Concentrative, Contemplative, Meditation, Mindfulness, Spirit, Women & Gender
The full answer may be longer than you wanted.
There are at least four different basic answers—and then there’s all the rest of it.
One basic answer is, “Whatever position gives you the best signal that your mind has gone away from awareness-in-the-moment into either drifty mind or washing-machine mind,
A second is, “a classical cross-legged or chair position with a mudra of your choice.”
A third is, “Any position that you can physically manage and maintain for some time.”
A fourth is, “Any position in which you’re willing to meditate, in contrast to other supposedly correct positions that cause you to avoid meditating when you think about them.
Any one of these answers might be best for you. You can judge that for yourself after reading about each.
The first answer contains the key insight that the mental effort required to stay aware of your posture in the present instant is itself a powerful aid to maintaining a focused meditative state. Sitting straight upright on either a cushion or chair, with your eyes focused slightly downward anywhere from about six feet ahead to the far horizon, and your hands forming a perfect (i.e. non-drooping) mudra is best of all if you can manage it. (Yes, that’s the second answer above.) Why? Because your mind will inevitably have a tendency to drift here or there, and if you’re sitting in such a position with the intention to maintain it, then as soon as you notice that you’re slumping just a bit, or that in your Zen mudra your thumbs are pointing downward rather than forming an egg than a round ball, or that your jnana mudra is similarly droopy, you can straighten up your back, reform your mudra, breathe deeply, and continue your classical meditative posture. Maintaining it requires mindful attention to keeping some of your mind in the present.
If, of course, you’re doing an extended meditation—especially in a group—in which you’re supposed to remain motionless, after a time your body will be experiencing physical pain just from maintaining the fixed position and you will have no alternative but to be aware of your physical position and sensations. When you see a picture of a group of people meditating, all sitting in the very same or almost the very same posture, that’s probably what’s happening. There’s a special kind of psycho-somatic learning that’s occurring just by maintaining that position. (In many meditation groups, after such a period of sitting there’s a period of walking meditation that gives your body a chance to move.
With the second answer above, a full-lotus meditation is favored by some practitioners. That’s a cross-legged position with each leg crossed above the other and the soles facing upward. (See the link below.) Some yogis maintain the ability to sit full-lotus, or in even more demanding and in some cases amazing positions, into old age. Those who do usually sit (or in some cases stand) in such positions every day. When I was in my twenties and thirties I used to sit full lotus. Toward the end of my thirties a doctor told me, “There seems to be some evidence that full lotus is bad for your ankles, at least for some people.) After that I moved to a half-lotus position in which the legs are crossed only one is pulled up through the other. Less demanding yet is a simple cross-legged position. Your body will probably tell you which cross-legged position can work for you.
In any position on the floor or ground it helps to raise your butt about four inches off the floor so that there’s a downward tilt from your butt to your knees. Every meditation center has cushions that do this. It’s best to sit on the forward edge of the cushion rather than in the middle of it. The downward slope makes it much easier to keep your spine straight and sit up straight. And it’s more comfortable than sitting flat on the floor or ground. Most pillows doubled once will do nicely as a substitute for a meditation cushion—but if you want the real thing you can find them in shops that have meditation accessories and online. When i’ve had neither cushion nor pillow, I’ve found that turning one clean sandal or shoe upside down, placing it on top of the other, and using the two as a cushion usually does the job. Outdoors you might find a small slope or bump somewhere nearby that’s about the right size to raise your butt enough for comfortable sitting and a straight spine,
There is also kneeling meditation, kneeling with your legs together and back straight up. Many people who favor that position find that a cushion or pillow (or even a folded jacket or sweater) between butt and legs is useful.
In meditation halls I sometimes noticed some of people sitting up straight in chairs rather than on the ground or a cushion in a cross-legged position. In most places there were a few chairs somewhere in the room, mostly occupied by elderly meditators. An older friend and I sometimes led workshops together and he always sat in a chair. “My knees just won’t go into a cross-legged position,” he said. Now I’m older myself, with arthritis in my joints. At some point I moved from usually sitting cross-legged to preferring the chair. Still with a straight spine, looking slightly downward, keeping my mudra in its proper position, but my legs said “Thank you for not making us sit cross-legged on the ground any more.” My chair position is sometimes with my legs straight down and sometimes with them cross-legged beneath me on the chair.
All that involves sitting. Some years ago when I was doing a weekly class I asked the students to keep a meditation journal. To write down just a few sentences about what happened during their meditation period each day. One young woman consistently wrote that she just didn’t feel called to sit up during her meditation but preferred to lie down. She did, however, keep one of the most detailed and best journals of her meditation experience, and said it was almost always valuable in helping her feel better. As you probably know, lying down tends to predispose people more toward a hypnogogic, dreamlike state and less toward a mindful, moment-by-moment awareness state. Her meditations were a kind of combination of both. And very interesting, especially in their contemplative excursions. That was what worked for her. It was a clear case of meditating in her own way or not at all. So that becomes my final statement. Lying down meditation is not a position I suggest, but better than none. There are, after all, statues of reclining Buddhas scattered all over Southeast Asia. And it just might be what you need at a given moment. Assess your needs and learn to trust yourself.
If you want to meditate standing up, such as while waiting for a bus, I recommend a moving meditation rather than standing motionless. An online search for <standing moving meditations> will bring up a number of YouTube videos of such movement patterns. The ultimate expression of this is Tai Chi.
When properly performed, hatha yoga is also a meditation. Attention to your breathing in a meditative manner while performing your asanas, and to fully experiencing the sensations of your body as you move and the rest of your field of awareness make your yoga session into a transformation in consciousness that’s quite different than it is if you go through the motions with an athletic mindset. This can be structured pranayama or simply bare attention as described just above,
For photos of eight sitting meditation positions see Melissa Eisler’s <https://mindfulminutes.com/how-to-sit-for-meditation/>.
Contemplative, Meditation, Mindfulness, Spirit
Contemplative meditation involves considering or observing a particular situation, question, or idea from inside a meditative state of consciousness in order to gain insight or clarity about it. That’s distinctly different from the essence of mindfulness meditation, which involves (1) doing your best to clear your mind of the many thoughts that often slosh around like clothes in a washing machine in order to be as fully here-and-now in your sensory awareness as possible, and also (2) noticing the thoughts that do remain and arise, contemplative meditation actively guides your thinking process within a meditative state. “From inside a meditative state” means that you clear your mind of most other matters in order to gain one-pointed focus on the item you’re meditating on. Or at least to come as close to one-pointed focus on it as you can.
How do you do that? First you attain a quiet, calm focused mind. For most people that’s quite different from our usual everyday mind. If you’re in that mental state to begin with, perhaps because your surroundings take you there, you can intentionally go directly into contemplative meditation. Or perhaps your surroundings take you into that mental space and you find yourself sponteneously in contemplative meditation about some matter of concern or interest. Like, for instance, someone who’s fishing alone and finds that a good time to contemplate his or her concerns.
More often –at least for many people– contemplative meditation is a stage in a meditative session after you’ve taken yourself into a meditative state and have used one or another concentrative practice (such as described in some of these blogs) to slow your thoughts that are sloshing and whirling around in your mind. You’ve used some kind of mantra or counting practice, or perhaps some other meditative method used in a tradition you follow, to take yourself into that state of having a quiet, calm focused mind.
At that point you can choose among one of three forms of contemplative meditation: You:
- . . . may have one specific matter in mind that you’d like deeper insight into, or understanding about.
- . . . can choose either intentionally or randomly from a “menu” of subjects for contemplative meditation that past gurus, sages or others have found to have particular value as subjects for meditating.
- . . . can move into a “hybrid mindfulness” meditation in which you begin with a more or less empty mind, notice what appears in it, and let that be your subject of contemplation for as long as you find value in doing so
Whichever of those three options you choose, you follow the same basic process. Continue to maintain an awareness of your breathing (breathing in, breathing out) but without any mantra or breath-counting. If you like (especially if your mind tends to be very active or busy) you can also maintain a moving mudra, or if you need to do so in order to keep your focus, maintain visual splitting,
Then make the subject you’ve chosen your focal point. Don ‘t “try to think” about it, but simply let whatever appears in your consciousness that feels in any way related to it unfold. If there’s any kind of valuable insight in it for you, take a moment to voice-record it with your device or jot it down in the tablet that you keep next to you when you meditate. No lengthy detailed treatises — just a few words will usually suffice to remind you of something you otherwise might forget.
Whenever something not related to your subject comes into your mind, let it go and bring your attention back to your breathing and your subject, just as if you were bringing it back to a mantra or breath-counting practice.
Wait watchfully in mind-silence with your subject as your focal point. Whenever any thought that feels like it may have some value arises, follow it and stay with it. As soon as you notice that your mind has drifted off it and into something else (as sooner or later it usually will) bring it back to your subject. Continue to do this until you feel finished with it, or until the time you’ve set aside for your contemplative session is up. (I usually like to allot about 20 minutes for this, with space in my schedule to go on longer if it feels valuable.)
“Hmm,” you might say. “It sounds to me like contemplative meditation is a sort of hybrid cross among mindfulness, concentrative meditation, and ordinary thinking.”
Congratulations! You’re right. But it’s thinking from a clear, focused ground instead of thinking from the somewhat chaotic and confused ground of our usual everyday consciousness. Thinking in which key insights and realizations don’t have to compete with the waves of thoughts and ideas about a whole lot of other things, but can bubble up to the surface of your awareness as if from the depths of a still pond. That can make all the difference. I sometimes find that long-forgotten or long-suppressed items from my unconscious come up as I do this. (Be forewarned that sometimes you might remember things that you’ve forgotten because they portray you in a less-than-admirable light—but the chances are that if you do, you can handle them now, which you couldn’t when you repressed them.)
If you choose option 2 of the 3 mentioned above as starting points for your contemplative meditation session, you might find it useful to read a few brief words about the chosen subject from others who have reflected on it. With many of the items you might choose as starting points, you’ll find such reflections in one or another of the cells of Matrix Meditations.
Enjoy your new meditative adventure!
Concentrative, Cultures, Meditation, Mindfulness
INDIA NAMES, CHINA COUNTS: OF MANTRAS AND COUNTING MEDITATIONS
Most of the effective ways to meditate include some way to maintain a focus on your breathing. Why? Because it’s a way to stay aware of what you’re thinking, feeling, sensing, and/or doing rather than being completely identified with your action or experience. And that’s part of the essence of meditation—being aware, moment by moment, of what you’re doing rather than being completely caught up in it.
The two most popular ways to stay aware of your breathing—which in turn helps you stay aware of whatever else you’re doing—are mantras and breath counting. A mantra is most effectively used when silently repeated in rhythm with your breathing. For example, silently speaking the mantra on your inhalation and noticing whatever else you’re aware of during that in-breath and then emptying both the mantra and everything else out of your mind on the outbreath.
Breath counting is similar. Count one number on the in-breath and notice whatever else you’ve become aware of (thinking, feeling, sensing, and/or doing if you’re not sitting silently while you meditate. Then empty the number and everything else out of your mind on the outbreath.
There’s more to it than just described with both mantras and breath-counting, and we’ll come back to that “other” in just a minute. But first, an adventurous little journey to India and China. In India we find that people name the days and months just as in most of the West. “Sunday, Monday (think Moon Day), Tuesday, . . . etc.” Likewise with months of the year: January, February, etc.. Just like in the rest of the Indo-European language family. Now let’s jump over to China. Those names are nowhere to be found! Instead the days and months are counted. The days of the week are called Day One, Day Two, Day Three—and so on. And the months? Well of course, they’re Month One, Month Two, Month Three—right on up to Month Twelve. (Could that constant counting in everyday conversation have something to do with why many Chinese seem to be so good at math? Or maybe it’s the other way around—that mathematical aptitude is why they count the days and months instead of naming them. All just guesses.
In Japan, just for the record, the days are named after elements rather than planets as in the West. Except Monday, which is the day of the moon there too. Tuesday is the day of fire, Wednesday of water, Thursday of wood, and Friday of—yes–gold! Saturday is the day of earth. As for the months—well, there it gets a little complicated. In modern Japanese they’re counted, just as in China. But in the old days they had names. Sometimes the old names are still used in poems and novels.
At this point your inquisitive mind probably wonders, “What about Southeast Asia, which is sort of between India and China?”
Moving your token to Thailand, you’ll find that the days of the week are named after astrological signs from India and Sanskrit. But in Vietnam, closer to China, they count them.
But if you really want everything turned on its head, in English we count the years but in China they have names for them. As the Japanese would say, “Ah, so!”
Now, back to the question, “What does all that have to do with meditation?”
The short answer is that breath counting is more popular in China and Japan while mantra meditation is more popular in India. Almost all are derived from the ancient Sanskrit language, which intriguingly enough has a far more extensive vocabulary for diverse personal qualities, states of consciousness, and “higher” states of consciousness than any contemporary language. (Does that suggest highly developed ancient civilizations, such as the “mythical” Atlantis and Lemuria? How else would such a language come into being?) A mantra has the advantage that anyone can learn it. And each mantra has some specific meaning that can influence a person’s attitude and outlook when repeated over and over again for a long period. If there’s a particular quality you want to develop, that feature of mantras can be useful. Some gurus and traditions assign mantras to those who come to them for meditation instruction—and in some cases, that’s your mantra forever! Other traditions allow people to choose their own mantra and to change it when they want to work on developing a new and different personal quality. Kooch N. Daniels and I offer a page of useful mantras in Matrix Meditations (available either in paperback or as an e-book.) If that’s not enough for you to choose from or you don’t want to shell out $13.99 for our amazing and wonderful book you can do an online search for “Sanskrit words” and you’ll find many different sites that offer such terms absolutely free! (but some—not all—will try to sell you all sorts of other things.)
It’s a little easier to maintain your mindful presence and with breath-counting than mantra meditation, but it doesn’t have the same feature of mentally reinforcing some particular quality. Nonetheless, some advanced yogic traditions in India, such as Kriya yoga, favor breath counting. There are beginning breath-counting methods that are almost as easy to do as mantra meditation and advanced methods that require great attentiveness and can develop a high degree of mental discipline.
The one thing that the most effective mantra meditations and both beginning and advanced breath counting meditations have in common is a focus on breathing. Each adds something extra to the most basic breathing meditation of all, which is to do no more than notice and sense as you breathe in and breathe out. In that most basic practice, as soon as you realize that your mind has drifted off to thinking about something—anything—else, then just bring your attention back to noticing breathing in, breathing out, breathing in, breathing out, and no more.
What can be simpler? Or easier? Sound like child’s play, doesn’t it? Why bother with anything else?
Because actually it’s incredibly difficult to keep your attention focused on your breathing and nothing else. (If you don’t believe it, try it for two minutes right now. See?) The washing machine of our mind craves to swish all the zillions of thoughts it contains back and forth and all around—and what was that about breathing? I forget. . . “
That’s why even a basic mantra or breath count with your breathing is useful. It gives you something to hang onto when the storm winds of your mind or emotions want to blow your attention away. More about each of them in exciting future blogs.
How simple or how complex a practice suits you depends on the character of your own everyday ordinary waking consciousness. Some people who have a stoic temperament find that a fairly simple and basic practice is perfect for them. Others who have more of a “monkey mind” that tends to jump all over the place find that a more complex and demanding practice does a better job of helping them focus and stay present, paradoxical as that may sound. More –much more– about both simpler and more complex ways to meditate in other blogs. (Or get them all at one time in one place in the convenient, well organized, beautifully written book mentioned above. )
In the meantime, if you do nothing else, at least tune into your sensations of breathing in, breathing out, breathing in, breathing out —like a swinging door—when you have nothing else to do!
Ciao Bello. Or Ciao Bella, as the case may be. Victor
Everyday Awareness, Meditation, Mindfulness, Spirit
WALKING MEDITATIONS
WALKING AND BREATHING
I like this because it’s something you can do while you’re walking from one place to another in the middle of your daily life. You don’t have to sit in one spot. Although walking meditations are most commony done in a Zendo or other meditation hall to break up bouts of sitting, there are some you can do almost anytime you’re wlking from one place to another. They combine exercise, breathing, relaxation and concentration.
The key element is to keep your walking and breathing synchronized. You’ll find that you can’t do that if your mind is filled with worries, daydreams, memories, or anything else that takes your attention away from the present moment. As soon as you notice that your walking and breathing aren’t in a matching rhythm any more, you that your mind has wandered and you can bring it back to this present moment of your experience. Especially your physical, somatic mind-body experience. Then when you get there—wherever you’re going—you’ll be here. More fully present and better able to respond effectively to whatever the situation requires.
So what’s the process? Suppose you’re standing and you take one step with one foot. Take another step with the other foot. Then do that again. So you’re stepping “left, right, left, right.” Do all that as you’re breathing in. Then do the same thing as you breathe out. Four steps as you inhale and four as you exhale. (Or if it’s easier for you, you can think of “left” as a half-step and “right” as another half step, so that “left, right” is a full step. If so, then your mind says, “two full steps as you inhale and then two full steps as you exhale.”
Try that now. Then read on. . .
That’s it. That’s the basic process right there. How fast you move depends on how fast or slow, how shallowly or deeply you breathe. Do what’s comfortable.
You’ll probably find that four steps (or “two full steps”) as you inhale and four as you exhale is a fairly slow walk that’s good when you have plenty of time. Chance are you’ll find that you’re more sensitive to and observant of the environment you’re passing through as well as to your internal sensations. That can be a trip.
When you start to walk using this walking-breathing pattern, after a short time you’ll probably notice that your walking and breathing are no longer connected. Your mind has gone bye-bye from your body. Stop for an instant. Then continue to walk, again folllowing the breathing pattern just described. Do that each time you notice a breathing-walking disconnect. Chances are you’ll get better and better at keeping them connected—which also means better and better at staying present with your immediate experience.
You might find that four steps as you inhale and four as you exhale is too. Maybe you’re in a hurry to get somewhere. But wouldn’t it be nice to make good time and also stay present in your moment-by-moment awareness?
Then try doing the same thing with six steps as you inhale and six as you exhale (or, changing our language, three full steps as you inhale and three as you exhale.) That’s a faster walk. Or if you really need to make time, try eight step as you inhale and eight as you exhale. The express walk! Good for when you’re in a hurry. But get this— you probably won’t feel hurried. You’ll still be present in each moment as you walk. And present when you get where your’re going. That can be big, especially if it’s an important meeting!
If possible, try this for at least five minutes now, using at least two of the walking patterns just described.
(There’s also the other direction. You can slow down to two steps as you inhale and two as you exhale. Very slow. Very attuned to what’s around you and in you. Or even one step (one “half step) as you inhale and one as you exhale. You might find it hard to keep your balance when you go that slowly. But you’ll find it pretty tough to do at all unless you keep your mind nearly a hundred percent right here right now.
And here’s a word from Matrix Meditations: “In co-ordinating your breath and movement you are your own teacher and trainer. . . Since any kind of physical movement is an opporunity to listen to what your body is telling you, you might learn something new.”
Enjoy!
c 2021 by Victor Daniels
You may share this as widely as you wish as long as the sharing is freely given no charge is made for it. Inclusion in anything for which a charge is made requires the author’s written permission. Photo credit: Image by Sasin Tipchai from Pixabay
Concentrative, Counseling & Psychotherapy, Everyday Awareness, Meditation, Mindfulness, Psychology
If you’d like a 3-minute mini-meditation available to use when you’re distressed, upset, emotionally off balance , here it is. It’s almost as simple as a meditation gets, because that’s about all a person can handle when they’re in an emotional meltdown. When you’re really flustered, a basic railing to grab onto is what you need, because you probably can’t focus on much more than that.
If you’re with someone else who’s freaking out and you want to help, you can talk them through this same process described just below. Speak out loud, almost verbatim as written below, making whatever tweaks fit the situation. Make sure your tone of voice is calm and soothing, It might or might not be appropriate to hold the person’s hand to help ground them. You can check that out by touching their hand lightly and seeing whether they take hold of it. Respect that message.
No frills. So this is for you when you’re upset. Or for you to use to help someone else when they’re upset. If you’re a helping another person at a fire, an accident, a crime scene, or any other crisis situation –or even a situation that’s an emotional crisis even if someone else wouldn’t think the situation itself is a crisis–this can prove useful.
STEP ONE
If you can, sit up straight. If not, sit or lie however you need to.
Notice your breathing. If it’s slow, that’s fine. If its fast and shallow, slow it down. At least a little slower and deeper.
STEP TWO
Now, as you inhale, count the number “1.” Hear it in your ears if you can. If your eyes are closed, try to visualize i|T.
As you exhale, notice everything you’re seeing and hearing in your mind, and let it all flow away on your outgoing breath as completely as you can
Now as you inhale again, count the number “2.” Concentrate on ‘hearing’ or visualizing that number as fully as possible. If you can’t do either, just ‘think it.
As you exhale, again notice what’s filling your mind, and again let it flow and blow away, so that when you’ve exhaled completely your mind is as empty as possible.
STEP THREE
As you inhale again, mentally count the number “3.” When you’ve inhaled completely, take an instant to notice
anywhere your body feels tense and tight.
As you exhale, let yourself release and let go of that tension at the same time that you’re letting go of any ideas that
have formed in your mind.
STEP FOUR
For your next seven breaths, do just as you did with number 3. With each breath, change the number to the next higher one (this helps keep your focus on what you’re doing rather than letting your mind run away to think about whatever was disturbing you). On the incoming breath, silently recite the number and notice whatever else is coming through your mind—or even spinning around in it. Then on the outgoing breath, focus your attention on noticing any physical tension or tightness anywhere in your muscles and letting go of it—while at the same time letting go of whatever other words or sentences or imagery are coming through your mind. You’re letting go of words, letting go of imagery, letting go of muscular tension and tightness. It’s like that old song —all those thoughts and imagery and muscular tensions that are bothering you are singing “Please release me, let me go!” to you.
If you’re guiding another person through this process, verbally walk them through breaths 4 through 10 just as you did with breath 3.
After just these 10 slow breaths you’ll probably find that you feel much better than you did—even though this may take you only 3 or 4 minutes. If you (or the person you’re helping) are still quite upset, then use the process again with the next 10 breaths, using the releasing physical tension process you began with breath 3 in all ten breaths.
The key insight with this process is that the mind-body connection works in both directions. When you’re upset, you tense up your body—automatically. To become less upset, as you relax your body consciously, in turn it relaxes your mind.
© 2021 by Victor Daniels.
You’re welcome to share this with whomever you wish so long as no charge or profit is made from doing so. Inclusion in any electronic or hardcopy post or document for which a charge is made requires consent of the author.
Concentrative, Meditation, Mindfulness, Spirit, Uncategorized
MUDRAS AND MOVING MUDRAS
This is small yet useful way to help maintain focus of your attention while you meditate. It can help you keep your mind from rambling around when that’s not what you want to do. It’s an alternative to the “visual splitting” described in another blog. Actually this is simpler and more basic.
A mudra is a hand position of a kind used by both Budhist and Hindu meditators. The position of palms together and fingers pointing upward used in Christian prayers and also those of many other spiritual traditions is a mudra. Its meaning is a communication with the divine (which might or might not actually happen, depending on your state of consciousness.) This prayer mudra is called the atmanjali. In some cultures it’s also used as a sign of respect or gratitude —especially Japan and India.
Another popular mudra is the jnana mudra that symbolizes opening the heart to the wisdom of heaven. You’ve probably seen a statue of the Buddha sitting cross-legged with his palms turned skyward on his legs and the thumb and index finger of each hand touching. Or you can use the thumb and middle finger.
If you’re in public and you want to meditate without looking obvious you can turn the jnana mudra upside down as shown in the third of the three pictures with this blog. Long ago I started sometimes doing that after I was using the jnana mudra while sitting against a pillar meditating as I waited for a train in a crowded railway station waiting room in which all the seats were gone. I didn’t want to move until my meditation was finished.Some people thought I was begging and dropped coins into my hand. After that I started turning the jnana mudra upside down in public. I call that the invisible mudra. All others can see is your knuckles.
There are many mudras. You can find entire books about them. These three are enough for me.
Maintaining a mudra can help keep a clear centered mental state. In the Zen tradition if your thumbs droops instead of keeping your mudra almost circular it’s a sure sign that your mind has wandered.
For me with my typically busy mind a mudra wasn’t enough. I could maintain one while my mind wandered. Eventually I realized that I could pair a slight movement of my mudra with my breathing. That is, move my thumb and finger apart slightly (or in the Zen mudra my two thumbs apart) as I breathed in and then let them touch again as I breathed out. And so on over and over.
What’s happening there? With more of my mind anchored in paying attention to my meditative practice, less of my attention is available to go wandering. It works for me.
But it might not work for you. Try it and see. If it does, great! If not, if you find the slight separation and touching in rhythm with your breathing distracting rather than helpful after you’ve tried it for a couple of weeks, you can use a mudra with no movement instead. I suggest at least that.
Unless you don’t need it at all. Some people (but not many) can fairly easily keep their mind focused in present awareness of just one thing, such as their breathing. Pure mindfulness.
If that’s not you, then a basic nonmoving mudra may serve you well. If you try that and your mind still jumps around a bit, then a moving mudra may be just right for you.
If even that isn’t enough — if you’re one of those people with a mind that tends to dance around everywhere (like me) then you can try using both a moving mudra and visual splitting together. Doing that is a complex enough task that it leaves less of your attention available to go wandering. It anchors more of it in the here-and-now. Or in closely focused contemplation, if that’s what you want to do.
(photo with this blog is from Matrix Meditations by Victor and Kooch N. Daniels, available as both an e-book and hardcopy.)
© 2021 by Victor Daniels.
You are welcome to share this with whomever you wish so long as no charge or profit is made from doing so. Inclusion in any electronic or hardcopy post or document for which a charge is made requires consent of the author.
Meditation, Mindfulness, Psychology, Spirit
“Mindfulness” has become a catch-word in some circles in recent years. Some of those who use the term understand it and some don’t. It’s a Buddhist term that is differs very little from the Yogic term “witness consciousness.” Both involve noticing, moment-by-moment, what your mind is doing.
Many who try to meditate with witness consciousness or mindfulness get stuck because they have overlooked the previous step, concentration. Only when you have the ability to notice your mind in action and focus it where you want to does real mindfulness actually become possible. Its essence is the ability to, in a sense, “stand behind” your mind and notice what it is doing. Most of us most of the time are caught up in our thoughts that are darting here and there like clothes that are caught up inside a washing machine, going this way and that as the washer spins or agitates them. In other words, we are identified with our thoughts. As a result, we have little choice about what we think and feel. Our thoughts run in old patterns, like an old fashioned record player’s needle stuck in the same old groove, replaying the same thought pattern over and over again. A problem with this is that we see and think only what we already think we know. When new information comes along, we tend to reject it, in order to be able to think that we were “right” all along. Sometimes it’s an ego thing to protect our self-esteem. Other times it’s just easier for our neural impulses to follow their usual paths (see the blog on Tolman’s cognitive maps.)
By contrast, with witness consciousness or mindfulness, at each moment we notice what our mind is doing (whether it is focused on a thought, feeling, physical sensation, or event outside ourselves, which includes other peoples’ actions, opinions, and attitudes). In a sense, I detail one small part of my mind to watch / listen to / witness / be mindful of / what the rest is doing. (This is called “two-pointed attention” in the Zen tradition.) When I am actually aware of what my mind is doing, I can choose whether to let it keep on doing that in the same way, or examine it and what lies beneath it more deeply, or do something else. This is useful both when I am with myself and in conversations with others. The reason people often sit in a particular position without moving for a period of time while meditating is because that makes it easier to watch the mind. Watching it (or if you prefer, listening to it) opens many windows on the world that I didn’t know were there. It makes it possible to move from being a denier (of everything I didn’t already believe) to being an inquirer (who’s interested in finding out what’s actually going on, inside or outside himself or herself.
So just sit. Balance, then breathe, then release unneeded tension. Then count your breaths or recite your mantra until you feel as centered and focused as you sense that you’re likely to get right then. Then do nothing but observe and listen. You’ll probably want something like a flower or candle flame six feet or more in front of you to bring your attention back to when it drifts off. Notice what you think, feel, and sense. When you notice your body drooping instead of sitting straight up, it’s a signal that you’re no longer witnessing or being mindful. Regain your centered sitting position and bring your gaze back to the physical object in front of you (unless you’re using an eyes-closed meditative practice.) If you do this for more than ten or fifteen minutes, your body may start to feel painful and uncomfortable. That’s good. It makes it hard to think about anything else. Just notice the pain — where and how you experience it. Continue in this way until the end of your session, “just noticing” everything that occurs inside you or outside you. Then again count ten breaths as you did during the starting sequence, moving your eyes to a different object with each breath, as you make the transition back to everyday consciousness.
Once you become quite skilled at this, you may be able to do it in the midst of some of your everyday activities. Also, when you can do it fairly reliably, you will be ready to put your concentration and mindfulness or witness consciousness together and move into a contemplative meditation. (If you try contemplative meditation without having first developed these abilities, your mind is likely to use all kinds of clever avoidance tactics when you feel uncomfortable. Concentration and mindfulness give you a method to notice and release that avoidance.)
And remember two points. First, often it’s at least as more important to notice your emotions and physical sensations as your thoughts. Second, a runner in training will have days when everything seems easy and to go well and days when everything seems difficult. Meditation is the same way. Whether a session seems “good” or “bad” is not important. Each moment of each session is just how it is. It’s all training. It’s all useful.
For much greater depth and detail about all this, our book Matrix Meditations
Matrix Meditations
