QUOTE(davisxmonster @ Jan 29 2009, 06:32 PM)
You say i must focus on sensing ki and being able to feel it, that's what im doing.
way ahead of ya (IMG:
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However you say i need to concentrate, and the only way that i know is to do things that require concentration, i.e. said meditation.
i used to stare at a spot on the wall for 15 minutes a day to improve my concentration, but it doesnt seem to help.
so any advice you could offer on actually working on my concentration would be grand.
but otherwise, ill just continue my energy meditations.
No. Said meditation is not concentration. It is focusing on a particular task, that of visualization. Focus and concentration are different. Focus is an application of concentration. The greater one's concentration is, the more powerful focus becomes.
To illustrate - because knowing what it is and what it means is as important as doing some exercise to achieve it - let us suppose that there is a 1-5 scale of concentration.
At 1 you are able to focus on, say, a spot on the wall for some length of time. Your thoughts may wander from time to time, and you get side tracked, and go back to it, and so on, for some amount of time. The thoughts which distract you, become full fledged fantasies or ideas at this point, though they may be brief.
Stage 2, you are able to concentrate your attention on the same spot, and though your mind still wanders occasionally, you are able to patiently dismiss them before they take on a life of their own. These thoughts will be like sentences which fizzle out when you do not allow your attention to pursue them, as though the speaker has trailed off and become quiet, perhaps uncomfortably. (IMG:
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Stage 3, you are now able to sustain thoughtless concentration on the spot, for some length of time, perhaps half an hour or so, and during this time no thoughts enter your attention. You are still aware of the space you are in, the temperature, sounds around you, etc., but they no longer trigger thought trains.
Stage 4, you are able to concentrate for some amount of time with no thought, and to the exclusion of almost everything else, you are aware of only yourself and the spot on the wall, although other sensory stimulus may occasionally grab your attention if it is startling enough. You have almost mastered your mind and attention, but not your brain, which will naturally filter out redundant sensory information if it is sustained long enough, but will still take notice of out-of-the-current-ordinary stimulus, as any change in stimulus might mean a change of environment, and your brain is wired to attempt to adapt quickly, so that you are not burned, eaten, crushed, etc.
Stage 5, there is no world, there is no stimulus, there is no thought, there is no You; there is only that which you have turned your concentration towards, and nothing else. You are that thing, in a cosmic sense. You do not feel your heart beat, your breath - you may not be breathing, or perhaps so shallowly that none could perceive it easily. Yet you are still aware and conscious, and when you have achieved this state several times, you are able to 'awake' from it without suffering a moment of shock. That is, initially it will come and go, and when it is going, you will more than likely shudder or even jump, and gasp suddenly for breath. You may also be overtaken by a sudden fear for your life, as though you might have just almost died. This is the threshold of the Ego, and the Ego's reaction to the fear of non-being. It will pass, but it takes time.
Most people experience 'stage 5' concentration naturally at some point. Usually with something stimulating, and often as children. I am told it happened to me several times that I would be so engrossed in a book or a television show that you could throw things at my head, and though struck, i would take no notice, so rapt was my attention. My nephew does the same thing sometimes when he's watching a movie he hasn't seen before. You have to get in front of him to get his attention. Neither of us is/were autistic. (IMG:
style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) It seems it is yet another thing that occurs naturally from time to time, but try to master it and... well, you know. This is why they say, it is not about effort, it is about being; not about conquering, but about surendering.
Focus is the ability to bring that concentration to bear upon something dynamic, such that at its pinnacle there is no world, no you, no breath, no heartbeat, only the task at hand and nothing else. There are stages of focus as well, largely reliant on Concentration. However, the limit of your concentration is the limit of your focus, while the limit of your focus is not the limit of your concentration.
Concentration is static, focus is dynamic. Concentrated Focus becomes a balance of static/dynamic, yin-yang, will and creativity, fire and water, electric and magnetic, etc.
Concentration on a single point is a good exercise, however, if the stillness of mind is mastered first, then single pointed concentration becomes far more easily mastered.
To achieve stillness, it is enough to simply sit, close one's eyes, and wait for a thought to occur. By 'waiting' for the next thought, one is in a position of stillness already. Eventually, probably quickly at first, thought will occur, simply give it no attention. It will continue on it's own, but will dwindle far faster than if you got involved in it. It may take some time to achieve a quiet mind.
You may focus on your breathing, focus on your heartbeats - it will be difficult not to count either - or you can simply sit comfortably in any position, and simply mind your thoughts (hah, pun), be patient with yourself, and wait for mastery to occur. If you do this with religious intention, that is, every day at the same time for the same amount of time, mastery will occur far faster.
You are a 'novice' at this task when you can sit with no thoughts for one minute. You are 'intermediate' at five minutes. You are 'advanced' at 15 minutes. You are 'adept' at 30 minutes. You are approaching mastery when under any condition you can immediately quiet your mind for as long as it is necessary, whether that is 30 seconds, or an entire day. You are enlightened when you able to choose when to think, rather than when to be quiet. (IMG:
style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif) If you like, set yourself a little egg timer at first and shoot for some amount of time like 30 seconds, and work your way up each day, each week, each month - whatever you feel is appropriate. The longer you take to master each 'tier' the more certain it is that you will achieve perfection of the skill. If you are very patient, spend a month at each interval, and increase by 30 seconds. If you are already enlightened, spend a year. (IMG:
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Those titles are arbitrary, but everyone likes to have a little structure by which to gauge their progress. (IMG:
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This exercise teaches a valuable lesson about concentration, and the nature of the required mindset which will grant that concentration usefulness. Obviously, telling you the lesson now would be pointless, as it is human nature to immediately try to apply it, which will only get in the way. Suffice to say, you would benefit by not only practicing, but continually considering the significance of the skill you are developing.
There are various exercises which will help to calm the mind initially, thereafter to be more easily stilled. One is as good as any other, breath or heartbeats, mentioned above; also mantram, yoga, tai chi, walking, etc., do something you can enjoy. Or don't do anything. Though I tried many different methods, and eventually employed mantram for various other purposes, I found it most effective to simply sit, and do-not-doing.
When you have mastered this, then attempt concentration. If it seems ridiculously time consuming in the long run, that is because it is. Luckily, you are young.
peace
ps. If you don't try it, you'll never discover the other lessons that arise with the practice.
Ki Exersizes
davisxmonster Ki Exersizes Jan 6 2009, 09:24 PM
Jan 6 2009, 09:24 PM
