Why do we perceive a silent mind as a threat during meditation?

[Audiohealing]

I'm sure many of us have been there. You have been sitting in quiet meditation for a long time now and finally that chatter in your skull has started coming to a halt and finally- there it is; a moment of complete silence! Then, when you become aware of the silence, the thunder of your thoughts come racing back in, as if your body is perceiving it to be a threat.

 

It's similar to how easy it is to ruin "being in the moment" by simply being aware that that is what you are doing.

 

I don't know if this makes any sense, but to those for who it does, do you have any tips on how to overcome this, aside from more practice?

 

All the best to you fellow bums!

[thelerner]

I usually just sigh and keep sitting. Guess it helps not to judge or 'think' about the thoughts. Though sometimes the mental trick of saying to myself 'What will my next thought be' blanks me nicely for a bit. Sometimes I'll use mental imagery of watching my thoughts from far away, like I was in the back of a vast theater and the thoughts are a play going on.

 

Ultimately you got to let go of the tricks and sit and accept.

[Birch]

No idea on the why. The one that bugs me the most is 'Look! My mind's all empty! I'm thinking of nothing!'

Hahahaha :-)

 

Or the other one in a group meditation the other day 'Look at me! Look at me! My mind's sooo empty you should all be able to feel it'.

 

It's getting pretty funny these days:-)

 

Look! I'm sharing a cool meditation anecdote!

[Fū Yue]

If we think of the limits of our consciousness as the limit of our ability to listen or hear, then this habitual self defines the world by the 'shape' of the sounds around us, and it holds on to the edges of this form for dear life. Thus, becoming absorbed into silence is like falling backward into an infinite void - the familiar hum of locality is drowned out by the awe of unknown space, our many hands lose grasp of the ends and the beginnings of the things around us and, if we give in to it all the way, we fall through.

[eye_of_the_storm]

What if we make two types of silence

 

An Active silence and a Passive silence

 

The Passive silence I would define as Oblivion

 

The Active silence I would define as Awareness

 

I think Being naturally rejects oblivion / non-being

 

This is why I believe Taoism to be superior

Edited November 4, 2012 by White Wolf Running On Air

[XieJia]

It goes back and forth;

One cause leads to its effect which is then the other cause.

Sometimes it is not what is seen, but what is seeing?

The things seen is like a mirror.

 

Good practice!

 

Edited: try Yue's suggestion. Fall through.

Edited November 4, 2012 by XieJia

[eye_of_the_storm]

I think the key is in developing one pointed awareness

 

One pointed awareness is concentrating consciousness.

 

Though one concentrates in a yielding manner ?

 

Would this be both passive and active ^

 

Unifying?

Edited November 4, 2012 by White Wolf Running On Air

[idiot_stimpy]

Don’t recall

Don’t imagine

Don’t think

Don’t examine

Don’t control

Rest

[idiot_stimpy]

no thing happens at all and thats the miracle.

[Jetsun]

It's probably due to the fear of annihilation, fear of death

[idiot_stimpy]

What is that, that is fearing this death.

 

Can it be found or located

[Ish]

I recall a Mahamudra lama saying that simply being able to have no thoughts just signifies an attainment in concentration.

 

The actual natural state is much much deeper than this.

 

I know for sure this is true

[GrandmasterP]

Cultivation is the key.

Any cultivation, runners talk about being in the zone.

That total trained focus and commitment to an act and a fact that is so intense that intensity itself disappears along with the chattering of the monkey mind.

Fresh reserves appear from one cannot know where and cultivation flows effortlessly, mindlessly.

That can only arise from doing it, each and every day, year after year.

Talking about cultivation or writing about it won't work and teaching right cultivation only goes as far as teaching the technique, the rest depends on the individual cultivator's commitment to persist.

HTH

Edited November 4, 2012 by GrandmasterP

[GrandmasterP]

And changing cultivations like you change socks is a sure fire route to failure.

Find what works for you then stick to it like you have never stuck to anything ever before.

[Trunk]

.. how to overcome this, aside from more practice?

Nope, lol, not aside from that... but to blab some about the obvious:

Experience adds up, you learn things, get better at, and get used to. (To over-simplified and mention just the good stuff.)

 

The first reaction to thought stopping tends to be, "omg! ~ my thought stopped, wow! I can't believe it, finally!" Suddenly lots of thoughts. Over time, you get more accustomed to it and settle in more; the hoopla diminishes.

 

Have fun.

[JohnC]

The only way around is through.

 

So no tips to overcome, other than don't get snagged. By emotion, by ideas, by attachment. Try and notice as best you can as soon as something starts to come up and you believe it.

 

And let it go.

 

John

[Aaron]

I'm sure many of us have been there. You have been sitting in quiet meditation for a long time now and finally that chatter in your skull has started coming to a halt and finally- there it is; a moment of complete silence! Then, when you become aware of the silence, the thunder of your thoughts come racing back in, as if your body is perceiving it to be a threat.

 

It's similar to how easy it is to ruin "being in the moment" by simply being aware that that is what you are doing.

 

I don't know if this makes any sense, but to those for who it does, do you have any tips on how to overcome this, aside from more practice?

 

All the best to you fellow bums!

 

This is a common occurrence when you first start meditating. The trick is to learn to let your thoughts come and go, in other words address them (ignoring rarely works) and then let it pass. Silencing the mind in the first few years of meditation is difficult. You're lucky to get a good few minutes within the first three months. To expect to be able to achieve this state without rigorous practice is setting yourself up for failure. The trick is to just keep meditating and appreciate the benefits you do receive from meditation.

 

After awhile you can maintain a period of silence, then realize that it wasn't really as silent as you thought it was, then reach a deeper level, and so it goes. The key is to appreciate what you have achieved, rather than focus on what you haven't.

 

Aaron