• How should you follow up the beginner's course in Acem Meditation?
• How should you follow up the beginner's course in Acem Meditation?
• How can you make the most of meditation's potential?
• What help can you get along the way?
When you have completed the beginner's course you will be able to meditate effectively on your own. Even if you choose to go no further, you will obtain some of the fundamental effects from meditation: relaxation, increased energy, improved concentration, reduced pain, perhaps better sleep.
These are important results, but they are what we think of as the quantitative effects of Acem Meditation and they do not fulfil the whole potential of the technique.
Acem Meditation can also produce qualitative effects.
These involve breaking free of limiting patterns of behaviour resulting from deep-rooted personality traits and lower self-images. The shy person may become less shy, the temperamental person less moody, the competitive person less driven by the need to excel, and so on. In order to achieve qualitative results, you must learn how to deal with the concentration paradox and metathoughts. Strange as it may seem, meditating correctly sometimes induces a tendency to deviate from correct meditation by concentrating. This concentration restricts your mental freedom and is a reflection of limiting factors in your personality.
In order to re-establish a free mental attitude, you need to break with habitual patterns. Acem Meditation stimulates this process, and in order to take full advantage of the technique you may find the following aspects especially useful.
The beginner's course teaches the fundamental concepts that you need in order to master the technique: volitional vs. spontaneous activity; a free mental attitude vs. concentration; metathoughts, etc. However, the concentration paradox means that correct meditation is a moving target.
What is satisfactory practice at a beginner's level already contains the seeds of future problems caused by concentration. As you become more experienced, the tendency to concentrate may grow stronger. You can overcome this by deepening your understanding of the concepts involved in meditation. This will enable you to adjust your practice and expand the free mental attitude into areas of the mind that were previously closed.
The psychology of meditation is less a matter of abstract theory than a practical tool based on experience, improved understanding and better practice. It leads to enhanced effects, particularly qualitative effects involving changes in personality.
After the beginner's course, the most important milestones are the first follow-up course M1 (known in some countries as the second level) and the second follow-up course M2 (or third level) courses. M1 focuses on basic meditation concepts, while M2 addresses the meditation process. Participants share their meditation experiences, and through discussion their understanding of meditation theory becomes deeper and more personal. Meditation theory comes alive.
The psychology of meditation is also covered in Acem's books and CDs, as well as in lectures and articles. You can order literature from Acem for use in un-led groups (called 'nodes') or meetings (called 'pocket meetings').
While meditation theory covers the common features of the meditation process, guidance provides an opportunity to discuss the specific complexities of one's meditation. The two complement one another. Without guidance, the psychology of meditation may be reduced to dry theory. Without the psychology of meditation, guidance lacks a framework within which to explain the phenomena encountered in meditation.
When you are caught in a concentration paradox, guidance is often the most effective route out. Instead of providing answers, the meditation instructor asks questions that launch you on a voyage of discovery into your own meditation. You become aware of aspects of your practice that were previously unnoticed, and find new and unexpected solutions to problems that seemed impossible to resolve.
Often, guidance sheds light on the connection between how you face challenges in your life and in your meditation.
Guidance may be given individually or in groups. You can make an appointment for individual guidance by contacting an instructor or your local Acem office. A guidance group, meanwhile, offers an opportunity for regular dialogue. Many people find that listening to the experiences of others enriches their meditation.
To understand the origins of your concentration paradoxes it is vital to receive guidance in your meditation practice - that is, exactly what you do when you meditate.
Guidance that focuses on your practice during meditation
- in other words, what actually happens during meditation
- is one of the benefits of Acem retreats which also involve long meditations. When you meditate for longer than an hour, and especially when you first try to meditate for 3 hours or more, your free mental attitude may sometimes give way to unconscious or half-conscious concentration.
Guidance can help you to preserve your free mental attitude and master the technique of long meditation.
There are several paths to choose from in order to develop your meditation practice through Acem activities. These are illustrated below.
The starting point for all Acem Meditation is the beginner's course. From there, one route leads to various levels of Acem retreat which focus on long meditation, while the other is oriented towards acquiring a deeper understanding of the psychology of meditation. There is no need to choose between the two, however. If you wish, you can follow both routes in parallel.
The beginner's course usually includes at least one meditation lasting an hour or more. This helps you approach or even go beyond the 3-hour limit on weekend or week-long retreats. Retreats are not designed as one-off experiences; many meditators find them beneficial once or several times a year.
On the other route, the M1 course in the psychology of meditation provides the essential basis for improved practice and increased understanding of the meditation process. After this you can proceed either to the M2 course or to a guidance group. Sooner or later you may want to try both. The concentration paradox and the problem of metathoughts can never be solved once and for all, but by following the paths described here you can learn to face the repeated challenge they present. This will lead to increased insight and personal growth, as well as the daily relaxation that meditation provides.