Absolute samadhi or absolute fana is charger of freedom.
Samadhi is a state in which one is still, serene, awake but not aware of space, time or causation. If people people are around him and speaking, he is not aware what they are saying not even hears them, except now and then.
If you have long remained in absolute samadhi, then you have charged yourself to be free from preoccupations that occur one after another, punctuated by wakefulness, what am I doing? and then back again and so on.
To be free from these preoccupations, in all of their variations, be it thought, emotions, imaginary persons, objects and so on, is true emancipation. You are now free to choose.
The suggestion here is that without a absolute samadhi, or its equivalent, real emancipation shall remain elusive.
In counting the breath, two forms of attention is practiced. One is paying attention to the order, from one to ten and the the other is paying attention to individual breaths.
From me doing this kind of breath work allows me to develop two forms of attention, that of choosing what to do and that of keeping the end in mind, so that I do only what is necessary to attain the end and nothing else. I become more detailed oriented and yet see the bigger picture.
But then I am lost now and then either on minor details or on longer term issues, so that I am not present at this passing time. This happens again and again. To maintain both forms of attention one would need, it appears to me, an eternal vigilance, even so would be absorbed with this or that, now and then.
To overcome recurring preoccupations of some sort or another, one may work on mu, leading possibly to absolute samadhi, and thus gaining freedom to labor as one sees fit.
It is possible to deeply exhale all the expiratory reserve volume and expire slowly and thus first acquire that brilliant conditions of the consciousness that the author talks about and also get into samadhi. It may not be possible to enter into samadhi or enjoy a better consciousness, if one were to be moderately exhaling, due to different kinds of thoughts that may arise, enumerated by the author at the end of the chapter on Counting and Following the Breath.
The author cites a study that suggests a linkage between samadhi and alpha waves. Alpha waves are present when one is awake and yet relaxed, wakeful relaxation. This provides some sort of physiological basis of samadhi.
Exhaling slowly, but breathing as urgently as needed, and spacing 20 seconds between exhalations or so, generally allows me to empty myself from pressures that hang on different places on my body such as at the back of the head and on shoulders. This is probably what the author means by methodical regulation of exhalation, a method the author believes to be effective in getting us into samadhi.
Reflections on Practicing Mu
The author divides mu practices into three stages. The object of the first stage is to stop wandering thoughts.
Number of tools are recommended and they are enumerated below with some reflections added to them.
First, the author recommends breathing through the mouth as opposed through the nose. You do this by forcing the breath through your lips, which are at this time barely open. The reason being doing so places tension in the tanden and thus helps stop thoughts. Congruent with the author says, I found this method of breathing to be helpful in stopping various kinds of thoughts that work to occupy the center stage of the mind.
Second, the author recommends also saying mu inwardly while stressing the vocal cords. This also appears to place tension in the tanden and thus appears to help in stopping thoughts. Indeed, my experience tells me both are good tools useful in helping us stop thoughts and thus enjoy a break from the chattering box.
Of course, one has to still do normal abdominal inhalation, that is inflate the lower abdomen to inhale when below the horizon, and perform active abdominal inspiration, that is tense the lower abdomen, when one is above the horizon. This is reiteration of the two-phased inspiration, intended to prevent chest breathing and its oppressive chest pain.
This reiteration has significance to me because for sometime, I had a chest pain whose origin I knew not, thinking that I was somehow doing too much meditation practices and so on; perhabs I may have sort of serious health problem and so on. However, after learning how to do the two-phased abdominal inspiration, I was able to save my self from what the author calls chest oppression. Moreover, the chest pain discouraged to me meditate, despite having ample time and desire to do so. I am very happy to have learned this method of inspiration. I am now able to meditate as long as I want to extinguish pressures and make myself empty.
When you do the two things mentioned above, you may notice strong tension in your tanden, a tension that you may have never experienced before. I certainly did.
Samadhi is a state in which one is still, serene, awake but not aware of space, time or causation. If people people are around him and speaking, he is not aware what they are saying not even hears them, except now and then.
If you have long remained in absolute samadhi, then you have charged yourself to be free from preoccupations that occur one after another, punctuated by wakefulness, what am I doing? and then back again and so on.
To be free from these preoccupations, in all of their variations, be it thought, emotions, imaginary persons, objects and so on, is true emancipation. You are now free to choose.
The suggestion here is that without a absolute samadhi, or its equivalent, real emancipation shall remain elusive.
In counting the breath, two forms of attention is practiced. One is paying attention to the order, from one to ten and the the other is paying attention to individual breaths.
From me doing this kind of breath work allows me to develop two forms of attention, that of choosing what to do and that of keeping the end in mind, so that I do only what is necessary to attain the end and nothing else. I become more detailed oriented and yet see the bigger picture.
But then I am lost now and then either on minor details or on longer term issues, so that I am not present at this passing time. This happens again and again. To maintain both forms of attention one would need, it appears to me, an eternal vigilance, even so would be absorbed with this or that, now and then.
To overcome recurring preoccupations of some sort or another, one may work on mu, leading possibly to absolute samadhi, and thus gaining freedom to labor as one sees fit.
It is possible to deeply exhale all the expiratory reserve volume and expire slowly and thus first acquire that brilliant conditions of the consciousness that the author talks about and also get into samadhi. It may not be possible to enter into samadhi or enjoy a better consciousness, if one were to be moderately exhaling, due to different kinds of thoughts that may arise, enumerated by the author at the end of the chapter on Counting and Following the Breath.
The author cites a study that suggests a linkage between samadhi and alpha waves. Alpha waves are present when one is awake and yet relaxed, wakeful relaxation. This provides some sort of physiological basis of samadhi.
Exhaling slowly, but breathing as urgently as needed, and spacing 20 seconds between exhalations or so, generally allows me to empty myself from pressures that hang on different places on my body such as at the back of the head and on shoulders. This is probably what the author means by methodical regulation of exhalation, a method the author believes to be effective in getting us into samadhi.
Reflections on Practicing Mu
The author divides mu practices into three stages. The object of the first stage is to stop wandering thoughts.
Number of tools are recommended and they are enumerated below with some reflections added to them.
First, the author recommends breathing through the mouth as opposed through the nose. You do this by forcing the breath through your lips, which are at this time barely open. The reason being doing so places tension in the tanden and thus helps stop thoughts. Congruent with the author says, I found this method of breathing to be helpful in stopping various kinds of thoughts that work to occupy the center stage of the mind.
Second, the author recommends also saying mu inwardly while stressing the vocal cords. This also appears to place tension in the tanden and thus appears to help in stopping thoughts. Indeed, my experience tells me both are good tools useful in helping us stop thoughts and thus enjoy a break from the chattering box.
Of course, one has to still do normal abdominal inhalation, that is inflate the lower abdomen to inhale when below the horizon, and perform active abdominal inspiration, that is tense the lower abdomen, when one is above the horizon. This is reiteration of the two-phased inspiration, intended to prevent chest breathing and its oppressive chest pain.
This reiteration has significance to me because for sometime, I had a chest pain whose origin I knew not, thinking that I was somehow doing too much meditation practices and so on; perhabs I may have sort of serious health problem and so on. However, after learning how to do the two-phased abdominal inspiration, I was able to save my self from what the author calls chest oppression. Moreover, the chest pain discouraged to me meditate, despite having ample time and desire to do so. I am very happy to have learned this method of inspiration. I am now able to meditate as long as I want to extinguish pressures and make myself empty.
When you do the two things mentioned above, you may notice strong tension in your tanden, a tension that you may have never experienced before. I certainly did.
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