Practising Shabad Guru Mantra Meditation we have put aside most of the auxiliary techniques we usually use to help us catch and steady the mind’s attention, like mudras, movements, visualisations, bandhas, etc. We now want to explore the state of our mind during meditation more closely using purely the sound of the voice chanting the mantra.
Introducing Peripheral Awareness
So far, we were mainly concerned with surat, the main focus of attention on the object of meditation. We likened it to a spotlight on an otherwise dark theatre stage. The purpose was (and still is) to train our ability to intentionally direct and sustain the focus of attention on an object of our conscious choice. But, like in the analogy with the theatre stage, the rest of the “theatre” is not completely dark and blank, there is something going on, too, all the time. Consciously including what is going on outside the main focus of our meditation is called peripheral awareness. It can also be likened to what you see from the corner of your eye while actually looking at (and concentrating on) another thing.
Another good example would be a situation where you need to carry a very full cup of hot tea through a room full of people paying no particular attention to you. Your main focus (and probably your gaze) is on the cup, while you try to keep strong peripheral awareness to monitor and predict the movement of people around you. You can see how both of these modes of mind are necessary for a successful delivery of the tea.
Let’s assume the meditation goes well for a while and you feel, more or less, steady in your attention on the mantra. Your peripheral awareness would then include sensations from your body, like your posture, and other minor movements in your sensational, mental and emotional space, also those caused in your environment. There is introspective and extrospective peripheral awareness.
Start by trying to distinguish the two aspects in your meditation, surat (focus of attention) and peripheral awareness (internal and external), then try to bring them into a balance. This alone is a substantial achievement that may take several weeks or months of practice. It involves parallel processing or multi-tasking for the brain. One definition of mindfulness requires “optimum interaction between attention and peripheral awareness.”
When you become conscious of peripheral awareness you will realise that it is not new, it has always been there, and you might have been conscious of it already. But now, we want to take it more consciously into account, include it in our overall experience together with the focus of attention and try to balance both into a stable state of deep meditation and inclusive mindfulness.
The Sun & Moon of Meditation
Our main focus of attention is of a male, left brain quality, active, directed, exclusive, analytic, penetrating, discerning, and very concerned with the ego-self, while peripheral awareness is of a female, right brain quality, holistic, open, inclusive, concerned with context and the relation of everything within a greater whole.
Since peripheral awareness is less concerned with ego-self, to cultivate it helps us to take things less personally, see things more objectively and be less self-centred. In accordance with the two main qualities of energy in yoga generally, we can call the focus of attention the Sun of Meditation, and peripheral awareness the Moon of Meditation and see, again, how the bringing together and balancing of the forces of duality is the way forward.
The Sun of Meditation: Focus of Attention
One of our medium-term main objectives when practising meditation is sustained attention, the ability to keep a conscious, steady focus on a chosen object without forgetting and mind-wandering. In order to achieve this goal we need to continuously create and maintain interest in our meditation object, stay lovingly engaged with it, so that our attention stabilises and is not lost to other “more interesting” distractions.
To maintain a permanent fresh interest, we need to look closer into our object of meditation and investigate its details: First, there is the air of the breath, an inhalation fills the lungs relatively quickly before the chanting of the mantra line, then the actual chanting empties the lungs gradually until, at the end of the mantra line, there is a need for the next inhalation.
Second, there is the vibration of the vocal cords and, with it, vibrations and resonances in chest, head and maybe elsewhere in the body. Third, there is the shaping of sounds with the mouth, the movement of jaw, tongue and lips, the creation of vowels and consonants, syllables, phonemes, the flow of words. All of these separate but linked events produce sensations we can feel and concentrate on. We can start by concentrating on each one separately, successively, for a while, then concentrate on all of them together at the same time.
Then there is the actual sound of your voice chanting the mantra. Listening does not produce a tactile sensation comparable to any of the events that produce the sound but has its very own nature, maybe less tangible, more elusive. But after we have practised concentrating on the sensations of breath, vibrations and mouth movements, we want to try focussing purely on the sound of the voice creating the mantra.
Sometimes, synaesthesia (crossing-over of senses) happens, and we “see” the mantra in more or less abstract shapes and forms in inner vision. As long as this happens naturally and you are not actively inventing or forcing anything, this is good to use as another stabiliser for your attention. If you lost your attention, you can always go back to some aspect that works well for you and start working yourself from there to the pure mantra sound again.
Why Sound? There is a reason why we use the sound of the voice chanting the mantra as our focus of meditation and not anything else. Sound is maybe not the easiest of meditation objects, but it is the most powerful, carrying within the highest potential for what we can achieve in meditation. In a later post, The Shabad Guru, we discuss in more detail the connections between the ether element, the power of sound and music, the voice and the Word (that was God).
The Moon of Meditation: Peripheral Awareness
Why peripheral awareness? The problem of sustaining attention over a period of time longer than a few seconds is caused by a subconscious (involuntary) process. Something underground in us is constantly scanning the periphery with the intention of potentially bringing our main attention to a new object due to its higher importance or interest compared to what we are currently concentrating on. It makes sense from the perspective of evolution, survival and everyday life. But the ability to be aware of this process AND keep control of what we are concentrating on, sustain attention on an object of our choice for a longer period of time, is of priceless value for everyday life AND self-realisation, awakening and healing. It is the mystery of mastery of the mind.
We need a method of meditation because this subconscious scanning process is not under the control of our conscious will, we cannot do it or stop it just because we decide so. Instead, it needs training by continued, regular repetition with the intention for change. The repeated effort and intention of holding the focus while being aware of peripheral sensations and thoughts in the background – as we do in meditation – influences this subconscious process of peripheral scanning and shifting attention. The feedback of this training will re-arrange the priorities our subconscious proceedings are based on. And you can see how this method will apply not only to the peripheral scanning, but potentially to other subconscious processes, including bad habits, unhelpful and wrong beliefs.
Working Together
We need peripheral awareness during meditation to protect and sustain the main focus. You train your peripheral awareness to alert you of potential distractions BEFORE they actually disturb your main focus or shift it and take over. Within your peripheral awareness you manage potential distractions by relaxing them and letting them go quickly. Like this, the sun and moon of meditation are working together complimentary like, for example, attack and defence of a football team!
The most stable state of meditation is achieved with one strong focus of attention PLUS awake peripheral awareness. If you lose peripheral awareness you are also more vulnerable to losing your main attention and ending up forgetting and mind-wandering. Every time you catch yourself mind wandering, it is important to cultivate a positive reaction, a grateful, happy “aha” moment of realisation accompanied by a gentle (inner) smile, before you go back to concentrating on the meditation focus. Let go of any negative, judgmental, critical reactions. Like this, the subconsciousness learns to wake-up quicker and more often. Remember that forgetting and waking up in meditation are processes initiated by the subconsciousness and are not under the control of our conscious will.
We use peripheral awareness also to “ground” or “centre” ourselves when we start meditating or before we tune in to yoga or any dedicated effort of such kind. You can use it in that sense also any time you realise you have lost your meditation focus and need to get back in.
Another Roadmap
BEFORE meditating
- Remember your inspiration, motivation and purpose for meditating
- Evaluate your physical, emotional and mental state today, what distractions might be expected, set some achievable goal, look forward to the session
- Renew your diligence and commitment
WHILE meditating
- Try to establish yourself in strong sustained attention: air of the breath, vibrations in the body, movement of jaw, tongue and lips, shaping the sounds, syllables, words, listening to the voice chanting the mantra – stay curious, interested and invested
- Maintain peripheral awareness in the background, external and internal, to balance and protect the effort of sustained attention
- Whenever you realise you have lost your concentration, take a moment to happily appreciate, then go back to build up your sustained attention on the mantra
- Whatever comes up: acknowledge, allow, accept – let it come, let it be, let it go – observe relaxed, don’t get further involved, go back to build up your sustained attention on the mantra
“Meditation is a science, the systematic process of training the mind. It is the science of meditation that allows people from all walks of life to experience the same amazing benefits. A regular sitting practice has been shown to enhance concentration, lower blood pressure, and improve sleep. It is used to treat chronic pain, post-traumatic stress, anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorders.
“Meditators develop valuable insights into their personality, behaviours, and relationships, making it easier to recognize and change past conditioning and counterproductive views that make life difficult. They have a greater awareness and sensitivity to others, which is enormously helpful at work and in personal relationships. The calming and relaxing effects of meditation also translate into increased emotional stability when confronting the inevitable stresses of life.”
– Culadasa, The Mind Illuminated
"Ek Ong Kaar Satnam Siri Waheguru"
