New Member Introduction: Taina Kilpiainen

H.B.Dave hbd at DDIT.ERNET.IN
Mon Jun 19 03:56:03 CDT 2000


Taina Kilpiainen wrote:

> Dear DAVE!
>
> You said you want help me. I am very happy about this.
>
> I really want to get your help!!
>
> I wanted to know clear explanations and teachings for this my Inquiry.
>
> Taina
>

Dear List Memebrs : Because I do not have the personal address of Taina, I
am sending this through our List. In case any of you try the exercises that
I give below, PLease, Please, let me know. It is important. Not that I have
some kind of copyright or Trademark over it, but for your own good. I have
no other intention then helping people in learning meditation. I do not
charge anything, in cash or kind. Becuase I was touched by Taina's mails, I
have offered to help her. My plan is to take her upto an appropriate stage,
where she can safely be on her own and if available, can benefit from
personal instruction from a Guru.

Dear Taina,
Please let me be clear that normally the Guru is required to be personally
guiding the student, but I venture to offer my help becuase you already
have read and contemplated about Shri Ramana's teachings. I have read your
mails on this list and that only prompted me to offer my help.

In the following, if you donot understand anything, please ask before
trying. Also, try to do things exactly as described, DO NOT mix up methods
by several teachers. Almost all methods are good in themselves, but please
do not mix them up. The methods may look simple, but they are like a finely
tuned car engine, you can not play with the timing! Right? So here we go.

1.  Sitting position : I am assuming that you do not know any of the
standard Asana like Siddhasana or Padmasana. Do not worry about them at the
moment. If you can sit for about 30 to 45 minutes with crossed legs on
floor (with a soft mat or woolen rug covered with a cotton soft cloth),
without getting pains in your legs, it is OK.  Otherwise, select a
straight-backed chair, which does not support whole of your spinal cord
100%, i.e., the portion above shoulders should be unsupported.
Do you get this? If whole of your back is fully supported, you will go to
sleep within a few minutes of the procedure I am going to tell you. You
should sit with your back straight and erect, and not slumped (the
curvature should be like a question mark "?").

2. Select a room where you will not be disturbed by noise, people talking,
etc. Do NOT lock this room from inside, rather tell someone in your home
(may be sister, brother, someone on you can depend) to wake you up after 45
mintues, if you do not wake up by yourself; In the begining the time limit
for the practice is 45 minutes (this is very strict).  The waking up should
be done by that person NOT by touching you, but by calling your name
softly. Do not put an alarm clock for the purpose. We are going to use an
alarmclock or table time-piece, but for a different purpose.

3.    Time : Early morning and evenings are the best times. You should not
practice this :
        just immediately after waking up -- allow about 45 minutes of
"waking up" time;
        immediately after a meal (lunch, dinner) allow at least 1.5 hrs
after such a meal;
        you can take meals almost immediately after the practice;
        allow 30 minutes of cooling/warming time before/after physical
exercise of any type;
        after you progress (I shall tell you how to check your progress),
do not drive any vehical
        on a road for 30 minutes;
        If possible, take a bath before the practice.
4.     Avoid, if possible, smoking, any kinds of drugs, hard drinks, etc.
It will help.

Initial exercise :
I would like to have your response on the following exercise. After you
confirm that you have done it for 6 to 10 times, I shall ask you a few
questions. Please answer them honestly. Tell me when you have tried the
exercise 2 times, then I shall ask a few initial questions.

Another important point : all the times mentioned below are not clock
times, you have to judge the time mentally only, without looking at a watch
or a clock. Do not worry about accuracy of the times, they are approximate
anyway.

1.    Sit in your selected sitting position. Take an alarm clock (the type
which make a small tick-tick sound is ideal). Put it at some distance from
your sitting position. . Note down (either mentally or on a piece of paper)
the staring time.

2.    Close your eyes, NOT tightly, but just closing (even if it remains
slightly open, it does not harm, but tight closing is NO-NO).

3.    Sit for about 5 minutes (by your own judgement, do not look at watch
or clock). Do not try to do anything, but observe what is going on in your
mind. Take it like as if you are sitting in a garden or a river bank and
observing what is going on around you, in an aloof fashion, without
worrying about the kind of thoughts you are getting, their number or
intensity.  Just take it easy, but observe what your mind is doing.

4.    After about 5 minutes, just imagine that when you are taking your
breath IN, you are taking it from the Left nostril and when you are taking
the breath OUT, it is coming out of your Right nostril. In the next
breathing cycle imagine, that the going IN is by Right nostril and coming
out is by Left nostril. DO you follow this? Remeber, I do NOT want you to
control your breath, nor increase or decrease its speed or depth. Just
imagine that breath is flowing through the alternate nostrils. I do NOT
want you to touch or hold your nostrils in any way.

5.    Continue like this for about 5 minutes (as per your thinking).
During this time whatever thoughts come, just ignore them. If you feel that
you made a mistake in the alternate cycling, just start the next cycle,
without worrying about the mistake.

6.    After the period is over, try to open your eyes (remember, you had
closed them in begining?) If you do not feel like opening your eyes, wait a
few minutes and again try. Note down the time in the Alarm clock.

7.    Do not stand up suddenly. Sit for about 5 minutes with your eyes
open. Then only stand up and do any other work. This rule is strict.
(Incidently I do not know your age, it will help me to trim my tips if I
knew your age -- OK, at least age group -- in teens, 30 to 40, 50-60, like
that).

Try this exercise two times a day, once in morning, once in the evening.
After two trials (one day) please let me know.

I am sure we shall work it out.
-- Himanshu (that is my name, Dave is may surname, family name, it means
our family studied two Vedas -- in old times!)

--
bhava shankara deshikame sharaNam

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