Meditation is not something esoteric and reserved for the saints from the Himalayas. The Samurai warrior is just as spiritually evolved as the ‘Zen’ of Motorcycle Maintenance. The wonderful gymnast who scores perfect 10s at will, and the neighbourhood shopkeeper who apparently never makes a false move would be equally adept at objectively observing their individual selves. [which is what being spiritual is all about].
In that sense, I was wrong when I suggested [in my blog Lets De-addict] that meditation is the only hope for de-addiction. The first step of any de-addiction is to envision and review our actions vis-a-vis our pre-defined outcomes [people, numbers, mental sketches]. Any sustained gap between an ideated state and the actual state is a case for de-addiction.
All of us do it – when keeping track of finances spent or earned or while tracking time as we try to meet a deadline; at times we also track our skills acquired through self-administered tests. This approach serves as a magnifying glass to identify our addictions/habits and their physiological or psychological roots, which result in the gap.
Another approach is pursuing an objective as an end in itself. Like the Samurai or the Dancer pursuing their goals with passion. Keeping at it – till the wiring straightens. Looking at every small step – trying, re-trying and keep re-trying; tweaking and continue tweaking until something looks obvious, and every next step after that is the correct step. It is like forcing the kid with a maths phobia to eat drink and sleep tables till one fine moment she/he realises that it is as easy as brushing one’s teeth. It is to allow nature do the strengthening; we just need to be a part of the process. It is a process to dig into the innate reservoir of innate potential. An eagerness to confront and question our apriori belief that something is not doable. Sometimes we can do it ourselves and at other times we can take the help of teachers and tutorials.
To develop this into a process, there are typically 4 phases involved in changing gears from level 1 to 4. First is stage of incredulity – the sense that it is impossible. One has to see through this phase – here a tutor/tip is most useful to give that comfort that the body/mind will not give up – the sky will not fall after all. The next phase is trying again – and experiencing the reduced resistance [even if a very tiny bit of reduction] and feeling of hope. The third phase – is to experience the diminishing resistance, and allow oneself to feel confidence attached to it. The fourth phase – is the phase of diligence, the path is visible crystal clear. One just needs to pursue this process, and take the reistance by its horns. I have gone through this cycle umpteen times while trying out new asanas and have experienced the associated thrill.
From a different perspective, another scientific approach is conducting a self-method study. That is, tracking what one was supposed to do and what one actually did during a particular time-frame [say hour or day or month] and try to identify root causes for the deviation from the planned routine.
There are different paths to de-addiction. There are numerous self-helps, to-dos, charts, frameworks to give us an opportunity to do the same. But the key to any de-addiction then, is a tool and technique for self awareness and self-assurance [Yes, self assurance too, because one of main reasons we discard a path of conscious continuous improvement is a regular reinforcement that our reality is different from what we think we deserve or we can achieve. So often we prefer to live with our positive perceptions of ourselves than the scorecard of continuous evaluation.]
Objectively observing the different layers of our mind and the stealthy games that we play require self-awareness of an order that we are normally not endowed with. This is a skill that needs to be acquired overtime. Also, using methods that use only the conscious realms of our brain lead to roadblocks, as the addictions are rooted in our sub-conscious mind.
When I said meditation is the only way, what I really meant to say was that meditation as a tool for increasing self-awareness has the highest ROI. It is both sustainable and proactive. Most importantly, it is transcendental and forces an experiential learning through a simulated environment. It is certainly not the only method for self awareness – but probably the best method and probably the method with the maximum success rate. It is also a smart way because it is self-administered and also as it is sustainable. Equally importantly is has minimal side-effects.
Life Before Meditation is about getting started on a path of conscious continuous positive and proactive change. Through whatever techniques we are - philosophically and psychologically – comfortable with. Soon we attracted to mediation as a medium like bee too honey. One realises pretty quickly that it has the power to transform. Even though assimilaton can take time. I have not internalised it yet, despite the realisation for 15 years. But once one is in that path, the transformation is a distinct possibility. The more one practices, the greater the possibility of transformation. Probably non-doers need to work on de-addication to start practising regularly. :).
July 24, 2011
Bhubaneshwar
In that sense, I was wrong when I suggested [in my blog Lets De-addict] that meditation is the only hope for de-addiction. The first step of any de-addiction is to envision and review our actions vis-a-vis our pre-defined outcomes [people, numbers, mental sketches]. Any sustained gap between an ideated state and the actual state is a case for de-addiction.
All of us do it – when keeping track of finances spent or earned or while tracking time as we try to meet a deadline; at times we also track our skills acquired through self-administered tests. This approach serves as a magnifying glass to identify our addictions/habits and their physiological or psychological roots, which result in the gap.
Another approach is pursuing an objective as an end in itself. Like the Samurai or the Dancer pursuing their goals with passion. Keeping at it – till the wiring straightens. Looking at every small step – trying, re-trying and keep re-trying; tweaking and continue tweaking until something looks obvious, and every next step after that is the correct step. It is like forcing the kid with a maths phobia to eat drink and sleep tables till one fine moment she/he realises that it is as easy as brushing one’s teeth. It is to allow nature do the strengthening; we just need to be a part of the process. It is a process to dig into the innate reservoir of innate potential. An eagerness to confront and question our apriori belief that something is not doable. Sometimes we can do it ourselves and at other times we can take the help of teachers and tutorials.
To develop this into a process, there are typically 4 phases involved in changing gears from level 1 to 4. First is stage of incredulity – the sense that it is impossible. One has to see through this phase – here a tutor/tip is most useful to give that comfort that the body/mind will not give up – the sky will not fall after all. The next phase is trying again – and experiencing the reduced resistance [even if a very tiny bit of reduction] and feeling of hope. The third phase – is to experience the diminishing resistance, and allow oneself to feel confidence attached to it. The fourth phase – is the phase of diligence, the path is visible crystal clear. One just needs to pursue this process, and take the reistance by its horns. I have gone through this cycle umpteen times while trying out new asanas and have experienced the associated thrill.
From a different perspective, another scientific approach is conducting a self-method study. That is, tracking what one was supposed to do and what one actually did during a particular time-frame [say hour or day or month] and try to identify root causes for the deviation from the planned routine.
There are different paths to de-addiction. There are numerous self-helps, to-dos, charts, frameworks to give us an opportunity to do the same. But the key to any de-addiction then, is a tool and technique for self awareness and self-assurance [Yes, self assurance too, because one of main reasons we discard a path of conscious continuous improvement is a regular reinforcement that our reality is different from what we think we deserve or we can achieve. So often we prefer to live with our positive perceptions of ourselves than the scorecard of continuous evaluation.]
Objectively observing the different layers of our mind and the stealthy games that we play require self-awareness of an order that we are normally not endowed with. This is a skill that needs to be acquired overtime. Also, using methods that use only the conscious realms of our brain lead to roadblocks, as the addictions are rooted in our sub-conscious mind.
When I said meditation is the only way, what I really meant to say was that meditation as a tool for increasing self-awareness has the highest ROI. It is both sustainable and proactive. Most importantly, it is transcendental and forces an experiential learning through a simulated environment. It is certainly not the only method for self awareness – but probably the best method and probably the method with the maximum success rate. It is also a smart way because it is self-administered and also as it is sustainable. Equally importantly is has minimal side-effects.
Life Before Meditation is about getting started on a path of conscious continuous positive and proactive change. Through whatever techniques we are - philosophically and psychologically – comfortable with. Soon we attracted to mediation as a medium like bee too honey. One realises pretty quickly that it has the power to transform. Even though assimilaton can take time. I have not internalised it yet, despite the realisation for 15 years. But once one is in that path, the transformation is a distinct possibility. The more one practices, the greater the possibility of transformation. Probably non-doers need to work on de-addication to start practising regularly. :).
July 24, 2011
Bhubaneshwar
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