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Radio Head

If you don’t like what you hear in your head, change the channel!

Your conscious or thinking mind generates a perpetual stream of thoughts which your consciousness is simultaneously aware of; in essence, your consciousness “hears” your conscious thoughts. Mechanically, your gross or higher thinking mental function operates the same way your physical heart and lungs do: single, consecutive, perpetual beats, breaths – and conscious thoughts. Your conscious mind is your controller; it’s the aspect you use throughout the day to make decisions, but when you’re not engaging it, it “thinks” on its own, scanning your subconscious mind and projecting random memories, emotions, fears and desires onto your conscious mind’s eye!

Your subconscious or sensory mind receives information from your environment through your five inbound senses, and processes the information internally, virtually without you being aware of it, directing your body to perform rote or “reptilian” tasks: eliminating, reproducing, moving, grasping, and speaking. This subtle or lower sensory processing mental function also stores your memories and is the source of your identity. Subconscious thoughts aren’t the source of your distress; this part of your mind functions beautifully as long as your conscious mind is operating clearly and correctly.

So, if you don’t like the subconscious thoughts being dredged up by your conscious mind, change the channel! Your conscious mind is like a radio: it has selection and volume controls. Since your conscious mind can only make one decision or perform one cognitive task at a time (try simultaneously counting, and reciting the alphabet – not going to happen!) – you can decide what to listen to! It’s literally as simple as “A, B, C”: as long as you’re reciting the alphabet (or any clear and correct mantra) your thinking mind CAN’T dredge up fears, concerns, desires, etc.

The next time you don’t like what the voice in your head is saying, change the channel! Try reciting the alphabet silently to yourself (it’s same concept as counting to ten before you act). If at first that’s difficult, turn up the volume: if you scream the alphabet loudly enough in your conscious mind, I promise you’ll drown out ANY other thoughts!

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Meditation tips

Don’t forget your training!

Raja Yoga’s posture and breathing exercises prepare you to hold your physical body very still – specifically, your brain:

• Asana (posture exercises) help maintain a strong, stable outer body so you can hold your skull properly-positioned and still.

• Pranayama (breathing exercises) help maintain a subtle, rhythmically functioning inner body minimizing internal disturbances to your brain.

Raja Yoga’s concentration exercises prepare you to still your conscious, thinking mind, while the three stages of meditation sequentially quiet the sensory, memory, and ego functions of your subconscious mind.

Initially,

Sit balancing a notepad on your head; hold your head up as if you were looking out at the horizon, but look down your nose to a spot on the floor about arm’s length in front of you. I like to use a candle as the object of my focus. Try keeping your spine (which your brain rests on top of) still.

Focus on the mechanics and sensation of your inhalations and exhalations; allow enough time for your breathing to settle into a subtle, rhythmic pace.

Try “creating space” in your body:

• Vertically – as you inhale (the bottom of your diaphragm contracts, pulling it down and drawing air into your lungs), energetically press your perineum down into whatever your sitting on – and as you exhale (the top of your diaphragm contracts, pulling it up and forcing air out of your lungs), energetically press the crown of your head up into the notepad.

• Circumferentially – energetically emphasize the 360-degree expansion of your chest as you inhale.

It’s a matter of self-awareness and control: as you sit still, eyelids partially closed, staring down and concentrating on the candle flame, monitor and make any necessary adjustments to your posture, breath, and thoughts.

Remember that your attitude makes a huge difference: practicing for physical and mental benefits will produce very different results than practicing as a tribute or homage to consciousness (the universally common aspect of each of us that makes life rich!) – so that consciousness might witness the awesomeness of itself!

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Meditation isn’t for our minds

We exist in three dimensions: body, thoughts and consciousness. The latter is our awareness, without which we wouldn’t realize we were reading this!

Raja Yoga’s conduct, posture, breathing and concentration exercises prepare us to meditate: to still our thoughts so that our consciousness might become self-aware. Meditation progressively settles our entire body and mind – quieting our four, incessant mental functions (thinking, sensing, remembering and ego) from obscuring consciousness.

Why bother?!

Without consciousness, our bodies would still act, and our thoughts would still direct our actions – we just wouldn’t realize it! In essence, our body and mind serve as a vehicle for our consciousness to experience life. Said differently, we experience life thorough our body and mind, or we are our consciousness, not our body/mind.

Consciousness is intangible. Our awareness OF something can’t be manipulated like our bodies and thoughts; thus, it’s not subject to the vagaries of time and space (karma); in that sense, it’s eternal and not unlike the concept of a soul or spirit, but you can readily verify the existence of your consciousness!

Your consciousness, the observation OF your thoughts is no different than the observation OF mine, even though what we’re aware of is unique to each of us.

Raja Yoga – the science of meditation – is a personal sacrifice of body and mind in service of our collective, universal consciousness for which our tangible body and mind are rewarded with a blissful sense of union, belonging, acceptance, and love. Note that the sense of bliss is precipitated by our motivation to serve rather than any expectation of reward.

Meditation tips:

• Hold your body comfortably still in an effort to hold the brain inside your skull perfectly still.

• Breathe rhythmically and subtly to minimize the physical disturbance to your brain; focus for a while on your breath: the inhalations, pauses, and exhalations.

• Settle your conscious mind first; quietly, softly recite a simple mantra.

• Continue concentrating single-pointedly until you’ve progressively quieted or mesmerized the three functions of your subconscious mind: sensing, remembering and ego.

• Practice in tribute to our collective, universal consciousness – without which we’d all be robotic rather than sentient beings.

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Chapter II: Preparing to Meditate

Having devoted the first 50 lines (or 25%) of the Yoga Sutras to the science behind meditating (the intent, types of thought, importance of correct thinking, the four stages of mental awareness, etc.), Patanjali devotes the entire second chapter (the next 50 lines, or 25% of the poem) to PREPARING to meditate. Chapter two describes the constant, routine stress-reducing practices of Raja Yoga: 1) fostering and maintaining a positive attitude, 2) following the Golden Rule and Serenity Prayer, and 3) exercising your body and mind to increase self control and reduce stress and fatigue.

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From the first chapter of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras

• Raja Yoga is a practice in quieting your mind.

• Your mind constantly processes four types of thought: correct, incorrect, imagined, and remembered.

• Quieting your mind requires correct thinking.

• By practicing clear correct thinking with single-pointed concentration, you gradually pass through four progressively clearer states of mental awareness before experiencing unfiltered consciousness.

• To succeed: never give up; always let go.

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Takeaways from chapter one of Patanajali’s Yoga Sutras (see recent FB posts)

Raja Yoga is a life-long endeavor to control our thoughts – because our thoughts precede our actions, which directly impact our health and wellbeing.

The crux of Raja Yoga comes in understanding the difference between our mind and consciousness. Our mind is tangible; it has four functions: thinking, sensing, remembering, and identity; however, our consciousness is IN-tangible; it doesn’t “do” anything; it never changes (in that sense it’s eternal!); its simply the awareness OF our thoughts; without it, our body and mind would function, we just wouldn’t be aware of it!

In short, consciousness is the essence of who and what we are. The object of Raja Yoga is to progressively subdue and calm the four functions of our mind, successively passing through four gradually clearer states of mind, until eventually realizing our own nature with absolute clarity: the blissful stillness of consciousness itself.

Patanjali’s only instruction in the first chapter: never give up; always let go.

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Practice self love

Raja Yoga the art of self loveYour body/mind is your most valuable resource so treat it accordingly!

Keep it in clean, proper working order – like anything you want to last longer; and constantly practice the Serenity Prayer: be content, courageous, wise and faithful.

Raja Yoga is a constant, dual practice in self-awareness and self-control; specifically, it’s a code of conduct and a series of physical and mental exercises which facilitate a calm, clear mind. The routine practices and exercises make it easier to:

• act with clarity and confidence [tip: when in doubt, don’t do it]

• form healthy habits

• meditate.

When you meditate you allow your mind to rest, recover and recharge. It’s like taking a nap without the mental distractions.

 

 

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Be kind

Lead with your heart; don’t just passively abstain from:

Violence • Dishonesty • Thievery • Infidelity • Greed

Actively practice the opposite:

Compassion • Honesty • Charity • Fidelity • Generosity

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Rule 6: Find yourself

Having practiced the first five rules (being kind to others and yourself, exercising, controlling your breath, and concentrating) you’re ready to sit quietly and experience a self-induced state of tranquility.

As you sit very still with your heart beating at a very relaxed rate – breathing deeply, subtly and rhythmically – holding the rate and content of your thoughts steady – you’re ready to begin an inward journey through the most subtle aspects of your mind: passed your senses, memories, and sense of identity to your consciousness.

Meditating isn’t about controlling your awareness – that’s not possible; awareness never changes; rather, meditating is about minimizing the fluctuations of your body and mind – finding a state of utter stillness in which to relax, rest and recharge. It’s a calmer state than sleep: you don’t dream, or toss and turn.

When your mind is virtually still, and consciousness has nothing else to be aware of, it becomes aware of itself and you experience something akin to a sense of oneness with the universe.

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Rule 5: Think before acting

Your conscious mind constantly thinks single, consecutive thoughts. You can’t stop your mind from thinking any more than you can stop your heart from beating. Because thoughts manifest into actions with consequences, the trick to leading a more tranquil, less stressful life is to think correctly and clearly.

There are four types of conscious thought: right, wrong, imagined and remembered – so it’s relatively easy to monitor which type you’re experiencing: you’re either perceiving the object of your attention correctly, incorrectly, or your imagining or remembering it.

Once you realize what type of thought your experiencing, check to see if you’re thinking clearly, or whether your thoughts are colored by one or more of four types of emotion: ego, desire, aversion and/or fear.

Raja Yoga’s physical and mental self-awareness and self-control exercises (being kind to others, being kind to yourself, exercising, breathing and focusing) foster a clear, correct mindset – a prerequisite for meditation – and promote a calm, balanced demeanor.