Osho Meditations
They are an individual experience, so you should remain oblivious of others around you and keep your eyes closed throughout, preferably using a blindfold. Even if you are doing the meditation alone, a blindfold will be helpful to keep your attention focused inward. It is best to have an empty stomach and wear loose, comfortable clothing. As with all meditations, make sure you are in a situation where you will not be disturbed or interrupted. Accompanying meditation music on CD can be bought from bookshops (see down below the Osho - Books page).
By the way, one hour of meditation per day is sufficient.
Osho Dynamic Meditation
"This is a meditation in which you have to be
continuously alert, conscious, aware. Whatsoever you do, remain a witness." - Osho
(Osho Dynamic Meditation lasts for one hour and is in five stages.)
First stage: 10 minutes
Breathing rapidly in and out through the nose, let breathing be intense and chaotic. The breath should move deeply into the lungs, and whenever you notice that you are getting into a set pattern or rhythm, change it. Do this as totally as you possibly can. Allow any body movements to happen. Use these natural body movements to help you build up your energy. Feel it building up, but don′t let go during the first stage.
Second stage: 10 minutes
Explode! Let go of everything that needs to be thrown out. Go totally mad, scream, shout, cry, jump, shake, dance, sing, laugh, throw yourself around. Hold nothing back, keep your whole body moving. A little acting often helps to get you started. Don′t allow your mind to interfere with what is happening. Be total.
Third stage: 10 minutes
With raised arms, jump up and down shouting the mantra HOO! HOO! HOO! as deeply as possible. Each time you land, on the flats of your feet, let the sound hammer deep into the sex centre. Give all you have, exhaust yourself totally.
Fourth stage: 15 minutes
STOP! Freeze where you are in whatever position you find yourself. Don′t arrange the body in any way. A cough, a movement, anything will dissipate the energy flow and the effort will be lost. Be a witness to everything that is happening to you.
Fifth stage: 15 minutes
Celebrate! . . . with music and dance express whatsoever is there. Carry your aliveness with you throughout the day.
- Find Dynamic Meditation explained here.
- Effects of Seven-Day Osho Dynamic Study: A Pilot Study (a .pdf file)
- Maurice Nicoll on Outer and Inner Stop
"
Osho Kundalini Meditation
"...Allow the shaking, don′t do it.
Stand silently, feel it coming, and when your body starts a little trembling help it - but
don′t do it. Enjoy it, feel blissful about it, allow it, receive it, welcome it -
but don′t will it. If you force it, it will become an exercise, a bodily physical
exercise. Then the shaking will be there but just on the surface, it will not penetrate
you. You will remain solid, stone like, rock like within; you will remain a manipulator,
the doer, and the body will just be following. The body is not the question - you
are the question." - Osho
(Osho Kundalini Meditation lasts for one hour and has four stages, three with music, and the last without.)
The music has been composed under Osho′s direct guidance specially for this particular meditation. Remember that the last stage is in silence! ... and a gong will signal the end of the silent period - promise!
First stage: 15 minutes
Be loose and let your whole body shake, feeling energies moving up from your feet. Let go everywhere and become the shaking. Your eyes may be open or closed.
Second stage: 15 minutes
Dance... any way you feel, and let the whole body move as it wishes.
Third stage: 15 minutes
Close your eyes and be still, sitting or standing... witnessing whatever is happening inside and out.
Fourth stage: 15 minutes
Keep your eyes closed, lie down and be still.
Osho Nadabrahma Meditation
This is an old Tibetan technique of humming,
which creates a healing vibration throughout the body, and a hand movement which centres the energy at the navel.
(Nadabrahma meditation lasts for one hour and has three stages.)
It can be done at any time of day, alone or with others, but have an empty stomach and remain inactive for at least 15 minutes afterwards.
First stage: 30 minutes
Sit in a relaxed position with eyes closed and lips together humming loudly enough to be heard by others and create a vibration throughout your body. You can visualise a hollow tube or an empty vessel, filled only with the vibrations of the humming. A point will come when the humming continues by itself and you become the listener. There is no special breathing and you can alter the pitch or move your body smoothly and slowly if you feel like it.
Second stage: 15 minutes
The second stage is divided into two 7 1/2 minute sections. For the first half, move the hands, palms up, in an outward circular motion. Starting at the navel, both hands move forwards and then divide to make two large circles mirroring each other left and right. The movements should be so slow that at times there will appear to be no movement at all. Feel that you are giving energy outwards to the universe. After 71/2 minutes turn the hands, palms down, and start moving them in the opposite direction. Now the hands will come together towards the navel and divide outwards to the sides of the body. Feel that you are taking energy in. As in the first stage, don′t inhibit any soft, slow movements of the rest of your body.
Third stage: 15 minutes
Sit or lie absolutely quiet and still.
Osho Nataraj Meditation
"Let the dance flow in its own way; don′t
force it. Rather, follow it; allow it to happen. It is not a doing but a happening.
Remain in the mood of festivity. You are not doing something very serious; you are just
playing, playing with your life energy, playing with your bio-energy, allowing it to move
in its own way. Just like the wind blows and the river flows, you are flowing and blowing.
Feel it. And be playful. Remember that word "playful" always with me, it is very
basic. In India, we call creation God′s Leela God′s play. God has not created
the world; it is his play."
Nataraj is dance as total meditation.
(There are three stages lasting a total of 60 minutes.)
First stage: 40 minutes
With eyes closed, dance as if possessed. Let your unconscious take over completely. Do not control your movements or be a witness to what is happening. Just be totally in the dance.
Second stage: 15 minutes
Keeping your eyes closed, lie down immediately. Be silent and still.
Third stage: 5 minutes
Dance in celebration and enjoy.
Nataraj improvisation video: Avirbhav Verma tabla player at Oshodhara
Osho Gourishankar Meditation
(This technique, for the nighttime, consists of four stages of fifteen minutes each.)
The first two stages are preparation for the spontaneous Latihan of the third stage. If the breathing is done correctly in the first stage, the carbon dioxide formed in the bloodstream will make you feel as high as Gourishankar (Mt. Everest).
First Stage: 15 minutes
Sit with closed eyes. Inhale deeply through the nose, filling the lungs. Hold the breath for as long as possible; then exhale gently through the mouth, and keep the lungs empty for as long as possible. Continue this breathing cycle throughout this stage.
Second Stage: 15 minutes
Return to normal breathing and with a gentle gaze look at a candle flame or a flashing blue light. Keep your body still.
Third Stage: 15 minutes
With closed eyes, stand up and let your body be loose and receptive. Allow your body to move gently in whichever way it wants. Don′t do the moving, just allow it to happen gently and gracefully...
Fourth Stage: 15 minutes
Lie down with closed eyes, silent and still.
Osho Mandala Meditation
This
is another powerful technique that creates a circle of energy, resulting in a
natural centering.
(There are four stages of 15 minutes each.)
First Stage: 15 minutes
With open eyes run on the spot, starting slowly and gradually, getting faster and faster. Bring your knees up as high as possible. Breathing deeply and evenly will move the energy within. Forget the mind and forget the body. Keep going.
Second Stage: 15 minutes
Sit with your eyes closed and mouth open and loose. Gently rotate your body from the belly, like a reed blowing in the wind. Feel the wind blowing you from side to side, back and forth, around and around. This will bring your awakened energies to the navel center.
Third Stage: 15 minutes
Lie on your back, open your eyes and with the head still, rotate them in a clockwise direction. Sweep them fully around in the sockets as if you are following the second hand of a vast clock, but as fast as possible. It is important that the mouth remains open and the jaw relaxed, with the breath soft and even. This will bring centering energies to the third eye.
Fourth Stage: 15 minutes
Close your eyes and be still.
Osho Whirling Meditation
"Sufi whirling is one of the most ancient
techniques, one
of the most forceful. It is so deep that even a single experience can make you
totally different. Whirl with open eyes, just like small children go on
twirling, as if your inner being has become a center and your whole body has
become a wheel, moving, a potter’s wheel, moving. You are in the center, but
the whole body is moving." - Osho
First Stage: 45 minutes
Keep your eyes open and feel the center point of your body. Lift your arms to shoulder height, with the right hand palm up and the left hand low, palm down. Start turning around your own axis. Let your body be soft. Start slowly and after 15 minutes gradually go faster and faster. You become a whirlpool of energy – the periphery a storm of movement but the witness at the center silent and still.
Second Stage: 15 minutes
Let your body fall to the ground when the music stops. (it may already have happened before.) Roll onto your stomach immediately so that your navel is in contact with the earth. Feel your body blending into the earth. Keep your eyes closed and remain passive and silent.
Osho No-Dimensions Meditation
This is a powerful method for centering one′s energy in the hara - the area
just below the navel. It is based on a Sufi technique of movements for awareness
and integration of the body. Because it is a Sufi meditation, it is free and
non-serious. In fact it is so non-serious that you can even smile while you are
doing it.
This one-hour meditation has three stages. During the first two stages the
eyes are open but not focused on anything. During the third stage the eyes are
closed.
The music, created especially for this meditation, begins slowly and gradually
becomes faster and faster as an uplifting force.
First stage: Sufi Movements 30 minutes
A continuous dance in a set of six movements. With your eyes open, begin by
standing in one place and placing the left hand on the heart and the right hand
on the hara. Stand still for a few moments just listening to the music to get
centered. This stage of the meditation starts slowly and builds up in intensity.
If you are doing this with others you may get out of synchronicity with the
others and think you have made a mistake. When that happens, just stop, see
where the other people are, and then get back into the same rhythm and timing as
everyone else.
When the bell rings, start the sequence as described below. The movements always
come from the center, or hara, using the music to keep the correct rhythm. The
hips and eyes face the direction of the hand movement. Use graceful movements in
a continuous flow. Loud "Shoo" sounds are made from the throat in synchronicity
with the sounds from the recording.
Repeat this six-movement sequence continuously for 30 minutes.
The Sequence:
- Touch the backs of the hands together pointing downward on the hara. Breathing in through the nose, bring the hands up to the heart and fill them with love. Breathing out make the sound "Shoo" from the throat and send love out to the world. At the same time move the right arm (with fingers extended, palm downward) and right foot straight forward, and move the left hand back down to the hara. Return to the original position with both hands on the hara.
- Repeat this movement with the left arm and foot. Return to the original position with both hands on the hara.
- Repeat this movement with the right arm and foot, turning sideways to the right. Return to the original position with both hands on the hara.
- Repeat this movement with the left arm and foot, turning sideways to the left. Return to the original position with both hands on the hara.
- Repeat this movement with the right arm and foot, turning directly behind from the right side. Return to the original position with both hands on the hara.
- Repeat this movement with the left arm and foot, turning directly behind from the left side. Return to the original position with both hands on the hara.
This stage is over when the music comes to a stop. The second stage begins with new music.
Second stage: Whirling 15 minutes
Begin by placing the right toe over the left toe. Fold your arms across your
chest and embrace yourself. Feel love for yourself. When the music starts bow
down to existence for bringing you here for this meditation. When the tempo
changes, begin whirling either to the left or to the right, whichever feels best
for you. If you whirl to the right put the right foot and the right arm to the
right and the left arm in the opposite direction. As you start to whirl you can
change your hands to any position which feels good to you.
If you have not whirled before then go very very slowly at first and once
your mind and body get acclimated to the movements the body will naturally go
faster. Do not force yourself to go too fast too soon. If you do get dizzy or it
feels like it is too much for you, it is okay to stop and stand or to sit down.
To end the whirling, slow down and fold the arms over the chest and heart.
Third stage: Silence 15 minutes
Lie down on the belly with your eyes closed. Leave your legs open and not crossed to allow all the energy you have gathered to flow through you. There is nothing to do except to just be with yourself. If it is uncomfortable to lie on your belly, lie on your back. A gong will indicate the end of the meditation.
Atisha′s Heart Meditation
The Alchemy of transforming the three poisons of mind into nectar
And the method is, when you breathe in - listen carefully, it is one of the greatest methods - when you breathe in, think that you are
breathing in all the miseries of all the people in the world. All the darkness, all the negativity, all the hell that exists anywhere, you are breathing it in. And let it be
absorbed in your heart.
You may have read or heard about the so-called positive thinkers of the West. They say just the opposite - they don′t know what they
are saying. They say, "When you breathe out, throw out all your misery and negativity; and when you breathe in, breathe in joy,
positivity, happiness, cheerfulness."
Atisha′s method is just the opposite: when you breathe in, breathe in all the misery and suffering of all the beings of the world -
past, present and future. And when you breathe out, breathe out all the joy that you have, all the blissfulness that you have, all the
benediction that you have. Breathe out, pour yourself into existence. This is the method of compassion: drink in all the suffering and pour
out all the blessings.
And you will be surprised if you do it. The moment you take all the sufferings of the world inside you, they are no longer sufferings. The
heart immediately transforms the energy. The heart is a transforming force: drink in misery, and it is transformed into blissfulness... then
pour it out.
Once you have learned that your heart can do this magic, this miracle, you would like to do it again and again. Try it. It is one of the most
practical methods - simple, and it brings immediate results. Do it today, and see.
That is one of the approaches of Buddha and all his disciples. Atisha is one of his disciples, in the same tradition, in the same line.
Buddha says again and again to his disciples, "IHI PASSIKO: come and see!"
They are very scientific people. Buddhism is the most scientific religion on the earth; hence, Buddhism is gaining more and more ground in
the world every day. As the world becomes more intelligent, Buddha will become more and more important. It is bound to be so. As more and
more people come to know about science, Buddha will have great appeal, because he will convince the scientific mind - because he says,
"Whatsoever I am saying can be practiced." And I don′t say to you, "Believe it," I say, "Experiment with it,
experience it, and only then if you feel it yourself, trust it. Otherwise there is no need to believe."
Try this beautiful method of compassion: take in all the misery and pour out all the joy.
There are three objects which can either function as three poisons or can become three bases of infinite virtue. Atisha is talking of the inner alchemy. The poison can become
the nectar, the baser metal can be transformed into gold.
What are these three objects? The first is aversion, the second is attachment, and the third is indifference. This is how the mind functions. You feel aversion to whatsoever you
dislike, you feel attachment to whatsoever you like, and you feel indifferent to things which you neither dislike nor like. These are the three objects. Between these three, the
mind exists. These are the three legs of the tripod called the mind: aversion, attachment and indifference. And if you live in these three as they are, you are living in poison.
This is how we have created a hell out of life. Aversion, dislike, hatred, repulsion - that creates on-third of your hell. Attachment, liking, clinging, possessiveness - that
creates the second one-third of your hell. And indifference to all that you are neither attracted to nor repulsed by - that creates the third part, the third one-third of your
hell.
Just watch your mind, this is how your mind functions. It is always saying, "I like this, I don′t like that, and I am indifferent to the third." These are the
three ways the mind goes on moving. This is the rut, the routine.
Atisha says: These are the three poisons, but they can become the three bases of virtue. How can they become three bases of great virtue? If you bring in the quality of
compassion, if you learn the art of absorbing suffering, as if all the suffering of the world is coming riding on the breath, then how can you be repulsed? How can you dislike
anything and how can you be indifferent to anything? And how can you be attached to anything? If you are unconditionally taking in all the suffering in the world, drinking it,
absorbing it in your heart, and then instead of it pouring blessings onto the whole of existence unconditionally - not to somebody in particular, remember; not only to man but
to all: to all beings, trees and rocks and birds and animals, to the whole existence, material, immaterial - when you are pouring out blessings unconditionally, how can you be
attached?
Attachment, aversion, indifference: all disappear with this small technique. And with their disappearance the poison is transformed into nectar, and the bondage becomes freedom,
and the hell is no more a hell, it is heaven.
In these moments you come to know: This very body the Buddha, this very earth the lotus paradise.
The Secret Of The Golden Flower
Osho suggests that the best time to do this meditation is just on waking in the morning, before getting out of bed and just before falling asleep in the evening. He describes the meditation as follows:
Simply
lie down, as you are lying down in your bed, on your back. Keep your eyes
closed. When you breathe in, just visualize great light entering from your head
into your body, as if a sun has just risen close to your head - golden light
pouring into your head. You are just hollow and the golden light is pouring into
your head, and going, going, going, deep, deep, and going out through your toes.
And when you breathe out, visualize another thing: darkness entering through
your toes, a great dark river enterin through your toes, coming up, and going
out through the head. Do slow, deep breathing, so you can visualize. Go very
slowly. Let me repeat: Breathing in, let golden light come into you through your
head, because it is there that the golden light is waiting. The golden light
will help. It will cleanse your whole body and will make it absolutely full of
creativity. This is male energy. Then when you exhale, let darkness, the darkest
you can conceive, like a dark night, riverlike, come from your toes upwards -
this is feminine energy, it will sooth you, it will make you receptive, it will
calm you, it will give you rest - and let it go out of the head. Then inhale
again, and golden light enters in. Do it for twenty minutes early in the
morning. And the second best time is when you are going back to sleep, in the
night. Lie down on the bed, relax for a few minutes. When you start feeling that
now you are wavering between sleep and waking, just in that middle, start the
process again and continue for twenty minutes. If you fall asleep doing it, it
is best, because the impact will remain in the subconscious and will go on
working. And after a three month period you will be surprised: the energy that
was constantly gathering at the muladhar, at the lowest, the sex center, is no
longer gathering there. It is going upwards.
Read more on The Secret of the Golden Flower
The Mystic Rose Meditation
A meditative therapy involving laughter, tears and silence
Body Mind Balancing
Many every day tensions and discomforts arise from the fact that we are
alienated from our bodies. With the help of Body Mind Balancing we can
learn to talk to and reconnect with our bodies. After just a short time, Osho′s
insights will lead us to appreciate how much the body has been working for us
and supporting us, and from this new perspective we can find new ways to work
with the body and create a more harmonious balance of body and mind.
The guided meditation and relaxation process "Reminding Yourself of the
Forgotten Language of Talking to Your BodyMind" is a CD that accompanies the
text.
Developed by Osho, this meditative therapy guides the listener in reconnecting
with his or her body and creating a new and greater sense of well-being.
The voice on the CD belongs to
Anando Heffley, Osho′s former private secretary (1986).
Anando Heffly is a member of ASHA, and organisation that represents
outstanding women from diverse backgrounds and achievements, but with one thing
in common: they are part of a collective, noble endeavour to create a better
world. On his final day on earth, Osho said, "Anando will be my medium". It
seems she is.
Interview of Osho Times International with Anando
Osho Laughter Meditation
Start becoming a little more alert and watch things, and you will be
surprised. Life is mysterious, unexplainable - life is absurd. You cannot prove
anything for or against.
Tertullian says: I believe in God because God is absurd - Credo quia absurdum.
Why do I believe in God? - because God is absurd! No logic can prove him, no
logic can disprove him. It is a love affair. And life is very hilarious because
it is very ridiculous too. If you become a little alert you will find love,
light, laughter, everywhere!
It is said that when Hotei attained enlightenment he started laughing. He
lived at least thirty years afterwards; he continued laughing for thirty years.
Even in sleep his disciples would hear him giggling. His whole message to the
world was laughter; he would go from one town to another just laughing. He would
stand in one marketplace, then in another, just laughing, and people would
gather. His laughter had something of the beyond - a Buddha′s laughter. He is
known in Japan as ′the laughing Buddha′.
His laughter was so contagious that whosoever heard it would start laughing.
Soon the whole marketplace would be laughing; crowds would gather and laugh and
they would ask him, "Just give us a few instructions."
He would say, "Nothing more, this is enough. If you can laugh, if you can laugh
totally, it is meditation."
Laughter was his device. It is said many people became enlightened through
Hotei′s laughter. That was his only meditation: to laugh and help people laugh.
Just watch life, and you will be surprised.
A Scot, an Italian and a Jewish man were dining together in an
expensive restaurant. When the bill arrived, the Scotsman promptly
declared that he would take it.
Now this is impossible! "The Scotsman promptly declared that he
would take it." Can you believe it? Is it possible? It has never
happened, it is not going to happen - but that day it happened.
The next day newspapers carried the headline: "Jewish
Ventriloquist Shot In Restaurant."
Technique:
"Every morning upon waking, before opening your eyes, stretch like a cat. Stretch every fiber of your body. After three or four minutes, with eyes still closed, begin to laugh. At first you will be doing it, but soon the sound of your attempt will cause genuine laughter. Lose yourself in laughter. It may take several days before it really happens, for we are so unaccustomed to the phenomenon. But before long it will be spontaneous and will change the whole nature of your day."
(Osho in Meditation, the First and Last Freedom)More on Laughter:
- Alan Watts′ Laughing Meditation
- Sardar Gurudayal Singh′s laughter
- Laugh Your Way to Enlightenment Pragito Dove′s musings on The Mystic Rose and laughter meditation.
- Laughter Yoga in the wikipedia
- The old proverb is right
Panting Like a Dog
It is difficult to work with anger directly because it may be deeply repressed. So work
indirectly. Running will help much anger and much fear to evaporate. When you are running for a long time and breathing
deeply, the mind stops functioning and the body takes over. For a few moments sitting under the shade of the tree, perspiring,
enjoying the cool breeze, there are no thoughts. You are simply a throbbing body, an alive body, an organism in tune with the
whole; just like an animal.
For people like this, a small exercise will be very helpful. Whenever you feel that somebody is not going below the stomach,
below the belly, is somehow superficial, walk and pant like a dog. Let the tongue be out, and hang down.
The whole passage will become open. So whenever you feel that there is some block there, panting can be very significant.
If you pant for half an hour, anger will flow very beautifully. The whole body will become involved in it.
So you can try this in your room sometimes. You can use a mirror and bark and growl at it. Within three weeks you will feel
things going very very deeply. Once anger is relaxed, gone, you will feel free.
Osho Meditation Minutes
- Aloneness
- One World
- Conditioning
- Ecstasy
- Accept Yourself
- Ecology
- Heaven and Hell
- Watching
- Maturity
- Courage
- Death
- Life
- Raising Your Intelligence
The Orange Book
Meditations from The Orange Book
Notes:
- Osho′s Meditations
- Dynamic Meditation and Rock Music
- Osho: Find time and a place to remain unoccupied
- This is an excerpt from a meditation-video "Stress Free Living-Meditation For Busy Women" with Maneesha.
- Many meditations are explained here.
- Osho Meditation Technique blog
- Active Meditation in the Wikipedia
- Meditation Happens Beyond Mind
- Osho introduces Meditation
- Osho′s Meditations for Contemporary People (short video)
- Osho′s Meditations for Contemporary People (text)
- The 112 meditation techniques Osho is talking about are to be found in The Book of Secrets. Here′s more info on this book.
- Meditations From The
World of Osho (a pdf-file, right-click and
′save link as′)
A compilation of Osho′s active and silent meditations; the ebook also contains all 112 meditations of the Vigyan Bhairav Tantra (aka Book of Secrets) and has a few interesting articles by professionals using the meditations, as well as one by Amrito MD on the importance of relaxation. - Science and the Inner Journey
- Places to Meditate from all over the world
- The Placebo Effect The considerable
influence of mind on matter (a .pdf file, 50 kB)
Big Pharma science dissolves into wishful thinking Nearly all drug trials are scientifically invalid due to influence of the mind.
Sannyasins should use the time of night more and more for meditation. You can go deeper, and easily, because the winds are blowing that way; you can move with the winds with less effort.
In the day you are moving against the winds. In the day active meditations are good; dynamic meditation is good in the day, dancing meditation is good in the day. But in the night vipassana, silent meditations, just sitting and doing nothing, just relaxing because the whole atmosphere is relaxing.... The sun has gone down, the trees have fallen asleep; it is a totally different quality of energy that surrounds you in the night. It is easy to meditate.
Buddha says, "The Master shines in meditation in the night."
By ′the master′ he means one who is trying to be a master of himself; by ′warrior′ he means one who is trying to be a master of others. But once you have attained, once you have become enlightened, then there is no question of day and night, no question of sun and moon.But day and night
The man who is awake
Shines in the radiance of the spirit.The buddha, the awakened, the enlightened one shines both in the night and in the day; there is no difference for him. Once you have become awakened, then nothing makes any difference. But till that happens use the night atmosphere more and more for meditation.
(Osho - The Dhammapada: The Way of the Buddha, vol 11 #7)
And when the moon is there in the night it is far easier to meditate. The full-moon night is the best for meditation. Many people who have become buddhas have attained their enlightenment on the full-moon night, even Buddha himself. It may have been a coincidence, but it is significant to remember: he was born on the full-moon night, he became enlightened on the full-moon night and he died on the full-moon night. Something in the full moon seemed to be synchronizing with his energy.
Use it. Be alert and use every possibility to help you go in. Once you are awakened, then there is no problem. Then you can be at ease, at rest, at peace, anywhere.
- Meditation is not Needed if You are Happy