Turning off the Hand Organ: Hands Folded in Lap
In the process of meditation, one
sits motionlessly, with the hands folded in the lap, the fingers locked
together. Many religious use a string of beads or a rosary which is rhythmically
turned by the fingers, while repeating a prayer or chant. The monotony of any
repetitive rhythmic activity lulls the restlessness of the conscious mind. But
while telling beads, the hand motor organ is still operating, so the conscious
mind is still somewhat active, although less. During meditation, however, we
keep the hands completely still, locked together in the lap. Thus, the hand
motor organ is completed "turned off".
Feet, Gentry, Excretory organs:
"Lotus" Pose
Some spiritual disciplines use
swaying prayer (the Hassidim) rhythmic waling meditations (Theravadin
Buddhists) or dancing (Sufis). These monotonous or rhythmic bodily movements
also serve to calm the conscious mind, but they cannot still is completely
transcend the senses we must stop the functioning of the feet organs
completely. For this, a special posture has been recommended by yoga experts
after thousands of years of experimentation. It is called "Lotus
Posture" (Padma'sana) because in it, the mediator becomes symbolically like
the lotus flower which grows in the muddy water of roadside canals throughout
Asia, with its blossom ever spotlessly pure and white, unaffected by the filth
below. So the spiritual seeker remains in the world, but his or her mind rises
above, transcending the disturbing and often degrading stimuli of the world
around. In this posture, folded onto the right thigh
Scientific experiments conducted
in a London laboratory revealed that persons simply sitting in this posture,
not even meditating, experienced an immediate change in their brain waves, from
the restless and rapid beta rhythm to the calm and slower alpha rhythm
indicating a relaxed and heightened awareness. The subjects were given
difficult math problems to solve while sitting in this posture, and were
subjected to loud noises, bright lights, and very cold objects to distract them.
It was found that in this posture they reacted much less to disturbing external
stimuli, and were able to concentrate more deeply than people sitting in an
ordinary posture. Thus simply sitting in the lotus pose intimacies and
concentrated the mind.
One reason for this is that the
pressure of the heels against the body affects the lower energy centers which
direct the sexual and excretory organs, and as a result the functioning of
these organs is temporarily suspended. Thus the energy they normally utilize is
redirected above, to energize and expand the mind.
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