I have been meditating regularly since July 2007 and in the last three months I find my mind is constantly flooded with thoughts. It is very hard to concentrate on the syllable or even to sit quietly without the syllable (though the latter is easier than the former). Is this normal? Am I failing at this. At the very beginning it was very easy and I even felt an energy field. Now I feel frustration and find I am stopping earlier and earlier. Help!
David Spector - NSR/USA (Login david_NSR) English-Forum-Moderator
Concentration
May 12 2008, 12:42 PM
Julia H.,
Any mental effort such as concentration prevents transcending and creates strain in the mind and body. Naturally, when we begin to meditate incorrectly like this, we will want to meditate less and less. Eventually, we will give up, stop meditating, and return to accumulating stress in daily life. Our life, like those of people around us, will again become narrower, more limited, more fatigued, more unhappy, or more "stressed-out" with time instead of freer, happier, more peaceful, more intelligent, more creative, and more productive with time.
This is a very common experience, and fortunately one that is very easy to fix. All you have to do is understand that thoughts are part of correct meditation. Even if the mind is filled with other thoughts, there is no problem.
As explained in the NSR manual, thoughts during meditation indicate that stresses are being released. It is actually impossible to release a stress without having a thought or other experiential indicator associated with the particular stress.
With this understanding, our attitude changes. Instead of resenting thoughts, and trying to concentrate on the syllable, we welcome the thoughts. We may even have meditation sessions that are completely filled with other thoughts. We now know that such sessions are successes, not failures. We confirm this by seeing how many benefits we start finding in daily life when we meditate correctly, not resenting thoughts in any way.
Note: you could be of great help to other meditators if you would be so kind as to post your experiences here again in a few days or weeks. Your experiences, in your own words, would help others to understand the great value of understanding the role of thoughts in NSR meditation.
(Julia H: if you feel I'm hijacking your thread, please forgive me)
I too have enquired about this last year, and David kindly responded the same way. Yet that very question about concentration still bothers me.
I understand very well the notion of letting thoughts flow freely as a means of releasing stress, but I fail to see which stress is being released by my thinking
- what shall I have for dinner tonight?
- why is the new Portishead album mixed with so little bass?
- my cats are so cool
- this is the sequence of movements for a half axel in freestyle kite-flying
- why are we here?
- were those breasts real?
- etc.
These the are kinds of things that go through my mind during waking hours -except for when I'm concentrating on work or some other topic, or reading or watching a movie. When meditating, if I don't make an effort to go back to "saying" the syllable, these utterly trivial thoughts will simply take over my complete 15 minutes every time. The only difference during meditation will then be that I'm sitting with my eye closed...
I should mention I definitely am an intellectual, but I don't think I have an overactive mind.
Yes I agree the thoughts seem to be alot just common things and jibberish and some that are probably related to stress. But what I am noticing is that they seem to be less a part of me and more something I am watching happen that is kind of between me and the sylable. I have to look around the thoughts to hear the sylable. There is some effort involved but not all the time.
The specific thoughts we have during meditation are associated with stress release. But their connection is like dreams: sometimes we can understand the meaning of a dream and sometimes we can't. Similarly, sometimes we can understand the stressor represented by a thought (such as when we recall a traumatic accident) and sometimes we can't (such as when we wonder how many toothpicks are in a box).
But no matter what thoughts or other experiences come to us during meditation, we never concentrate on the mantra. Concentration interferes with transcending. It can even cause stress. It is the opposite of what we want to do. We want to be innocent, spontaneous, and natural. We start the mantra as described in the NSR manual, then let it go. We never concentrate. If our mind is filled with other thoughts, that is fine. That shows that we are releasing stress. It doesn't matter that they are sometimes the exact same trivial thoughts that we have during the day. It doesn't matter.
After a few months or years of regular practice of NSR Meditation, many of those older and deeper stresses start loosening up and dissolving. Then we have fewer random trivial thoughts. Our mind becomes clearer and capable of natural, intelligent focus on a single meaningful idea or goal. This is the basis of "do less and accomplish more", the basis of high productivity and accomplishment in life.
Well, I went back to the drawing board, said the syllable and drifted into thought. Without apprehension, I would sometimes realize I was thinking and stop, and then another thought and another. It was pretty mellow...until the next time I meditated.
That's when my mind stepped in and began to second-guess the whole process: once I move away from the mantra, should I not go back to it at all? what is the purpose of the mantra then? should I not stop thinking if I realize I am? does that my consciousness of thinking concentration and a problem? You see the process.
And then I had the same issue as Christopher: how is this different than just sitting around, thinking? Why was I able to use the mantra when I began meditating with no thoughts entering my mind and that wonderful, peaceful feeling afterwards? Where did that go? Should I not bother with the mantra at all? So I guess I need some guidance on how to let go on all of this second-guessing.
David, your reply is very, very helpful, especially since, as you can tell, letting go is not my natural inclination. But I can't help asking, why is there a mantra in the first place? And why was its initial effect so potent and now so different?
David Spector - NSR/USA (Login david_NSR) English-Forum-Moderator
Why do we need a mantra?
May 21 2008, 1:53 PM
Julia H.,
This is a very good question, and a good answer is going to require quite a bit of background explanation, so I ask your patience.
Most of the world knew of meditation almost exclusively in its non-mantra forms until the arrival of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the mid 1950's. And still, today, forms of meditation that involve simply sitting in silence, or trying to be aware of being in the now, or to eliminate thinking, or focusing on breathing or heartbeat or a location in the body are popular in spite of a lack of research evidence showing comparable effectiveness. People want and need a solution to the accumulation of stress in their lives, so they will try anything out of hope.
For the first time in recorded history, Maharishi brought a truly revolutionary message to the world: that effortlessness is the most efficient path to enlightenment. He pointed out that we had been simply imitating the behavior of enlightened people in an attempt to bring about their state of consciousness. He said that this was putting the cart before the horse. Instead of following a long list of behaviors, such as sitting in a certain position, eating certain foods, and acting in certain ways, the efficient process was to start from where we were and move towards enlightenment. The key was purifying consciousness by eliminating stress and eliminating stress by purifying consciousness.
The quasi-religious ideas that we are already in enlightenment, but simply don't know it, or that nothing need be done to achieve enlightenment since it comes by the grace of the Divine (both of which are advanced insights which may be relevant to people who are already in enlightenment but are not so useful for those wanting to get there) were now complemented by Maharishi's new insight: a clear presentation of the previously obscured Vedic tradition of the effortless elimination of stress. Effective meditation was now available to everyone.
And, finally, research showing the healthy physiological and psychological effects in the 1970's gave this new understanding objective scientific validation.
For the first time, meditation instructors trained by Maharishi promoted an understanding that the blocks to enlightenment were physical abnormalities (stresses) stored in the nervous system. They explained that the nervous system could repair itself if given a special form of deep rest along with mental alertness (transcending).
Why do we need a mantra as part of this process? An answer requires understanding that the accumulation of stress hinders the functioning of the nervous system in many ways. In particular, it interferes with the ability to transcend thought and achieve transcendental consciousness (TC).
TC is a physiological state of deep rest along with mental alertness, just as necessary and as measurably distinct as the other major physiological states of waking, dreaming, and deep sleep. Adding TC to our daily lives is an easy and relatively quick path to full functioning (enlightenment). Enlightened people are generally free of stress and tend not to pick up new stresses.
Indeed, it is the lack of the experience of TC that is primarily responsible for our susceptibility to stress in the first place. Unenlightened people pick up stress because of the abnormalities caused by their existing stress. It is a vicious cycle that frequently (although not necessarily) leads to poor health, unhappiness, addictive or antisocial behaviors, and other increasing problems in life.
The presence of stresses makes entering TC difficult for most of us because as we begin to experience deep rest during the process of transcending, the stresses begin to release. The release of stress, being a physical process, tends to bring us out of the state of rest. It tends to generate thoughts, disturbing feelings, and other results of this inner activity of cleansing.
One part of the solution to the problems posed by stress for meditation is education. Since the process of stress release is not obvious through common sense, having a good understanding of it goes a long way towards helping people accept it as part of the process. Educating people about the nature of stress release is one of the main things we do here in the NSR forum.
Understanding transcending itself is also vital: transcending is the process of experiencing quieter and more abstract levels of thinking until we experience the source of thoughts, an area of unlimited intelligence and creativity deep within our mind.
Besides education, however, another important part of the solution is the mantra. Thinking the mantra as a fine impulse gives us the right "angle" for diving within. There are several reasons for this. One is that the mantra is meaningless. By giving the mind an activity that has no meaning (thinking a sound), the mind is kept alert but not restricted to the surface (concrete) level of life.
If we were to think about going to the store, for example, that would lead to thoughts about what we need to buy, and so forth. Our mind would be kept active, but transcending (thinking thoughts less concretely) would be close to impossible. The mantra, being meaningless, does not keep us hung up on the level of meaning.
Another reason for the remarkable effectiveness of the mantra is that it is a special, beneficial sound that we get from the Vedic tradition, going back thousands of years. Unlike other sounds, it is "slippery", easily forgotten, and feels good when experienced as a quieter and more abstract impulse. These qualities make it ideal as a vehicle to lead the mind within. Without a mantra, it may not be clear where the source of thoughts is, but with the mantra, we have a handy signpost pointing in the proper direction. Its property of being easily forgotten helps the mind to experience quieter and more refined impulses of thought. These more abstract levels of thought are more charming, so the mind enjoys experiencing them. This gives us a vehicle for transcending that takes us to areas of greater enjoyment, culminating in the bliss of Self-realization that leads to enlightenment.
This, then, is the great value of the mantra: it serves as a vehicle to help us dive within and experience the state of TC, which means: pure consciousness without any specific object of perception, being (awareness) without activity, the potential for accomplishing what we want in life, and an unbounded state of fulfillment.
The answer to your question about why the mantra sometimes seems more potent than at other times, is now simple: our perception of the mantra is conditioned by the stresses stored in our bodies. When the stresses permit, the mantra may be experienced in enjoyment. When the stresses are actively dissolving, the mantra may be experienced less clearly, or not at all. In all these cases, we simply start with the mantra but then take it as it comes, letting it change or disappear. The proof of the process is that it works: the stresses are dissolved efficiently whether the mantra seems to be present or not.
OK - I found this instruction on pg 14, Lesson One:
"It's the simple and natural process of thinking the syllable, with no effort, with no worry,and letting the mind be free. The only decision we need to make is to return to the syllable, in our mind, when we realize that we have forgotten it. But this is done with no effort at all!"
This seems to address quite a few earlier queries as to returning to the mantra or remaining in "thoughts". As far as I understand it - it means that as soon as I realize that I am caught up in "thoughts" that I can just effortlessly return to the mantra.
David Spector - NSR/USA (Login david_NSR) English-Forum-Moderator
Second-guessing
May 20 2008, 12:31 PM
Julia H. and Chris R.,
"Second-guessing" (over-analyzing) is indeed a problem for many NSR practitioners. It is a problem that is very easy to fix, but hard to fix on our own. A little advice from someone else is sometimes needed.
As always, letting go is the most frequently useful answer. Just knowing, in the background, "this doesn't matter" is all that is needed. Without a technique, without a method, and without any doing or trying, this knowledge is enough. If you need to call it a technique, that is fine: whatever you need to call it, just let it go. Even without the analyzing is possible to get deep rest. And deep rest is all we need to release stress, since that is part of the natural functioning of the nervous system.
Yes, it is true at times that what goes on in meditation seems like nothing special, nothing different from "normal" (surface-level) thinking. This can happen in a number of different situations, and is very common. No matter what causes it, our technique is simple: we just don't care. We don't care if the thoughts are ordinary, we don't care if there are many thoughts, and we don't care if the mantra is completely forgotten. All of these can happen during the correct practice of NSR Meditation, so we accept them.
All we care about is that we are getting deep rest physiologically and that our life is improving outside of our meditation sessions. If you have ever been startled by an interruption and felt uncomfortable, that shows that your body was experiencing a deep state of rest (this is not a good test because it can create another stress that later must be dissolved). If people tell you about some improvement in your actions or behavior, or if you actually accomplish more or feel better, those are all evidence for improvement in daily life.
Whenever the mind is flooded with other thoughts, in other words, whenever we are having active low-level stress release, it may be impossible to think the mantra without some sort of effort. "Effort" includes clever tricks to work around the thoughts and keep the mantra going. As I have written many times on this forum, any such effort is wrong because it defeats the natural process of transcending.
I don't know where the idea comes from that the mantra has to be present. It doesn't come from the NSR manual. I think we just use our "common sense" and figure that our meditation sessions are a waste of time if we are not actively doing something. After all, this is the way it works in daily life. If we want good results, we have to do something.
However, common sense can be wrong. Einstein showed us that any object that is moving very fast gets heavier. It becomes shorter. There are changes in measured time intervals. All of these fundamental predictions of special relativity contradict common sense, yet they are actually true (we can see them all around us, with the proper equipment to extend our senses).
Why does this happen, that our common sense can be wrong? Because our common sense is only reliable within the domain of our sensory experience, and we simply have no sensory experience of ourselves or other objects moving with a speed close to that of light. It's just too fast.
Similarly, our common sense is wrong in the domain of transcending, since we have never done it before. We think we have to do more to accomplish more because that is how it has always worked. But the way NSR works is "do less to accomplish more". It is the opposite of the way the waking state of consciousness works.
