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So per the Advaita tradition, the associative step along with jnana (knowledge) acquisition (reading the classic texts) is atma vichara (or meditating on the Self). The process became clear to me after many months of inquiring "who am I?". The mind first started dropping into the Lower Dan Tien, where the eye of the spiraling dan tien (swadhisthana) was empty. So I continued this way for a few weeks, until the mind started falling into the middle dan tien (heart). Here I would sense more energetic activity but there mind becomes still as it rests there. Again after a few weeks of that, my mind started going to the dan tien above the Crown point - aka Guru Chakra. It started resting there. Again mind becomes still when it rests there. Through the practice, wherein I practice Tai chi, Mantra meditation, mindfulness etc all with the mind resting in either the heart or the guru chakra, the underlying witness became more and more apparent, such that it is usually "present" all the time, even while doing something that requires total "mental" concentration. Recently, I had an incident which triggered a new condition. I was feeling extremely "hot" (in the middle of the chicago winter) one night. I had a long practice that day...several times, both tai chi and seated meditation. I was feeling uncomfortable with the energy built up, so I sat down to meditate around midnight. I must've meditated for 30-40 minutes and then I got up and walked around to let the energy and blood circulation flow properly in the lower body (as the heart center was flush with energy sensation by then). As I lay down to sleep (around 1 am), I observed my body going to sleep gradually as they lost sensation. Only sensation was in my heart. I wasn't sure what was happening, so I got up several times and then eventually stood and drained my energy with some standing meditation (dao gong). Eventually i felt the energy move down to the lower dan tien and I was able to sleep. But since then, the awareness has remained in the heart area. Last night, as I lay down to sleep, I felt clearly, my body going to sleep and then my mind too slipping back into the heart center. And as soon as I focussed on it slipping back into the heart, it woke up and was fearful. It was a bizarre situation, where my awareness was perfectly calm and observing all this happening , and the mind was over-reacting with fear. It took some doing to ignore the mind's fear and finally fall asleep. Anyone has any thoughts on this?