"When only thoughts pass through my mind, or the meditation sound goes on autopilot, is this what you call laxness?" asks a meditator. "Could be," answer Maria and Dag. "But it could just as well be a sign that you are meditating properly." What distinguishes a free mental attitude from being overly passive?
"Isn't it something of a paradox to 'pursue' the free mental attitude, rather than just forget the whole thing and just sit there and relax?" asks a meditator. "You are quite right in not wanting to strive for the free mental attitude," answer instructor Dag and initiator Maria. "Accept whatever is there, even if you feel that you are not making any headway."
Meditation may be technical and topical. The latter form sometimes focuses on the topic of death. As in the church of the Cappucino monks of Rome, where the basement contains 4000 skeletons taken apart and used for decoration.
After two English and one Chinese editions, the book Inner Strength - The Free Mental Attitude in Acem Meditation by Acem's founder Dr. Are Holen has now appeared in Spanish translation: Fuerza Interior - La actitud mental libre en la meditación Acem.
When Ignasi Corrella read about Acem Meditation in the big Spanish newspaper La Vanguardia, he (like several hundred others) went ahead and learnt the technique. Then he asked a local yoga teacher who writes for the paper what he thought.
What can climbing tell us about how to repeat the meditation sound with a free mental attitude?
Meditation is a means of creating an inner space, where thoughts, experiences and impressions have room to expand, and where memories, impulses and dreams can circulate. Monika Wirkkala discusses how to navigate the stream of consciousness with a free mental attitude.
The free mental attitude of Acem Meditation involves, on the one hand, a supple, effortless repetition of the meditation sound and, on the other hand, a free and accepting awareness in relation to impressions that appear during meditation. Acting to bring about this free mental attitude is a process.
Sometimes life is like a wheel: you go round and round and keep discovering that you’re back where you came from. At other times it resembles a corkscrew: each rotation takes you deeper. Halvor Eifring discusses the wheels and corkscrews of Acem Meditation.
When the longing for nirvana becomes too strong, we sometimes encounter the thought goblin, writes Dr. Øyvind Ellingsen. Recent research confirms that the natural resting state of the mind is not emptiness, but a tendency to wander.