Dec 6, 2014 | Santosa Programs
At Santosa Detox & Wellness Center, every Saturday afternoon, we have a very special meditation – Osho active meditation.
Many meditative techniques require one to sit still and silent. But for most of us accumulated stress in our body and mind makes that difficult. In the modern world people are living a very repressed life.
“Just sitting directly in silence won’t help. The moment you will sit silently, you will see all sorts of things moving inside you; you will feel it almost impossible to be silent. First throw those things out so you come to a natural state of rest. Real meditation starts only when you are at rest.” – Osho
Before we can hope to access our inner powerhouse of consciousness, we need to let go of our tensions. All of Osho’s active meditations involve a beginning stage of activity — sometimes intense and physical — followed by a period of silence. All are accompanied by music that has been specially composed to guide the meditator through the different stages.
Osho Kundalini Meditation lasts for one hour and has four stages, three with music, and the last without. It is best done at sunset or in the late afternoon. It can be done alone, but the energy will be more powerful if it is done in a group. Being fully immersed in the shaking and dancing of the first two stages helps to “melt” the rock-like being, wherever the energy flow has been repressed and blocked. Then that energy can flow, dance and be transformed into bliss and joy.
The last two stages enable all this energy to flow vertically, to move upwards into silence. It is a highly effective way of unwinding and letting go at the end of the day. As the mind becomes completely empty, your whole energy becomes aflame of awakening. This flame is the result of meditation. So you can say meditation is another name of watching, witnessing, observing – without any judgement, without any evaluation. One thing has to be remembered about meditation; it is a long journey and there is no shortcut.It is a long journey because the change is very deep and is achieved after many years of routine habits, thinking, desiring.
Welcome to join us on Saturday to explore more life possibilities!
Oct 12, 2014 | Santosa Programs
Why do we use movement in meditation?
There are so many ways to be enlightened… So many ways to enter in another realm of consciousness. Why do we want to shake, shake, shake? Represented by the dormant, curled up snake, at the base of the spine, the shaking motion of this active meditation aims to awaken an immeasurable power and spiritual energy in the body, mind and spirit. Amplifying universal consciousness and intuition, the practice is said to spiritually enlighten through movement. The aim is to open the mind through the Kundalini Shakti, and use the energy of the earth to let your natural self emerge.
Our over-stimulated minds often struggle to be still during meditative practice, and many feel that the western mind is more suited to this dynamic form of meditation. Using the power of the earth to generate movement in the body, it is incredible to stop and actually feel the sheer force of energy in a ball between your hands – a practice that make this form of meditation much more tangible than many others. The innate power of Shakti energy forms a beautiful synergy with the surge of feminine energy coursing through the globe, and balances out the imbalance of masculinity.
For the best guidance on Kundalini –we refer to the words of Osho….
If you are doing the kundalini meditation, allow the shaking – but don’t do it! Stand silently, feel it coming, and when your body starts a little trembling, help it, but don’t do it! Enjoy it, feel blissful about it, allow it, receive it, welcome it, but don’t will it.
If you force, it will become an exercise, a bodily physical exercise. Then the shaking will be there, but just on the surface. It will not penetrate you. You will remain solid, stone-like, rocklike within. You will remain the manipulator, the doer, and the body will only be following. The body is not the question, you are the question.
When I say shake, I mean your solidity, your rocklike being should shake to the very foundations, so it becomes liquid, fluid, melts, flows. And when the rocklike being becomes liquid your body will follow. Then there is no shaker, only shaking; then nobody is doing it, it is simply happening. Then the doer is not.
“Enjoy it, but don’t will it. And remember, whenever you will a thing you cannot enjoy it. They are reverse, opposites; they never meet. If you will a thing you cannot enjoy it, if you enjoy it you cannot will it.” Osho
Sep 14, 2014 | Santosa Programs
Meditation is hard. Don’t let those serene looking stock photos deceive you like they deceived me!
So there I am sitting on my special little cushion (because that’s supposed to help!?) closed eyes, and breathing. I try to breath and everything is tight and hurts. Why am I doing this! So I stop. Frustrated.
ut the next day I sit down on my little cushion again. Why? Not because it made me feel amazingly serene and relaxed but out of the fact that surely it can’t be so hard to sit and breathe without thinking!
So more out of defiance than out of self love did my meditation practice evolve. And it taught me exactly that, self love and patience.
Meditation is not easy, at least for some individuals. But it is so worth it once you overcome the really hard parts, the start and the point where you think “I’ve mastered this I can stop now” point.
Tips to Follow
Here are a few tips on how to get past these hurdles to a point where meditation isn’t something we strive for or achieve but rather a moment in space where we can experience our being with no judgment.
- Make mediation a dedicated practice like any regime you have. Set aside a certain time for this and make sure not to be disturbed. Even get yourself a special cushion if you like…
- Give yourself a little warm up stretch before doing your meditation. Prep your body just as much as your mind.
- Find a meditation style that suits you and don’t be too dogmatic about it. Walking, sitting and lying down are meditation options as well as eyes open or closed. See what works for you.
- Start with breath; it gives you something to focus on as well as slowing your heart rate and relaxing your muscles.
- When the frustration sneaks in, let it happen, don’t judge it just bring your attention back to your breath and let any negative feelings go. I found this to be very hard and what worked for me was just to say I’ll deal with those feelings later, by the end of the mediation you will have forgotten them altogether!
Dare to try? Make sure not to miss our beginners meditation class which takes place every Wednesday at Santosa Detox Center Phuket.
