Meditation and Acceptance: Acceptance can be too passive when used in meditation. The purpose of meditation is to train our mind in order to change ourselves, not just accept who we are. Receptivity is perhaps more accurate. We want to receive as openly and as deeply as possible because that can help us understand what needs to be changed. So in meditation we want to be receptive.
The meditations on light that we have been doing tie into this because we when we receive light into our eyes, then we see.
Thoughts on compassion. Compassion and wisdom are needed together. Wisdom is described as the feminine principle because it is receptive, introspective and insightful. Wisdom is necessary because without wisdom we may act in ways we think are compassionate, but end up doing a lot of damage.
Compassion is the masculine principle because it is active. Since compassion is active it is NOT a feeling. I may feel compassionate, but compassion is something I express; it demands action. In fact, the depth of our compassion may be shown by our ability to act in a compassionate manner when we don’t feel compassionate.
Since wisdom and compassion go together one of the most important actions is to listen. To listen compassionately is to give another the gift of our time and energy and then to act on what we have heard.
Listening or observing deeply is important because it also informs us of the results of our actions and we can see if those results are in accord with what we want.
When we listen to another with faith in their ability to achieve, to be resourceful, and to overcome obstacles we enter into a relationship with them which is non-judgmental. We can be helpful without being pitying. We see them as an equal and avoid taking pride in the fact that we are the helpful one and they are in need.
Meditation 1: Center your attention on your breath for a couple of minutes and use the sensations of breathing as an anchor if your mind wanders. Then extend your awareness to your life and recall all the times you have achieved something against the odds. Remember how you have overcome obstacles. Acknowledge your strengths and abilities and express appreciation to Spirit for having given you these abilities.
When we listen to another who is suffering we listen for the strengths they have which they are not expressing or which may be hidden from them at the moment. We do not tell them this or explain how we have gone through difficulties as well. We listen with faith in them and in their connection with Spirit. This changes the way we listen, even though we do not talk about it. Our attitude is “I am strong and so are they.” When we listen in this way we avoid judging and we do a lot less fixing. We get permission before giving advice or suggestions. We put our agenda on hold and can hear what they really need.
Meditation 2: Center your attention on your breath for a couple of minutes as in #1 above. Then connect with your strengths and your connection with Spirit. Then imagine you are in the presence of someone in need and you are listening to them and radiating your sense of strength so that their strengths will resonate with that. Let this be the foundation of the interaction and them imagine how you might talk or act with them from this basis of faith.
Meditation on Light: We have been meditating on Light for several weeks. Last week we connected with Light as a dynamic experience. Start with the Divine Light Invocation:
I am created by Divine Light.
I am sustained by Divine Light.
I am protected by Divine Light.
I am surrounded by Diving Light.
I am one with Divine Light.
After repeating this a few times allow your awareness to shift more deeply into whatever experience of light you are having.
Now allow yourself to be somewhat creative or playful with the words of the prayer shifting them in a way that flows with your experience of light. Examples:
I filled with Divine Light.
I am radiating Divine Light.
I am playing with Divine Light.
I am soothed by Divine Light.
I am nurtured by Divine Light.
I am in love with Divine Light.
I am dancing with Divine Light.
etc.
You can also use phrases like this throughout the day as fits the situation. One of my favorites is “I am driving with Divine Light.”
Sunday, November 23, 2008
St. Jude's Summary 11-11-2008
There was a question regarding the commentary on the Third Commandment from last week. The interpretation of that commandment as I understand it, is that we are not to proclaim that we are doing God’s will when we are really carrying out our own agenda. The problem with “doing God’s will” is that we are simply not wise enough to know what that is. Even if we think we are doing the right thing, we may simply not have enough information to know what is best, or simply be thinking incorrectly since we are human and make mistakes. However when we have convinced ourselves that we are “doing God’s will” we become blind to our mistakes and we stop listening to the input from others. Thus our actions can be extremely destructive even if they are well-intentioned, and because we are “doing God’s will” God takes the blame for that. I think that commandment is telling us that it is much safer for me to simply to take responsibility for my own actions and leave God out of them. That way I can keep questioning myself and if something goes wrong no one blames God.
Another question was about the idea of smiling with the breath, or becoming mindful of a smile as one breathes. There are four levels of mindfulness that have been described. The first is being mindful of sensations as they come and go. The second is being mindful of thoughts, especially thoughts that are fleeting. The third level of mindfulness is being mindful of craving or repulsion toward whatever it is arising in awareness. The fourth level of mindfulness might best be described as the “way of relating”. This is more nuanced than the craving or repulsion from the third level of mindfulness. Being mindful of a smile as one breathes relates to this fourth level of mindfulness. One relates to the breath with a warm, friendly attitude that can then generalize to phenomena other than the breath.
Note that mindfulness is not passive acceptance, it is cultivating a receptivity with the intention of changing one’s way of being in the world. Becoming aware of the way one relates to the breath and cultivating a warm friendly way of relating changes how we breathe and how we live.
When we smile with our breath we want to smile from the heart first and let that smiling energy radiate up to the eyes and then to the face as a whole. We don’t just smile with our mouth. Once we are smiling with the breath it is easier to radiate that smiling, warm, friendly energy to others in our environment. This is a fun practice during the holiday season. We can move through crowds of stressed, hurried shoppers and radiate a warm friendly smile. It’s interesting and enjoyable to watch the results.
Meditation and learning. When we are learning a new task, we have a low probability of succeeding at the task. As we succeed at the task, our probability of future success increases. For example, when a baby starts to walk it has a low probability of taking a step successfully. Once it starts taking steps successfully the probability of taking steps successfully increases until the steps happen automatically. When we meditate we are training ourselves to shift awareness and attention in order to evoke various responses. When we first start the chance of success is usually low. However each time we succeed in shifting our awareness or attention than the chance of succeeding the next time increases.
A key to succeeding is to give ourselves lots of chances to practice and to have patience when we are first starting. That is why it is so important to create brief meditation techniques and practice them throughout the day. Those give us lots of chances to succeed and even if our chance of success is low and it will happen occasionally. Once we start getting a few successes the chance of success goes up and success becomes more automatic. We can also reinforce the success if we remember it several times after it’s happened. So instead of having a successful experience and then just going about our business we can remember the successful experience a few times to reinforce it.
Meditation on flow and movement. Our physical body moves and curves. Our joints rotate and we can meditate by directing our attention to the arcs and curves that our body describes in space. We can also become aware of the flow of momentum or energy from one joint to another. By placing awareness and attention on the flow of momentum in curved paths through our body across the joints we can release tension and become more graceful and our movements.
Meditation on flow and movement with light. When we visualize light there is a tendency to make it static. We are supposed to visualize like light or a particular color of light filling our body but there really isn’t much dynamism to that. We can also use our imagination to imagine light as a dynamic experience. The light is shifting or flowing in its intensity and color. For example if you’ve ever seen dawn in the desert you’ve experienced light in a dynamic way. Light on water is another example. Photos or videos of solar activity show huge surges in energy and movement.
When we meditate on light as a metaphor for Spirit I think it helps to include this dynamic aspect of light because Spirit is dynamic.
Another question was about the idea of smiling with the breath, or becoming mindful of a smile as one breathes. There are four levels of mindfulness that have been described. The first is being mindful of sensations as they come and go. The second is being mindful of thoughts, especially thoughts that are fleeting. The third level of mindfulness is being mindful of craving or repulsion toward whatever it is arising in awareness. The fourth level of mindfulness might best be described as the “way of relating”. This is more nuanced than the craving or repulsion from the third level of mindfulness. Being mindful of a smile as one breathes relates to this fourth level of mindfulness. One relates to the breath with a warm, friendly attitude that can then generalize to phenomena other than the breath.
Note that mindfulness is not passive acceptance, it is cultivating a receptivity with the intention of changing one’s way of being in the world. Becoming aware of the way one relates to the breath and cultivating a warm friendly way of relating changes how we breathe and how we live.
When we smile with our breath we want to smile from the heart first and let that smiling energy radiate up to the eyes and then to the face as a whole. We don’t just smile with our mouth. Once we are smiling with the breath it is easier to radiate that smiling, warm, friendly energy to others in our environment. This is a fun practice during the holiday season. We can move through crowds of stressed, hurried shoppers and radiate a warm friendly smile. It’s interesting and enjoyable to watch the results.
Meditation and learning. When we are learning a new task, we have a low probability of succeeding at the task. As we succeed at the task, our probability of future success increases. For example, when a baby starts to walk it has a low probability of taking a step successfully. Once it starts taking steps successfully the probability of taking steps successfully increases until the steps happen automatically. When we meditate we are training ourselves to shift awareness and attention in order to evoke various responses. When we first start the chance of success is usually low. However each time we succeed in shifting our awareness or attention than the chance of succeeding the next time increases.
A key to succeeding is to give ourselves lots of chances to practice and to have patience when we are first starting. That is why it is so important to create brief meditation techniques and practice them throughout the day. Those give us lots of chances to succeed and even if our chance of success is low and it will happen occasionally. Once we start getting a few successes the chance of success goes up and success becomes more automatic. We can also reinforce the success if we remember it several times after it’s happened. So instead of having a successful experience and then just going about our business we can remember the successful experience a few times to reinforce it.
Meditation on flow and movement. Our physical body moves and curves. Our joints rotate and we can meditate by directing our attention to the arcs and curves that our body describes in space. We can also become aware of the flow of momentum or energy from one joint to another. By placing awareness and attention on the flow of momentum in curved paths through our body across the joints we can release tension and become more graceful and our movements.
Meditation on flow and movement with light. When we visualize light there is a tendency to make it static. We are supposed to visualize like light or a particular color of light filling our body but there really isn’t much dynamism to that. We can also use our imagination to imagine light as a dynamic experience. The light is shifting or flowing in its intensity and color. For example if you’ve ever seen dawn in the desert you’ve experienced light in a dynamic way. Light on water is another example. Photos or videos of solar activity show huge surges in energy and movement.
When we meditate on light as a metaphor for Spirit I think it helps to include this dynamic aspect of light because Spirit is dynamic.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
St. Jude's Summary 10-28-2008 and 11-4-2008
The last two weeks have seen some interesting discussion. We talked about confronting evil and about avoiding judgment.
Regarding the idea of evil there were a couple of points. One was that even if we think a certain type of behavior is evil, those expressing the behavior are not evil. Evil is not a person or a place. So if we are going to confront evil without becoming evil ourselves, then we need to confront the ideas or energies that are motivating the people who are acting. Sometimes that means acting forcefully against those who are acting in an evil manner, but once their actions are stopped, or they stop acting, then no more force is used. For example, when someone is prevented from committing a crime once the person is apprehended, then no further force is used, and, in fact if excessive force is used that can be punished.
In the Judeo-Christian tradition the most egregious act of evil is to claim that one is acting in the name of God, when in fact one is acting in one’s own interests. This is a violation of the Third Commandment, “You shall not carry the name of the Lord your God in vain.” The seriousness of this commandment is emphasized later in the text where it is listed as the only commandment for which there is no forgiveness. Jesus mentioned this indirectly when he said that any sin would be forgiven except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
The take home lesson is that if you are going to act, then act on your own authority, or on the authority of some organization, but do NOT claim to act on God’s authority unless you are willing to suffer extremely serious spiritual consequences if you are wrong.
The discussion on judgment was animated, and in particular the idea of avoiding judgment was challenged. The question was what to do if we are not to judge. My suggestion was to practice describing. A judgment is an emotionally charged label, and because of its emotional charge we get focused on the label instead of the reality. If we train ourselves to describe, then in order describe accurately we need to become more familiar with the reality we are trying to describe. Description increases our engagement with the situation, judgment reduces our engagement. Note that if we have to act in opposition to something, the more we are able to engage with it the better we will be able to act effectively against it. Using judgmental words against one’s opponents may feel good, but they can give one a delusional sense of knowledge that leads to disaster.
How is all this related to spirituality? There are very destructive processes at work in our world. (This is descriptive and I could go into details about how certain forces are destructive.) Confronting those forces is spiritual work, and engaging with the agents of those forces to limit their destructive actions is the physical aspect of that spiritual work. I think one reason spiritual teachers emphasize non-judgment is that we are able to confront these destructive forces more effectively if we describe instead of judge. That also keeps us from demonizing the physical agents and becoming self-righteous.
Regarding the idea of evil there were a couple of points. One was that even if we think a certain type of behavior is evil, those expressing the behavior are not evil. Evil is not a person or a place. So if we are going to confront evil without becoming evil ourselves, then we need to confront the ideas or energies that are motivating the people who are acting. Sometimes that means acting forcefully against those who are acting in an evil manner, but once their actions are stopped, or they stop acting, then no more force is used. For example, when someone is prevented from committing a crime once the person is apprehended, then no further force is used, and, in fact if excessive force is used that can be punished.
In the Judeo-Christian tradition the most egregious act of evil is to claim that one is acting in the name of God, when in fact one is acting in one’s own interests. This is a violation of the Third Commandment, “You shall not carry the name of the Lord your God in vain.” The seriousness of this commandment is emphasized later in the text where it is listed as the only commandment for which there is no forgiveness. Jesus mentioned this indirectly when he said that any sin would be forgiven except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
The take home lesson is that if you are going to act, then act on your own authority, or on the authority of some organization, but do NOT claim to act on God’s authority unless you are willing to suffer extremely serious spiritual consequences if you are wrong.
The discussion on judgment was animated, and in particular the idea of avoiding judgment was challenged. The question was what to do if we are not to judge. My suggestion was to practice describing. A judgment is an emotionally charged label, and because of its emotional charge we get focused on the label instead of the reality. If we train ourselves to describe, then in order describe accurately we need to become more familiar with the reality we are trying to describe. Description increases our engagement with the situation, judgment reduces our engagement. Note that if we have to act in opposition to something, the more we are able to engage with it the better we will be able to act effectively against it. Using judgmental words against one’s opponents may feel good, but they can give one a delusional sense of knowledge that leads to disaster.
How is all this related to spirituality? There are very destructive processes at work in our world. (This is descriptive and I could go into details about how certain forces are destructive.) Confronting those forces is spiritual work, and engaging with the agents of those forces to limit their destructive actions is the physical aspect of that spiritual work. I think one reason spiritual teachers emphasize non-judgment is that we are able to confront these destructive forces more effectively if we describe instead of judge. That also keeps us from demonizing the physical agents and becoming self-righteous.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
St Jude's Summary 10-21-2008
Today we are going to continue the practice of experiencing a presence that is not physical filling the body.
Many spiritual traditions describe a relationship between light and Spirit. The intention for the meditation techniques we will explore today is to experience our body as full of light.
Exercise 1: Sit comfortably and place your attention on the sensations of breathing. Rest your attention there until your breath feels comfortable, and natural. Then expand your awareness and place part of your attention on any memory or imagining of light. Scan various memories or imaginings to find those where the experience of light is associated with feelings of peace, joy, beauty, or love. Allow your attention to have this dual focus, your breath and the experience of light.
Exercise 2: Begin as in exercise 1. Place more of your attention on the experience of light and imagine that the light is melding with your body. It is not so much that the light is a substance which you are trying to fill your body with. It is more that the light has been within your body all along and you are now allowing yourself to recognize that. Feel your breath moving through your body and open to the experience of light being present where ever you feel the breath. Allow the light to take on various colors or shapes or move in various directions. Avoid the temptation to micromanage it.
Exercise 3: This is a continuation of exercise 2. As you experience light moving through your body mentally connect the light with the presence of Spirit. Sometimes short affirmations can help this. One that I like is a prayer that I found in a book by Swami Sivananda Radha. It reads, "I am created by Divine Light. I am sustained by Divine Light. I am protected by Divine Light. I am surrounded by Divine Light." I often add the phrase "I am one with Divine Light" or "I am becoming Divine Light". Repeating this or a similar prayer while imagining the presence of light joining and flowing through the body adds a spiritual dimension to the practice.
As you gain familiarity with exercises 1 and 2 you can move through them quickly and simply practice exercise 3.
It is also important to create a brief version of exercise 3 that you can use throughout the day to remind yourself of the experience of the light of Spirit filling you and surrounding you.
Many spiritual traditions describe a relationship between light and Spirit. The intention for the meditation techniques we will explore today is to experience our body as full of light.
Exercise 1: Sit comfortably and place your attention on the sensations of breathing. Rest your attention there until your breath feels comfortable, and natural. Then expand your awareness and place part of your attention on any memory or imagining of light. Scan various memories or imaginings to find those where the experience of light is associated with feelings of peace, joy, beauty, or love. Allow your attention to have this dual focus, your breath and the experience of light.
Exercise 2: Begin as in exercise 1. Place more of your attention on the experience of light and imagine that the light is melding with your body. It is not so much that the light is a substance which you are trying to fill your body with. It is more that the light has been within your body all along and you are now allowing yourself to recognize that. Feel your breath moving through your body and open to the experience of light being present where ever you feel the breath. Allow the light to take on various colors or shapes or move in various directions. Avoid the temptation to micromanage it.
Exercise 3: This is a continuation of exercise 2. As you experience light moving through your body mentally connect the light with the presence of Spirit. Sometimes short affirmations can help this. One that I like is a prayer that I found in a book by Swami Sivananda Radha. It reads, "I am created by Divine Light. I am sustained by Divine Light. I am protected by Divine Light. I am surrounded by Divine Light." I often add the phrase "I am one with Divine Light" or "I am becoming Divine Light". Repeating this or a similar prayer while imagining the presence of light joining and flowing through the body adds a spiritual dimension to the practice.
As you gain familiarity with exercises 1 and 2 you can move through them quickly and simply practice exercise 3.
It is also important to create a brief version of exercise 3 that you can use throughout the day to remind yourself of the experience of the light of Spirit filling you and surrounding you.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
St Jude's Summary 10-14-2008
Last week we talked about feeling the breath and the body moved together. One of the participants commented that practicing this helped her slow down which was nice. Other participants mentioned that remembering to breathe and move together acted as a reminder throughout the day to be aware of the breath and to relax.
This week we are going to expand on that technique. We are going to to use the breath and body awareness and combine that with awareness of a particular quality in order to experience that quality deeply within our mind-body system.
If we were to imagine Spirit within us, that can be a little vague because Spirit is non-conceptual. So we can start by picking a quality that is associated with Spirit and then imagine that quality within us.
Pick one quality and then think about what that quality means and how you would express it in your life. Also use your imagination to imagine how your body would feel and how you would speak and act while you expressed that quality in various situations in your life. After reflecting on the quality, shift your attention to your breath and allow yourself to feel your breath moving through your body. Then expand your awareness to include the thoughts and imaginings of the quality that you picked. Use your imagination to experience the quality flowing through your body with your breath. Imagine having that quality and your breath flowing through your body in various situations that you are likely to encounter. If your mind wanders away from thoughts or imaginings associated with the quality then focus your attention a little more strongly on the breath and then again expand your awareness to include the quality that you want to experience. Practice this technique for 15-20 minutes a day.
During the day you can practice a brief version of this technique by reminding yourself to feel your breath and body and the quality you are playing with moving together.
Here are a couple of hints:
When we think about one quality and reflect on it we often find ourselves thinking of other associated qualities. We get tempted to work on several qualities at once. This can distract us and it is better in general to work with one quality at a time. After working with one quality for a week or two we can then shift our energy to other qualities.
Sometimes we don’t get many thoughts or imaginings about equality that we want to work with. If that happens consistently then the problem may be that we don’t need to develop any more of that quality. Our wise inner self may be wanting us to work with a different quality. So if you consistently have difficulty with one quality than try working with some other qualities first.
Even though this is a meditation technique, thinking is an important when you practice. It is sometimes difficult to visualize or imagne a quality and deliberately thinking about the quality and how to express it can make it more real for us.
This week we are going to expand on that technique. We are going to to use the breath and body awareness and combine that with awareness of a particular quality in order to experience that quality deeply within our mind-body system.
If we were to imagine Spirit within us, that can be a little vague because Spirit is non-conceptual. So we can start by picking a quality that is associated with Spirit and then imagine that quality within us.
Pick one quality and then think about what that quality means and how you would express it in your life. Also use your imagination to imagine how your body would feel and how you would speak and act while you expressed that quality in various situations in your life. After reflecting on the quality, shift your attention to your breath and allow yourself to feel your breath moving through your body. Then expand your awareness to include the thoughts and imaginings of the quality that you picked. Use your imagination to experience the quality flowing through your body with your breath. Imagine having that quality and your breath flowing through your body in various situations that you are likely to encounter. If your mind wanders away from thoughts or imaginings associated with the quality then focus your attention a little more strongly on the breath and then again expand your awareness to include the quality that you want to experience. Practice this technique for 15-20 minutes a day.
During the day you can practice a brief version of this technique by reminding yourself to feel your breath and body and the quality you are playing with moving together.
Here are a couple of hints:
When we think about one quality and reflect on it we often find ourselves thinking of other associated qualities. We get tempted to work on several qualities at once. This can distract us and it is better in general to work with one quality at a time. After working with one quality for a week or two we can then shift our energy to other qualities.
Sometimes we don’t get many thoughts or imaginings about equality that we want to work with. If that happens consistently then the problem may be that we don’t need to develop any more of that quality. Our wise inner self may be wanting us to work with a different quality. So if you consistently have difficulty with one quality than try working with some other qualities first.
Even though this is a meditation technique, thinking is an important when you practice. It is sometimes difficult to visualize or imagne a quality and deliberately thinking about the quality and how to express it can make it more real for us.
Monday, October 13, 2008
St Jude's Summary 10-6-2008
Last week we ended with the technique of bringing awareness to physical sensations and placing attention on the change in sensations throughout the body that were associated with the breath.
We are going to extend this technique of sensing the breath throughout the body by associating breath with movement.
Start by making a simple movement, lifting one arm up and lowering it. Then couple that movement to the breath. Inhale as you lift your arm and exhale as you lower it. Feel for sensations of breathing that flow into your arm as it moves. After a few repetitions pause and reflect on the experience.
Then reverse the movement and breath by inhaling as you lower your arm and exhaling as you raise it. Notice the difference between this and the last technique.
Now play around with some other movements. Use the other arm or both arms. Extend an arm as you exhale and draw it in as you inhale. As you move and breathe feel as if the breath is flowing through your limbs as you move.
When we go about our day and things happen that cause frustration or stress we often respond by restricting our breath. It is like our energy flow gets a kink in it. Our movement also becomes kinked and muscles tighten and lock up. If we make a habit of having our breath and movement flow together then we can avoid this kinking or tightening, or at least loosen it up after it happens.
Imagine a situation in which you might feel tense or frustrated. Then imagine moving through that situation flowing with your breath. Notice any changes in how you might have responded to the situation as you do this.
Play with this idea of coupling movement with breath and feeling as if the breath and body are moving together.
http://drjoetuesdaymeditation.blogspot.com/
We are going to extend this technique of sensing the breath throughout the body by associating breath with movement.
Start by making a simple movement, lifting one arm up and lowering it. Then couple that movement to the breath. Inhale as you lift your arm and exhale as you lower it. Feel for sensations of breathing that flow into your arm as it moves. After a few repetitions pause and reflect on the experience.
Then reverse the movement and breath by inhaling as you lower your arm and exhaling as you raise it. Notice the difference between this and the last technique.
Now play around with some other movements. Use the other arm or both arms. Extend an arm as you exhale and draw it in as you inhale. As you move and breathe feel as if the breath is flowing through your limbs as you move.
When we go about our day and things happen that cause frustration or stress we often respond by restricting our breath. It is like our energy flow gets a kink in it. Our movement also becomes kinked and muscles tighten and lock up. If we make a habit of having our breath and movement flow together then we can avoid this kinking or tightening, or at least loosen it up after it happens.
Imagine a situation in which you might feel tense or frustrated. Then imagine moving through that situation flowing with your breath. Notice any changes in how you might have responded to the situation as you do this.
Play with this idea of coupling movement with breath and feeling as if the breath and body are moving together.
http://drjoetuesdaymeditation.blogspot.com/
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Class Summary 9-30-2008
A couple of people mentioned techniques that had been introduced previously that helped them get to sleep so lets review those.
The first application was one that I had used myself when having some difficulty falling asleep after waking up in the middle of the night. I was restless and somewhat uncomfortable. I usually advise people not to toss and turn in bed, but rather to get up out of bed and do something soothing that preferably does not involve turning on a light, TV, or computer. However on this occasion I did not feel well and did not want to get out of bed. The usual thoughts were running through my mind, thoughts like "I need to get to sleep," "it's going to be brutal tomorrow if I don't get to sleep tonight," and other thoughts like that. Instead of paying attention to the thoughts and arguing with them or getting stressed out by them, I shifted my awareness to physical sensations. I then focused my attention on any sensations of warmth and comfort that I could find. While there were certainly other sensations that were not comfortable, I was able to find enough sensations of warmth and comfort to keep my attention focused on those. As I did that I felt the sensations of warmth and comfort increasing or maybe I was simply getting absorbed in them and other sensations were fading away. In any case I kept feeling warmer and more comfortable until I woke up in the morning feeling rested.
This is an application of meditation in the following way. In meditation we train our mind to become conscious of various fields of awareness. In this case I deliberately became more conscious of physical sensations and deliberately less conscious of thoughts. My field of awareness was more my physical body and less my thinking mind.
In meditation we also train our mind to apply attention by picking a center of attention and varying the range of attention around the center. In this case the center of my attention was sensations of warmth and comfort and I focused on those, reducing the breadth of my attention to those sensations. I did not try to fight off other sensations or fight off thoughts because that would have shifted my attention to sensations and thoughts that would not have helped me get to sleep. Instead I simply focused more and more on sensations of warmth and comfort. I figured that even if I didn't fall asleep I would at least have a long period of resting warm and comfortably and that was better than tossing and turning. As it turned out I fell asleep fairly quickly.
Sometimes thoughts are too intense to shift awareness and attention from them. Two techniques for dealing with such thoughts are as follows. The first is to be used for thoughts that are creative or intelligent or contain important new ideas. If such thoughts are keeping you awake in the middle of the night then write them down with the intention of reviewing them when you wake up. Then do something to relax your body and go back to bed.
The second technique is to be used for ruminating thoughts that are not wise or creative but rather associated with distressing emotions such as anger, bitterness, or sadness. In this case allow the thoughts to flow out of your mind and onto paper writing them down in a stream of consciousness manner. Your intention in this technique is to purge the thoughts onto paper with the plan of throwing them away without looking at them. This is a cathartic technique and rereading the material you write would simply be like re-ingesting the toxic emotions that you have purged. As you write do not worry about grammar or punctuation or spelling. Just allow the pen to move. After you feel like you have purged the repetitive thoughts from your head then do something that is physically soothing and go back to bed. Remember to destroy the material you wrote.
A couple of weeks ago we went over a number of techniques which involved bringing attention to the breath along with either thoughts or imagined experiences. For the last technique tonight I would like to go over another breathing technique, this time maintaining the field of awareness mostly on the physical experience of breathing but extending the range of attention to include the whole body.
Start by bringing attention to the physical sensations of breathing wherever you feel them most easily. Then extend the range of your attention to other sensations of breathing which are less easily felt. Continue to become more and more aware of subtle sensations associated with breathing that are occurring elsewhere in your body. Extend the range of your attention to include your whole physical body, feeling for sensations associated with breathing all the way out to the tips of the toes, the tips of fingers, and the top of the head. If you wonder whether you are imagining these sensations then notice that wondering is a thinking process and bring your awareness back to your physical body and place attention on the sensations associated with breathing.
There is no need to try and imagine or force certain types of sensations to occur. Simply be aware of physical sensations and pay attention to those physical sensations associated with breathing, feeling especially for sensations in parts of the body which are not usually associated with the breathing process. If you're having any difficulty with the technique then simply focus your attention more on sensations associated with breathing that you can feel easily.
With practice we can feel as if our breath is flowing through our whole body. If we add a thought or imagined experience to the breath, like we did two weeks ago, then this technique helps us experience the thought or imagined experience more extensively throughout our whole body.
The first application was one that I had used myself when having some difficulty falling asleep after waking up in the middle of the night. I was restless and somewhat uncomfortable. I usually advise people not to toss and turn in bed, but rather to get up out of bed and do something soothing that preferably does not involve turning on a light, TV, or computer. However on this occasion I did not feel well and did not want to get out of bed. The usual thoughts were running through my mind, thoughts like "I need to get to sleep," "it's going to be brutal tomorrow if I don't get to sleep tonight," and other thoughts like that. Instead of paying attention to the thoughts and arguing with them or getting stressed out by them, I shifted my awareness to physical sensations. I then focused my attention on any sensations of warmth and comfort that I could find. While there were certainly other sensations that were not comfortable, I was able to find enough sensations of warmth and comfort to keep my attention focused on those. As I did that I felt the sensations of warmth and comfort increasing or maybe I was simply getting absorbed in them and other sensations were fading away. In any case I kept feeling warmer and more comfortable until I woke up in the morning feeling rested.
This is an application of meditation in the following way. In meditation we train our mind to become conscious of various fields of awareness. In this case I deliberately became more conscious of physical sensations and deliberately less conscious of thoughts. My field of awareness was more my physical body and less my thinking mind.
In meditation we also train our mind to apply attention by picking a center of attention and varying the range of attention around the center. In this case the center of my attention was sensations of warmth and comfort and I focused on those, reducing the breadth of my attention to those sensations. I did not try to fight off other sensations or fight off thoughts because that would have shifted my attention to sensations and thoughts that would not have helped me get to sleep. Instead I simply focused more and more on sensations of warmth and comfort. I figured that even if I didn't fall asleep I would at least have a long period of resting warm and comfortably and that was better than tossing and turning. As it turned out I fell asleep fairly quickly.
Sometimes thoughts are too intense to shift awareness and attention from them. Two techniques for dealing with such thoughts are as follows. The first is to be used for thoughts that are creative or intelligent or contain important new ideas. If such thoughts are keeping you awake in the middle of the night then write them down with the intention of reviewing them when you wake up. Then do something to relax your body and go back to bed.
The second technique is to be used for ruminating thoughts that are not wise or creative but rather associated with distressing emotions such as anger, bitterness, or sadness. In this case allow the thoughts to flow out of your mind and onto paper writing them down in a stream of consciousness manner. Your intention in this technique is to purge the thoughts onto paper with the plan of throwing them away without looking at them. This is a cathartic technique and rereading the material you write would simply be like re-ingesting the toxic emotions that you have purged. As you write do not worry about grammar or punctuation or spelling. Just allow the pen to move. After you feel like you have purged the repetitive thoughts from your head then do something that is physically soothing and go back to bed. Remember to destroy the material you wrote.
A couple of weeks ago we went over a number of techniques which involved bringing attention to the breath along with either thoughts or imagined experiences. For the last technique tonight I would like to go over another breathing technique, this time maintaining the field of awareness mostly on the physical experience of breathing but extending the range of attention to include the whole body.
Start by bringing attention to the physical sensations of breathing wherever you feel them most easily. Then extend the range of your attention to other sensations of breathing which are less easily felt. Continue to become more and more aware of subtle sensations associated with breathing that are occurring elsewhere in your body. Extend the range of your attention to include your whole physical body, feeling for sensations associated with breathing all the way out to the tips of the toes, the tips of fingers, and the top of the head. If you wonder whether you are imagining these sensations then notice that wondering is a thinking process and bring your awareness back to your physical body and place attention on the sensations associated with breathing.
There is no need to try and imagine or force certain types of sensations to occur. Simply be aware of physical sensations and pay attention to those physical sensations associated with breathing, feeling especially for sensations in parts of the body which are not usually associated with the breathing process. If you're having any difficulty with the technique then simply focus your attention more on sensations associated with breathing that you can feel easily.
With practice we can feel as if our breath is flowing through our whole body. If we add a thought or imagined experience to the breath, like we did two weeks ago, then this technique helps us experience the thought or imagined experience more extensively throughout our whole body.
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