Fragrant Heart Blog

Last week I blogged about bringing more awareness into doing the “menial” tasks in daily living.  This week I want to discuss with you recycling your garbage, and how you can make that a moving meditation, and a loving kindness practice.

Not so long ago I saw a documentary about New Zealand’s recycled plastic and glass, and where goes.  I was naïve enough to believe it was all processed locally.  I find that it is shipped overseas to countries like China.  There, in huge compounds women sit all day sorting out different grades of plastic.  The stench from the unwashed containers is horrific.

I usually wash out plastic and glass containers before I put them in the recycled bin.  Perhaps you do too.  Now I’m putting greater focus and concentration into this task.  I realize it’s like the loving kindness meditation.  As I wash each container I send loving kindness to the people who will sort it, and by washing and cleaning the containers carefully I know it will reinforce the loving kindness I am sending.

It may take a little extra time to do this but why not give it a go and feel what that’s like for you.

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How much thought do you give to what you consider to be the more unimportant things in life?  Or perhaps what is not so important to you?  For a lot of people it would be housework.  I know someone who describes getting it done as quickly as possible so as to get onto more interesting things. 

There’s an old saying, “before enlightenment chopping wood and carrying water, after enlightenment chopping wood and carrying water.”  In other words the so-called mundane things of life go on even if you get the wake up call.  It’s just how we experience them that makes all the difference.

If you have some resistance to housework you could consider turning it into a moving meditation practice.  I know it’s not so easy when you’re under pressure with other commitments like getting the children off to school, and getting to work yourself. 

Taking the opportunity to go on a silent meditation retreat as a support person helped me to understand that each activity I did whether it was cooking the food, or cleaning the bathrooms became an extension of my sitting practice.  The same focus and concentration were there in the menial tasks; the same metta (loving kindness) was there in the caring for the well being of other students.

What would it mean for you if you were to bring more awareness into the “menial” tasks in your life?  Why not experiment with just one task and bring as much awareness into that as you can?

Now and again you may consider walking as meditation and mindful practice.  Go to some place in nature if that is possible for you.  Find an area where you won’t be disturbed and can walk about twenty paces to and fro.  Begin by being very aware of how you place each foot on the ground, where you notice the weight of your body through your feet, step after step.  I find keeping my eyes lowered is less distracting. I also find that my hands and arms feel comfortable placed behind my back.  My gait is usually slow.  You can speed up a bit if you start to feel too lethargic, but just be aware of whatever feelings are arising in your body as you walk back and forth.  What may be lethargy could simply be resistance and mental thoughts arising like, “this is pointless,” or “I’ve got better things to do with my time,” or something else.  The mind will always have an endless number of reasons as to why a walking meditation is unnecessary.  Anyway, see how you go, and accept and allow resistance in your body when it arises as well as resistance in your mind.  Continue the walking meditation for about forty minutes. During this time be mindful of what is happening in your body, how your body is moving with each step, how each walking step creates a rhythmical flow in your body.  Remain mindful of how you place each foot down, and how your feet touch the ground.  As this unfolds you may notice the stillness that spontaneously arises in you, and the centering that happens in that stillness to bring you into here and now. 

If you are absolutely new to meditation I would encourage you to do some simple relaxation practice before embarking each day on your meditation technique. 

Relaxation methods help to still the physical body.  This often makes it easier to meditate.  Sometimes you may sit down to begin and find that you are quite restless.  In western culture we are so often caught in extreme busyness.  This is very stressful as there never seems to be any relief from what has to be done and deadlines to meet.  We forget how to smile and laugh.  Your body may be so over adrenalized that sitting still becomes just another thing to be stressed about. 

On Fragrant Heart there are a number of relaxation practices you can listen to and learn to do by yourself.  When you sit to meditate, spend some time just relaxing your body.  You will find that your mind will settle much better when you start your chosen meditation technique.

Addiction to prescription painkillers is becoming a serious problem in America.  I read this recently on the Dr Mercola health website.  Apparently overdose deaths have more than tripled from 1999 to 2006, to 13,800 deaths per year.  These opioid painkillers are opium like drugs that include morphine and codeine.

More and more scientific studies are being undertaken to measure the physiological effects that meditation has on health, and well-being, including tolerance to pain.  There’s enough evidence now to show that people who meditate consistently release chemicals in the brain that work similarly to opiates found in drugs like morphine and codeine.

Before you become dependent on prescription painkillers check out other alternatives to supporting your condition including taking up a meditation practice.  Fragrant Heart can help you in many ways to do this.  I also thoroughly recommend the Dr Mercola website for up to date cutting edge information on all aspects of health.

Your attitude to your thoughts and images throughout the day, and even in your meditation practice will make a huge difference to the quality of your life.  There’s enough research to show that a positive attitude enhances our immune systems, which creates greater health and vitality.

When you are sitting in meditation and thoughts and images arise that are not so pleasant for you, what do you do?  Throughout everything written on Fragrant Heart I emphasize to accept and allow whatever arises in meditation, to observe the thoughts or images, and to understand that the job of the mind is to keep on creating thoughts and images throughout your life.  It’s the attachment to the thoughts and images that lead to suffering and misery. 

Say for example, when you go about your day and you have a persistent negative thought.  This is a thought that is really bugging you.  You just can’t get rid of it, and it’s making you feel bad about yourself. What could you do about that?  Yes, you could sit and meditate but maybe that’s not possible at the time.  Well, first of all accept and allow that thought or image.  It’s not going away no matter how hard you try to push it away.  Then turn the thought or image into something else.  Create a positive thought or image for yourself.  For example, you may have screwed up around something or someone, and feel that you are worthless. You could say to yourself, “Even though this didn’t work out, I am still a worthwhile person, and I have the resilience and capability to get through this.”  Doing this you are changing the thought or image. You are creating an attitude of positive thinking and compassion for yourself.  Keep on doing this until you feel a change in yourself.

I came across a very up to date book on all sorts of current topics in the field of mind, body and spirit.  It’s a book called, Peak Vitality edited by Jeanne M. House MA and featuring many recognized leaders in their field.  It was published in 2008.

In the book there’s an article written by Wayne Dywer PhD who has written many books on spirituality over the last couple of decades.  His chapter in the book is called, “Why Meditate?”  I’d like to quote one of the paragraphs he has written because you may find it of interest as another viewpoint on someone’s understanding of meditation. 

Wayne Dywer writes:

“When we meditate we begin to still the mind.  As we get more and more adept at moving into inner silence, we come to know the peace of God in our entire being.  We intuitively seek union with our generating source.  Silence, or meditation, is the path to that centre.  We can make conscious contact with God, transcend the limitations of a dichotomous world, and regain the power that is only available to us when we’re connected to the Source.  This is what I call getting in the gap.  It’s where we create, manifest, heal, live, and perform at a miraculous level.  The gap is the powerful silence where we can access the stillness that may have been unattainable in other meditation attempts.”

Meditation is one route along the spiritual path.  Meditation leads to greater empathy, and deeper compassion for ourselves and others. It helps us to accept our limitations, and at times helplessness as human beings.  It reduces our need to harshly judge ourselves and others.

I’ve just been reading a book by Linda Martinez-Lewi, Ph.D. called “Freeing Yourself from the Narcissist in Your Life” (published 2008). Although the book is about a specific behavioural disorder found in certain people she writes some wise words about the spiritual path. Although a counsellor herself, she does say that therapy alone has limitations.

I believe there is something greater that calls to each one of us to live who we truly are freed of the conditionings that stop us being able to embrace life with love, compassion and freedom.  Some people only discover this after some trauma, or crisis that shakes them to their foundations. 

Here is an insightful quote from Linda Martinez-Lewi’s book:

“Following a spiritual path is often discouraging, humbling, tedious, boring, mystifying.  It requires that we acknowledge our shortcomings and failures without defensiveness.  It asks us to become naked to ourselves and eventually transparent.  A person who possesses the spiritual quality of transparency is always the same, despite the people or circumstances that he encounters.  He moves through life with calmness, grace, and equanimity.  He treats everyone with respect and lifts the psychic weight of others. His heart is strong and soft, resolute and adaptable.” 

(Linda Martinez-Lewi uses the gender form of ‘he’ throughout the book but emphasizes the use of ‘she’ also.)

You may already be doing this, so here’s an idea to enhance your meditations.  Meditation is after all a spiritual practice.  Following a spiritual path means we become more aware of ourselves.  We become more mature.  We can face our demons, (our shadow side), and be more compassionate to ourselves, and the helplessness and limitations at times of being a human being.  We let go harshly judging others.  We let go resentments and blame as we accept ourselves more, as we stop judging ourselves so harshly.  We take greater responsibility for what we do and say, and how our actions affect others.  This is all part of maturing and it releases us from our inflated sense of self importance.  I believe, as we do this we become more empathic toward others.  We extend the compassion that we know and feel in ourselves toward others.

And here’s something to enhance that on a daily basis.  At the end of your meditation practice, quietly say to yourself, “May all beings be happy.  May all beings love.  May all beings be free.”  Set the intention and go about your day. 

How do you finish your meditation?  What is that like for you coming out of your practice?  Some people use an alarm clock, others have their own internal clock which gives them a fairly accurate knowing of when to stop. 

Whatever guides you to finish and go about your day can make a difference to your practice.  Become aware and mindful of the transition between meditation and those moments as you readjust to daily living.  Observe how your mind begins to operate again after a period of meditative stillness and calmness. 

Just be aware of those moments of transition and observe what that’s like for you.