I think I’ll throw another log on the fire of our meditation discussions: free mental attitude.
A basic principle of Acem meditation ()
I learned Acem in London some twelve years ago. I’ve done it since every day, and have been on many courses, some of which very intensive.
The ‘free mental attitude’ has helped me a lot while learning to meditate. It means: don’t worry. Don’t worry at all about what you think, expect, fear or want during (and after) your meditation. Whenever you can, just go back to your mantra again, or whatever you use as a focus. Relax! It’s all good. Just go back, again and again and again, when you can.
This is what I do. I don’t care much about meditation theories. Acem works for me: it ‘improves’ me, if I may use that word. Only recently did I have to swap it for walking meditation, for medical reasons. But it’s the same principle.
Only what/when I eat and drink beforehand, affects the quality of my meditation. ‘Quality’ as in: how much of a meditation is it? Instead of just sitting or walking (and feeling bored)?
Acem originates in Norway but nowadays is practised the world over. Look at their website - see above - if you want to know more.
The basic tenet of mindfulness meditation is acceptance that the mind will wander and that when it does just lead it back to the breath. Many meditations will encourage people by pointing out when they do this it means they are succeeding in the practice. It sounds as if Acem has a similar approach except the focus is on a sound.
Indeed, it sounds very much like mindfulness meditation or TM or any of the other such similar meditations.
The one phrase that indicates to me that a teacher does not know what they are teaching is when they say "Empty your mind". They have typically been taught this themselves yet do not understand it, nor it's origins. It originally comes from the Buddhist concept of 'emptiness' which is not about being empty of things (as if nothing is going on in the mind), but about being free of attachments. You cannot stop the activity of the mind, but you can be free of attachment to that activity. So many people struggle with meditation because they are told to "empty your mind" and they literally panic because the mind still remains active and they think they are doing something wrong. So, like Acem seems to say, you do not attempt to empty your mind, you meditate to bring your focus away from the attachments (to your mantra, breath or whatever) and let those attachments fall away.
Acem meditation was started, I think in the early sixties? as an improvement on TM. They wanted to make it free of religion and the like.
Indeed, TM does have it's elements of teaching that are not needed, aside from the fact they tell people that their mantra is personal to them and not to tell anyone, when in fact there are about a dozen mantras they use and give out depending on age (it's varied over time, it's also been based on age and gender). The "secrecy" of the teaching, and the ceremonial aspect doesn't sit well, when there is nothing secret about the actual meditation technique.
Places like the London School of Economic Science (associated with the London School of Meditation) also teach the same technique as TM, and they include some ceremony whilst teaching, but they don't call it TM, and anyone can learn it from them.
I learnt the same technique, without the ceremony, just the meditation.