What Are
You Listening To?
Month 1: Beginner
And one of the simplest ways to
be in the present moment is by listening to the natural sounds. Because the
moment you start listening to the natural sounds, automatically you are in the
present moment. Isn’t it as simple as that?
And I have recorded an instant meditation (Note.mp3) which is 12 seconds in length with one simple question ‘What are you listening to?’ for 1 second followed by silence for the rest of the 11 seconds to help myself practicing this meditation without getting lost in thoughts (please download the latest Note.mp3 10 minutes user friendly version from https://sites.google.com/site/karthickmudaliyar/mp3). And this is how I practice it…every morning I wake up, wash my face and have a cup of tea…then immediately I will wear the earphone and play the Note.mp3 in ‘Repeat’ mode on my iPhone for 10 minutes…and note the answers verbally.
“Bike.”
“Ringtone.”
“Mom.”
Note: Please watch the video of Kenneth Folk from YouTube on Basic
Noting for more details and here is the link:And I have recorded an instant meditation (Note.mp3) which is 12 seconds in length with one simple question ‘What are you listening to?’ for 1 second followed by silence for the rest of the 11 seconds to help myself practicing this meditation without getting lost in thoughts (please download the latest Note.mp3 10 minutes user friendly version from https://sites.google.com/site/karthickmudaliyar/mp3). And this is how I practice it…every morning I wake up, wash my face and have a cup of tea…then immediately I will wear the earphone and play the Note.mp3 in ‘Repeat’ mode on my iPhone for 10 minutes…and note the answers verbally.
And I usually note like:
“Cuckoo.”
“Bike.”
“Horn.”
“Horn.”
“Neighbour.”
“Tree.”
“Ringtone.”
“Mom.”
“TV.”
“Wind.”
And as you continue listening and
noting the natural sounds using Note.mp3, just for 10 minutes every day, you will see that you are more and more in
the present moment so easily and effortlessly...which will ultimately lead to a
state called ‘A&P Event’ (please download and read Contemplative Fitness
by Kenneth Folk here
at https://sites.google.com/site/contemplativefitness/pdf for more details) which means you will be able to see the reality as it
is, for the first time. The world will become beautiful, vivid and luminous for
you…which of course will make you joyful, happy for no reason and delighted
J A standard example for this
stage is…you will experience and say something like, ‘For the first time in my
life I am seeing this coconut tree on the backyard, it is so green and so very
beautiful!’ even though the coconut tree was just there for the past 20 years
on your backyard...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W30oR1UDBI
Tips: Note the natural sounds verbally for 10 minutes a day for 1 month & you will get 100% guaranteed success.
Who Are You Talking To?
Month 2: Expert
What is meditation? Stop talking to your mind is meditation.
And one of the simplest ways to do that is by start listening to your
mind, instead of talking to your mind. Because even when you are calling your
friend, either you can talk to him or you can listen to him but you can’t do
both at the same time. The moment you start listening to him, naturally you
stop talking to him. Likewise, the moment you start listening to your mind,
naturally you stop talking to your mind. Isn’t it as simple as that?
And I have recorded an instant meditation (Meditate.mp3) which is 15 seconds in
length with one simple question ‘Who are you talking to?’ for 1 second followed
by silence for the rest of the 14 seconds to help myself practicing this
meditation without getting lost in thoughts (please download the latest Meditate.mp3 10 minutes user friendly version from https://sites.google.com/site/karthickmudaliyar/mp3). And this is how I
practice it…whenever I am free…say for example I am travelling to my
office in a bus…then immediately I will wear the earphone and play the Meditate.mp3
in ‘Repeat’ mode on my iPhone for 10 minutes…and note the answers mentally.
And I usually note like:
“Bro.”
“Myself.”
"Nobody."
“Katie.”
“Manager.”
“Colleague.”
"Nobody."
"Nobody."
“Osho.”
“Dharma mate.”
"Nobody."
“Girlfriend.”
(PS: "Nobody." means
talking to nobody, thus note it as nobody.)
And as you continue listening and noting the mind using Meditate.mp3, just for 10 minutes every
day, you will see that you can listen to the mind so easily and effortlessly...which
will ultimately lead you to a state called ‘Dark Night of Soul’ (please download and read Mastering
the Core Techniques of the Buddha by
Daniel Ingram here at http://integrateddaniel.info/book/ for
more details) which means even though you can listen to the mind, you might get
frustrated by the fact that the mind is talking on and on and on...and thus you start trying to
stop the mind and get enlightenment but howsoever you try, you fail L And the moment
you fail, you get even more frustrated and thus once again you start trying
with all your might to stop the mind and get enlightenment but the more you
try, the more you fail L L and this
goes on for ad infinitum...from frustration to trying to failing to even more frustration
to even more trying to even more failing to even much more frustration...L L L Well, the
one and only problem that stands between you and enlightenment
is this Dark Night. So it is topmost importance for any meditator to understand
what is this Dark Night? Why does it starts? And how to end it? Dark Night is simply trying to stop the mind
instead of listening to it. And the moment you start trying to stop the
mind instead of listening to it, immediately the Dark Night starts and
meditation become itchy and irritating. And the moment you stop fighting with
the mind and start listening to it, instantly the Dark Night ends and
meditation once again becomes sweet and soothing. Even though in theory it is very plain and simple, but when it comes to
practical application, again and again I used do land up in Dark Night every time
I sit for meditation for nearly 1 ½ years and after doing lot of R&D, I
found a way to avoid entering into Dark Night by a simple technique and here it
is: Let the mind talk freely and fairly, whether it is
taking to your girlfriend, Guru or GOD, let it talk to whomsoever it wants to
and as long as it wants to, but don’t let it to talk to different persons in
different tones, just make it talk to everybody in same and equal tone. And once the
mind starts talking to everybody in same and equal tone, immediately you will drop into
equanimity just like that, which enables you to listen to the mind without trying to
stop it. That’s it. That’s all. So if you are able to listen to the mind but get
caught in the Dark Night, just apply this simple technique of toning down your
mind’s voice and get rid of the Dark Night once and forever!
Note: Please watch the video of Kenneth Folk from YouTube on Noting Thoughts for more details and here is the link:
Tips: Note the thoughts mentally for 10 minutes a day for 1 month & you will get 100% guaranteed success.
Month 3: Master
What is meditation? The art of
allowing consciousness to be just as it is is meditation.
And I have recorded an instant meditation (Retreat.mp3) which is 20 seconds in length with one simple question ‘What are you already conscious of?’ for 1 second followed by silence for the rest of the 19 seconds to help myself practicing this meditation without getting lost in thoughts (please download the new Retreat.mp3 10 minutes user friendly version from https://sites.google.com/site/karthickmudaliyar/mp3). And this is how I practice it…every night I finish my dinner by 9 PM…then immediately I will lounge on my sofa bed, wear the earphone and play the Retreat.mp3 in ‘Repeat’ mode on my iPhone for 10 minutes…and note the answers silky-smoothly.
And I usually note like:
“Sky.”
“Breathing.”
“Dog.”
######
“Re entry.”
“Blinking.”
“Swallowing saliva.”
“Thinking.”
“Thinking.”
“Car.”
“Consciousness.”
“Joy.”
######
######
“Re entry.”
“Lust.”
“Aversion.”
“Fear of dark night.”
######
“Re entry.”
“Itching.”
“Crickets.”
(PS: ###### means getting
lost in thoughts and forget to note, thus instantaneously note it as re entry.)
And of course, I will get lost in thoughts at times
but there is no point in getting upset, criticizing and condemning myself like...'Oh! My
mindfulness sucks', 'Bullshit, I am not meditating properly', 'My god! When
will I get enlightenment?' etc. So instead of condemning myself and wasting my energy in
vain, I just instantaneously note it as ‘Re entry’ and continue noting as usual. That’s
it. That’s all. And once you start being conscious of whatever you are already conscious of, without condemning yourself...soon
‘Nibbana’ will happen within few days or at most in few weeks (please
read Manual of Insight Meditation by
Mahasi Sayadaw here at http://www.theravada-dhamma.org/blog/?p=8905 for more details).
Tips: Note silky-smoothly for 10 minutes a day for 1 month & you will get 100% guaranteed success.
Meditation Instructions:
·
Sit, relax your eyelids and see the
wall
·
Play the mp3 and note as softly as you can
·
Go back to noting
Sit, relax your eyelids and see the floor: Set the timer to 10 minutes on your mobile and sit comfortably on a beanbag.
Don’t look at any object before or around you, just relax your eyelids and see
the wall before you, without moving your eyes much.
Play the mp3 and note as softly as you can: Play the mp3 and note with your voice as soft and sweet as possible.
Go
back to noting:
And whenever you get lost
in thoughts, don’t even worry for 0.1 second, instantaneously note it as ‘Re
entry’ and go back to noting as usual.
(PS: After practicing for a while, you will see that you
can meditate without mp3 as well as noting. And in that case, just noting with
mp3 for the first 10 minutes of your meditation session is recommended. Please read the article Noting
by Gil Fronsdal at
www.insightmeditationcenter.org/books-articles/articles/noting/ for more details.)
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. Q: What is the
right time for practicing meditation?
A: What are
you hearing now? Can you note it?? If you can note, then I guess the time is
already right.
2. Q: Which is
the best place to practice meditation, home or retreat centre?
A: Seeing,
hearing, tasting, touching, smelling & thinking are happening at all places
whether you are at home, office or retreat centre! So the good news is you are
already in the best place.
3. Q: What about
posture?
A: It is
your awareness that is going to do the meditation, not your buttocks J So you
can meditate while sitting, standing or walking.
4. Q: Should I
close my eyes?
A: Closing
eyes? For what?? You can see the stars and note ‘Seeing’.
5. Q: Which one
is the best meditation, listening to natural sounds, noting mind or choiceless
awareness?
A: Zazen, the
Zen meditation of just sitting and doing nothing is the best meditation. But as of now, our mind is so strong
& fast and our awareness is so weak & slow. So first strengthen your
awareness using noting meditation. And then you can just sit, do nothing and
let the meditation happen so naturally like breathing!
6. Q: How long
should I meditate?
A: 10
minutes is more than enough. But practicing meditation for 10 minutes every
morning is only for learning meditation. If you want to master it, then you
have to practice at least 1 hour a day. And if you want to get enlightenment,
then you have to practice at least 8 to 10 hours a day on retreat (please refer Daily Time Table in Shwe Oo Min Monastery, Myanmar here at http://sayadawutejaniya.org/news/ for more details).
7. Q: How to control
the sleepiness?
A: Simple, just change
from sitting meditation to walking meditation for few minutes.
8. Q: What to
do with getting lost in thoughts?
A: If you are meditating with mp3, instantaneously note it
as ‘Re entry’ and go back to noting. But if you are meditating without mp3, then
instantaneously ask yourself verbally ‘What are you listening to?’ and go back
to listening to the natural sounds i.e. keep listening as the primary object
for your meditation session.
9. Q: How to
deal with dark night?
A: Just
continue noting or counting boldly & persistently knowing very well that
equanimity is just around the corner. That’s it. Don’t stop practicing at any
cost. Once the timer is set for 30 minutes, you are supposed to sit and
meditate regardless of whether the meditation is pleasant or unpleasant and
complete the session.
10. Q: And how
long will it take to get enlightenment through noting?
A: Please
read the Satipatthana Sutta by Gautama Buddha here at http://www.wisdompubs.org/book/middle-length-discourses-buddha/selections/middle-length-discourses-10-satipatthana-sutta and find the
answer for yourself.