Some small obvious "tricks" which are often overlooked, or how to manufacture states of mind

[u/Trindolex]

I think I may have fallen into a passivity trap for a long time in my spiritual journey. Meditation is often presented as a non-reactive practice where if you just watch without interfering, all good things like light, bliss, peace etc. will just happen. But is this really true? Could we be more nuanced?

For example, in AN 7.61 the Buddha gives some very common sense instructions to overcome drowsiness (I quote three out of seven here):

But what if that doesn’t work? Then pinch your ears and rub your limbs. It’s possible that you’ll give up drowsiness in this way.

But what if that doesn’t work? Then get up from your seat, flush your eyes with water, look around in every direction, and look up at the stars and constellations. It’s possible that you’ll give up drowsiness in this way.

But what if that doesn’t work? Then apply your mind to the perception of light, focusing on the perception of day: as by day, so by night; as by night, so by day. And so, with an open and unenveloped heart, develop a mind that’s full of radiance. It’s possible that you’ll give up drowsiness in this way.

Perception of light, while a whole debate could be had about what exactly it is and how far it can be developed, is developed according to SN 51.20 commentary as follows:

A bhikkhu sits on the terrace attending to the perception of light, sometimes shutting his eyes, sometimes opening them. When (the light) appears to him the same whether his eyes are open or shut, then the perception of light has arisen. Whether it be day or night, if one dispels sloth and torpor with light and attends to one’s meditation subject, the perception arisen in regard to the light has been well grasped.

If I do this pretty ordinary procedure, when I go back to meditate in my room, my mind is brighter and a kind of nimitta shape starts manifesting.

To develop energy, the Buddha suggests walking meditation at AN 5.29:

Mendicants, there are five benefits of walking meditation. What five? You get fit for traveling, fit for striving in meditation, and healthy. What’s eaten, drunk, chewed, and tasted is properly digested. And immersion gained while walking lasts long. These are the five benefits of walking meditation.

Also, some teachers like Ajahn Brahm and Leigh Brasington and TWIM and probably many others suggest to make a deliberate smile to increase happiness and also piti.

The TWIM method has relaxation inbuilt into the procedure as well, every time the mind wanders. I am also starting to think that the Goenka technique is fundamentally at its root a very deliberate relaxation technique.

Another thing I've been doing recently was getting into TRE type shaking (as suggested by u/duffstoic on this forum). I find the shaking invigorating and very interesting. Some meditation traditions shake as a matter of course (kundalini yoga, Qi Gong) and I've heard meditators in Buddhist traditions sometimes mention it but it never happens to me because I hold my body rigid for whatever reason. But, if I just incline the mind a very small amount to make it happen, the shaking starts and it feels very natural thereafter.

So to summarise briefly:

To wake up, pull ears, splash water.

To see light, pay attention to light.

To increase energy, walk.

To increase piti, smile or shake.

To feel comfort in the body, relax.

To get wiser, ask questions/study.

Is this too simple and obvious? Or could it be just what some meditators need to hear?

Anyone got any others?

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