INTRODUCTION TO MEDITATION PART XII

LET'S GET IT ON

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages. Awareness and meditation proudly present to you...MEDITATION.

As a meditation instructor people periodically ask, "Can you teach me to meditate"? Total transparency, I can show you what I have learned and experienced and meditation can be studied in books or classrooms but like anything else we learn, the concept and process is explained then away you go. I may be the bow but you are the arrow. Once I provide you with all that is needed and release the bow string you, the arrow, must then hit the target. In all reality every letter, word, sentence and paragraph presented in these posts are simply that, words, letters, sentences and paragraphs. Meditation must be experienced. Meditation must be practiced. Daily and diligently. Half measures will avail you nothing. I can't get into your head and act as concentration or awareness. You teach yourself how to meditate.

If you read and understand all the posts, you have enough information to begin meditating. Will you become distracted? Yes. Will you experience periods where you just don't want to do it? Yes. When I was a child my father suggested I open a bank account and put money in every week. The amount didn't matter as much as the discipline to just do it. Some weeks it was loose change others dollar bills. In the beginning I thought "What's to gain by putting $ .25 in the bank"? But I continued to do it. Then one day I received my bank statement and was shocked as to how much I had actually accumulated. That moment was the tipping point to make me want to save more. Meditation is something like that. A moment will arrive, through daily practice, that you will have a breakthrough. That breakthrough will allow you to seek another and another. As the saying goes, "Don't leave before the miracle happens".

Meditation is a lifelong journey. Even if we are fortunate enough to achieve NIRVANA (total enlightenment) we continue to meditate, study and learn. I am currently reading 4 books that pertain to meditation and I've got a pretty certificate on the wall that labels me as a "CERTIFIED MEDITATION INSTRUCTOR". Granted much time and effort went into achieving this honor but we are never done learning.

The beauty of meditation is that however many times we do it we have never done it before. HUH?Remember meditation is about living in the/this exact moment. If we truly apply the principle of everything has a beginning, middle and end then we must acknowledge that moments do too. So this moment right now is gone, as is this one and this one. With each end a new beginning comes, even with moments. So whatever you are doing right now, although you may have experienced it before, in this exact moment it is new.

Each meditation session will be different and new. While the premise of time, place, relax, breathe and focus will never change our style or form or posture or place may.  I move from spot to spot daily when I go to meditate. Sometimes it is in the back yard, others on the deck, or the bedroom or the basement. Sometimes I sit, kneel, stand or walk. Sometimes Metta others Zen Buddhist. But I never stop concentrating on my breathe and moving distractions along. That is why I meditate, to experience the exact moment where there is no love or hate or pain or pleasure, just the middle path...THE MOMENT.

Next post - FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS

INTRODUCTION TO MEDITATION - PART XI

BUT I CAN'T BLOCK THE DISTRACTIONS

So we have spent the last few posts talking about concentration and awareness and the roles they play in meditation. We showed how to use each to play off of the other to get our mind's where they need to be. But what if, no matter how hard we try, we cannot stop the thought distraction. No problemo.

Periodically I allow thoughts into my session. Sort of a self-help meditation. I look at them to see if there is a life lesson in there somewhere. Maybe I'm getting a message that I need to be more loving or compassionate. That I need to let go of something. Sometimes I get the message fast, other times it comes to me long after the session. While meditation is about staying in the here and now, the moment, using the conscious mind, we can periodically get insight from the subconscious. After all, that's where all our memories are stored and every now and then those memories trigger a thought that can lead to positive change. I know, I know, make up your mind. Don't allow distractions in, allow them in. Don't run off of the subconscious, look at the subconscious. All I'm saying is that once in a little while we can use meditation to look at ourselves in real time while we meditate. I would much rather use this technique then to get up from a session because I'm struggling to calm the mind.

Remember there are many different styles and forms of meditation and just as Metta is used to force good thoughts and vibes into and out of our mind you can use this "self-exploration" periodically without negative effects. Keep in mind that this is not a suggested everyday practice but a fail safe if we struggle. As time goes by we become better at meditation, it becomes easier to calm and discipline the mind and thoughts seem less and less. Meditation is about seeing what we see and experiencing what we experience without judgement so don't be afraid to take a peek every now and then.

Next post - LET'S GET IT ON

INTRODUCTION TO MEDITATION PART X

A DISTRACTION CALLED FEELING

So we've covered sound and thought but what about a feeling? An itch, a fly landing on us or some sort of uncomfortability or outright pain. Let's work backwards on this one.

If you are experiencing pain, real pain, STOP MEDITATION. Awareness and concentration are good but not that good. You will not overcome extreme pain. Having a tightness in your chest and tingling down your left arm will not go away through meditation. You may be experiencing a heart attack and you must stop and possibly seek medical attention.

Next up, uncomfortability. Let's say that the position you choose is not comfortable. Two choices. Change position or meditate through the feeling. Sometimes we can simply get through the feeling the same way we get through sound and thought, identify it as a feeling and move it along. But let's say it is a cramp or something that is not just going to move along fast. Concentrate on the pain. Redirect your concentration from your breathe onto the pain and use it as your focal point, Continue to breathe but lock onto the pain. Remember we said that a focal point can be your breath, a candle, a spot on the wall, so why not a tight muscle. Relax, breathe and focus on the pain. Again, if it is extreme pain that overwhelms you, stop. But before you do that, try concentrating on it. Try to meditate through it. If you are successful, which I believe you will be, the pain will move on and you can shift the concentration back to the breath. Plus you've learned a valuable meditation lesson, dealing with the distraction feeling associated with pain. To a lesser degree we can use the same technique for a fly or an itch. If simply identifying it as a feeling and moving along doesn't work go to the distraction and focus.

A quick story. Some years ago I underwent a routine dental procedure, the placement of a new crown. In and out, no biggie. I then proceeded to travel to Erie. By the time I got there, there was a tennis ball size lump on my face and I was hurting. Unfortunately I had no pain medication sufficient to relieve the pain I was experiencing and had no way to secure any. I put ice on it but not sufficient relief. So I tried meditation. I concentrated on the throbbing in my jaw and locked on. Even a throb has a beginning a middle and an end. Much to my surprise, I was able to focus on it, stay with it and the pain got less and less. It was still pain but during my meditation is was manageable pain.

You will be amazed as to how fast we can move these things along WITH PRACTICE. As we continue to apply what we learn and experience we become better at what we do. Meditation is no different than learning the piano or cooking. In the beginning we will probably burn more meals than are edible but over time the finished product will become delicious.

Awareness and concentration,ah, what a beautiful thing.

Next post - BUT I CAN'T BLOCK THE DISTRACTIONS