Body and Mind are One - Meditation Day 23

Let us get back to discussing the synchronization of our bodies with our minds. We're not looking to develop some ascetic form of being. We have all heard the stories of the ascetic that risked the elements in the most harsh of ways and later come away unscathed. That is not where we are going. But I do want you to notice: note, subtle changes in what you would describe as your "normal behavior" or responses as we progress in our practice. Label nothing as good or bad: just note the experience.
When we approach each day in our usual unconscious fashion as if asleep, we follow after thoughts and whatever our bodies would suggest to us. After spending some time in meditation we begin slowly to awake. Our growing awareness is the antithesis of our moments of being in unconscious sleep. It is a re-wiring of sorts. But it is a sort of rewiring that allows us to see that the mind and the body are not two separate entities; They are but one. We are not our minds driving about in the vehicle of "the body".

In the science of Embodied Cognition we can see just how deep and unconscious our wiring is

Try this

In ATM, Feldenkrais therapy we learned this little trick: Stand with your feet shoulder width apart, arms at your sides. Now raise your right hand with the arm straight out ahead of you and give the thumbs up sign. Now slowly twist as far to your right as you comfortably can - allowing your thumbs up to align with some focal point. A point on the wall behind you, the corner of your bed post, your significant others derriere: to indicate where your ending point is. See where your thumbs up lines up with whatever object helps you in establishing a point of reference. Hold that pose.

Focus your eyes on your thumb and then look further to your right, beyond your range of motion to a point further to the right. Focus back on the thumb: then back to the further point. Back to the thumb and back to the further point.

Return to your starting position with your thumbs up still facing forward. Then twist back to the right while watching your thumb line up with a focal point..

Did you find a greater range of motion - were you able to easily expand your range beyond the first focal point and arriving at the second point?

This also works when watching the tip of your toes. Sit and raise your foot outstretched before you as high as you are comfortably able.. Align the tips of your toes with something on the horizon. Focus on the toes and then to a point several inches higher....and back to your toes...back to the higher point...back to your toes again.

When you bring your foot back down into a resting position. Slowly raise it up to as far as it will comfortably raise. Are you able to easily see that your range of motion has expanded beyond the original starting point ending at the higher second point?

I want us to focus on finding our center-point when we settle down to practice our meditation. I want that we should remind ourselves often to correct our posture when sitting in practice and throughout the day. We should body scan ourselves for hidden tightness. We should pause and watch our breath (not control it) several times a day.

We are orienting ourselves towards being beacons of steadfast calm, humor and kindness. Not creating a race of non-feeling ascetics. We will soon begin to realize that body and mind are one. That the universe and all that it contains is one.

Cool, eh?

Building a Firm Foundation - Meditation Day Twelve

It is imperative that we review the "why" behind our practice at this time. I know that it is still very early in our run at establishing our daily meditation practice but if you have learned anything at all thus far, it is that the mind is seldom very focused. We are like cats focused on the laser beam of our thoughts; running up walls and scurrying back and forth across the floor. Our backs are arched and we are poised to see where our mind will take us next.

In this very early stage of meditation, often called mindfulness meditation, we are learning to develop concentration. The development of concentration will create a measure of tranquility: it is at this stage that we will begin to move our concentration away from the breath and onto our other two forms of meditation.

Focus on the picture above
and imagine
that we can express ourselves
as both the holder
and the one being held......

This is the mountain,
the oasis,
to which we now
journey

What do you feel?

Where do you feel it?

Think on these things......

A New Moon, a Solar Eclipse, signals our beginning...Meditation Day One

A New Moon Solar Eclipse will take place at 2:11 AM EST at25°01′ of Capricorn.

This total solar eclipse (like all solar eclipses) is a New Moon eclipse, which means that like all new moons, it represents a time of initiation and new beginnings. However, the difference lies in the duration of its energy, because events triggered by a solar eclipse can take up to an entire year to unfold.

AND it seems a good time to speak about hand positioning also known as mudras.

The Instruction of "No Instruction"

Meditation could be regarded as being very similar to the automobile. There are many types of automobiles. Some are fast, sleek and sexy. Some are very comfortable and fun to drive. Some are real clunkers and are major gas hogs. You have compacts and sub-compacts. SUVs and Trucks: on road and off road.

The goal here, if it could be said that there is a goal, is transportation.

Everybody and their brother is looking to sell you a car. And you may be suited to one mode of transportation and I, another.

But we must agree that it is imperative that you first learn to drive, and drive safely. Eyes on the road. That is what Loving Kindness - Inner Smile meditation is all about.

I recently warned about one digging too many wells: You end up with many holes and you find that you have no water. These ancient meditation techniques are a firm foundation from which to later broaden out your meditation studies if you so choose to do so.

And I encourage you to do so.

But don't be so quick to get caught up with Lamborghini, Mercedes or Monster Trucks. Let us begin by learning to drive. Feeling the wind in our hair.

Instruction?

My problem with detailed meditation instructions is that by their very nature, instructions imply there are good ways and bad ways to do something. They say, this is what you should be doing, this is right, this is wrong. Instructions set up goals, just like in “real” life.I wonder if this is why so many people try meditation once and quit, feeling they’ve somehow failed?

At my old sangha, we estimated that out of five or six first-timers who came to the instruction session (followed by a sit), we saw just one of them again. For the vast majority, that one time was enough. How many times have I heard something like “Yeah, I tried meditation once, but it didn’t work for me. . . . I just couldn’t do it right. . . . My mind wouldn’t calm down”?

If a newcomer does have questions or concerns, I encourage them to try it first and ask questions after. Someone sitting for the first time can learn more about meditation in thirty real-time minutes than any experienced meditator can explain to them in that same amount of time. Because meditation isn’t about following directions down a mental highway: it’s an off-road adventure.- Barry Evans, "Less is More," Tricycle Winter 2007

Fairies, Trolls and Hobgoblins

World peace must develop from inner peace.

Peace is not just the absence violence.

Peace is the manifestation of human compassion. - HH Dalai Lama

The war on drugs.

The war on poverty.

The war on terrorism.

The war against obesity.

The war to end all wars.

The war against ...............................

Our proposed wars are nothing more than hopeful myths and fairy tales that accomplish very little of what they have set out to do.

War is hell.

And I am not proposing any concrete answer to war. Too often we seek to attach ourselves to a war, or a creed, or a doctrine or religion that neatly defines for us what we believe we must do. Many a wise man has declared that the more they learn, the more it is that they realize how little it is that they do know. And this is the point: I do not propose to you some neatly wrapped package. In point of fact, many of you will simply dismiss the idea of dedicating a piece of your day to too simple a meditation. Its too easy. Not mystical enough. Its not in the Bible. What a waste of time.

But I challenge you.

The answer to conflict lies in flowing through your battles like water.

Huh?

The highest good is like water.

Water gives life to the ten thousand things and does not strive.

It flows in places men reject and so is like the Tao.

In dwelling, be close to the land.

In meditation, go deep in the heart.

In dealing with others, be gentle and kind.

In speech, be true.

In ruling, be just.

In business, be competent.

In action, watch the timing.

No fight: No blame.

Do you do this through adherence to a belief or creed, or through a transformation from within?

Charity begins at Home...

You can shine your shoes and wear a suit

You can comb your hair and look quite cute

You can hide your face behind a smile

One thing you can’t hide

Is when you’re crippled inside

John Lennon

I think that all of us to some degree want to be "good." We want to do good things. We try to be

helpful and altruistic towards others. We suppress our anger when we would rather tell someone, "like it is." So we try to make ourselves better through resolutions, goals, or perhaps by going to church. And none of these are, in essence, a "bad" thing.

That is one of the most notable characteristics of the Loving - Kindness meditation. Like a nuclear chain reaction you begin with yourself (the neutrons) and add thoughts of love and wellness until you achieve fission. There is no "trying" to do anything. No trying to do good; no resolutions; perhaps only your dedication to "just sit."

Sitting quietly, spine erect, feet planted firmly on the floor,

my tongue lightly touching the back of my top teeth,

my mouth slightly open, rested

I breathe in through my nose and out through my mouth.

calmly noticing my in breath, my out breath.

When I feel ready, I begin: silently to yourself

May I be well,

May I be happy,

May my mind be at peace

*This is only the beginning*

A Taoist friend asked me about the start date of 01/15/10 for The Compassion Project. She noted that although January 15Th is the date of a new moon it is not the lunar New Year which begins with the second new moon after the winter solstice.

My reasoning has much to do with my profile description of myself;

I've known monks and musicians,

preachers and physicians,

the religious, agnostic

and atheist.

Not everyone who may participate will come from a background of meditation. It may all be quite new to them. I do feel that a new moon signifies a jumping off point and I didn't want any cultural or religious ties to either the meditation itself or the significance of the start date. Although both of the meditations being introduced here have deep roots within Taoism and Buddhism they are free from dogma; they are to be experienced and watched. Without judgement, Gently observed with acceptance.

See what happens!

Meditation intro - The Compassion Project - Lesson One

Read in chronological order............(in other words...begin at the beginning)


Not everyone who chooses to participate in The Compassion Project may be new to the practice of meditation. We are going to be working with two types of meditation which are traditionally known as coming from the Taoist Internal Alchemy tradition (Inner Smile Meditation) and the Buddhist Theravada tradition. (Metta Bhavana or Loving-Kindness Meditation)
For those to whom meditation is not new, I would ask that you continue with those postures that are applicable to your current practice or tradition. For those that are coming into this new, I would suggest that you sit comfortably on the edge of a chair or stool, spine erect, with both feet flat on the floor. Position your hands, palms up, upon your knees. (We will talk about mudras (hand position) later.

Please read the links (above) and here....and here

Read, listen (several times) and decide which meditation you plan to choose to follow.

Please feel free to ask questions.

Relax.....you have plenty of time to decide.

We begin 01/15/2010

Prologue: The Compassion Project - Beginning 01/15/2001

We cannot deny that we often live our lives as some very complicated series of moments strung together by memories, used to define where we were and where we came from, balanced by hopes and fantasy for having a better future. Families struggle with job loss and health concerns, bills accumulate; the holiday season manufactures increased weight upon our already burdened shoulders.

Man, it can get you down!
Perhaps you are unaffected by the economic downturn and give little concern to paying your mortgage or making your car payment. Your health is good and the political push for a new healthcare system or the "War on Terrorism" concerns you about as much as the weather in Bangladesh.

I think that we can agree that we are seldom the proverbial "hot knifes through butter" when it comes to sliding smoothly through the everyday issues that confront us.

Our problems vary as much as our political opinions. But the way in which we most often choose to respond to life's difficulties inevitably places an emphasis on enjoyable memories balanced with future hope and expectations. To quote Watts, "With these assured, (memories and expectations) he can put up with an extremely miserable present. Without this assurance, he can be extremely miserable in the midst of immediate physical pleasure."

We focus on the Machiavellian affairs back at the office while we are at home on holiday. We worry and concern ourselves with that which has not yet happened, or may not happen, ever! How often do we keep company with a pleasant memory because our troubling present appears to harsh to face? Perhaps our present is filled with regret over what once was; robbing us of any ability to enjoy what is; right now.

Anyone that has read my posts from the past five years knows that I have tried to cope with loss - and anger. Lots of anger. (cleverly hidden?:>) And disappointment; Disappointment that runs deep.

Attempting to grasp the brass ring of varying levels of coping and adjustment is like trying to catch a blowing wind in a bottle; or like trying to wrap eight pounds of water in gift paper. You are left increasingly frustrated, if not all wet in the process.

I'm reminded of someone that I once hired to work in Quality Control, performing tests and adjustments to materials before shipment to our customers. The simple mathematical equations and formulations were deemed too difficult a task for him. We really liked him and wanted him to succeed so we tutored him endlessly.

One day we asked him rather hopefully, "Dave. What's 10% of 100?" With a scrunched up face he labored intensely trying to give us the correct answer."One hundred and one?" he replied.

Sometimes all the thinking in the world will not liberate from our ignorance!

And this is what I have been leading up to..............

In my twenty plus years of practice, perhaps labeled, (if I must) has been a blend of Taoism and Zen. I can attest that the effortless way that proved to be the most beneficial followed the simple practice of two types of meditation. One taken from the Taoist tradition and one from the Buddhist tradition.

Meditation at its best should be free from expectation. It should not be result oriented. But that is not to say that there are no rewards for those that "just do it." Upon reflection I have come to realize that it was when I was committed to either one form of these meditations or upon both, something mystical happened.

And this is my jumping off point. I hoping that you will join me in beginning a meditation practice utilizing either one or both of these forms of meditation. I am hoping that you will chronicle and share with me your experience.

Its just that simple.

In the next few weeks I will be publishing several links to aid you in beginning one or both of these forms of meditation. The energy that results from this type of meditation practice radiates from you outward.

"The place to improve the world is first in one's own heart and head and hands,

and then work outward from there."

Robert M. Pirsig

"Leap and the net will appear!