@mango Can you tell me more about what kinds of practice you do that don't require as much focus and concentration?
Sure. It's very difficult for me to describe, but I'll try
When people talk about meditation, what they usually mean is some form of trying to control the mind and/or controlling the thoughts, feelings etc. What I'm talking about is the complete opposite -- it's about letting go of the attempts to control the mind. It's about
allowing everything to be exactly as it is, regardless. Even if only for a short moment now and then.
The big question is,
what happens when we -- even for a short little moment -- allow everthing to be exactly as it is..? That's for each one of us to find out for ourselves
(Allowing things to be as they are does
not mean 'giving up' or becoming resigned! Actually, things don't care if we allow them or not -- they will still keep on being as they are, so in fact we have nothing to lose by giving them permission in this way
Also, all the stuff will still be there after the meditation has ended, and there's absolutely nothing stopping us from continuing to resist things -- or taking action in order to change things -- at a later point in time. The first step to this practice is simply about
a temporary suspension of inner resistance to reality.)
About "techniques". What I usually do is to simply "defocus" (relax) my attention
completely. It's the complete opposite of focusing the attention, actually
Or, imagine if you had antennas, it would be like retracting them
It's a kind of letting go, a conscious relaxing of the mind's attention.
It's almost like when you defocus the lens of a camera, you know? Little by little or all in one go. Eventually everything (thoughts, images, feelings, sensations, sounds etc) gets blurry and sort of fades, melts into the background, loses its sharpness and bright colours. It's all still there, but it's so out of focus that there's nothing about it that catches your attention, nothing that grabs you.
Every time the mind wants to go towards a feeling, sensation, thought etc, you simply remind yourself to relax your attention. Again and again. Very gently, in a totally kind and compassionate way (this takes practice too!). Over and over again. All the thoughts and feelings etc can still be there, it doesn't matter at all. They can stay as long as they want, even be loud or insistent -- not a problem
It might not be very easy in the beginning (at least it wasn't for me), but it gets easier and easier with practice.
I usually keep me eyes closed, but one could keep them open or half-open too (might be a good idea if one is finding it very difficult to stay awake). In the beginning it might be easier to do this sitting or lying down in a quiet comfortable place for a few minutes at a time. But with practice it will happen much more effortlessly and one can do it for longer periods of time and also while doing other stuff at the same time, for example while brushing ones teeth, having breakfast or whatever
It's not a "sleepy" or "switched off" sort of defocussing. On the contrary, it's very "awake" and there's a lot of clarity and a sense of "aliveness".
Remember, don't try to control the mind. I let my thoughts, feelings and sensations come and go freely (they might be very loud or barely there at all -- either way, it doesn't matter), but I
don't pay them any attention at all. Again, this gets easier with practice! Just keep relaxing and defocusing the attention, over and over again each time you catch yourself "getting interested" in the contents of your thoughts, or start judging your feelings etc.
When everything else is allowed to temporarily completely fade into the background, what's left is only presence.
Personally, I experience it as an infinitely peaceful, content and spacious "space", a place to rest, a sense of complete ease to sink into as if sinking into a lovely warm bath...
There are many many other ways of course, and just as many ways to take things deeper and further from here
Anyway, I do recommend you go listen to Adya or Rupert (or some other teacher whose teachings resonate with you). They can explain this a million times better than I would ever be able to..!
I hope that answers your question