As a beginner who is trying to develop the ability to meditate, I find that my imagination is very poor.
Is it better to instead wait on developing imagination, and work with non-imaginative concentration practices for now?
Or will we develop imagination more rapidly by using it immediately as part of our concentration practice, even if we can scarcely imagine anything to begin with? Should we simply relax and persist with the effort?
Thank you!
Is it better to instead wait on developing imagination, and work with non-imaginative concentration practices for now?
Or will we develop imagination more rapidly by using it immediately as part of our concentration practice, even if we can scarcely imagine anything to begin with? Should we simply relax and persist with the effort?
Thank you!
The goal is to work with both in harmony. However, if you cannot concentrate, you cannot perceive clearly. The following lecture explains how to work effectively in this process:
For thirty years I sought God. But when I looked carefully I found that in reality God was the seeker and I the sought. -Bayazid al-Bastami
Thank you! There is a lot of great information in this lecture to reflect on and more importantly put into consistent practice. I'm realizing more and more how impatient I am.
Eager to jump out of the kindergarten when I haven't even firmly established the ABCs.
A lot less thinking on my part, and a lot more practice, returning to the present moment and relaxing, familiarizing myself with and working with the attention.
Eager to jump out of the kindergarten when I haven't even firmly established the ABCs.
Now, if you are forgetting yourself, gently refocus upon the object. I cannot emphasize this enough. Do not exert the mind. Recall your attention. Reflect upon the object, and be gentle. Do not exert yourself with thought and energy.
A lot less thinking on my part, and a lot more practice, returning to the present moment and relaxing, familiarizing myself with and working with the attention.
The goal is to work with both in harmony. However, if you cannot concentrate, you cannot perceive clearly. The following lecture explains how to work effectively in this process:
For thirty years I sought God. But when I looked carefully I found that in reality God was the seeker and I the sought. -Bayazid al-Bastami
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