Coming out of meditation

Bushido

For years I’ve taught cops and soldiers meditation to enable them to relax, achieve a highly suggestible state, and then work on whatever goals they are striving for. At the end of the session, they do specific procedures to “wake up” or “come out of” their meditative state. Usually, this is done by counting backwards from 10 as they tell themselves to wake up refreshed, and so on.

Is this waking process also part of meditating in Buddhism?

Brian

At the temple I go to it's as simple as the meditation 'leader' ringing a bell. It's a very gentle sound

Bushido

The temple I went to used the bell, too, and it was amazing how calming it could be.

I'm trying to recall...the sound of the bell was used to call us to meditation. Was there eventually a pause in the sound and then another ringing to bring us out of it?

Maybe it's different at each temple.

Simonthepilgrim

Bushido,

I think that "warming down" is very useful. It enables us to establish a bridge between the cushion and the 'mundane'. I'm not sure that there is any specific ritual, any more than there is one particular "warm up" exercise. The gentle bell is wonderful.

The use of sound in our spiritual growth is too undervalued today.

Bushido

Thanks for the answers. I like the bell idea.

I think the concern when meditating deeply, to a place of high suggestibilty, is that if you don't 'wake up,' you will be vulnerable to suggestion for a while. Not a good time to be around a used car salesman.

federica

...OR window glazing..... They're so transparent.....!
I have a Balinese bell which was specifically made for me (they read your horoscope and decide during which moons and phases thereof to beat the metal and to form the bell!) and I use it for meditation, space-cleansing and diagnosing blockages of Qi in the human frame..... If i don't ring it for a while, I swear it genuinely sounds duller the first few times. it's an amazing object.....

Bushido

That's very interesting.

So when you're meditating AND you're in charge of the bell ringing, is that distracting at all?

ZanyMike

Sometimes we just begin chanting a prayer as we come out of meditation. Or he sometimes uses the bowl.

Both work. I actually prefer the chant. I find that chanting the homages elivates my thoughts, and it's a very calming way of coming out of meditation.

federica

Bushido wrote:

That's very interesting.

So when you're meditating AND you're in charge of the bell ringing, is that distracting at all?

I have never found it so.... it has just become a part of my meditation, but separate..... sometimes, I don't even know when i'm going to ring it.... I find myself permitting the sound to fill 'the space between my ears' (!) so completely, - no room for anything else - that sounding the bell becomes instinctive....

buddhafoot

I have a bell "meditation" loop that I've made that is about 15 minutes long. I can only go through this (being played on my pc) about two times - then my legs are done!

I will be posting it at

www.claymohr.com/meditation (along with a couple other sounds files)

for anyone that would like to download some meditation music.

Michael

shasha

buddhafoot wrote:

.....for anyone that would like to download some meditation music.

Michael

I just wanted to thank you for putting up a link for the files. I actually d/led them last night, burned to a disk and used them in my regular CD player. I'm pretty new at trying to sit STILL for meditation and they made it much easier for me.

shasha

buddhafoot

you're very welcome. i was just hoping someone would find them useful instead of just silly or stupid

michael