If shamatha is the foundation for all levels of meditation, then what is the foundation of shamatha? The great sage Patanjali states that it is “to still the patterning of the consciousness.” (Sutra 1 of Book I) He furthermore states: “Then, pure awareness can abide in its very nature. Otherwise, awareness takes itself to be … More Intermediate: Liberation from the ego
Many benefits come with learning to create and then stabilize a meditative type of focus. In classical yogic meditation training, this begins with pratyahara and leads to dharana. These Sanskrit terms are two of the “Eight Means or Limbs of Yoga” as given a long time ago by the great Indian sage and father of … More 2c: The usually not noticed
What do you pay attention to? And, what do you give attention to? – two distinct questions. What does not get your attention? Furthermore, if you were to guess, what percentage of your day has no true attention applied to it? – it is being lived habitually. Meditation requires sustained attention that is withdrawn from … More Puppy training: learning meditative attention