Meditation - unconscious?

sambodhi

To successfully meditate does not necesarrily mean achieving a state of unconscious does it? I don't use the term unconscious like being hit in the head with a bat, but merely, hrm... I suppose I mean completely and utterly unaware of my immediate surroundings.

When I meditate, I achieve a profound sense of inner peace and calm that I typically cannot reach. But say for instance if the cat were to jump on my lap, it would disrupt the scene but I would still feel at ease. Is that still successful?

Linc

My sifu speaks of a need to "unplug the senses" to go deeper into meditation, which is what it sounds like you're accomplishing.

lotus123

sambodhi wrote: »

To successfully meditate does not necesarrily mean achieving a state of unconscious does it? I don't use the term unconscious like being hit in the head with a bat, but merely, hrm... I suppose I mean completely and utterly unaware of my immediate surroundings.

When I meditate, I achieve a profound sense of inner peace and calm that I typically cannot reach. But say for instance if the cat were to jump on my lap, it would disrupt the scene but I would still feel at ease. Is that still successful?

If you mean by 'unconsciousness' cutting off all sensory perception, you are right in calling it meditation. This happens at Absorption stage or Samadi or Samatha. You are simply immune to external disturbances. That is why it is rightly spoken as CONCENTRATION, which it differentiates clearly from Vipassana or Meditation. The former a means of reaching one-pointedness of mind and a purely mechanical excercise and the latter contemplating on cause and effect, dependant orgination, aggregates and their attributes of impermanence, suffering and selflessness. I wonder whether I answered your query - let me know.

Palzang

It has been my experience that when I am meditating I become much more aware of my surroundings, not less, but they are just like thoughts -the perceptions arise, they go away, and I don't follow them. It is like a heightened awareness without grasping. It is like there is no separation between "me" and "that".

Palzang

fivebells

sambodhi wrote: »

To successfully meditate does not necesarrily mean achieving a state of unconscious does it? I don't use the term unconscious like being hit in the head with a bat, but merely, hrm... I suppose I mean completely and utterly unaware of my immediate surroundings.

When I meditate, I achieve a profound sense of inner peace and calm that I typically cannot reach. But say for instance if the cat were to jump on my lap, it would disrupt the scene but I would still feel at ease. Is that still successful?

Forget about success and failure.

No, meditation, does not lead to unconsciousness. Just the opposite. It leads to heightened awareness of every aspect of experience.

xangira

Yes!

amoli

According to the yogis, true happiness, liberation and enlightenment comes from union with the divine

consciousness known as Brahman, or with Atman, the transcendent Self. The various yoga practices are a methodology

for reaching that goal.
In hatha yoga, for example, postures and breathing exercises help purify the mind, body and spirit so the yogi can

attain union.

Pranayama breathing exercises help clear the nadis, or channels, that carry prana the universal life force,

allowing prana to flow freely. When the channels are clear and the last block at the base of the spine has been

opened, Kundalini rises through the spine, through the central channel called the sushumna-nadi, and joins the

crown chakra. According to the tradition, the release of Kundalini leads to enlightenment and union.

Dazzle

.

Re #1, meditation is surely about increasing clarity and awareness rather than cutting it off into an unconscious state. One can be completely at peace and undisturbed, yet fully aware at the same time.
It might possibly be rather different if one is experiencing the Jhanas though.


_/\_

shadowleaver

I think one can say that the practice is "working" when one stops viewing the world and self in terms of "success" and "failure".

Sometimes I get brief glimpses of such equanimity and it is truly wonderful, for the few minutes they last.

letsgodowntherabbith

just noticing all the different views on this thread, I think that is very interesting. In my experence I belong in the same camp as palzang and Fivebells. I feel almost like I can hear everything indivually but all at once at the same time. It's my way of feeling connected to everything and loseing my sense of self.

Those are just my experences though, I am enjoying reading the others points of view

williamtolambert

Many people consider the unconscious mind to be morals, deep emotions, motives, etc. But, the basic rule is that if you are aware of them and can change them then they are a part of you conscious mind.
You can Unleashing The Power Of Unconscious Mind Using Hypnosis follow the link below to learn more:-
wcom58.com/77/unleashing-the-power-of-unconscious-mind-using-hypnosis/ :)

jinzang

Just continue to practice and let whatever is going to happen, happen.

Jeffrey

I agree with the above. I read that one of the factors that we balance is concentration versus energy. Which when balanced is called clarity. The way we balance is by opening to the situation. In other words by opening to things as they are you will get the right messages to guide you. I have had meditations where I felt like a statue and thats times I think when my concentration was a little stronger than my energy. Its kind of a dead calm. It does feel good. My book said that indulging in that state could make one reborn in the animal realm however but honestly in part I don't find such warnings a literal message I just take them as expressing an idea. As I said the balance factor is opening to the experience that you do have. High energy states are very dreamy. My book said that sometimes buddhist students get in such extreme high energy states that they are very out of touch with reality. Sometimes they even have to be shocked back to reality with a blow.

Keep in mind that this viewpoint I have expressed is the knowledge and beliefs from the tradition that I am studying. I don't want to impose it on you but I thought I would share it freely with you.

sukhita

I understand that there must be a proper balance between "Right Mindfulness" and "Right Concentration" in Buddhist meditation, like Vipassana.

Vipassana is an analytical method based on mindfulness, awareness, vigilance, and observation. It seems that only "momentary concentration" is required in Vipassana because the meditator notes and lets go of different objects as they appear and pass away, instead of keeping the mind fixed on one thing exclusively. All the activities of daily life can be objects of mindfulness, even the painful ones.

Samatha, or samadhi, is the development of one-pointedness of mind. This requires “strong” mental concentration. In this practice, you fix the attention on a single object until the mind enters a deep, trance-like stillness. This quietens the mind and suppresses mental impurities such as anger. I understand this practice leads to the higher mystic states; but I am unsure whether such mystic states are essential for the realization of Nibbana.

Floating_Abu

sambodhi wrote: »

To successfully meditate does not necesarrily mean achieving a state of unconscious does it? I don't use the term unconscious like being hit in the head with a bat, but merely, hrm... I suppose I mean completely and utterly unaware of my immediate surroundings.

When I meditate, I achieve a profound sense of inner peace and calm that I typically cannot reach. But say for instance if the cat were to jump on my lap, it would disrupt the scene but I would still feel at ease. Is that still successful?

Try not to think in terms of success and failure. Just continue to meditate. Best wishes, Abu.

Mountains

Wow... I can't say I've ever experienced that in meditation. Most of the time I feel so antsy-pantsy that it's hard to sit for more than a few minutes. And only when I sit down does my nose or my ear start to itch. Only then does the gas in my intestines feel the need to move southward (that's a nice way to say I fart). Something to aspire to I guess..

Mtns

lightwithin

In the kind of meditation I practice (Zen meditation), awareness of body, mind and breath are what you should strive for, and this includes mindfulness of your surroundings as well. In meditation we shouldn't shut out the world or turn off our senses.