meditation working mind patterns

andariza

Hello:

Do you work your problems "inside meditation"?, or "after"?...
if it is inside, how do you do it? any method?

pd: currently my meditation takes me to what i think is "access concentration", so dont know if it is necessary first develop a more stable concentration,jhana or something before introducing something else than breath to my meditation.

Thanks!

aMatt

andariza,

What a fantastic question! Your mindful looking for an appropriate time to "Work your problems" is great! I find there to be two main kinds of mental problems. One is the kind that automatically dissipates with mindfulness practice. Simply doing breath meditation to become aware enough in the moment provides ample space for the solution to the problem to be available... it doesn't even need pondering. It simply is solved by proper looking. Seeing the door in the room lets you leave it without needing to understand more, you already know and leave it behind.

Other, more twisty problems that require mental effort can be solved in two ways. The first, most reliable, is to present the issue to your spiritual teacher (if you have one you trust) because often our projections and dysfunctions are very cloudy, making the best solution a radical change of thinking nearly impossible to find on our own.

If you do not have or cannot find a spiritual friend like that, then consider using breath meditation (or other mindfulness meditation) until you can observe the pattern as an object, without getting sucked into the form at all. (thinking about that ex-friend without any aggression for instance) From there, sometimes we can begin to relate to the simple pains that bring about the cloudiness. When my teacher is not available, sometimes my mind looks at the issue at hand as "what is the thorn that is making the lion roar"

With warmth,

Matt

RichardH

Well Jhana is another thing. Just settling down and not jumping around is all thats needed. Not stable concentration like drilling at the tip of your nose for hours, but just a basic clear presence of your breath and body. Thoughts steal attention and when you notice it you just come back to being present.

You do not "work your problems' that is for Psychotherapy which can be a healthy compliment to meditation.

Meditation is about this...

"Its not about having an experience, but knowing whatever experience is present."
Ajahn V.

So you sit there and notice wanting to get something (a mood, a feeling, a physical sensation etc.), and wanting to get rid of something(the same). Nothing fancy.

here is a good book to read.


http://www.buddhanet.net/4noble.htm

kaya

andariza wrote: »

Hello:

Do you work your problems "inside meditation"?, or "after"?...
if it is inside, how do you do it? any method?

pd: currently my meditation takes me to what i think is "access concentration", so dont know if it is necessary first develop a more stable concentration,jhana or something before introducing something else than breath to my meditation.

Thanks!

What is your method of meditation right now?

dennis60

It sounds like your meditation is working for you. I would continue to cultivate the "emptiness" and undisturbed concentration you are experiencing while meditating. Then, upon going about your day choose a mantra that will help you remember to clear your mind out. Like "Mind empty, heart open, body dancing." It is not wrong to have thoughts of course, but the suffering begins when we cling to the thoughts and start the comparison game. I have found that my "problems" fade way when they are ready to. By practicing having an empty mind, and heart open, i think you will find that "things" have less influence on you.

TreeLuvr87

I would continue meditating the way that you've been doing, just focusing on your breath, and focusing on being in the moment. This is usually, for me, when a lot of my problems do try to jump out for attention since my mind is so clear. I'll be meditating and something simple like, "budget," will pop into my mind. All I can do is acknowledge my feeling at that moment. I simply say, "I see you, worry. I see you, fear," and then I focus back on my breathing. It gives me a clear head so that when I do come out of meditation, I'm at my best state to actually sit down and try to work on my budget.
Other things, like past problems and pains, ones that can't be actively "worked on" with my hands or other problem-solving skills, I just acknowledge. I don't push them away, I embrace them and then go back to focusing on the present moment. They keep coming back, but it's okay with me. They don't cause the suffering that they used to, and I am happy to embrace all that has contributed to my life experience. I just keep reminding myself to acknowledge the past rather than deny it, but quickly return to present moment and recenter myself.
Good luck to you!

lightwithin

From what I've learned, meditation is a time to be present and to be here and now, and any thoughts that arise should be let go of and not clung to. So this would mean that mulling over your problems, issues or fears, during a meditation session, would be unwanted and not conducive to a proper session.

I think meditation is supposed to bring about the steadiness and calmness of mind to daily life, so that your problems and hang-ups become clearer in time so that you are able to work on them when you are off the cushion.

Just my two cents.

FoibleFull

In a different school, Tibetan Buddhism, the monk who teaches us tells us to count our breaths as we focus on them.

And when we can do 21 breaths with absolutely NO wandering, intrusive thoughts, or distractions ... only then are we ready to move on to something else.

I find this very annoying.

nakazcid

I have been taught, and read, that there are two kinds of meditation: stabilizing and analytical. Stabilizing meditation, as I understand it, is simply focusing the attention with the object of improving one's concentration and "settling" the mind. Analytical meditation is choosing a subject of meditation and then focusing on that subject exclusively. In analytical meditation, it is fine to deal with personal issues, as long as they're relevant to the subject of meditation and not tangential to it. Or at least that's my (possibly very flawed) understanding. Sometimes I'll deliberately choose to meditate on impermanence if I think I'm grasping at something or compassion if I'm being unkind or am unhappy.

DairyLama

andariza wrote: »

Hello:

Do you work your problems "inside meditation"?, or "after"?...

Good question. If you mean personal stuff, then I would say outside meditation.

P