Analytical meditation is a practice aimed at examining and understanding the mind and its processes. It's a methodical approach to meditation that combines mindfulness with analytical thinking, offering a pathway to deeper mental clarity and emotional stability.

Steps to Practice Analytical Meditation

Proper Attitude and Motivation

The first crucial step in analytical meditation is to cultivate the right attitude and motivation. This involves having a sincere intention to understand and tame the mind.

Correct Posture

Sit with crossed legs, back straight yet relaxed. Ensure the upper body feels light and the lower body feels stable and weighty.

Threefold Cleansing of Stale Breath

Procedure:

• Place hands palms down on knees.
• Thumbs at the base of ring fingers.
• Inhale slowly through nostrils, curling fingers around thumbs to form loose fists.
• Exhale through nostrils gently, extending fingers and thumbs.
• Repeat the inhalation and exhalation three times, each time imagining the expulsion of physical, emotional, and mental obstacles respectively.

Benefits: This process helps in preparing the body and mind for deeper meditation by purging negative energies and distractions.

Resting Meditation

Purpose: Acts as a precursor to analytical meditation by calming the mind and directing awareness inward.

• Breath Focus: Concentrate on the breath, counting cycles of inhalation and exhalation up to ten, then starting over.
• Mantra: Mentally recite 'hung' during exhalation.

Goal: To achieve a state of stillness and clarity in the mind.

Transition to Analytical Meditation

Once the mind achieves stillness, acknowledge that it’s time to begin analytical meditation. Use the calm and clarity from resting meditation to arise and engage in analysis. Cultivate the aspiration to switch from resting to analytical meditation, especially if tempted to remain in a state of passive peace.

Balanced Approach

Analytical meditation involves a dynamic interplay between the calmness achieved through resting meditation and the active investigative process of analysis. The ultimate goal is to understand the mind's workings and cultivate wisdom, leading to mental clarity and emotional stability.