--- In [email protected], Rick Archer <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > on 6/25/05 9:49 AM, sparaig at [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > >> > >> It would be interesting to hear others experiences in the area of TM > >> and laxity. > > > > Well, aside from the advice given that people who find themselves sleeping a > > lot during TM > > should sleep more BEFORE TM? > > > > BTW, I go through periods where I sleep a lot during program, and periods > > where I don't > > seem to sleep much. What is your explanation for that other than MMY's, that > > the > > condition of my nervous system is different from time to time? > > On the Santa Barbara ATR (winter 71-72) I told M that I fell asleep in most > of my meditations. He said "Some physical weakness. Try to remove the > cause." > > On my 6 month course (Courcheval, Spring-Fall 1975) M said that he was going > to try to turn us into yogis in 6 months. Two things he recommended were > cold baths and sitting up without back support in meditation. I think both > of these, especially the latter, were prescriptions to combat laxity. (He > also said we were in a race or a contest to see who could purify the > fastest, and to help us he had us fasting and trying all sorts of healers > brought in from around Europe). > > I think the no effort thing is most relevant to grosser levels of > experience, i.e., new meditators. At subtle levels effort also isn't > appropriate, but attentiveness is. The advanced technique where you focus on > the heart area is certainly a form of attentiveness. I also find that some > gentle attentiveness vs. allowing the mind to just mess around makes a big > difference in terms of clarity and frequency of transcending. > > At Estes Park, M quoted the Vedas as saying, "Be easy to us with gentle > effort."
Interesting. My recollection is that "focus" is not what I was told to do in any advanced technique I learned, and that making a distinction between gentle attentiveness and "allowing the mind to just mess around" during TM is a false dichotomy. Messing around is just as valid an experience as any other during TM, as long as one is following the instructions (such as they are). I also recall MMY saying that transcendence or any other experience, including clarity, during TM wasn't the goal. To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
