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News
Oxford Meditations newsletterOctober 2006
Contents
Welcome
Vipassana
Pranayama Breathing
Further reading / research
About OM
Next meeting
Date for Diary - Christmas
Welcome
Hi everyone, we have got off to a great start with Oxford Meditations, with people wanting to explore different journeys and the speaker list is starting to take shape. Thanks to all who came to the October session.

As an NLP trainer and hypnotist I have worked with many people and gone on many entrancing journeys. I am as much an explorer in this area as you, and I am looking forward to more relaxing, learning and laughter as the journey goes on.

This month we looked at Vipassana meditation, and a type of yoga breathing which enhances relaxation. (it can be surreal and of fun sounding like a room of Darth Vaders).

Vipassana
Vipassana is one of India's most ancient techniques of meditation, taught by the Buddha more than 2500 years ago as a universal remedy for universal ills.

In the language of India in the time of the Buddha, passana meant seeing with open eyes, in the ordinary way; but Vipassana is observing things as they really are, not just as they seem to be.
It is a process of self-purification by self-observation. It is not connected with Buddhism or any other religion and can be practised by anyone without conflict with existing religious beliefs or absence of beliefs.”

Meditation brings wisdom; lack of meditation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom.
- Buddha

We explored the three forms of Vipassana; awareness, deep breathing and nasal breathing. Below are examples of Vipassana.

1. Awareness

This meditation simply asks us to become aware of ourselves, by sitting there being aware of the sounds in the room, the sounds outside of the room, aware of our breathing, taking on the position of the observer. Notice noticing what you notice and notice that you notice yourself noticing too.

Just be a witness. Don't think, "I am sad." Just know, "There is sadness around me, there is joy around me. I am confronting a certain emotion or a certain mood." But you are always far away: a watcher on the hills, and everything else is going on in the valley. This is one of the ways Vipassana can be done.

2. Breathing Deeply

The second form is breathing, becoming aware of breathing. As the breath goes in, your belly starts rising up, and as the breath goes out, your belly starts settling down again. So the second method is to be aware of the belly, its rising and falling. Just the very awareness of the belly rising and falling ...

3. Nasal Breathing

And the third is to be aware of the breath at the entrance, when the breath goes in through your nostrils. Feel it at that extreme ? the other polarity from the belly ? feel it from the nose. The breath going in gives a certain coolness to your nostrils. Then the breath going out ... breath going in, breath going out....

We found out the difference between Japanese Buddhas and Indian Buddhas is the approach to breathing, that the Indian style of meditation focuses on the strong chest and nasal breath, and that the Japanese style of meditation breathing allows the belly to rise and fall, giving a more pronounced belly.

These are the three forms. Any one will do. And if you want to do two forms together, you can do two forms together; then the effort will become more intense. If you want to do all three forms together, you can do all three forms together. Then the process will be quicker. But it all depends on you, whatever feels easy. Remember: easy is right.
In deep meditation the flow of concentration is continuous like the flow of oil.
- Patanjali
Pranayama Breathing
Pranayama Breathing or Yoga breathing, is the science of breath control. It consists of a series of exercises especially intended to meet the body’s needs and keep it in vibrant health.

·Prana - “life force” or “life energy”
·Yama - “discipline” or “control”
·Ayama- “expansion”, “non-restraint” or “extension”

This breathing is done by sitting in a relaxed, meditative position, this way you are preparing your body.

Hold thumb against right nostril and breathe in through left nostril,
put forefinger on left nostril and remove thumb and breathe out of right nostril,
breathe in through right nostril,
cover with thumb and remove forefinger and breathe out of left nostril,
breathe in through left nostril remove thumb……
repeat about 5 times on each nostril then breathe normally.

This is a good way to relax into a state ready for meditation. Make sure you have a hankie handy - it is also a great way to clear the sinuses!

Further reading / research
Further information on Vipassana meditation techniques and the Art of Living can be found at www.dhamma.org/art.htm <http://www.dhamma.org/art.htm>. You can also look at www.dipa.dhamma.org <http://www.dipa.dhamma.org>, the website for the UK Vipassana Meditation Centre.
For more information on Pranayama and Yoga, visit www.abc-of-yoga.com/pranayama <http://www.abc-of-yoga.com/pranayama>

About OM
Oxford Meditations is a practice group run by the Oxford Academy of NLP, an organization which delivers training in a range of personal development areas.

The aim of Oxford Meditations is to explore different styles and techniques of meditation, to learn more and relax more in an ever busy world.

For obvious reasons we calibrate the group’s condition before, during and after any trance work, to ensure they get the best out of the experiences in a safe environment.

In meditation you simply watch the mind and in watching you come out of it. And slowly, mind with all its problems disappears; otherwise the mind is going to create strange problems... Mind is your only problem - all other problems are just offshoots of the mind.
- Osho

Next meeting
We are happy to invite Clive Dinsey along to our next meeting as our guest speaker who will be exploring chakras and energy meditations. Clive is a licensed trainer, and enjoys all sorts of meditation journeys.

We really do hope you enjoy listening to your relaxation CD (all new guests get a free CD!), and we sincerely look forward to seeing you at the next meeting, Thursday 23^rd November at the Restore Centre - bring a friend!

Best wishes,
Vince & Val, Oxford Meditations

Call Vince on 07714 122 735, or Val on 07884 495 068
Or email vinceknight@supanet.com <mailto:vinceknight@supanet.com> or to book your place, or to get further details.

Date for Diary - Christmas
We will be joining up with the Oxford NLP Practice group on Thursday 14th December at the Restore Centre, for our Christmas event, with mince pies and mulled wine.
We look forward to seeing you all there!