiety
Depression. But in light of the events in the states I know
we all have a altered sense of
perception.<br><br>Tony

Experiencing a noble silence in your mind is
inconsistant with stagnation. Be patient. What commonly
happens when you meditate and achieve silence is that our
inner chatterer starts commenting, judging and
comparing. This stops the blessed silence that allows the
divine whisperings of Truth to be heard. Your inner
Witness is what became aware of the moment of silence.
This awareness is your real Self. Persevere. As your
meditation becomes firmer, you will be able to have greater
and greater periods of at-one-ment with your Witness.
With grace, you will unite eternally and live happily
ever after.

Dear Tony,<br>I think you have the right idea.
When we take our focus off of our little selfish
egoistic outlook and view the world in a wider selfless,
truly compassionate manner, we approach actually acting
in a humane way.<br>It is wonderfully educational
working in a Psych ward and offers many opportunities to
be helpful in a real way to those who can't help
themselves. I have the honor and pleasure of often being able
to have a small part in a process that reverses
suffering, sometimes only temporarily, but often
longlasting, and there is no millionare who feels better about
what they are doing when that occurs. I still have
alot to learn about the disease processes that are
involved and feel humbled often by the complexity. I'm
sure that by having lived with it in your family, you
have a vast experience and understanding that I will
never attain. But I do appreciate the opportunity I
have now to learn. I can only guess, but since I
believe that you only get stronger from facing
challanges, I think you must be as strong as steel, and have
a wisdom that few could know from only having
second hand knowledge. I wish you peace and blessings.

It is true that we all gain strength from our
experience. When we are down we get back up stronger than
before. We also start to learn our own symptoms of
stress, or tension traits. Therefore we can act quickly
and resolve the situation before it escalates any
further. It is a part of what I call natural education. I,
like you, enjoy helping people and I see my own
experiences as a learning process and the wisdom gained may
be called upon to help others at some point in the
future. However I am only 28 and still have much more
learning to do. Peace and love to you, may God bless you.

Anxiety for many of us is a continual presence.
Like a hive of bees in the garden we may all of got
used to there constant buzz of worry. That much that
we may no longer even notice it.<br>Here is a
visualization exercise that I learned called, 'Silencing The
Buzz'.<br><br>Sit comfortable and close your eyes. Imagine that you
are walking down a path in a silent forest. Soon you
come across a clearing. Walk slowly to the centre of
the glade and sit down.<br><br>As if from nowhere
animals surround you. They mean no harm, but each
represents a concern. The larger the animal the greater the
anxiety. (for example a gazelle may represent a work
deadline and a lion may represent a problem within a
relationship).<br><br>In another part of the glade is a beehive. Bees
swarm near by, making the buzz of free flowing
worry.<br><br>Gently touch each animal. As you do so, they quieten and
disappear into the forest. The only sound left is the buzz
of the bees.<br><br>Imagine all your tiny worries
one by one entering the hive, until the glade is
silent. Your worries are still, your concerns will be
dealt with another day. All around is peace.

Two sample issues of The Inner
Traveler<br>newsletter may be opened from our site, Meditation Station
at<br><a href=http://www.meditationsociety.com/its9091/index.html
target=new>http://www.meditationsociety.com/its9091/index.html</a><br>and also
at<br><a href=http://www.meditationsociety.com/it18774/index.html
target=new>http://www.meditationsociety.com/it18774/index.html</a> <br>You will
need the Adobe Reader ™ to do this.
It can be downloaded free of charge
at:<br><a href=http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html
target=new>http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html</a><br><br>As
with all of our projects, The Inner Traveler is
offered with humility, compassion and love in the hope
that it will help you gain greater inner peace,
wisdom, and self-control.<br><br>Enjoy!

Question<br> How can I concentrate, on not
concentrating on meditation, while I am counting reps? Granted,
it distracts me from other interruptions in thought,
but it creates thought in itself.<br>Answer<br>When
you do a counting technique, you will soon fall into
a rhythm and will not have to count. You can just
sit back in your mind's eye and Witness the show.
This isn't hard unless your inner chatterer diverts
your attention. Counting will keep that crazy voice
still. Soon, it will be a natural progression for your
mind to cease counting on its own and your body to do
the breathing on its own, and for you ( your "Real
Self", your Witness) to soar to the infinite eternal
divine heights that is your birthright. You are not your
mind - the thing that counts.<br>Nor are you your body
- the thing that breaths, or emotions - the thing
that feels frustration or joy or whatever. They all
change constantly. You are the awareness within that is
constant. Counting techniques have the potential to let you
become familiar with the chatterer and its tricks and
puts you in the position of being able to choose to
just continue breathing/counting and not just get up
and go wherever your chatterer pulls you.

Question<br>What would you tell a beginner who
wants to learn about meditation but is a little
intimidated?<br>Answer<br>I would suggest that a beginner check out the What
Is Meditation article on Meditation Station
<a href=http://www.meditationsociety.com/what.html
target=new>http://www.meditationsociety.com/what.html</a><br> This will give a
basic understanding. Then, go to
the archives section and see if any of the techniques
seem interesting and then actually try them out. The
best way to learn about meditation is by meditating.
When questions come up (and they will), post them
here. We will try to help in any way necessary.

Question<br> I am a beginner at meditating. Could
you please give me a simple, beginners program to
meditating? <br>Answer<br>I suggest that you read the
Concepts of Meditation and What is Meditation sections of
Meditation
Station.<br><a href=http://www.meditationsociety.com
target=new>http://www.meditationsociety.com</a><br>Then go to the Archive
section to meditation technique
#108, An Easy Hard Technique,
<br><a href=http://www.meditationsociety.com/week30.html
target=new>http://www.meditationsociety.com/week30.html</a><br>It is very good
for tracking your progress. This is
also very useful for advanced meditators. I also want
to emphasize that not every type method is good for
everyone, and that you may have to try several different
ones before you find one that "works" for you. It
works if it brings you peace. It doesn't if it takes
your peace away. Experiment. One technique many have
found to be very beneficial is the chanting of a
mantra. I'm pretty sure more people are chanting OM
(technique#44) <a href=http://www.meditationsociety.com/week20.html
target=new>http://www.meditationsociety.com/week20.html</a>
<br>than all the other techniques put together. There is
no better thing you can do for yourself than
learning and doing meditation. It will bring clarity of
thought, self control, and bliss to your life.

To quote from an article in The Inner Traveler
#3..."There is an awareness, a consciousness within you that
is a silent Witness to everything your senses react
with, your mind thinks, and your emotions feel. It has
been witnessing since you were born. When you were a
baby and couldn't judge, compare, or comment in any
way about anything, it was already witnessing. As a
matter of fact, this Witness is your only hope of
eternal life. Your body will drop. Your thoughts and
emotions will stop. These things have never had any
permanence whatsoever. The only thing about them that never
changes is that they are always changing. Our Witness is
the only part of us that has been changeless and is
the only part of us that has the possibility of
surviving death. You are not your body, you are not your
emotions, you are not your mind. The Witness is the Real
Self. When you meditate it is the Witness who will
recognize that you have stopped concentrating, or are
distracted, or are demeaning yourself. You then can stop it
and direct your consciousness to what is appropriate.
This is Real Self-control."

Question<br>Can meditation help me to lose
weight?<br>Answer<br>Visualizing your body as losing weight has been claimed to
work for many, and most advanced bodybuilders spend
huge amounts of time visualizing how they want their
body to appear. Personally, It hasn't worked for me.
My focus is transcending the identification with
anything temporary and instead focusing on identification
with the eternal. Thus, I want to see myself as a part
of the infinite, never ending universe and don't
care tremendously what happens to this temporary
vehicle. As a matter of reality/fact, every atom in your
body has changed since you started reading this. So
has every thought and emotion. What did not and will
never change is the consciousness, the inner Witness
that can be aware of these changes. This is the real
you that has the potential to bring you eternal peace
and life, which, of course, the mind, body, and
emotions can't.

I'm very new to the whole meditation thing, and I
would like to know what exactly do you do when your
meditating? I've read that you can ask your spirit guide
questions, and then they may give you answers. How do you
talk to your spirit guide or higher self? I have to
idea what to do!

First, you will need a technique that quiets you
inner chatterer. Check out the Archive section of
Meditation Station <a href=http://www.meditationsociety.com
target=new>http://www.meditationsociety.com</a> Try a
few of the meditations. After you find a method that
brings your mind to a quiet place, sincerely ask, and as
the bible puts it, you shall receive. Meditation is a
process that comes when your body, mind, and emotions are
not distracting you. It is then that your
concentration will be consistent and concentrated enough for a
meditative state to occur. At that point, meditation will
simply come to you. You will be able to just sit back
and witness the universe unfolding. Like being in a
theatre and watching a show. Only this theater is within
and the content is wisdom, awareness, reality, and
bliss. And all your ??? will become !!!

Hi, I just noticed this group & decided to join.
I've been going through a rough time for the past few
years & stopped meditating. Recently my husband died &
I'm scared to be "alone" by myself inwardly &
otherwise. <br><br>I know meditation would help but I'm very
much out of the habit & can't seem to get myself back
into it. I need encouragement or some feedback from
others. And a reason to live as well. Previously I was a
long-time meditator & taught it to others. Now I can't even
get back into doing it to help myself. Any response
or comment will be deeply appreciated. <br><br>Thanx
& blessings,<br>Lananda (Astro)

Dear Astro,<br> I really feel for you and pray
for your relief from suffering. I must emphasize my
confidence in meditation as being potentially very
beneficial to you. And if you can regain you ability to
teach, many others will benefit as well. I can only
guess, but perhaps the rough times and the process of
mourning your husbands loss have so filled you that it has
stopped you from being able to concentrate. Can you share
with us some of what happens when you try to meditate
and find it undoable.<br>Peace and blessings,<br>Bob
Rose