"Going Deep"

06. Discussions on AYP Deep Meditation and Samyama
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From another thread on another forum:

I deeply agree :slight_smile:
Yogani (repeatedly) urges us to bear in mind that experiences during meditation are corollary, and do not reflect the purification that’s actually going on “under the hood”. I did various spiritual practices for nearly 30 years, and “going deep” was what I was aiming for. I’ve dropped all notion of that, and it’s freed me up considerably. Meditation has gone from being an expedition into my interior space to being a trip to the cosmic barber for a trim. What needs to be done is being done (by mantra, by God, by anything BUT my striving self). I trust in that and drop my expectations.
Yogani suggests gauging the effectiveness of practice not via the experiences one has during practices, but via one’s real world behavior and attitude AFTER practices. It’s one of the great insights of AYP, and one that’s really helped me.
I’d urge all to remember that a session where you don’t “go deep”, where you continually return to worldly thought, where you feel jittery, and are left with nothing but a blase impulse to continue your daily activity is just as “good” as any other session. In fact, I agree with Yogani that a session where you’re continually going off mantra and returning again is actually a GOOD session.

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Thanks Jim for this…
Your words were soothing for me.
It’s a better way for me to think - that all my meditations are perfect just the way they are and not to be disappointed when I don’t experience ‘it’ whatever the ‘it’ is that I want to experience.
Love and light,
Babaly

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Babaly, the problem with expectations is that as you keep going with the practices, you will become better and better at meeting your own expectations. You’ll conjure up eaxactly the experiences you’re aiming for. But it’s a mind trip - a detour.
If you’re not yet at that point, great. You can get used to dropping expectations now, before you find yourself in the Chinese finger trap.
Again, I’d urge everyone to return time and again to the elegant simplicity of Yogani’s lessons (actually reread them, I mean). He makes clear that experiences (including any perception of “going deep”) are just smoke and mirrors. Don’t judge practice from experiences in practice. Judge from your attitude and behavior in social encounter late. Do the practices purely as a natural mindless part of your day, akin to brushing your teeth.