How do you end your stillness meditation

[mYTHmAKER]

I would like to know how everyone ends their stillness meditation.

Do you move in a special way or just get up and walk away.

I am especially interested in how you end standing.

Edited February 22, 2007 by mYTHmAKER

[riverheron]

Hi Mythmaker,

 

I generally end stillness meditation with 'Harvesting the Qi' ~ a series of self-massage which helps to draw the qi deeper into my cells. Then a deep bow . . . and I sit and open my eyes. Then I stand up slowly. That's about it for me . . .

 

love qi

[rex]

Formal sitting practice ends with dedication of merit. Then throughout the day in all activities an attempt is made to maintain the continuity of the presence of awareness experienced in the meditation. Since the sitting practice is done with eyes open and hasn't tried to stop thoughts and emotions, or follow, or encourage them, there is never usually the sense of coming out of a trance or altered state, so I jump straight into everyday activity. This way one can practice throughtout the day so the split between practice sessions and everyday life becomes less distinct. Well that's the theory ...

Edited February 22, 2007 by rex

[Trunk]

Formal sitting practice ends with dedication of merit.

Please clarify (for those of us who don't already know what that means).

[Yoda]

"By this merit, may all attain omniscience

May it defeat the enemy of wrongdoing

From the stormy waves of birth, old age, sickness, and death

May I free all beings."

 

Is the classic Tibetan wrapup for any practice. It is said to protect the merit generated from one's own aggression and to intensify it by giving it to others.

[Todd]

I almost always end standing practice with anywhere from a few seconds to five minutes of hands folded over my dantian. Then I place the backs of my hands over my kidneys and give myself a sort of foot massage with the ground, shifting my weight first from heel to toe to heel, then side to side (keeping equal weight on both feet), then in circles in each direction. I got that from Ken Cohen's Way of Qigong book. I had noticed a slightly unsettled feeling going directly from standing to movement, which this short routine smooths out.

 

If I stand or sit for more than a short time I almost always do a short self-massage on my head and eyes (after the hands over the dantian, before the "foot massage", when standing). It is described here. The description is on page 4.

[rex]

Please clarify (for those of us who don't already know what that means).

 

Yoda has given the standard explanation of dedication, sharing and sealing of positive energy for individual and collective benefit.

 

The background mechanics aren't really explained so merit becomes like an article of faith linked with notions of individual and collective karma. Merit has moral and metaphysical associations and is also a process.

 

On an individual level certain ways of being (attitudes, motivations actions etc.) affect one's energy which automatically puts one in particular states of relationship on both ordinary and spiritual levels - hence the idea of karmic energy flowing through the body's channels. It's not that mysterious really. If you keep generating positive thoughts with the motivation to benefit beings then this will change the quality of energy in your system. So regardless if merit actualy exists or not, it is a skillful method of changing one's energy. Conversely if you get angry all the time this energy may hang around your system and predispose you to further anger.

 

'Field of merit' seems to have collective and energetic assocations. It may link to morphic resonnance. So it is said that due to the collective merits of a group certain teachers and teachings become available. Teachers and teachings may not appear due to collective de-merits.

 

Merit can affect karma so I've heard that while one may have the karma to meet with certain teachings one may not have the merit to benefit from them - now that's a bummer!

Edited February 23, 2007 by rex

[therion]

..

Edited March 17, 2007 by therion

[soaring crane]

Great question.

 

My ritual: I return to the lower Dantian, lay my hands on my abdomen, close my eyes, relax my face, smile, bring the smile into my head, send it down to the lower Dantian. Then I close Dantian, bring my hands up and lay tham on my closed eyes. After a few moments, I slowly open my eyes behind my hands and then slowly open my hands, allowing the light to enter gradually, and let my arms gently drop. I take in the view for a few moments, smile, breath deeply and on the exhale bring my left foot to my right foot to "officially" close the session. Then I do a self-massage, either gently or vigorously, depending on teh energy and anywhere from 2 to 30 minutes...

 

At the end of the massage, I gether Qi around the wais, close Dantian a last time, smile, bow, left foot to right again and then with the left foot take the first step to "tea"

 

One of the nicest thing to do after a still session where there's lot's of Qi movement and gathering is to just walk, very very lightly, aimlessly in circles or just wherever the Qi takes you, with little steps and a smile on the lips

[QiDr]

Standing: lightly packing Qi to the lower dantian then gently shake out the wristsw and ankles.

 

Seated: bend forward on exhalation and touch forhead and palms to floor, hold and repeat two more times. Reconnecting to the earth energy so that I can function in this realm after meditation.

[VCraigP]