Forums IMPORTANT: PLEASE READ Spring Forest Qigong Going into the emptiness

I am relatively new to SFQ and really believe that it will help me but I am having a great difficulty "going into the emptiness" that Master Lin says to do.

My mind is really active, even at night sleeping, I dream constantly and wake up every 2-3 hours. Even sitting down and trying to meditate is useless because my mind flits around like a "cat with a long tail in a room full of rocking chairs."

I have the the new CD's also but nothing so far has seemed to help. My mind just will not go "empty".

Any suggestions or "remedies" would be greatly appreciated. I was involved in a major car accident two years ago and since then have had quite a bit of difficulty with my health. For some reason, my mind keeps telling me SFQ will help, but when I try it, I cannot "empty" my mind enough.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Hi freddymac,

The best advice I've ever received was "Start small. Everyone has to."

This applies to just about any endevor.

Could you allow your mind to be a little less busy for a moment? Could you direct your mind to be a little less busy for a moment?

BTW, I can't go in to the emptiness either, but I can get very calm and centered. It's an achievement for me.

:-)

Hi,
I am hearing two aspects of your spirit talking. One is telling you SFQ will help, and one is telling you that meditation is useless for you, because your mind flits around... The angel and devil on your shoulder so to speak...
Conciously align with that part of you that leads you to this practice. Comfort that part of you that doesn't want you to proceed. Assure it, that it will continue on and benefit from your practice. You've had a traumatic event in your life. Comforting your spirit/self as a whole, bringing into alignment with that sense of higher self/spirit, the part leading you this practice, will help. In the body, some focus on the heart area would be good too relative to the trauma of your accident. This is also relative to spirit.
The smile would be a good focus for you within the alignments/visualizations given. It is a good way to be, during, or meeting thoughts , or having thoughts. You are not your mind, and you spirit is where you can orient relative to mind. Also, the mind is not your opponent. See your overall practice allowing your mind to rest. Meet thinking , or respond to thinking with the smile, allowing, self love, compassion, forgiveness. Go to that focus. Don't think about thinking, or react to it. The smile can function as a way to keep neutralizing your feelings relative to the thoughts or relative to your reaction to thinking. The smile is a heart center deal, expression of love or compassion. It is a higher vibration than thinking, and employing it can lessen the flow of thinking. It sort of puts that higher vibration there, and that has an effect on the whole of you, the thinking, whatever..
Establish the ability to focus, and build on that. It's okay if it is only a minute or two. It is like building a muscle. Like Spiral says, start small. You either hold a focus, or not. You can not think and focus at the same time. When ever you find yourself lost in thought, simply go back to the focus. That is the practice. No additional reactions or self judgement regarding how well you do your practice.
When Master Lin says to "go into the emptiness", it is a gentle lead, not an absolute that has to be in place to achieve 'meditation'. You set up physical and spiritual alignments when you start your session. These remain constant. Your intention to do the work/practice has a momentum to it, that flows through the session, regardless of thoughts rising.
Again, the practice, thoughts rise, return to the focus, no reactions/opinions. Smile. Align with sense of higher self, loving, accepting, compassion, not the mind and thinking. Embrace all aspects of self and experience. No sense of something working against you. Include all aspects in that transformative smile or self love.
love, gallen

freddymac, I understand the 'overactive' mind thing.
So I'll ask you, what are your thoughts?

Energy.

Chunyi once said that our pain can be our greatest teacher. I am really starting to see this as true. Not only is our pain a good teacher, but our erratic and wandering mind is the very key you need to control it.

One of the most important parts in your SFQ right now is to recognize when you have left the state of concentration/meditation. It's very easy to let the mind wander, but it's seemingly more difficult to recognize it. So, everytime you are AWARE of the fact that your thoughts/focus slipped and you bring them back to meditation...that is progress.

I'm not saying that I'm right and that my method is absolute, just telling you what worked for me. If it doesn't solve your problem, I hoped to have atleast helped. Here goes:

Everytime your thoughts carry you away, just view them as vibrating orbs of light (or whatever works for you) and watch them dissipate. The very fact of observing energy has a dramatic impact on it's behavior. If you THINK of your thoughts, they will carry you away. If you observe your thoughts and emotions as what they really are (Energy) then it's much harder for them to carry you away.

The process goes:
Thought arises->Observe as energy->go back to Emptiness*

Repeat as often as thoughts arise. Gradually, you will get better and better at staying into the Emptiness. In fact, anytime a thought arises, it will be your instant gate-back into meditation.

Stay with it, you'll get it!
I hope to have helped!

~Z

Here is a thought -
What does the 'emptiness' feel like? Can you imagine/visualize/experience being in the 'emptiness'?
When you think of what the state ISN'T, you are attracting the experience of what you are thinking about.
When you think of what the state IS, you will attract the experience of being there.
If you don't have a clear idea of what you are seeking, it will be hard to find it.
[I remember a friend who could make bread because she didn't know what was meant by the description of the dough when it had been kneaded sufficiently. After discovering what she was looking for, it became easy for her to make all kinds of bread - and very rewarding!]
I have had challenges with experiencing the state of 'emptiness' and still struggle with it from time to time. For me, one of the things that has helped is to imagine that I have just asked a question about which I am genuinely curious and really have no answer. I wait - with my mind open to whatever my teacher/master may have to say - for the answer. No anticipating, no guessing, no trying to think it through for myself - just waiting to hear what the answer might be. - That is the 'emptiness'. It is a state of open receptivity.
And, as everybody has been saying, take it in small steps. First you have to recognize the state when you get into it. Then you have to figure out what you did to get you there. From there, it will make sense to recognize when you have dropped out of it - and you can relax back into it as often as is necessary for you. Maintaining that open state for only a matter of a few seconds - or minutes - is a great place to start. Celebrate your success!
Recognize you mind and thank it for working so actively for you so much of the time - then thank it for letting go and giving you the chance to experience the emptiness, too. Promise your mind that spending time in the emptiness will give it more exciting active work to do. This is true.
I wish you the best in finding the path to 'emptiness' or receptivity that works for you.
May you create a wonderful day!
Margaret Ida