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| Articles/Essays on Teachers and Meditation | ||
| These articles or essays are a very personal view of meditation, why and how I do it, what it means to me, and various other topics centered around meditation - particularly the role of teachers.
As you can see from my section on Maharaji, for 30+ years I was completely in awe of, and surrendered myself to, a meditation teacher. It is therefore unsurprising if now I feel prejudiced against meditation teachers. I also clearly have no judgement in this area, since I gave 30 years of my life, unquestioningly and uncritically, to one. On the plus side, though, it has left me with a healthy and robust bullshit meter, that sounds the alarm at the first whiff of pretension, arrogance, assumed spiritual authority or just unsupported wishful thinking. There are of course many splendid teachers in this area, and I mention elsewhere some of those who I have worked with and who have influenced me for the good. | ||
| Definitions of Meditation | ||
| The word meditation has two clusters of meanings: one is to contemplate through thinking; the other is almost the opposite - to contemplate without thinking. Here are a collection of definitions of the second. | ||
| What Questions to Ask? | ||
| When trying to ask the big questions (the answer to life, the universe and everything, as Douglas Adams put it), what are the questions it is fruitful to ask? | ||
| Is There Anywhere to Go To? | ||
| Once I was asked this question: Do you think it's possible that there isn't anywhere to go, and that you and I and other intelligent people have restless minds and invent this search for truth and 'spiritual' fulfillment? Could it be lack of contentment that drives you and others to such pursuits and beliefs? This is my answer. | ||
| Find Your Own Meditation | ||
| Most meditation teachers give you instructions on how to meditate, and then encourage you to find yourself in their particular meditation style. I think you need to back up one step, and find your own meditation first. | ||
| Can Meditation be Harmful? | ||
| Many people cannot see the point of meditation; some even hold that meditation can be harmful. | ||
| Investigating The Inner World | ||
| What are the ways of investigating the inner world, and can teachers be useful in such an endeavor? | ||
| The Underground World of Existence | ||
| This is a somewhat depressing and macabre analogy of my existence and life for the past 35 years, and the role of teachers in solving it. I wrote it in my journal in 2003, fairly soon after leaving Maharaji, and I am reproducing it here as I wrote it, with the minimal of editing. | ||
| The Primary Teacher - My Own Awareness | ||
| As I stated at the beginning of this Meditation section, my faith lies ultimately in the power of my own awareness. It is thus in many respects my primary teacher. Here I write about the art of being aware of my own awareness. | ||
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