This weekend I had the joy to go to a Acem Meditation workshop for personality development and relaxation.
I stumbled upon this by browsing the community college website of my city.
After reading wikipedia at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acem_Meditation on it I realised that it is like DM or TM!! 
It was started in Norway in the 60s by students and in the beginning they worked together with the TM organisation. They were doctors and wanted to make experiments with the technique which led to a split a few years later.
I signed up to find out the differences and to use it as an opportunity to deepen my DM practice with an experienced teacher from a “sister community”.
They have basically taken TM and removed all the religious stuff. They really stripped it down to just the meditation technique. They also made some adjustments better suitable for western people (e.g. you sit in a chair and they recommend chairs or sitting in bed). An Acem teacher has to practice Acem for years themselves before being able to make the teacher training.
For personality development hey recommend 30min twice daily or 45min once a day, if you can’t make it twice. For relaxation 15min is also fine.
They have something called “Long-Meditation” done in groups on weekends, 1 or 3 hours, with group discussions afterwards. The group discussion is to talk about problems that came up with the technique or with experiences during the mediation.
It was 60€ for 2 days with 5 hours each, so clearly non profit. Course size was limited to max 15 people, we were 10. In my city they offer group meditations and workshops every two weeks (also non-profit).
For me, the weekend was a full success. I got some interesting background informations on the mediations of the relaxed, unfocussed type (Acem, DM, TM), especially on the rhythm of mantra vs drifting off and the effects of them to each other (called purification in DM I think).
I was able to ask questions about my struggles in DM in person and get very personalised answers to my problems. It was also great to see that very often the others had similar problems.
One of my main problems is to focus too much on the mantra, not letting it go and repeating it not easy enough. The workshop leader gave some instructions on handling those situations better with ease. In a personal chat afterwards I also realised that some of my struggling is partly due to a trait which also appears in my daily non-meditation life.
I will keep contact with the Acem folks and sometimes visit their group meditations to check up my practice.
What was the religious stuff in ™? When I was taught it, I felt the content pretty much non religious.
I read that there is a Puja on inititiation for example. Both DM and Acem don’t have a Puja or other inititation ceremony.
ACEM and TM separated already in the 70s, so this statement might be outdated now?
From the Wikipedia article: “At times forgetting the sound because one is absorbed by spontaneous thoughts is considered a central part of the technique.”
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…[OM]
Sounds like it could be a good meditation technique for you Bodhi!
Getting lost is where the magic is found, as Yogani would say.
“Not all those who wander are lost.” — J.R.R. Tolkien
Hi Bodhi,
I don’t think Yogani would say that getting lost in thought and not easily favouring the mantra with your attention, is where the magic is found. I suspect he would say that getting lost in thought and not easily favouring the mantra with your attention, is a sure-fire way to make no progress.
Another word for it is “thinking”.
“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it” [Jesus Christ]
Christi
“Remember, losing the mantra again and again is the game.” --Yogani, from Lesson 79
Losing, favoring, losing, favoring, losing, favoring = refinement of mantra = absorption into stillness
Best to look at Yogani’s words in context. He says:
“Remember, losing the mantra again and again is the game. We can’t make ourselves lose it. It goes by itself. This is the mind’s natural ability to become still.”
So he is talking about losing the mantra to stillness, not losing the mantra to other thoughts. The Wikipedia quote describes a different procedure, not the AYP deep meditation.
Of course it is OK to lose the mantra to thoughts, it’s a normal part of the process. Holding on tightly to the mantra would be counterproductive - we don’t do that. But getting lost in thoughts, whenever that may happen, in itself is not a virtue to be glorified, it’s just how things are.
P.S. We needn’t be afraid of getting lost in thought, nor of losing the mantra. Those are natural parts of the process.
Trying to cling to the mantra strenously and robotically, on the other hand, is a different animal that won’t result in the same kind of refinement.
Sorry, cross-posted with Blue.
Incorrect. It’s OK to lose the mantra to thoughts, to stillness, or to a combination of both.
When you go back to the mantra from lost in thoughts, there is silence. And there can be silence when lots of thoughts are happening. I call it background silence, and the mantra isn’t possible. Yeah, it feels better to have silence up front, but it can still be the viewpoint.
I get REM sleep during meditation. Before the eyes start moving, it’s a barrage of thoughts. Can’t easily find the mantra. The eyes move and the rapid images come. So I guess I end up favoring thoughts, but there’s not much choice. There’s silence watching the movie. I figure it’s just a stage.
Yogani was careful how he worded things. Vague on purpose. Lol
Hi Bodhi,
I think you are taking words out of context.
Deep Meditation is not a practice where we attempt to lose the mantra as many times as possible. It is also not a practice where we sit around thinking about things without returning to the mantra. If we become lost, either into thoughts, or silence, which is something which will never happen deliberately, then as soon as we realize that we are off the mantra, we easily favour the mantra with our attention again.
That is the procedure. It is very simple and does not involve clinging to anything.
If clinging is happening, whether it is to the mantra, or to silence, or to thoughts that are arising, then that is treated as any other thought in the mind, and the mantra is easily favoured instead.
So, the statement: “At times forgetting the sound because one is absorbed by spontaneous thoughts is considered a central part of the technique.” would not apply to Deep Meditation practice. That would be a different practice.
Christi
Hi Lalow,
Lesson 15 describes what to do when thoughts are so overwhelming that it is not possible to return to the mantra.
See here:
" The same procedure applies if you are overcome with a barrage of overbearing thoughts, which may or may not be accompanied by physical sensations. If you can’t easily go back to the mantra, just be with the thoughts until they dissipate enough so you can easily pick up the mantra again. Remember, meditation is not a fight with physical or mental activity we may have. These are all symptoms of the release of obstructions from deep in the nervous system. We just let them go. Our job is to follow the easy procedure of thinking the mantra and allowing the process of inner cleansing to happen. This is not a war on the level of the conscious mind. You can never win it that way. We are working from the inside, within and beyond the subconscious mind. In order to do this we must allow the natural ability of the mind to take us in. So learn to think the mantra easily, and let it go in. " [Yogani]
The same applies when silence is so overwhelming that we are not able to return to the mantra. We would simply remain with the silence until we are able to easily favour the mantra.
These are both exceptions to the procedure, which apply in extreme cases, rather than the rule.
Christi
Okay, Christi, I already know what you quoted. I was just offering a weird perspective, so people don’t take sides about what is right. It’s vague for a reason to me.
Hi Lalow,
Good to hear that you are already aware of that. The REM experience is a stage that happens as the mind is beginning to become calm and still.
Eventually it gives way to something else. It is a good sign of progress.
I like that Aguacate has called Acem a “sister” to Deep Meditation. The styles seem congruent.
It’s all one big family of techniques for tapping into consciousness.
Honestly, never looked up the other practice. 
. No more spiritual info, this bot is easily overloaded. Would not compute.
[quote=“Bodhi Tree”]
It’s OK to lose the mantra to thoughts, to stillness, or to a combination of both.
[/quote] Yes. All 3, and let’s not make it sound as if meditation were all about getting lost in thoughts, as the quote from Wikipedia makes it sound. Mind you, that might also be taking one sentence out of its context. Partial truths are not truths and we don’t want to confuse beginners.