Guest guest Posted October 4, 2002 Report Share Posted October 4, 2002 I've tried to isolate the practice related suggestions I've gotten here and put them together. If anyone can clarify or add please do. Shawn Bill: The *words* " I Am " are not important. It is the inquiry that is important. The deep, deep inquiry. Trem: Truth is, we are a spriritual being who has 'mistakenly' assumed ownership of a series of human experiences. Stop the ownership. Pete: There is no path beyond consciousness. Consciousness paying attention to consciousness is the path and the goal. Pete: Remembering your self is remembering an idea. Pay attention to consciousness. Pete: Yeah, be sure this is the way for you, and then pay attention. That which pays attention is it. Pay special attention to your controlling ideas. Controlling ideas are ideas that demand action of whatever kind. Try to delay your reactions to that kind of ideas till you are sure of their effect. Pete: What is the sense of I? When focusing bare attention inside only consciousness is found. Only when thoughts of self arises, is there any self, or sense of self. To understand that there is no self, but only disconnected intermittent thoughts of self is the goal. We can't judge success or failure by how often the mind wanders. Don't consider a lapse of attention a failure. The fact that you noticed the inattention is what is important. Attention is the giver of reality. Attention is your true self. Try to pay complete attention to whatever comes to consciousness. Pete: What Nisargadatta recommended, and I found must useful while meditating, is to stay in what he called the state of no-mind. Consciousness resting on consciousness. No effort at all, just plain unfocused awareness. Hur: perhaps a simpler way to express it is that...meditate as consciousness on consciousness nothing else. Pete: It's letting consciousness be empty of thought. When you catch yourself idly thinking, let the thought gently go and notice the spaces between the thoughts. Thinking might seem like a continues stream, but is not. Pete: It's a series of rapidly moving, but disconnected thoughts. Be attentive to the gaps. They will become progressively longer. Those gaps are the self behind the contents of consciousness. Bill: By witnessing/experiencing/knowing each arising in consciousness, and at the same time enquiring into to source of the arising.... Pete: Try to pay complete attention to whatever comes to consciousness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 5, 2002 Report Share Posted October 5, 2002 Shawn, My suggestion is to just take that insight you had about " bare " attention and throw all of these away. The words others can give you pale before your own insight. -Bill Shawn [shawnregan] Friday, October 04, 2002 7:10 AM Nisargadatta Practice I've tried to isolate the practice related suggestions I've gotten here and put them together. If anyone can clarify or add please do. Shawn Bill: The *words* " I Am " are not important. It is the inquiry that is important. The deep, deep inquiry. Trem: Truth is, we are a spriritual being who has 'mistakenly' assumed ownership of a series of human experiences. Stop the ownership. Pete: There is no path beyond consciousness. Consciousness paying attention to consciousness is the path and the goal. Pete: Remembering your self is remembering an idea. Pay attention to consciousness. Pete: Yeah, be sure this is the way for you, and then pay attention. That which pays attention is it. Pay special attention to your controlling ideas. Controlling ideas are ideas that demand action of whatever kind. Try to delay your reactions to that kind of ideas till you are sure of their effect. Pete: What is the sense of I? When focusing bare attention inside only consciousness is found. Only when thoughts of self arises, is there any self, or sense of self. To understand that there is no self, but only disconnected intermittent thoughts of self is the goal. We can't judge success or failure by how often the mind wanders. Don't consider a lapse of attention a failure. The fact that you noticed the inattention is what is important. Attention is the giver of reality. Attention is your true self. Try to pay complete attention to whatever comes to consciousness. Pete: What Nisargadatta recommended, and I found must useful while meditating, is to stay in what he called the state of no-mind. Consciousness resting on consciousness. No effort at all, just plain unfocused awareness. Hur: perhaps a simpler way to express it is that...meditate as consciousness on consciousness nothing else. Pete: It's letting consciousness be empty of thought. When you catch yourself idly thinking, let the thought gently go and notice the spaces between the thoughts. Thinking might seem like a continues stream, but is not. Pete: It's a series of rapidly moving, but disconnected thoughts. Be attentive to the gaps. They will become progressively longer. Those gaps are the self behind the contents of consciousness. Bill: By witnessing/experiencing/knowing each arising in consciousness, and at the same time enquiring into to source of the arising.... Pete: Try to pay complete attention to whatever comes to consciousness. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 5, 2002 Report Share Posted October 5, 2002 shawn, it's not my intention to complicate things any further for you but " practice " is a sensitive word in advaita and it all depends how you understand it. level 1: do your practice. silence the mind meditate as consciousness focused on consciousness nothing else (after he met his guru nisargadatta did this for 3 years i think) this is a simplified imaginary conversation between a guru and a seeker at level one: guru1: do your practice seeker: yes but guru1: do your practice seeker: if i do this... guru1: do your practice seeker: maybe it won't work for me guru1: do your practice level 2: there is no one remains who does the practice customarily or habitually. meditation happens by itself during the day on and off. it's not called a practice anymore. seeker: i'm confused about how to do self-inquiry guru2: who's there to do inquiry? seeker: but ramana taught self-inquiry and nisargadatta said he attended to the sense of " i am " after he met his guru and... guru2: no practice can get you there. seeker: then how am i supposed to get it without practice? guru2: as long as there is someone who asks questions and there is someone who understands my response, you won't get anywhere. seeker: huh???? the second level is the confusing part because some gurus talk from this level. how could this happen, you may ask. this strange condition is similar to forgetting the feeling when you had a stone in your shoe. hur Nisargadatta, " Shawn " <shawnregan> wrote: > I've tried to isolate the practice related suggestions I've gotten > here and put them together. If anyone can clarify or add please do. > > Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted October 6, 2002 Report Share Posted October 6, 2002 Yes, " insight " is its own animal. It knows how to nourish itself, not relying on the words of others. -- Dan Nisargadatta, " Bill Rishel " <plexus@x> wrote: > Shawn, > > My suggestion is to just take that insight you had > about " bare " attention and throw all of these away. > > The words others can give you pale before your own > insight. > > -Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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