Sat discusses different methods for practicing Stop Meditation.
Sat: Remember that every thought is painful, and you will only experience life’s ups and downs when your attention is immersed in your thoughts; this is a very important truth! Pay attention, as there are two ways to quiet the mind. Either turn your attention from the mind back to the silence in the region of the heart, which causes the energy of the thoughts to pour into the region of the heart, thus emptying your mind; or you can watch the thoughts with a passive gaze, which is empty and indifferent. This causes the thoughts to quiet down and you will automatically find yourself in the region of the heart.
You can choose the method that is easiest for you in any given situation. If watching the thoughts is accompanied by entanglement with them, it gives the thoughts more power. But watching the thoughts without becoming immersed in them takes you to silence. Through this practice, you allow the energy to go towards the center of your being and existence.
So if the thoughts come more often during meditation, it is because you still aren’t meditating correctly. You are still imagining that your thoughts have power. You still haven’t been silent with respect to them; you are still fighting with the thoughts to some extent and saying, “Oh God, what are you still doing here?” Asking this question brings the thoughts back. Just stay and bring the attention down. Again stay and bring the attention down.
For the practice of Stop Meditation, sit comfortably. Feel yourself sitting down; bring your attention down to the right side of the heart, to a place that is not a physical spot. The silence is here; allow your attention to cling here, like a child who is clinging to his mother. Allow the thoughts to come and go; just concentrate on the silence. Whether the thoughts are there or not, whether they are many or few, you just be. Just be with respect to every sound. Allow the thoughts to come and go. Don’t lose your ground under any circumstance. If you feel like your attention has wandered up towards the thoughts, immediately bring it back down (to the region of the heart) and again, be. Just be and stick to the silence, a place where you don’t interfere with the thoughts at all, nor is there any interest when it comes to the thoughts. Just be, in the region of the heart. Just be; remind yourself that, “I must stay in this silence, and cling to this silence.” Just be, in this freedom, in this silence…free…in the region of the heart, where the presence is…just be!
Now, I want to walk you through “Just be.” With your eyes half open and barely seeing, focus on one spot and just be. Just be…just be. Don’t be this or that. Don’t be the witness or the object that is being seen. Every now and then, be aware of your silence. Bring your awareness there and just be. Just be, very calmly and simply. Just be, without questioning it or for any particular reason at all. Just be, without any delay; be here now, release yourself and just be. As you are walking, just be. As you are sitting in the taxi, just be. When you are at work, just be. Feel your being. This is the secret to life. Just be. No need to do anything, just be. Just be, very simply.
Once you are ready, I would prefer for you to practice Stop Meditation with the eyes open, because this is the Art of Living. Finding the region of the heart with the eyes closed is easier, but once you gain mastery with the eyes open, you can feel your being while at work or throughout your daily life. Stop Meditation with the eyes open means the Art of Living. For example, when you are at work, sitting behind your desk surrounded by people, you can still touch your being at that very moment. First, master the art of simply being, then play your role as a woman, a man, a teacher, a student, etc.
From Sat’s book, "Silence of the Mind” (currently being translated from Farsi to English)