ORIGINS OF YOGA 9you are able to mold or rewire your brain. Through dharana, you can reinforce
certain neural connections, giving you the power to set up a brain system
that will help you achieve the type of life you want to live.
When practicing dharana, you can focus on many different things. You can
focus on an audible or silent mantra, an affirmation, a candle flame, a picture,
a prayer, your breath, a sensation, or just about anything else. More important
than what you focus on, though, is the actual act of focusing.
Often when you sit down and begin to focus, the mind starts to wander.
Perhaps you recall a recent conversation, remember something to add to your
to-do list, or come up with an amazing idea. When you notice the distraction,
gently bring the mind back to the object of focus. It’s possible that you may
spend the entire time chasing your mind. The mind secretes thoughts like
the salivary glands secrete saliva. In fact, in his book destressifying, Davidji
writes, “...our mind processes 60,000 to 80,000 thoughts throughout the 1,440
minutes in every 24-hour day. That’s a thought every 1.2 seconds” (2015, 83).
So, you won’t try to stop the thoughts, but rather try to direct them. Don’t
get discouraged, and know that each time you bring your mind back, you’ve
completed an exercise inside your brain. Would you expect your chest and
arms to become well developed after a few push-ups? Of course not! Just as
with physical training, with dharana, it takes hundreds, even thousands, of
repetitions to notice a difference.
Building the muscle of concentration uses the same process. The keys are
patience and consistency. Eventually, your focus will become so strong that
it penetrates like a laser beam through all distraction.
Limb Seven: Dhyana, or Meditation
Dhyana is meditation, or total absorption into the object that is being focused
on. What’s the difference between dharana and dhyana? Dharana requires
effort. It’s like knocking on the door of dhyana. You can’t force your way
into a state of dhyana; you must be invited in. You could call this invitation
an act of grace.
Imagine you are sitting down to meditate and your chosen object is a candle
flame. The practice of gazing at the flame is called tradak. While gazing at
the flame, you notice your mind wandering. Like a dedicated yogi, you release
the distraction and resume concentrating on the flame. Now, you are in the
state of dharana. Then, after some time, your mind begins to settle and all of
a sudden you’ve slipped into a state in which there is no longer a separation
between you, the observer, and the flame, which is the object. You’ve become
one with the object. This is dhyana.
A good gauge for knowing whether you have accessed dhyana is if time
seems to fly by. If you are thinking, “When is this meditation going to be
done?” you are still in the limb of dharana. Conversely, if you think, “I can’t
believe how fast the time flew by!” then most likely you were in dhyana. In
a state of meditation, you transcend time, body, place, and space.