Meditative Quiescence: Principles and Practices for Achieving the Samadhi of Settling in the Nature of Mind led by Nur Gale

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Achieving mental stability in order to sustain meditative quiescence and tranquility – called shamatha in Buddhism — is an essential prelude to later directly observing and unmasking what Pir Vilayat often described as the hoaxes of the mind.

The experience of the samadhi of quiescence can be imagined as an attentive residing in deep, non-REM dreamless sleep that is accompanied by vivid conscious awareness.

Yet this is not an awareness concentrated upon an object or sensory stimuli. Rather it is a sense of genuine bliss and well-being, which is sustained by mental stability and non-conceptuality that is beyond personal identification with an ego or individual self. Learning to stabilize our concentration and attention in the natural state of mind will also enable lucid dreaming to naturally arise.

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On Thursday, September 3, we will investigate what the neurosciences tell us about the brain, mind, and consciousness (and its serious flaws), the correlations between the first three nafs (self) described by Hazrat Inayat Khan and the triune structure of the brain, and the background and importance of Pir Vilayat’s frequent teachings and writings about the Buddhist sattipattanas, the first and second jnanas, and the coarse, subtle and very subtle minds.

A Powerpoint presentation and lecture to define and understand the mind and consciousness will lay the groundwork for the following Thursday class, September 10th, which will be devoted to practicing several forms of Shamatha meditation, one-pointed concentration and vivid attentive awareness for relaxing the mind in its natural state.

Join via Zoom with password: 493634