Yogi: You say that the object must be natural – but I do a type of Taoist breathing that is not natural. What should I do?
Sayadaw: When your awareness is better, it’ll be natural. For example, practicing yoga is also not natural and neither is practicing qigong. Just put your awareness there; it is not a problem.
How the mind relates to certain words is important. For some people who are involved in security, saying ‘investigate’ agitates the mind. Every time they hear the word ‘investigate’, they get really tense because they investigate with fear and anxiety at work. So, every time they hear the word ‘investigate’, defilements arise.
You need to know how the mind reacts to words that convey certain ideas.
Likewise with the word ‘meditation’ – it can make the yogi very tense. For some people, they meditate with a lot of tension. So, when they hear ‘meditation’, they already become tense.
I would advise these yogis not to meditate, but to simply go sit, and ask what they know. Just change the concept.
The mind is very strange.