WHAT IS MEDITATION?
There are many definitions regarding meditation. Meditation cannot really be explained. It is truly something to be experienced. One of the things that made sense to me when I was investigating meditation and the mind, is that the mind needs a rest. The mind is a tool, just like any other machinery. We don't expect machines to run without ever turning them off. According to scientist, even metal gets tired and needs a rest. A beautiful way to view meditation is taking a mental rest. Most believe that when we sleep, we rest the mind. The psychologist Dr. Carl Jung showed us that, the mind goes into dream mode when we sleep. Therefore, the mind is not resting even then. To truly rest the mind, we have to take conscious action to shutting it down and not thinking or moving away from the thinking. Why meditate? If the largest drain in our lives and body stems from thinking, doesn't it make sense to stop the leakage? Otherwise we will empty the reservoir. Each month, I will give you different thoughts about meditation from different sources. May you create the time to expand your mind!
Excerpt from the book: Practices for Liberating Body and Soul, JIVAMUKTI YOGA
Having taken the time to place your body in the most comfortable seated position, the next step is to be still. Do not doubt the position that you have chosen. Do not allow a change of position to be an option. Sit it out. The next time you sit, you may want to try something different, if your last choice proved very uncomfortable after a few minutes. If you have tried nearly every option and they are all equally uncomfortable, give up! By surrendering your struggle to find the right position, it may reveal itself to you.
Most of us never stop moving, day and night. To place the body in one position and hold it in a state for repose, to watch the breath move through the body and watch the thoughts move through the mind is a very precious and rare opportunity. It is an experience beyond what is thought of as "normal". This is an opportunity to transcend the mundane.
Do not allow any moving of the outer form. Let the breath move in and move out. Let the thoughts move in and move out. Until you can sit still and let the mind think without becoming involved with the thoughts, you will never be able to control your mind. Be free of thoughts by watching the thoughts pass through the mind.
Most of us are so uncomfortable with ourselves that it is difficult for us to simply be still.
True self confidence comes from a connection to the Source, to the self, to that which is at peace. Attaching to the movements of the mind results in lack of Self-confidence. False confidence is based in pride and arrogance, which are rooted in fear, not in the happiness of the soul. A changeable mind can never bring calmness and stability.
What happens if, while you are trying to meditate, the urge to scratch or move a certain body part becomes so overwhelming that you give in and scratch or move? What usually happens is that you will have relieved that particular annoyance, but pretty soon another area of your body will begin to bother you, and the whole scenario will repeat itself. The result? You spend your meditation time running away from annoying sensations.
Seeking pleasure and avoiding pain is what most of us normally do in life. This strategy may occasionally result in happiness, but this happiness is short-lived because it is dependent on people and situations and those are all likely to change, diminishing your happiness. This strategy rarely leads to lasting happiness. Sitting still is an opportunity to break the habitual cycle that has us continually running away from the slightest discomfort and seeking pleasure outside of ourselves. To sit still, no matter what, is not how we usually react to an uncomfortable situation. Yet if we try, we venture deeper into ourselves, exploring our potential. We will come closer to the source of happiness.
WITHOUT LIMITS
When we begin to practice meditation, we come to recognize the sense of limitation that has been imposed upon our lives. by Sharon Salzberg
When we practice meditation, we often come to recognize the sense of limitation that has been imposed upon our lives. We haven't allowed for the possibility of huge achievement because we've been conditioned to be content with meager results. The beauty of meditation practice is that we finally take notice or our conditioning, including the tacked-on contraints. We see these restrictions are not inherent to our being, nor are they expressions or our true nature; just as they are conditioned, so too can they be reconditioned.
One of my greatest teachers, Nyoshul Khen Rinpoche, asked something like this: "Why is it that your apiration is so puny? Why not aspire to be liberated for the sake of all beings? Why not aspire to be a really free being? Why not see your life in a much bigger context? What's holding you back?"
These are questions to contemplate. What does hold us back? Mainly we are hindered by routine and conditioning, not "reality." Often our sense of limitation is a habituated response to day-to-day events of our lives, created by our own minds. Our idea of who we are and what we're capable of is something that can change: We can continue to live within the bounds of our conditioning, or we can change and begin to live in a new way. The act of meditating is a challenge to that habituated construct of limitation.
Just the simple fact of our intention and motivation to practice brings us head-to-head with our tightly held assumptions about who we are. As one of my teachers said, "The most important part of the sitting practice is the moment you sit down." That's when we affirm that we care about ourselves in a deeper way, expand our sense of possibility, and widen the image of our potential.
you can focus on your body and your breath. Sit with your feet on the ground, your back reasonably straight, make sure you are completely relaxed and comfortable and that you are not going to be disturbed for ten minutes.
Become aware of any person whom you feel has caused you pain or suffering, any person who you still find difficult be with, or to communicate with. Imagine this person standing sitting in front of you. Imagine all the negative feelings and thoughts that you have towards this person, or that this person has towards you.
Imagine all these negative thoughts as a dark cloud and for you to breathe this dark cloud into your heart. Imagine as you breathe it into your heart that it begins to clear and change into pure white light that you then breathe out of your heart back towards this person.
Breathe in all the old feelings of hurt, resentment- accepting them all, all those feelings, just breathing them in and them breathing out pure white light, flooding this person with white light so that you transform the negative feelings into positive ones.
As you continue to breathe out the white light, begin to breathe in forgiveness for yourself-
" I forgive myself for allowing this person to hurt me." "I let go of the Pain" Breathe it out
"I forgive myself and release the pain of the past." "I am willing to forgive you and let go."
As you feel this willingness to forgive the person who you felt hurt you, see this energy once again flowing out of your body- this time it might be a different colour- just spend a few moments sending this colour to this person.
"It is time to let go" See them moving away from now.
And as they move away, as they fade away, feel your own loving higher self connecting with you into your body, feel this sensation in your body and know that you can heal and release the past.
Connect with a memory when truly felt loved. Fee this in your body.
Say: " I truly love myself and I and I am open to receive love"
(You may need to repeat this mediation many times for long-standing issues)
BREATHING MEDITATION Resource: The Well-Being Journal, Drawing Your Inner Power To Heal Yourself, by Lucia Capacchione, M.A
This is an exercise in breathing to be done in a quiet, private place. No distractions, no interruptions. Allow this very special time just for yourself.
In order to relax and breathe fully, it is important that your spine be straight. So, I’m going to give you some simple directions for reclining posture that will help you relax.
Lie on your back on a carpeted floor or firm bed. Your legs are straight and slightly separated. Feet are twelve to eighteen inches apart. Your arms are at your sides about a foot from your body. The palms of your hands are facing upward. Your chin is tipped slightly down toward the chest to elongate the neck. The back of your head is resting comfortably on the floor or bed.
Close your eyes and relax your body and mind. Focus your attention on your breathing. As you inhale and exhale, listen to the sound of your breath.
Notice how you are breathing. Are you breathing through your nose or your mouth? Be aware of the rhythm of your breathing. Is it fast or slow?
Observer where you take the breath into your body. Do you breathe sigh into your upper chest or lower down into your abdomen? How much air do you take in? Is your breathing shallow or deep?
Now relax and breathe through your nose. Inhale and exhale in a smooth and effortless rhythm. As you inhale, feel the air nourish and refresh your entire body. As you exhale, let the breath carry away tension and worry.
Gradually allow your breathing to become deeper and slower. Don’t force the breathing. Just allow the aor to come in and go out in a steady flow. Slowly let your chest and abdomen expand, as you fill up with air. Then release the breath naturally, letting go more and more. Relax your body and the natural rhythm of your breathing. Feel houw relaxed you are.
Benefits: this exercise will help you slow down and become more aware of one of your major life supports---breathing. It will also help you learn to relax and tune in to your body sensations.
A Simple Meditation Practice- by Rolf Sovik
Nurture deep feelings of self-acceptance, trust, and devotion by starting simply. Sit in your meditation posture or in a comfortable chair with your eyes closed.
Let your body become still. Feel the flow of your breathing, sensing each breath as it cleanses and then nourishes you. Allow any preoccupying thoughts and feelings to become less forceful, and develop an attitude of contentment, resting in the present.
As you continue, let your attention remain on the flow of the breath, permitting distracting thoughts to come and go without giving them further energy.
Rest and recognize the changing flow of emotion in you-but don’t artificially modify your feelings. Trust that whatever you may feel is part of a flow of experience, and not a permanent state of your personality. Simply continue to follow the movement of the breath.
Now from time to time bring this thought to mind:
God is present,
Loving me as I am,
And guiding me.
Other than this, simply continue to watch the breath. Make your brief contemplation of this truth something personal. Be open to it. But do not imagine that by thinking it you are accomplishing anything. Simply quiet your heart in the reality of this thought.
Then follow the breath. After a time, let the thought be in the background of your experience without articulating it very often. Watch the breath, and rest in the quietness of your focus- your primary effort in meditation. After about ten minutes you can slowly open your eyes to the palms of your hands and bring your awareness outward again.
Silence as a vehicle to strengthen your Meditation Practice! SILENCE IS GOLDEN (excerpt from Christina Feldman, Yoga Journal Jan/Feb. 2002
Throughout years of teaching silent meditation retreats, I have come to understand that the initial discomfort I experienced with silence was not an experience unique to me. In the moments when we feel most overwhelmed by the volume of sound in our lives, we long for silence. We put in our earplugs, turn off our telephones, or seek out the nearest monastery. The sigh of relief with which we first greet the quiet is frequently followed by an awareness of how much activity and busyness we carry within ourselves. Yet, as I undertook longer periods of silence, both alone and with others, it became a powerful gateway to awareness and self understanding. Consciously spending time alone in silence became a vehicle for learning to listen to the subtle rhythms of my body, heart and mind- and for learning to dive beneath the endless chatter of the inner voices that camouflaged inner stillness.
But perhaps best of all, periods of silence helped to strengthen my meditation practice. I once came across a piece of writing that suggested much of our unhappiness stems from not being able to sit quietly in a room by ourselves for even 10 minutes. Many meditators, especially beginners, face the same problem. In a world of chatter and noise, often the most difficult part of sitting is being able to tolerate the silence that comes with it. By embracing periods of silence in our everyday lives, we can learn, as meditators not only to listen to ourselves but also uncover the way to bring a deeper and more compassionate listening to our lives.
EVERYDAY OSHO
365 Daily meditations for the here and now by Osho
"The moment you are illuminated, the whole of existence is illuminated. If you are dark, then the whole of existence is dark. It all depends on you."
There are a thousand and on fallacies about meditation prevalent all around the world. Meditation is very simple: It is nothing but consciousness. It is not chanting , it is not using mantra or a rosary. These are hypnotic methods. They can give you a certain kind of rest-nothing is wrong with that rest; if one is just trying to relax, it is perfectly good. Any hypnotic method can be helpful, but if one wants to know the truth, then it is not enough
Meditation simply means transforming your unconsciousness into consciousness. Normally only one-tenth of our mind is conscious, and nine-tenths is unconscious. Jus a small part of our mind, a thin layer, has light; otherwise the whole house is in darkness. And the challenge is to grow that small light so much that the whole house is flooded with light, that not even a nook or corner is left in the darkness.
When the whole house is full of light, then life is a miracle; it has the quality of magic. Then it is no longer ordinary- everything becomes extraordinary. The mundane is transformed into the sacred, and the small things of life start having such tremendous significance that one could not have ever imagined it. Ordinary stones look as beautiful as diamonds; the whole of existence becomes illuminated. The moment you are illuminated, the whole of existence is illuminated. If you are dark, then the whole of existence is dark. It all depends on you.
THREE MEANS TO PEACE by Josephine Goldstein (excerpt from Shambala Sun)
The forces at play in the world, both positive and negative, are exactly the forces at work in our own minds.
A central question confronting sprititual life today is how we can best respond to the tremendous conflicts and uncertainties of our times. The war on terror, the seemingly intractable violence of the Middle East, poverty and disease, racism, the degradation of the environment and the problems in our own personal lives, all call us to ask: What is the source of this great mass of suffering. What are the forces that hold the promise of peace? Do we really understand the nature of fear and hatred, envy and greed? Do we know how to cultivate love and kindness, energy and wisdom?
The great discovery of the meditative journey is that all the forces for good and for harm playing out in the world are also right here in our own minds. If we want to understand the world, we need to understand ourselves. Can we do this?
Mindfulness is the key to the present moment. Without it we simply stay lost in the wanderings of our minds. Tulku Urgyen, the great Dzogchen master of the last century, said, "There is one thing we always need and that is the watchman named mindfulness- the guard who is always on the lookout for when we get carried away by mindlessness.
Mindfulness it the quality and power of mind that is aware of what’s happening- without judgement and without interference. It is like a mirror that simply reflects whatever comes before it. It serves us in the humblest ways, keeping us connected to brushing our teeth or having a cup of tea. It keeps us connected to people around us, so that we’re not simply rushing by them in the busyness of our lives.
We can start the practice of mindfulness meditation with the simple observation and feeling of each breath. Breathing in, we know we’re breathing in; breathing out, we know we’re breathing out. It’s very simple, although not easy. Slowly, though our minds steady and we begin to experience some space of inner calm and peace.
