about when you decided to be new age... or had a spiritual experience... or whatever

1978 coming out of a grocery store in Hammond and there was a poster upside down on the pressure mat that operates the doors. Shoe prints on it. I picked it up and it was an ad for a TM ( that's transcendental meditation for you guys in the back row) lecture/intro at the Hammond library. I went to that and a couple weeks later did the 30 buck initiation ceremony. The Maharishi had set up a TM Center in Munster. It wasn't much and there was not much of a support group.

The young guy who sold me my "personal" mantra, as I recall this, was a combination of very happy and secretive. I certainly didn't take to his vibe. My Catholic parents thought I had joined a cult and the 4 guys I lived with in Hammond gave me a lot of ribbing. My parents reaction was expected, but roommate's reactions surprised me. I guess meditation was too far out for a group of long haired guys who smoked weed, ate all sorts of pills and took acid on the weekends. I mean I tripped with these guys and thought they would have been more supportive of my little side adventure.

There was really no support from any quarter and it's difficult for beginners to meditate alone, so TM didn't take. Couple years later, living in Bloomington, I met a guy at work and he told me everybody got the same mantra and then pronounced my 30 buck secret mantra.

I've never been to a meditation class or received mantras... Funny how everyone thought you were losing it.

How do you meditate? I'm really loose about what meditation is... I meditate free form and often. Most see it as a quiet and still form.

Basic sitting breath practice and Vipassana style walking practice with the dog. The walking method is about attention to each foot movement. Lifting placing, lifting placing. As one goes along what is noticed becomes more nuanced. The heel lifting, toes flexing, muscles moving as the leg swings … The dog complicates it a little.

What do you mean by free form?

I focus on a white dot moving in a field of black. I move the dot from the low chakras toward the top and then back down. I do this at anytime in anyplace. I didn't want any form to meditation...just the meditation whenever wherever I want.

That's how I started and still do some times. I do a lot of "power nap" style meditating too. I'll take 5 seconds more or less and just let all of the thoughts and emotions out of me...like a reset. Then get back engaged with problems and stuff going on.

I gave the your chakra point and shoot method a try last night and through this moment. I substituted my old and dusty zen 'mu' koan for the white dot and put that in my spine between my shoulder blades approximately and put my breathing back and forth thru that spot.
Never really looked into chakra workings, although I think I had a couple semi spontaneous openings when I was doing zen sitting daily.

I kinda like the effect so far.

That's pretty cool. I've done a lot of third eye chakra work... When that sucker starts to open, it makes a cracking noise. It freaked me out so I researched it. Seems that it is normal. Huh...scary stuff.

What is the koan you use? I'm not super familiar...

Btw, I love the mu concept...

I use the Mu koan. Mu is Japanese for "not" or "no thing", or perhaps, "irrelevant." Many koans are based on historical cases of real life incidents. Mu is the case of 2 monks arguing over whether a dog has Buddha nature or not. The monks took the dog to Master Jo-shu to settle things and he said, " Mu."
What did Jo-shu mean? That's the problem for the student to study and present to a teacher.
There are a couple of koan text books. The Blue Cliff Record and I think the other is the Gateless Gate. There are a couple hundred koans and test understanding of various ways of interacting in the world.

Mu, One hand clapping & Who am I? are examples of breakthru or introductory koans. In formal practice, a student does zazen (sitting meditation) during a sesshin ( 7 day silent retreat) and presents a response during face to face sit downs 2-3 times a day.