
We had a brief look at Meditation ...why ?? This time a mini look at what it is. This is, of course, a vast topic and the subject of many learned volumes which stretch back over thousands of years in some cases. Probably this is what makes the whole topic a little scary, we may well perceive Meditation to be involved and difficult and we may believe that it has to be attached to certain outcomes
Neither of these fears are really true. Simply to sit quietly for a few minutes and to be aware of the sensations of breathing through the nose is a straight forward yet effective Meditation practice. This simple process is sufficient to start to release us from the tyranny of our continuous thought patterns, "the madhouse in the mind", as I have seen it described ....it is not difficult and it is not supposed to be. I have read a Zennist teaching which describes spiritual work as, "the practice of non-practice", in other words our task ( such as it is ) is one of surrender and letting go ....just as a pebble dropped into a stream gently sinks to the bed and nestles in the sand .....as the teaching quaintly describes.
Also we should not be too concerned about outcomes or results. Expert practitioners can achieve elevated levels of consciousness into realms beyond that of the material world and for some fortunate few progress can be rapid. We all have the same potential but most of us need more patience....more likely our endeavors will be evidenced, in the early stages , by moments of joyous awareness of a flower, tree or insect and by a lighter and more balanced state of mind.
To follow simple Meditation is to be kind to the self. We are spiritual beings with mystic connection way beyond bodily form . We need to give ourselves a chance by creating some space and quiet within.
Pictures; courtesy of google
by James (Guest writer)
Neither of these fears are really true. Simply to sit quietly for a few minutes and to be aware of the sensations of breathing through the nose is a straight forward yet effective Meditation practice. This simple process is sufficient to start to release us from the tyranny of our continuous thought patterns, "the madhouse in the mind", as I have seen it described ....it is not difficult and it is not supposed to be. I have read a Zennist teaching which describes spiritual work as, "the practice of non-practice", in other words our task ( such as it is ) is one of surrender and letting go ....just as a pebble dropped into a stream gently sinks to the bed and nestles in the sand .....as the teaching quaintly describes.
Also we should not be too concerned about outcomes or results. Expert practitioners can achieve elevated levels of consciousness into realms beyond that of the material world and for some fortunate few progress can be rapid. We all have the same potential but most of us need more patience....more likely our endeavors will be evidenced, in the early stages , by moments of joyous awareness of a flower, tree or insect and by a lighter and more balanced state of mind.
To follow simple Meditation is to be kind to the self. We are spiritual beings with mystic connection way beyond bodily form . We need to give ourselves a chance by creating some space and quiet within.
Pictures; courtesy of google
by James (Guest writer)