Another hidden secret, this one is about the real purposse of meditation

Why do we practice? Yes, why?

Ever wondered? I have, a few times. Lately I guess, noticing how my hair starts to go grey, I realize, lo and behold, I am mortal, I shall die, and I am scared, not so much of the passage but rather of pain, and pain, oh pain, it is a fact of life isn't it? even that grey hair gives me pain.

So the sages say, when you realize who you really are, then you dont need to come back anymore, then you are liberated.

But what does all of that mean?

For me at least, just the thought of having to go through puberty again, the violent divorce of my parents, and other delights makes me cringe. What if that could be avoided, what if there is a much happier me which I have not discovered? what if I can be happy or even better, transcend happienss to a place where I can be contented no matter what, and, should I chose to, not have to experiene pain again, and live in some godworld realm. That I cannot imagine, but just the idea of total contentment sells me.

OK, so if I am practicing for total contentment, what does daily asana have to do wit hit? how does that help?

I realized while at the meditation retreat that the only way to transcend anything is through the body, because the body is my only link to the "world", and the only way to transcend the body is by meditation. How so? well, in meditation the first thing we do is breathe and focus on the breath, but this is just the beginning. This jsut stops the mind.

It turns out there is a lot more to meditation than just "being". The hidden secret is that then we begin to "scan" the body. by this what I mean is that we observe the body, from head to toe, as if we had a circle of awareness that goes from top to bottom and then from bottom to top, scanning any sensation thorughout the body. once a sensation is perceived, it is observed, not judged, not denied, not craved, simply observed, under careful intention not to create a new craving or aversion.

this is the secret that the Buddha brought to the world: SENSATION.

So, we keep observing sensations and also the areas that are "blind" until we can feel sensations in them.

Eventually, aparently, so I am told, the whole body has sensation and we can scan it up and down in one breath. The ring of awareness travels through the body up and down breathing in and out.

Whenever we encounter pain we observe it, how long will it last?, this too shall pass, after all. Whenever something gives us pleasure we observe it. How long will it last? this too shall pass, yes all passes.

Eventually, we "disolve" and realize how we are one...

This is a few steps forward than any meditation technique ever told me about.

There are more steps, the story keeps going.

I find that many meditation schools do not go that far, and keep it a secret in hopes of avoiding you and me to create any "attachements", or "cravings" to getting to the experience of dissolution.

I actually think that theory to be flawed. I believe in our times we need to know, and then keep on observing, knowing that the craving to get to the stage will appear, I mean, c'mon, sooner or later we are to find out.

So the secret is out.

Sing posts along the road that you are on the right track are:

1. You are able to scan your whole body with no blind areas, you experience sensation everywhere
2. you are detached and observing without creating any new aversions or cravings
3. you begin to experience some sidhis like hearing what others are thinking, YET you let it go, observe and keep going
4. Since your noticing avoids creating new patterns of aversion or craving, old patterns come to the surface, yet you continue to just observe them, hence cleaning them up
5. You are able to scan your whole body in one breath up and down
6. You ralize that the asana or yoga practice is there only to help you clean any knots you may have in your body, noticing sensations and giving you better posture and stamina for meditation sitting.
7. you dissolve

More to come... but please no craving