1 00:00:01,347 --> 00:00:09,436 When a Christian friend of mine tries to use mindfulness meditation, after a while he says he feels the presence of Jesus and God. 2 00:00:10,878 --> 00:00:13,901 I told him that this arises because of his history with religion. 3 00:00:14,382 --> 00:00:24,553 What should I tell him about this and what should he be noting when this arises? 4 00:00:26,930 --> 00:00:45,543 what he told him so far is probably correct that the feeling of the presence of Jesus and God does arise in him because of his history to the Christian religion. 5 00:00:48,087 --> 00:00:48,668 There is 6 00:00:50,588 --> 00:00:57,257 there's the perception of a deep spiritual feeling 7 00:00:58,300 --> 00:01:23,430 and when he knows nothing else than jesus or god then of course this must be jesus and god but um when the mind opens up and says okay there might be something else out there then jesus and god then when the mind opens then there can be uh 8 00:01:25,452 --> 00:01:54,649 the possibility to feel different to feel or to name different the feeling would possibly be the same a deep spiritual feeling but a person with a non-christian background or with an open mind would 9 00:01:55,979 --> 00:02:03,289 Maybe not say, oh, this is Jesus and this is God, but just say, this is a feeling. 10 00:02:05,131 --> 00:02:17,768 So we only can perceive or we can only name what we know or we cannot, but we do usually. 11 00:02:18,406 --> 00:02:37,613 give names of what we what we know what you can tell him is that when there is that feeling of Jesus and of God then he should say feeling feeling 12 00:02:37,593 --> 00:02:56,715 feeling and when there is liking you should say liking liking liking and you could tell him that it is not so important at that particular moment 13 00:02:56,695 --> 00:03:12,966 to feel Jesus or God but to know what is going on in the present moment because that is the mindfulness meditation and to feel Jesus and God is 14 00:03:14,768 --> 00:03:34,853 another meditation which is good also for Christian but if you want to practice mindfulness meditation then you should say feeling feeling and whatever else is arising in that present moment 15 00:03:36,217 --> 00:04:03,422 and not get or not be attached with the thoughts of Jesus and God and not be attached to the liking of Jesus and God or to say it less blasphemic be attached to that deep spiritual feeling 16 00:04:05,427 --> 00:04:08,852 It depends also on the person. 17 00:04:09,853 --> 00:04:24,474 It depends on whether they are truly open-minded or whether they're just... I mean, it can even be in some cases where they're just doing it to make friends with you so that you come and be Christian with them or so on. 18 00:04:24,514 --> 00:04:26,457 So it depends on the individual. 19 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,886 But another tact you can take, depending on the person... 20 00:04:32,866 --> 00:04:48,023 Is that they've made this truth assertion, this factual assertion that what they are feeling is the presence of Jesus and God. 21 00:04:49,538 --> 00:05:01,440 The first thing you have to explain to them is what does it mean to note, what does it mean to be mindful, what does it mean to be aware of or to meditate on something. 22 00:05:02,282 --> 00:05:08,914 You have to be clear that because many people misunderstand that by noting we're not trying to get rid of the object. 23 00:05:08,894 --> 00:05:13,902 And the noting itself doesn't necessarily remove the experience. 24 00:05:14,003 --> 00:05:24,760 It can in fact make the experience stronger inadvertently, but it can have that inadvertent effect because the mind lets go and allows for it to arise even stronger. 25 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:25,722 The mind is clear. 26 00:05:27,102 --> 00:05:36,716 So why this is important is because it can happen that when you have them say feeling, feeling, they don't want to do that because they feel they're afraid that it's going to disappear. 27 00:05:36,816 --> 00:05:43,706 So they'll be mindful of other things, but they won't be mindful of the things that they are clinging to for fear that they will disappear, for fear that they will lose them. 28 00:05:44,266 --> 00:05:47,050 So you have to explain the noting isn't for that purpose. 29 00:05:47,090 --> 00:05:52,118 The noting is for the purpose of understanding what exactly that feeling is. 30 00:05:52,758 --> 00:05:56,704 So if that feeling is God and Jesus, 31 00:05:58,085 --> 00:06:03,633 your investigation of it will just show you further and further that that is Jesus, that is God. 32 00:06:04,775 --> 00:06:10,263 But to simply feel something and say this is Jesus and this is God is only a belief. 33 00:06:10,443 --> 00:06:12,346 It's not yet an attainment of the truth. 34 00:06:12,426 --> 00:06:18,215 So the practice of meditation is to investigate, to see clearly what is that feeling. 35 00:06:19,237 --> 00:06:20,018 Explain this to them. 36 00:06:20,979 --> 00:06:24,885 And explain to them that 37 00:06:25,895 --> 00:06:31,423 Through the practice, we're going to try to find out, we're going to understand exactly what is that feeling. 38 00:06:31,503 --> 00:06:34,747 You have this assertion that this is God, this is Jesus. 39 00:06:35,128 --> 00:06:36,229 Let's look and find out. 40 00:06:36,450 --> 00:06:39,414 Let's look and see what we find the closer we look at the feeling. 41 00:06:39,574 --> 00:06:42,017 So then you say to yourself, feeling, feeling. 42 00:06:42,378 --> 00:06:45,141 And when you think of it as God, say to yourself, thinking, thinking. 43 00:06:45,822 --> 00:06:49,528 And what will happen, they will come to realize that actually it's just a feeling. 44 00:06:49,568 --> 00:06:50,609 The thought is just a thought. 45 00:06:50,689 --> 00:06:52,071 It arises and ceases. 46 00:06:52,051 --> 00:06:59,108 And the idea of it being God, it being Jesus, is actually a meaningless... 47 00:07:00,657 --> 00:07:07,748 meaningless thought process, a meaningless recognition or association. 48 00:07:08,790 --> 00:07:09,692 Those are just words. 49 00:07:09,932 --> 00:07:11,254 This is God, this is Jesus. 50 00:07:11,294 --> 00:07:17,544 And eventually to find out, to realize that something like God, something like Jesus cannot possibly exist because it's an entity. 51 00:07:18,486 --> 00:07:20,249 And reality is only experience. 52 00:07:21,370 --> 00:07:23,053 And experience arises and ceases.