Why You Should Take Your Time To Choose The Right Object Of Meditation
This can literally make or break your meditative sessions before you even begin!
Now before I start here, I want to make this very very clear. The Meditation that we are talking about here, is the Meditation on Forms Or Object Meditation as I call it.
What’s Object Meditation?
This is simply meditating upon an external object. So if you are meditating upon a statue, a symbol, an image, a painting or even a body part, you are essentially performing object meditation.
Then there’s the Formless Meditation
The Formless Meditation, simply put is when you meditate on something formless, which doesn’t have any external form. So that could be a concept, a philosophy or even a feeling.
Both types are necessary and there’s a system to applying these, but that’s another story, for now, we are gonna be focusing on the Object Meditation.
So, without further ado, let's start!
Does it really matter? Choosing the right object and all?
Absolutely and totally.Because you can’t meditate on something if you don’t have a liking or some kind of connection with the object. Our minds are drawn to particular kinds of stuff, right? We like something, we hate something. Similarly, when you watch something you like, you are by default more focused on it. The Tao defined this in their philosophy of the FLOW.
So if you like painting, a beautiful picture might induce the FLOW into you. Or maybe this wooden antique paintbrush might be very easy for you to focus on. On the other hand, things that don’t really draw our attention doesn’t really induce that focus within us. In fact, they disturb our inner peace as well, since we are busy trying hard to concentrate on them.
Well okay, so how does this apply to me?
Let me ask you a question here: Have you ever found that it’s incredibly hard to focus(much less meditate) on your object of meditation?
If the answer is yes, then you should know that the philosophy of the FLOW is acting against you here. No matter if you are meditating on a figurine or a rock or even on your body unless you have a subtle attraction towards it, it’ll be tough. The mind will rebel against you there, as it doesn’t really like the thing in front of you and like the naughty monkey, it’ll keep jumping here and there.
So What’s The Solution?
The one easy way is to simply find an object you are drawn to. Something you just like watching or pondering upon(nope, not the movies or the comic books!)
In the book Dharana darshan by Swami Paramahamsa Niranjanananda, it’s said that for some this object reveals itself in their dreams or visions.
Which is why I must ask you to do a little exercise here. Ask yourself (or any higher power you believe in), to reveal your object. Observe for a few days, see if you get any signs or maybe omens or something you are just noticing over and over.
Now don’t worry, if nothing happens. It’s perfectly fine. The only thing you gotta do now, is to do what I did, which is to follow the list!
The List
This is a very precise list, that you can explore on your own to see what works for you and what doesn’t. See if something catches your eye here.
Gods, saints, people
No matter what culture you follow, if you like a particular form of deity or a saint, or maybe someone you just adore, that just might be your own object on which you can meditate.
Sacred objects
This could be a trident, an altar, a crystal ball, a symbol, a crystal ball, a shiva lingam, a wheel, a chalice or anything that you consider as sacred.
Sacred places
A temple, or a church, a cathedral or a chapel, a pyramid, mosque or any place that you know as sacred. Pictures of such places or visualizing such places could also serve as your object to meditate upon.
Natural scenes
This could be anything from a mesmerizing sunset or an entrancing waterfall. Any scene or anything out in nature, that you regard as beautiful and find yourself drawn towards, that as well may serve you as your object.
Sentient things
Maybe there is a bird you just love to watch or wait that swan is just so beautiful. Anything from a pretty starfish to the yellow daffodils, anything that’s living out in nature falls under this category.
Insentient things
A rock, a gemstone, or a piece of beautifully crafted wood or maybe gold, silver or a bronze ring. Anything of this sort can be used as objects for meditation as well.
Colour and form
Maybe you simply like a color, or a sigil(yes, they can be used as well). Yantras, geometric shapes, lightning, moonlight, sunlight, all of these fall under this category.
Beyond these, if you have something that you are drawn to and you feel you can concentrate on it for some time, go for it. There are absolutely no limits to this.
But beware, it’s said that as you meditate, you often become one with the object. So yeah, choose wisely!
Well, how does this help me?
If your object of meditation doesn’t match your tastes, your mind will most probably rebel against it. It’ll keep jumping from one thought to another in an indefinite loop or be lost elsewhere entirely.
That is why you must not spend time, fighting against your own mind. Rather, you should try to tame it or well bribe it. That way your mind really likes the goodies and is motivated to aid you in your endeavor.
This way you leverage the concept of Flow and use it to power your daily sessions. And believe me, boy does it work!
Actually, scratch that, don’t believe me. Do it, see for yourself. Once, you have found the object of your choice, practice meditating upon it for a minimum of 7 days. After that, drop me a comment here, let me know what you experienced and how it felt.
A bit of extra reading
Read Dharana Darshan by Swami Paramahamsa Niranjanananda. If you have been following my posts, you must have seen that I mentioned this book previously as well. The reason I keep suggesting this over and over again is simply because it’s a treasure trove of knowledge.No matter the type of meditation you practice, this book will really give you deep insights and techniques to improve more and more. Plus the things I just shared with you here, are also mentioned in there. So, give it a read when you can!
Quote Time
If you are reading this sentence, this means that you are at the end of this hopefully helpful post, and it’s Quote Time! (P.S. I love quotes). So here it is, the quote of the post.
The body benefits from movement and the mind benefits from stillness ~ Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche
The right object for you helps you to attain this stillness only much quicker. So go ahead find your object and start practicing!!
