Excerpt from Chapter 1

Excerpt from Meditation: The Awareness Approach™ by T. Jacob Felder, R.Y.T. A Natural and Scientific Method for Learning Relaxation and Meditation
Excerpt from Chapter I My main goal in writing this book is to help people, just like you, to learn to meditate or improve your meditation skills. I will begin with the “What is it?” question by giving a general overview of meditation. My definition of meditation is any state of consciousness that involves a more relaxed state of mind and body than your usual waking over-thinking self, as long as you are able to maintain conscious awareness. This definition, of course, spans a broad range of consciousness such as a carefree walk in the park or day at the beach (spontaneous meditation), to simple relaxation techniques, to the bliss of deep meditation and trance, to lucid dreaming -- dreams in which you are highly aware (conscious) that you are dreaming. It does not include deep sleep in which you are very unlikely to experience conscious awareness. The good news for beginners is you already meditate, you just have not recognized it. For the experienced meditators, please consider the following explanation in order to broaden your understanding and appreciation of the simplicity of meditation. Perhaps you have a hobby or an activity you engage in so thoroughly that an hour or so seems to slip by before you realize it. Perhaps you have walked through a flower garden totally captivated by the beauty of the flowers, the fragrances, the fresh air and sunshine. You were so caught up in the surroundings that you had few thoughts involving life outside of the garden. Whether it was a hobby, a favorite activity, or a walk through the garden, afterward, you found yourself feeling refreshed and clear minded, with a sense of peace and calm. What has occurred is a "Light Meditation". The whole time you were engaged in these simple activities you were focused only on the matter at hand. You were not thinking about what I refer to as, "the house, the mouse, the spouse, the bills, the pills, the thrills." While focusing on something simple and pleasurable or neutral, your brain wave frequency (the busyness of the mind) begins to slow down to a calm state of mind. This brain wave frequency is referred to as "Alpha" and is generally considered the most relaxed state you can experience while remaining clinically awake. Now that this mystery is solved, please stick with me through the "Deep Meditation” explanation. After that, I am going to come back around to how to achieve both Light Meditation and Deep Meditation via conscious choice and effort. You know that not quite awake, yet not quite asleep, feeling you sometimes experience? Say, for instance, that you are sitting on the couch on a rainy Sunday afternoon, reading a good book, not thinking about much else. You decide to set the book down and just close your eyes for a few moments. You seem to be floating or half forgetting where you are. You hear footsteps coming down the hall, the door opens, and someone near and dear to you says, "Oh, I didn't mean to wake you." With difficultly, you barely open your eyes, and in a groggy voice you declare, "Oh no, I wasn't asleep. I heard you coming down the hall." They laugh. That experience is a form of “Deep Meditation” or “Theta” brainwaves. Theta is the first stage of clinical sleep. Theta is the one stage of sleep in which we are most likely to be able to maintain conscious awareness. There is one major difference between the non-controlled dozing off scenario I just described and intentional Deep Meditation. In intentional Deep Meditation, you set out with the goal of reaching Theta, and you learn to keep the mind alert rather than allowing the mind to become dull and groggy while in Theta. Before I go any further, I must answer a probable question. Why bother maintaining this alertness of mind while in Theta instead of simply going to sleep? The shortest answer is while in Theta the brain waves are so slow and the mind is so void of thought that you get to experience your existence, consciousness, free of cares and concerns of the world. In this absence of thought, there is only one thing left -- a deep-seated feeling of peace and calm. Who would not want to experience that? Also, serotonin is released while in Theta, blood pressure lowers, the body releases tension, and your mind is clearer, just to name a few more of the many benefits. Now for the “How does it work?” question. A common theme throughout this book is no matter how mundane or exotic the approach to meditation, all meditations will follow the model below: 1) Focus on something simple and non-thought provoking. 2) Relax the body. 3) Exercise awareness of changes in mind and body as you relax. To clarify with an example, I will go over a typical sitting meditation. Please note that I am referring to a sitting mediation and not a moving meditation such as yoga, Tai Chi, labyrinth walking, and the like. Sitting in a comfortable position, the meditator chooses a focus (more on focus later). In this example, the meditator chooses to mentally repeat a short phrase as his focus all the while relaxing the body. Eventually, he notices (awareness) that the body has begun to relax more deeply and that the train of thought has begun to slow due to the redundancy of the focus. Alpha brainwaves of Light Meditation have been achieved. However, to stay with Alpha the meditator needs to continue the focus to prevent falling back into normal thinking mode. Furthermore, if the meditator chooses to move into Deep Meditation, he will continue with the focus and continue to relax the body until he begins to experience feelings and sensations akin to that of the edge of sleep. The meditator has now achieved a state of Deep Meditation. At this point, thinking is no longer an issue. Falling asleep is the issue. What to do? The meditator now turns his focus into a tool to help maintain an alert mind. By doing so, conscious awareness can be maintained in the peace, the calm, the stillness, the bliss of Theta, Deep Meditation. Now to elaborate on this overview. To begin with, you need in depth understanding of three technical terms, two of which were mentioned above: Alpha and Theta and the third is Beta. These terms relate to different states of brainwave patterns. Beta is simply your normal waking conscious mind. An easy way to remember this is “Busy Beta Brainwaves”. It is your usual think, think, and think some more. It is quite normal to think as much as you do. People are wired that way. What is Alpha? Alpha is the most relaxed state of mind you can experience while still 100 percent awake. This is when your brainwaves slow down, usually due to being focused without fretting -- simply focused. A few examples might be an artist immersed in painting, an athlete “in the zone”, someone observing one beautiful painting after another in a museum, or enjoying a quiet stroll through a botanical garden. Another example is involvement in mind/body disciplines such as yoga, dance, Tai Chi and other such activities. The list goes on. You shift from busy Beta brainwaves to relaxing Alpha brainwaves when you are focused on something pleasant or neutral long enough to have your mind free of worries and concerns. “Light Meditation” is a state of being focused and relaxed. Theta is the first stage of sleep and part of the second stage of sleep. It is the stage of sleep in which you are most likely to be able to maintain conscious awareness of yourself and your surroundings. When you maintain stability in Theta, you are in “Deep Meditation”. You pass through Theta every night on your way to deep sleep. You move through it so quickly that its pleasant sensations and nuances are very seldom noticed. These sensations include the mind as well as bodily sensations. In Theta, the brainwaves are so slow that thinking is difficult, even when you try. Without habitual thinking, which is the only thing that disturbs your peace of mind, there is only one thing left -- a deep-seated sense of peace and calm. Focus and awareness are two terms you are familiar with; however, you will need to get used to them in the context of relaxation/meditation. Focus is what will get you into Alpha and then into Theta. Focus keeps your mind fixed. It could be repeating a word or a short phrase such as a mantra or prayer. Your focus could be gazing at an object. It could be a still object like a flower, or mandala. Your gazing focus could be a moving object such as fish swimming from one side of a fish tank to the other. A focus can be auditory, listening to ambient or white noise or music (usually without lyrics so you do not get caught up in the meaning of the words.) The focus could be just about anything you can readily fix your attention on and bring your attention back to if the mind begins to wander. Just be sure that what you are focusing on does not promote thought or arousal of any kind. Awareness is what makes it possible to know where you are in your journey from Beta to Alpha to Theta. In order to do this, you have to become familiar with any changes in visuals beneath the eyelids, how you receive or lose track of sounds and noises around you and within you, as well as feelings and sensations in the body and upon the surface of the skin. You need to be aware of the stream of consciousness, that is, you need to be able to observe how busy or calm your thoughts are. Also, you need to pay attention to the course of your breathing as you move deeper into your meditation and into the realm of Theta. I will address how to become familiar with these changes in Chapter 4, The Awareness Approach. Buy the Book with Companion CD Buy the Kindle E-Book Home

Excerpt from
Meditation: The Awareness Approach™
by T. Jacob Felder, R.Y.T.

A Natural and Scientific Method for Learning
Relaxation and Meditation

Excerpt from Chapter I

My main goal in writing this book is to help people, just like you, to learn to meditate or improve your meditation skills. I will begin with the “What is it?” question by giving a general overview of meditation. My definition of meditation is any state of consciousness that involves a more relaxed state of mind and body than your usual waking over-thinking self, as long as you are able to maintain conscious awareness. This definition, of course, spans a broad range of consciousness such as a carefree walk in the park or day at the beach (spontaneous meditation), to simple relaxation techniques, to the bliss of deep meditation and trance, to lucid dreaming -- dreams in which you are highly aware (conscious) that you are dreaming. It does not include deep sleep in which you are very unlikely to experience conscious awareness.

The good news for beginners is you already meditate, you just have not recognized it. For the experienced meditators, please consider the following explanation in order to broaden your understanding and appreciation of the simplicity of meditation. Perhaps you have a hobby or an activity you engage in so thoroughly that an hour or so seems to slip by before you realize it. Perhaps you have walked through a flower garden totally captivated by the beauty of the flowers, the fragrances, the fresh air and sunshine. You were so caught up in the surroundings that you had few thoughts involving life outside of the garden. Whether it was a hobby, a favorite activity, or a walk through the garden, afterward, you found yourself feeling refreshed and clear minded, with a sense of peace and calm. What has occurred is a "Light Meditation". The whole time you were engaged in these simple activities you were focused only on the matter at hand. You were not thinking about what I refer to as, "the house, the mouse, the spouse, the bills, the pills, the thrills." While focusing on something simple and pleasurable or neutral, your brain wave frequency (the busyness of the mind) begins to slow down to a calm state of mind. This brain wave frequency is referred to as "Alpha" and is generally considered the most relaxed state you can experience while remaining clinically awake. Now that this mystery is solved, please stick with me through the "Deep Meditation” explanation. After that, I am going to come back around to how to achieve both Light Meditation and Deep Meditation via conscious choice and effort.

You know that not quite awake, yet not quite asleep, feeling you sometimes experience? Say, for instance, that you are sitting on the couch on a rainy Sunday afternoon, reading a good book, not thinking about much else. You decide to set the book down and just close your eyes for a few moments. You seem to be floating or half forgetting where you are. You hear footsteps coming down the hall, the door opens, and someone near and dear to you says, "Oh, I didn't mean to wake you." With difficultly, you barely open your eyes, and in a groggy voice you declare, "Oh no, I wasn't asleep. I heard you coming down the hall." They laugh. That experience is a form of “Deep Meditation” or “Theta” brainwaves. Theta is the first stage of clinical sleep. Theta is the one stage of sleep in which we are most likely to be able to maintain conscious awareness. There is one major difference between the non-controlled dozing off scenario I just described and intentional Deep Meditation. In intentional Deep Meditation, you set out with the goal of reaching Theta, and you learn to keep the mind alert rather than allowing the mind to become dull and groggy while in Theta.

Before I go any further, I must answer a probable question. Why bother maintaining this alertness of mind while in Theta instead of simply going to sleep? The shortest answer is while in Theta the brain waves are so slow and the mind is so void of thought that you get to experience your existence, consciousness, free of cares and concerns of the world. In this absence of thought, there is only one thing left -- a deep-seated feeling of peace and calm. Who would not want to experience that? Also, serotonin is released while in Theta, blood pressure lowers, the body releases tension, and your mind is clearer, just to name a few more of the many benefits.

Now for the “How does it work?” question. A common theme throughout this book is no matter how mundane or exotic the approach to meditation, all meditations will follow the model below:

1) Focus on something simple and non-thought provoking.
2) Relax the body.
3) Exercise awareness of changes in mind and body as you relax.

To clarify with an example, I will go over a typical sitting meditation. Please note that I am referring to a sitting mediation and not a moving meditation such as yoga, Tai Chi, labyrinth walking, and the like. Sitting in a comfortable position, the meditator chooses a focus (more on focus later). In this example, the meditator chooses to mentally repeat a short phrase as his focus all the while relaxing the body. Eventually, he notices (awareness) that the body has begun to relax more deeply and that the train of thought has begun to slow due to the redundancy of the focus. Alpha brainwaves of Light Meditation have been achieved. However, to stay with Alpha the meditator needs to continue the focus to prevent falling back into normal thinking mode. Furthermore, if the meditator chooses to move into Deep Meditation, he will continue with the focus and continue to relax the body until he begins to experience feelings and sensations akin to that of the edge of sleep. The meditator has now achieved a state of Deep Meditation. At this point, thinking is no longer an issue. Falling asleep is the issue. What to do? The meditator now turns his focus into a tool to help maintain an alert mind. By doing so, conscious awareness can be maintained in the peace, the calm, the stillness, the bliss of Theta, Deep Meditation.

Now to elaborate on this overview. To begin with, you need in depth understanding of three technical terms, two of which were mentioned above: Alpha and Theta and the third is Beta. These terms relate to different states of brainwave patterns. Beta is simply your normal waking conscious mind. An easy way to remember this is “Busy Beta Brainwaves”. It is your usual think, think, and think some more. It is quite normal to think as much as you do. People are wired that way.

What is Alpha? Alpha is the most relaxed state of mind you can experience while still 100 percent awake. This is when your brainwaves slow down, usually due to being focused without fretting -- simply focused. A few examples might be an artist immersed in painting, an athlete “in the zone”, someone observing one beautiful painting after another in a museum, or enjoying a quiet stroll through a botanical garden. Another example is involvement in mind/body disciplines such as yoga, dance, Tai Chi and other such activities. The list goes on. You shift from busy Beta brainwaves to relaxing Alpha brainwaves when you are focused on something pleasant or neutral long enough to have your mind free of worries and concerns. “Light Meditation” is a state of being focused and relaxed.

Theta is the first stage of sleep and part of the second stage of sleep. It is the stage of sleep in which you are most likely to be able to maintain conscious awareness of yourself and your surroundings. When you maintain stability in Theta, you are in “Deep Meditation”. You pass through Theta every night on your way to deep sleep. You move through it so quickly that its pleasant sensations and nuances are very seldom noticed. These sensations include the mind as well as bodily sensations. In Theta, the brainwaves are so slow that thinking is difficult, even when you try. Without habitual thinking, which is the only thing that disturbs your peace of mind, there is only one thing left -- a deep-seated sense of peace and calm.

Focus and awareness are two terms you are familiar with; however, you will need to get used to them in the context of relaxation/meditation. Focus is what will get you into Alpha and then into Theta. Focus keeps your mind fixed. It could be repeating a word or a short phrase such as a mantra or prayer. Your focus could be gazing at an object. It could be a still object like a flower, or mandala. Your gazing focus could be a moving object such as fish swimming from one side of a fish tank to the other. A focus can be auditory, listening to ambient or white noise or music (usually without lyrics so you do not get caught up in the meaning of the words.) The focus could be just about anything you can readily fix your attention on and bring your attention back to if the mind begins to wander. Just be sure that what you are focusing on does not promote thought or arousal of any kind.

Awareness is what makes it possible to know where you are in your journey from Beta to Alpha to Theta. In order to do this, you have to become familiar with any changes in visuals beneath the eyelids, how you receive or lose track of sounds and noises around you and within you, as well as feelings and sensations in the body and upon the surface of the skin. You need to be aware of the stream of consciousness, that is, you need to be able to observe how busy or calm your thoughts are. Also, you need to pay attention to the course of your breathing as you move deeper into your meditation and into the realm of Theta. I will address how to become familiar with these changes in Chapter 4, The Awareness Approach.

Buy the Book with Companion CD

Buy the Kindle E-Book

Home