Fragrant Heart Blog

I’ve been thinking about how rhythm becomes a natural part of meditation and deepens a meditation practice.  When I sit in meditation I may begin by focusing on the breath; the in breath, and the out breath.  If I do it long enough I become aware of the rhythm of the breath that allows my body and mind to settle into a flow.  Sometimes it’s beyond words to describe accurately what that is like. 

However, I begin to realize more and more that when I experience rhythm the same altered state of awareness occurs whether sitting observing the breath, walking, dancing, spinning on my spinning wheel, or knitting yarn into garments.

People come to me sometimes to learn the basics of meditation.  I ask them how much time they could devote to a sitting practice.  I also ask them what they love to do.  Some people love to garden, others to do cross-stitch.  Some like to swim, jog, walk the dog, or play with their grandchildren.  Some like to cook, or to draw and paint.  What do you love to do that encourages rhythm and flow in you?  Perhaps you may not have a sitting meditation practice.  What if you were to bring one pointed focus to something you truly love to do?  You might find that that could turn into meditation; a moving meditation of flow and rhythm, deeper awareness and expanded consciousness.

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From the same article on www.familyhealthguide.co.uk I also found some very interesting information on specific health conditions and how meditation affects them.  Simply put, meditation works by reducing the levels of stress hormones that are the culprits in leading to states of ill health.

ATHEROSCLEROSIS

“Researchers studying the effect of meditation on atherosclerosis (a condition that increase the risk of cardiovascular disease) in the African-American population reported that those who had practised meditation for 69 months potentially had an 11% decrease in the risk of heart attacks and up to a 15% decrease in the risk of a stroke.”

CANCER

“A separate study showed that cancer patients who practised meditation for as little as 7 weeks were significantly less depressed and anxious than their counterparts who did not meditate.” 

CARDIAC AND GASTROINTESTINAL PROBLEMS

“Meditators also reported increased energy levels and lesser cardiac and gastrointestinal problems than non meditators.”

If you’re interested go to the website and find out more on the affects of meditation on:

• PAIN
• ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION
• INFERTILITY
• INFLAMMATION
• DIABETES
• HYPERTENSION

A friend of mine sent me this website, www.familyhealthguide.co.uk.

It’s about how long term practitioners of relaxation methods such as meditation and yoga can alter the course of disease.

Here’s what was said in the article,

“In the words of Dr Herbert Benson, who led the research group at the Harvard medical School, “We found a range of disease fighting genes that were active in the relaxation practitioners but not active in the control group.”

“Interestingly, in as little as two months after the control group began meditating, their genetic profile changed to resemble those of the relaxation practitioners.”

Are you familiar with an inspiring website called, www.ted.com? 

On it I found a talk by Mathieu Ricard, a Buddhist monk, author and photographer.  His talk takes around twenty minutes and is well worth listening to.  It’s about what makes us happy.

He defines meditation as mind transformation.  To transform the mind requires mind training.  The question is, why bother training the mind?  When the mind is full of hatred, strong grasping, or jealousy, for example, a person will feel tormented.  These states of feeling arise from thoughts.  All emotions are fleeting, and that makes it possible for the basis of mind training. 

Mathieu Ricard says that we spend a lot of time in doing other things to improve ourselves, but little time in taking care of how the mind functions.

Mind training, going within, is the direct route to happiness.

Here’s a quote from the spiritual teacher Marianne Williamson.  She says, “If you really want to be a great friend, you sit with them and focus your attention and really listen.  And since your relationship with the divine is essentially your relationship with your deeper self, you do indeed need to sit with yourself and really listen, nurturing the relationship as often as you can.  And one of the best ways to do it?  You guessed it: meditation.”  (My underlining)

In June, Fragrant Heart presented a free guided visualization called “Bringing about what you Desire”.  This visualization emphasized that it is the feeling state that we most desire when we think about what we would like, for example, a new car, or a new home.   Everything I read about manifesting what you want now emphasizes the feeling state.  In the example of wanting a new home you visualize already seeing yourself in your new home, and you visualize yourself filled with joy, excitement and happiness.  Research backs this up.  The brain will light up in the same areas if a person imagines something that gives them joy, just as much as if they actually have what they desire.

Then I came upon a book written in the early part of the 20^th Century by Wallace D. Wattles.  It’s called “The Science of Getting Rich.”

Here is what he says about bringing about what you desire.

“You must know what you want and be definite.  You must make a coherent statement…”

“The more clear and definite you make your picture, and the more you dwell upon it, the stronger your desire will be.  And the stronger your desire, the easier it will be to hold your mind fixed upon the picture of what you want.”

“Behind your clear vision must be the purpose to realize it, to bring it out in tangible expression.  And, behind this purpose must be an invincible and unwavering faith that the thing is already yours – that it is at hand and you only have to take possession of it.  For example, live in the new house mentally until it takes form around you physically.  In the mental realm, enter at once into full enjoyment of the things you want.”

The last sentence I made bold to convey to you that it is again the feeling state that you create to bring about what you desire.

Day-to-Day Living 

These days there’s a huge movement world wide of manifesting what you want. 

Consider using guided visualization to bring about the feeling state in day-to-day living.  Most of us at times become overwhelmed with emotions that are destabilizing and can create turmoil around us.  When for example, you are feeling really angry, first of all accept and allow that feeling state.  Be with the feelings and observe them.  Pay attention to how you are breathing.  Sooner or later the feelings will pass.  However, they can be triggered again so they are not usually resolved.  Why not experiment with visualizing yourself in another feeling state, that of joy, happiness, contentment and love.  As you continue to go about your day be aware of the changed feeling state in your body.  Be aware of how this affects others around you in a positive way.

Someone recently asked me if I had any ideas as to how they could settle into their meditation.  This person is an experienced meditator but said he had been having difficulty recently in being able to move into meditation focus and concentration.

If this is happening for you these hints could help your practice.

1. Keep on showing up each day.  If you are finding yourself unsettled you may begin to resist meditating, and as the resistance increases you may stop doing your daily practice.  Accept and allow the resistance for it can be viewed as something that is passing.  When that barrier has been removed you may find your practice is even deeper than before.
2. It helps at this time to be very much more aware of setting up for meditation.  Create an atmosphere in your physical space that is nurturing and aesthetically pleasing to you.  Be aware of your posture when you sit, be aware of the comfort of your body.
3. Make an intention before you begin.  You may intend calmness, or presence, or even continuity, or perhaps something else that reinforces your sitting time.
4. Visualize before beginning to meditate if you are always mentally very focused.  Visualize your brain with the lobes of the brain softening downwards.  This simple visualization helps enormously to settle the mind.
5. And lastly, have a hint of a smile on your face.

Tiger Woods, considered to be one of the greatest golfers of all time said, “People have no idea how many hours I put into this game.  My dad always told me there are no shortcuts.”

Would you agree that Tiger Woods is a very disciplined and committed person to his golf?  I would assume that he shows up everyday to practise. 

Meditation is not about becoming the greatest meditator!  However, like Tiger Woods and golf, meditation requires us to show up each day.  Showing up each day gives us the opportunity to receive the benefits of meditation.  Even if you’ve found some shortcuts to deepening in your meditation practice, you know that you still have to show up.

When someone says or does something that triggers a reaction in you and you respond in a reactive way, what do you notice?

When I react negatively to what someone says or does, I notice extreme agitation in my body.  I also notice the turmoil in my thought patterns.  I feel out of control.  I am destabilized, and I may become confused and withdrawn, or I may criticize the other in defence of myself.  All of me that is defined as body, mind, emotions, and spirit contract.  Interestingly as I reflect on how it’s been for me I realize that I also contract in time and space.  I am locked into misery. I am in a state of fear.

A State of Presence

When I don’t react negatively to someone’s words or behaviour that would have been a trigger in the past, I notice how different I feel.  I notice expansiveness within myself.  This expansiveness feels vast and boundless. Time and space seem to expand as well.  I am aware of loving kindness toward the other and myself.  I have remained conscious.  In that consciousness I am here and now.  I am fully present in the now. There is connectedness between me and the other.  In this state of non-separation love arises.  This is our natural state of being. 

Meditation is a path to unfolding into that state of being that flows into all life.

Inner child therapy has been around now for a few decades. It’s based on the assumption that most of our conditioning is laid down in the first seven years of life.  During these formative years we take on what are known as core beliefs, which are both positive and negative.  Some of these core beliefs especially the negative ones can still be running the life.  Some people may find that even though they have a strong desire to meditate, they also have a lot of resistance to a making a commitment to a daily practice.  These core beliefs may be a factor in preventing someone from meditating. 

There’s so many of them, but I’ll list just a few that could be appropriate in preventing someone from a meditation practice. 

Common negative core beliefs are:

“I never succeed at anything.”

“I’m not good enough.”

“I’m not worthy.”

“I always fail so what’s the use of even trying.”

“No one is going to tell me what to do.”

“There’s never enough time.”

With these beliefs going on it’s difficult to have either commitment to ongoing meditation. 

What to do about a negative core belief:

If you are finding yourself resisting beginning to meditate, or finding resistance to continuing your meditation practice, it may be worthwhile for you to examine your own core beliefs.  What to do if you come across one that is causing the resistance?  Accept and allow it to be there.  Now you have awareness of what’s going on.  That core belief is from the past.  I find it’s a good idea to treat a core belief with respect, and not to beat myself up because of how it has been limiting my life.  With loving kindness I can change the belief, for example, “There’s never enough time,” to “There’s always plenty of time for what I want to do.”  Changing the belief while still showing up for meditation dissolves the resistance.