sandeyeThe Theory: the Eight Limbs of Yoga: 4 Dharana
May 23rd 2008 01:46
Dharana is concentration of the mind. It involves being able to fix the mind on a single point and sticking with this focus, a total concentration upon the object or mission of choice. A singular activity or direction of the mind is another way to explain it. Focusing on one particular matter and letting all other thoughts fall away rather than reach center stage, maintaining fixation upon the specific, disconnecting from the stray wannabes and would-bes that try to claim the limelight. A rejection of memory, dream, imagination and daydream; a total focus on that one chosen matter.
In Iyengar Yoga for an example, the objective of Dharana is to learn to drop our personal wishes and to focus upon the divine wish instead. In other forms, the goal may simply be to center ones mind, expand concentration skills, or lessen the constant activity within the many levels of the mind, centering on just the wisest inner depth.
My personal experience of Dharana came from a combination of my Buddhist practice and personal experience. I had learned to concentrate fully on the task at hand from my creative writing and I therefore found concentration quite easy to do when required for Buddhist meditation. It is not something that I can do constantly, but something that I can do if I try - if I concentrate on concentrating, so to speak!!
In Iyengar Yoga for an example, the objective of Dharana is to learn to drop our personal wishes and to focus upon the divine wish instead. In other forms, the goal may simply be to center ones mind, expand concentration skills, or lessen the constant activity within the many levels of the mind, centering on just the wisest inner depth.
My personal experience of Dharana came from a combination of my Buddhist practice and personal experience. I had learned to concentrate fully on the task at hand from my creative writing and I therefore found concentration quite easy to do when required for Buddhist meditation. It is not something that I can do constantly, but something that I can do if I try - if I concentrate on concentrating, so to speak!!
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