Any spiritual practice can be beneficial, or, on the contrary, it can have a destructive effect. In particular, in the practice of meditation there are many undeniable advantages and, at the same time, dangerous traps for the practitioner.
Meditation is endless possibilities for self-cultivation: just 15 minutes of practice a day can make a person more open, successful, energetic and – as a result – happy. But the practice of meditation is a rather “subtle” occupation, in which it is not easy to find reference points. “Am I meditating right? Do I meditate at all, or do I just sit? Do I develop my practice or stand still?
In meditation training workshops, I always give students feedback tools so that they have the opportunity to understand if they are on the right track or if they are starting to succumb to fantasies, conjectures and “cockroaches”. I have practiced meditation with the great masters of our time all over the world, and I have formed an idea of how to distinguish a developing meditation practice from an inadequate zaumi that leads into the wilds.
1. Everything is clear (more or less). Meditation is not the most understandable activity in the world. And adequate training for it involves an explanation of the technique. As in any exercise, there are stages of development in meditation, steps: do it once, do it twice. And the feedback system: how at first to understand what you are doing right and what is not. If you do not understand what exactly and how to do, ask questions!
If you find yourself in a class where some strange rituals are going on around the teacher, you should treat this with caution.
You must understand the purpose of your actions, the technique and the rules of the game. Answers like “just look deep into yourself and you will see …” do not count, because if you close your eyes and look deep into yourself, then (sorry for the obviousness!) It will be dark. Meditation is the closest approximation to what can be called common sense. Therefore, losing it at the very beginning of training is too illogical.
2. No worship of the teacher. In the Eastern tradition, a master is a person who receives certain signs of respect accepted in this culture. For example, in some eastern countries it is customary to bow at a meeting, and the teacher will bow a little lower – as an elder. In Western culture, there are no ritual bows. Therefore, meditation teachers are greeted here just like any other person – they say hello, shake hands.
Artificially imposed rituals, as if the meditation teacher were some kind of higher being, would be a suspicious factor. In China, the word “master” means “a person who does his job well.” In this sense, each of us is a master in something. And it doesn’t mean worship. Therefore, if you find yourself in a class where some strange rituals are going on around the teacher, you should be careful about this.
3. The teacher is not omnipotent. Certain meditation practices can develop hypersensitivity in a person: for example, some meditation masters can remotely diagnose diseases (by the way, a good doctor can also tell a lot by the appearance of a patient). However, if the community is dominated by the idea of the omnipotence and omniscience of the master, know that this is not so! And if the master supports this idea in his followers, you definitely need to run away from him as quickly as possible.
Even the best doctor in the world will not treat the first comer. He is a man: he has a job where he heals, but there is time for himself, for communication and for his family. And the master of meditation is the same person. If you ask him, he, if desired, can diagnose and recommend something. But just looking at people and “knowing everything about everyone” is a fantasy movie utopia.
4. There is a desire for social success. Meditation is one of the tools to achieve your goals. If a monk, having gone to the mountains, set himself the goal of enlightenment and immortality, he will go to this goal with the help of meditation (more or less successfully). We live in the world: we create families, we want to be good parents, make friends, build a career, earn money. And meditation can be a great tool in achieving these goals: it clarifies the tasks and methods for solving them, balances and helps to confidently move forward towards personal success.
Look for seminars with gradual development, then meditation will become an exciting, interesting, truly developing practice.
Meditation should not lead away from the world, close in a narrow circle of like-minded people. On the contrary, it should help to be realized in society. A person becomes more active, purposeful and open. If you feel that this is not happening, then something needs to be done with such “meditation”.
5. There are goals, deadlines for their implementation and development. For example, in Shen Jen Gong Taoist meditation, everything is scheduled by months: if you practice every day for 15 minutes for 4 months, you get certain results and can move on to the next step. Then – another 6 months, and again check the results.
Meditation practices involve constant development. Once you “know” meditation and become conserved in this knowledge, it’s like mastering one program and making sure that now you are omnipotent in owning a computer. Look for seminars that involve stepwise development, then meditation will become not only useful, but also a gambling, interesting, truly developing practice.