by Joelle Marlow
Nature
Many people find nature offers a rich focus for calming the mind. Watching nature is something newcomers to meditation practice can ‘do’ without feeling they are trying to achieve anything. Connecting to nature brings us in touch with our senses and ourselves. Watching the rhythm of wildlife or the stillness of trees helps to train your mind into being here and now. Lying in bed, some people can only see the sky through their window - but watching clouds as they gently change shape is a long established traditional focus for contemplation.
Those who are fortunate enough to live in the country in a moderate climate can spend much of their time close to nature. Some have written about how meditating whilst lying on the earth felt deeply healing. It’s worthwhile bringing nature right to your bedside if, like many, you can’t do this. You might have no garden or view, and physically be unable get outdoors. With the eyes open or half open you can meditate using natural objects as a focus for concentration: a potted plant, freshly picked flowers, leaves, stones, crystals or sea shells. “I have a stone I like to either use as a visual focus, or sometimes actually hold in my hand when I meditate. I find the weight of it grounding,” Jane wrote. Invite the balance and sensory stimulation pieces of the natural world offer by engaging fully with your senses. Placed by the bedside, they invite you to share the stillness inherent in the earth. “Once when I was very ill after a relapse, my ex-colleagues sent a huge bouquet of flowers,” remembers Jade. “I have loved eucalyptus leaves ever since. As I lay there day by day I entered the world of each grey green leaf, and the richness of each peach rose petal. Watching the flowers was my meditation. Since then I have kept flowers or leaves by my bedside whenever I can.”
Last but not least, our users have often talked about pets - especially cats - as a guide to, and much loved companion in their newfound contemplative life. Gillian says “I feel as if my cat has taught me how to live with my illness and the solitude that comes with it. I can watch her for hours.” Having said this, they can also prove an amusing distraction!
MantrasThe use of mantras as a focus for meditation goes back thousands of years. ‘Mantra’ is a sanskrit word that means ‘mind-sound’ or ‘mind-protector’.
As part of spiritual practice, a mantra is a way to manifest the Divine in sound. In some traditions an accumulation of blessings, or the benefits associated with a deity, are bestowed on the person who chants a particular mantra. If you prefer a pragmatic explanation, just think of mantras as tools for helping you stay with your awareness. The word, sound or phrase might be anything you choose, for instance something likely to put you in a more positive or calm mental state. We know from research that repetition of words, or words spoken in a certain tone and in certain conditions can have a marked physiological effect, and alter our beliefs and perceptions.
Rebecca, a Yoga teacher, explained, “In yoga we do a lot of humming and chanting, and particular practices have specific effects upon different parts of the body. Humming different sounds sets up vibrations in different parts of the body and has a salutary effect - the syllable 'aum' is a simple example - try humming a long 'aaaa' on an outbreath, then a long 'uuuu' sound, then 'mmmm'. You should feel the first vibrating low down in the chest/upper abdomen, the second higher in the chest, and the third at the top of the shoulders and in the head. There are various theories about how such humming works, involving chakras and nadis (energy channels) and so on, and also the idea that particular sounds (Sanskrit syllables are thought to be especially effective) vibrate at particular frequencies which resonate with particular parts of the body. Anyway - whatever the theory, it's pretty effective.”
We can see then, that the rhythm, tone and sound can soothe us and connect us to our body in very real ways. However we don’t need to make a lot of noise. When the voice is weak due to extremely low energy, whispering your mantra once softly is enough to bring it into your consciousness - or say the sounds/ words silently in your mind.
Transcendental Meditation was brought to the west in the ‘60’s and inspired Dr Herbert Benson’s groundbreaking study of the health benefits of meditation, The Relaxation Response (1975). It is a method of repeating a simple word or sound to yourself throughout your meditation to help focus your thinking and achieve a state of calm. The mantra may be a Sanskrit word chosen by the teacher or one you feel to be effective. The idea is to adopt a passive attitude and use the wound to bring you back to concentration.
Experiment with this way of talking to yourself or the universe, and experiment until you find a mantra that works for you. Some Stillpoint friends have shared words or phrases that came to them and became a vehicle to inner connection. Edwina’s mantra, ‘this very second’, was very effective for bringing her back into connection with the ‘now’ in her daily life. Stella uses words spontaneously in her meditation. “I tend to just drop in words as a way to encourage my focus and occupy the ‘wordy’ part of my mind with something helpful to the meditation. I tend to use words like - stillness or depth or space of aliveness or whatever seems helpful at the time.”
Recommended:- Stephen Austen, The Sacred Aum.
- Wholehealthmd.com meditation article
How would you like a Tibetan Buddhist lama to come and give you one to one instruction at home? Ok, it might not be the revered master himself, but all you need today is a cassette or CD player (or mini disk/MP3) and through mail order/the internet you can access life-changing spiritual guidance, along with a wide range of meditation resources, from wherever you are. It’s worth remembering that many of these are teachings that people in the West at one time rarely heard of, and if they did, they’d wait years and travel thousands to miles to hear them. We have never before had such access to teachings and meditation instruction from all traditions, and all nations. Such audio material has been a lifeline to many Stillpoint users, some of whom have never set foot in a retreat centre or meditation group.
A huge selection of tapes and CDs designed to help us with
meditation are now available. Using headphones will help to eliminate
background distractions and make the experience more immediate - as
well as making it possible to do anywhere. Attaining the Alpha state
to support your relaxation is made easier using musical sounds, created
synthetically and in some cases, even designed on neurological
research. Sounds such as flowing water and birdsong recorded from
nature can also be purchased, whilst in many New Age recordings these
are combined with soothing music to help you to drift into a calmer
state. Then we have guided meditation resources in many forms, some
with visualisations, some with instruction on techniques. Specialised
titles deal with specific emotional or health issues. Finally, lectures
by highly respected Dharma teachers can be purchased via publishers or
the parent organisation. (See the Reaching Buddhism page - top of the left hand side-bar).
If you’ve ever had the exasperating experience of trying to sustain an image in your mind with brain fog, you’ll understand why we don’t have a section on visualisation techniques here, but refer to it in relation to audio material only. Most of our feedback is that concentration is so poor where factors of poor brain circulation and chronic fatigue are present, our users don’t find this method helpful unless perhaps with a person guiding one’s visualisation, or using audio material. It’s still better to begin with an assumption that your concentration will fade in and out. Also, the imagination is sometimes easier if using ‘felt’ sensation rather than visual pictures, for instance, imagine cold or the wind or physical sensations if you can’t keep a clear image of a place; and one strongly felt aspect of a person’s qualities or appearance may be easier to ‘hold’ in the consciousness rather than a detailed picture.
If a fogged or busy head is making it impossible for you to hold your concentration, it can help to use a meditation tape or CD. This can bring the mind back in a gentle and unobtrusive way, acting as a good substitute for your own 'witness' mind. The Stillpoint audio meditation page reviews several good meditation tapes and CDs.
Support
We all need relationships and community to keep our practice alive. As Stephen Batchelor, author of ‘Buddhism without Beliefs' states, ‘Dharma practice is not just a question of cultivating resolve and integrity in the privacy of our hearts. It is embodied in friendships. Our practice is nourished, sustained, and challenged through ongoing contact with friends and mentors who seek to realise the dharma in their own lives.’
If you struggle to stay motivated, reach out to like minded people. Foster relationships that support your interest in meditation and keep you inspired. Even in socially isolated conditions, we can connect to others by a variety of means. Our members have shared experiences via self-help networks and web forums, developing friendships of mutual support over hundreds if not thousands of miles by telephone, letter, email.
What about spiritual guidance? It is recommended that anyone embarking on meditation practice develops a relationship with someone who is properly trained. Courses [reaching buddhism #] that are now available offer guidance from a trained teacher by email.
Occasionally people find that meditation and Buddhist practice doesn't so much solve problems as heighten awareness of how much they've suffered. If your practice seems emotionally draining rather than nourishing, or is bringing up painful issues from your past, then you might want to consider long-term emotional support in the form of Buddhist-influenced psychotherapy.
Staying motivated"Be disciplined about getting to the meditation cushion - but lazy once you've got there." This is a favourite quotation for those of us who have struggled to set up a regular meditation practice. In other words, it doesn’t matter what you do in the session, the starting point is just getting there. Make space for it in your day, even if its just a few minutes, and don’t have expectations. One member remarked that she had trouble setting aside a daily meditation slot, then a friend reminded her how she’d no problem remembering to watch a certain TV programme regularly, and she felt she had no excuse! Another was helped by an experienced practitioner saying that it was worth persevering at the start, as she had, and then missed it on days when she didn’t manage to sit: it had become a need, something with tangible benefits, and not an obligation.
There’s no such thing as a wasted meditation session
The effectiveness of meditation - as well as our own confidence - comes gradually. Integral to this process is our increasing willingness to look at the difficulties arising in our practice, whatever the causes, as part of the practice itself: because meditation, like life, is never perfect. As we mature, we see everything that arises into our awareness in the moment as another opportunity to look deeper into ourselves, rather than try to change or avoid them, or seek answers outside us.
If we develop our practice within a whole philosophy, rather than just as a physical exercise, the rewards are great. As anyone who wishes to pursue Dharma with qualified teachers will discover, Buddhism has thousands of years' worth of teachings on the many obstacles typically encountered on the path, and how to address them.
In conclusion, despite our particular health problems and the obstacles they create, there is much that can be done. And if you're still worried, some meditators have shared how they have successfully integrated the 'problems' into their practice. Remember, there's no such thing as a wasted meditation session, and there’s no perfect meditation; and as many of our members have reflected, ME can actually be the ideal opportunity to learn.
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