Acem Meditation is based on the harmonious interplay of volitional and spontaneous activity. Volitional, or willed, activity is inner action we perform during meditation - in other words, the conscious but effortless repetition of the meditation sound. Spontaneous activities unfold of their own accord while we are meditating. They are partial expressions of unresolved issues, mostly from unconscious areas of the mind. Resistance and paradoxical effects stem from the same sources. The spontaneous activities may include:
• thoughts, memories, evaluations
• feelings and emotions
• ideas, images, fantasies
• boredom, tiredness, sleep
• uneasiness, restlessness, irritation
• bodily movements, physical sensations, sounds from outside.
Often the content of spontaneous activity flows from everyday life, and varies according to our experiences and moods at any given time. Experience bias and patterns of behaviour that were formed during childhood and adolescence also influence spontaneous activity during meditation.
Whatever spontaneous activities occur, we accept them without resistance. For example, if you become tired while meditating, simply allow your tiredness to exist; if you feel an inclination to move, follow that inclination. At the same time, continue your effortless repetition of the meditation sound. In this way, instead of interfering with spontaneous activity, your volitional activity will give it freedom. Repressing the spontaneous activities that are a natural part of the meditation process reduces the benefits of meditation, but liberating such activities releases tension and increases the beneficial effects.
The short answer to this question is that right meditation depends on what you do rather than on what you experience. Acem Meditation is a process, not the experience of specific and static states of mind and body. Our spontaneous activities are constantly changing, so we need to respond to this by adjusting our willed activity: the way we repeat the meditation sound. The aim is to maintain the soft and gentle repetition of the sound.
What matters most about the meditation sound is not the specific manner in which it is repeated (for instance, quickly or slowly) but the general approach. The meditation sound should be repeated without effort or concentration, with a free mental attitude. This implies that:
• The meditation sound is repeated gently and nonstrenuously, whether the frequency of repetition is slow, fast or medium.
• Attention is focused on the sound itself; images, emotions, etc. that may arise during meditation are of secondary importance.
• The free mental attitude is inclusive, containing both the willed and the spontaneous activities in the mind whether they are easy or hard to accommodate. Since our spontaneous activity is constantly changing, it is not always easy to maintain a free mental attitude towards it.
By repeating the meditation sound correctly we create a freer, more open mental attitude that enables the release of deeper tensions. At times during meditation you will find yourself absorbed in your thoughts at the expense of the meditation sound. This is known as spontaneous concentration and is a natural part of the meditation process. It is important not to resist spontaneous concentration, as this will interfere with your meditation. After a while you will naturally emerge from it, and you will be free to resume the effortless repetition of the meditation sound. Spontaneous concentration provides partial release of inner tension from areas in which you are not yet capable of dealing with the underlying issues more directly.
The opposite of spontaneous concentration is active concentration, or concentrating on purpose. During meditation, active concentration is always counterproductive. Some of its negative consequences are as follows:
• forcing, repressing or shutting out thoughts, body movements or external stimuli by repeating the meditation sound harshly
• trying to get away from unpleasant moods or emotions
• becoming preoccupied with the content of your thoughts
• clinging to the meditation sound when it is naturally fading out
• repeating the meditation sound forcefully to drive away unpleasant thoughts, feelings or sensations in the body
• making a conscious effort to repeat the meditation sound effortlessly - a contradiction in terms!
• waiting for the meditation sound to come back on its own, rather than resuming the effortless repetition of it
• becoming obsessed with self-evaluation of your meditation.
We all expect something from our meditation, whether it is improved relaxation, increased energy, better concentration or personal growth. Meditation may fulfil some of these expectations, but only with regular practice over a certain period of time.
Acem Meditation is an open-ended process in which specific results cannot be decided in advance and scheduled to follow a particular timetable. The process has to follow its own course.
If you keep comparing your expectations with your experiences during meditation, the result may be a perpetual evaluation of your meditation practice that limits its benefits.
By consciously trying to achieve certain results or states of mind you are likely to interfere with the effortless attitude required for effective meditation. For instance, if you are too preoccupied with relaxation your mind will tighten up rather than opening, and you will not be able to relax.
To receive the maximum benefit from Acem Meditation, relinquish thoughts of specific objectives and simply allow the process to happen. The benefits come from allowing the relaxation response to unfold and not from conscious goal-directed endeavours.
When discussing change brought about by Acem Meditation, we often refer to reductions in 'tension' or 'stress'.
These terms cover a variety of mind-body manifestations.
They frequently designate muscular tensions. Quite often, they also refer to psychological tensions - i.e., anxiety or emotional arousal that occurs when we feel uneasy, threatened or uncertain. In negative self-evaluating thoughts (metathoughts, see below), tensions may appear as distorted perceptions, emotions and cognitions. This may be particularly evident in our interpretation of what is going on in meditation. Our evaluations and responses may be quite off track.
In essence, all change is related to fundamental alterations in our perception, in how we see the world and ourselves, in the existential position from which we act. Such changes involve the body, levels of stress, the psychological processing of information, the self-images that shape our existence from within and much more.
Metathoughts are persistent and judgmental thoughts or self-evaluations about your meditation, which interfere with the practice. They will be dealt with in more detail in a separate chapter.
Right meditation refers to the way in which one practises Acem Meditation - through the effortless repetition of a meditation sound. Spontaneous activities and spontaneous concentration will naturally occur, and these should be accepted as part of the process. Active concentration is never a productive approach.