Journy as a goal
In true meditation there is no goal no destination, nowhere we should go or be, nothing we should or want to achieve... there is only one-pointed awareness, there is only meditation... But with our goal-oriented Western mind this might be difficult at first.
To prepare ourselves for meditation, we might set our goal on the journey itself. The simplest way to illustrate “journey as a goal” is with a circle. The perimeter of the circle should represent our life path. We are currently at some point around this perimeter. Looking back, we probably feel that we have walked quite a bit, that we are wiser, that we understand life and its essence better ... If we are aware that this is just one of the stations, just one of the points and we do not identify with it, new knowledge does not become sacred truth to us and we do not fanatically defend it as the only possible truth, our life is full. We know that we are at a different point at any given moment, that no point on the perimeter of a circle is better than the other, after all, every end is also a beginning.
In Buddhism, the word Dukkha, often translated as suffering or dissatisfaction, actually means a wheel that refuses to turn, a wheel that is stuck in a certain position and refuses to move forward. Such is the ordinary Ego - full of himself, he does not want change and that is why he is very afraid, he is insecure, angry ...
What Buddhism strives for is Sukha, that is, that the wheel - simply - turns, spins. That consciousness is liberated, that we make our own choices and are responsible for that choice. If I suffer, then I only suffer, there is no lamentation here, I do not add anything to suffering. If I grieve, I can really go into mourning and thus become more open, sensitive, vulnerable, if we rejoice we rejoice fully with all our heart, without limitations ... Or that simply - we are.
Exploring meditative consciousness at the Velosimed Center offers you exploration to eternal questions and searches, in the process, you will find the truth in your own way, the truth that suits your life - no one will impose their view or way on you. In this process, you will meet yourself again and from the process, you will come infinitely more alive and able to admire and respect all living things and also yourself.
About meditation
Meditation practices
At the Velosimed Center, we teach various techniques that allow us to train the individual elements of awareness that are necessary for meditative awareness and consciousness. In addition, we delve into different types of meditation: mindfulness, metta bhvana, tong len, zazen, which contain different meditative aspects.
We differ from other meditative schools in that we take into account the broader tradition from which Buddhism in general and Zen Buddhism in particular derive. Therefore, we learn the techniques of mixing qi and prāṇe, because in practice zazen, sitting meditations, the rotation of the microcosmic orbit automatically develops along with the rotation of qi. At this point, with special breathing exercises and visualization exercises, we have direct access to the two main functions of prana and meditation, which create deep serenity and facilitate meditative absorption until the meditator is able to enter this state of consciousness on his own free will and this state is no longer happening only accidentally.
In other words, if in ancient times Zen masters did not celebrate or proclaim an intuitive metaphysical understanding of energy, it was because this metaphysical vision of the world was already an integral part of Chinese and Japanese culture at the time, and this fact is largely ignored in today's westernized meditative teachings and practices.
In ordinary life, we keep asking ourselves and looking for the answer "Who am I?". When the Buddha was asked who he was, he politely replied, "I'm sorry, but this is the wrong question." ... "The real question is: What am I?"… "I am enlightened (awakened / conscious)." we show you the way so that you can ask yourself the right question and gradually get an answer to it..
Voice Dialog
My teacher Patriarch Genpo Roshi came through a Western psychotherapeutic method called Voice Dialog (developed by Dr. Hall and Dr. Sidra Stone), through the ideas of Carl G. Jung, Fritz Pearls, and of course through the Zen tradition to a process called Big Heart, Big Mind.
The idea of Voices Dialogue is that if we want to speak with a certain aspect of our Self or with a certain voice, which is one of the components of the Self, then our consciousness makes a leap or shift and suddenly we find ourselves in this aspect/voice - we become that voice. On the other hand, the process of Big Heart, Big Mind is a logical historical consequence of Buddha Dharma (the path of Buddhism), which found its specific expression in each of the cultures from India, China, Japan, Mongolia, Tibet, so that the essential elements of Buddhism could be live in each of these different traditions. The process of Big Heart, Big Mind is thus a kind of Western way of Zen Buddhism.
The Voice Dialogue process is an extremely direct and effective method of self-observation and self-knowledge. It is a method that opens hearts and raises awareness to a new awareness and admiration of the richness and fullness of life. The process itself stems from the idea that our Self is made up of a large number of sub-persons, or voices - it follows that we also have infinite perspectives. All of these perspectives compete with each other to be heard and taken into account. Many of these sub-persons are stuck to some degree or are repressed into the subconscious. As a result, they manifest at the wrong time, in an inappropriate way (eg as an outburst of anger, envy, fear, depression, addiction ...). When we call an individual sub-person to the forefront and give it a voice and the opportunity to fully express itself, that voice loses its neuroticism and can begin to function on a healthy, constructive level. After giving full recognition and voice to all dualistic sub-persons, we also immerse ourselves in various aspects of non-dualistic voices that slowly lead us into the experience of enlightenment. At this moment we find our true home, which is here in us, right now, right at this moment and every moment again and again ... It is a home where all uncertainties, fears, inhibitions, resentments, all dualism good/evil fall away and you feel one with the universe. However, this is not the end of the road, it is the end when we realize that we are just people with our limitations and especially our profession or vocation, to serve to the best of our ability the environment in which we live, to become a free, fully functional human being.
In the process of Voice Dialogue, we build the Self as a whole. Metaphorically, this is done by imagining ourselves as an equilateral triangle. Everything that a triangle encompasses, its entire surface is our Self. In one corner of this triangle is the most famous part, the most used part of the Self - our Ego. Through the Voice Dialogue technique, we first develop the most important aspects of the Ego. In another angle, we imagine the non-dualistic consciousness of nirvana - the consciousness from which everything emanates and returns to it. This is the second corner, the non-dualistic aspect of our Self. In the third corner, at the apex of the triangle, is the synthesis of these two aspects, followed by the transcendence of these two aspects, represented by the whole surface of the triangle, that is, the whole Self, or in other words: a free, fully functioning human being.
The Voice DIalog offers many new insights and experiences whose crowning gem is to experience kensho, that is, to feel who we really are, why we are here, what our true nature is. Of course, each individual then needs his or her time to really “process” and internalize all these insights, and begin to truly live them.
Spirituality as escape from reality !?
Many spiritual systems define the goal of spiritual search as dissolving personal boundaries and merging with the Spirit / God and simultaneously denying all that is earthly, renouncing all material goods, despising and suppressing "flesh" ... However, people who in their path of inner exploration actually met with the Absolute Consciousness know that setting the ultimate goal as a union with the highest principle involves a serious problem. These people are aware that Absolute Consciousness or Infinite Emptiness represents not only the end of the spiritual search but also the beginning.
The spiritual principle not only offers the reunion of the separated but is also responsible for the separation and division of the original oneness. The creation of worlds, of separation, of an infinite series of different phenomena, or entities, is clearly the basic "need" of the Absolute Consciousness. This inner need for Absolute Consciousness, or Spirit, or God, or whatever we call this basic principle of creation, is beautifully expressed in the Sufi saying, "God wants to see/experience God." The world of plurality thus represents an important complement to God's state of undifferentiation. In Kabbalistic terminology: "People need God and God needs people."
At the most basic level of the cosmic drama, therefore, there is a constant game between two forces: chylotropic or centrifugal, which creates worlds, duality, creates matter, and holotropic or centripetal, which tends back to wholeness, unity, non-duality, non-self, back to the unexpressed Cosmic Void, which at the same time contains as potential all the possibilities of expression - and thus the circle is completed.
Unexpressed Universal Consciousness craves expression and through its creative principle creates countless worlds, beings, laws, limitations, duality, ... and created beings want to unite with their divine source because they see their separation, individuality, duality, limitation, temporality… as imperfect and as a source of pain and suffering.
It is obvious, then, that neither the appearance of separate entities nor undifferentiated Oneness is in itself entirely satisfactory. So what is the alternative? Rejecting a given reality as something that is insignificant, unworthy, and wanting to escape the tasks and challenges that this world imposes on us is no real solution. It is becoming increasingly clear that the experiential worlds, including our material world, represent not only an important and valuable but also an absolutely necessary complement to the undifferentiated Absolute Consciousness that also creates all these worlds. On the other hand, we have learned - by the hard way - that the search for fulfillment and happiness through material goods is a dead end, and this longing and appropriation of material goods, strikes back with destructive power. This is reflected not only on an individual level but in the pervasive crisis of humanity when we find ourselves facing the threat of a global ecological catastrophe, triggered by ourselves through our insatiable greed.
The only satisfactory solution to this dilemma must therefore encompass both the earthly and the transcendental dimension - both, the world of forms and appearances, and the Formless, Infinite Emptiness - of God if you will.
The world we live in offers us endless possibilities of expression, search, enjoyment, life ... Only as humans, separate individuals, can we experience the beauty of the night sky with countless stars, galaxies, can we enjoy the beauty of Nature, love, enjoy the ecstasy of bodily love, we have children and feel complete unconditional love, listen to Mozart and Bach, admire the works of Michelangelo ... immerse ourselves in our own consciousness and discover its infinity and feel the spark of God (also) within ourselves.
To find a satisfactory solution to the dilemma (whether material or spiritual), we need to turn inward and embark on a systematic inner exploration. On this journey, we will discover and explore the hidden dimensions of us and our reality, and through these insights, our identification with the Ego and our body will become increasingly loose and also increasingly uninteresting and on the other hand vast. For pragmatic reasons, we will continue to identify with the “skin-encapsulated ego” (Allan Watts), but we begin to realize that this is not the only option, that it is only part of the game ... If through this search we gain enough knowledge and awareness of our the transpersonal dimension of living, which also contains our true identity, makes everyday life much easier, richer and… worth living! The dilemma between the material and the spiritual disappears; beauty, truth, and goodness are elements of the synthesis of this dilemma ...
As our search continues, sooner or later we also discover the essential void that fills all phenomena. Buddhist philosophy teaches that the realization of the appearance of the whole emergent world and its emptiness saves us from suffering and completely liberates us. This Buddhist teaching also contains the realization that belief in any kind of separation, including our own separation, is only an illusion. Buddhists' awareness of the essence of all things - is an Infinite Emptiness and that in reality, a separate self does not exist: consciousness non-self = atman.
Positive effects of meditation on body and mind
{{modality}} our meditators report on:
- greater inner peace
- greater ability to "be in the moment"
- less stress
- less neuroticism
- a better understanding of oneself
- easier acceptance and compassion for loved ones as well as other people in general
- easier coping with life's trials
- deep awareness and feeling of self
- a deep respect for all life
- awareness of the beauty of life