Use It, Don’t Refuse it! Meditation for Everything…
Meditation unravels our inattentiveness to how things really are, and we begin to see that there's plenty of distraction and difficulty in our life.
Returning to the Aha! of the Meditative Moment
Remember those "aha" moments you've had in the past? Maybe they've been moments of clarity about something that you said in a discussion, or perhaps you were struggling to make a decision about your career and a different, unique and creative idea sprang into your mind. While many of my formal meditation moments may be focused on working with remaining in the present moment and resting, as best as I can, in a state of non-distraction, without altering my mind, there are times when I'm suddenly presented with an idea worth noting or taking down for use later on, after [...]
Forget About Yourself, Meditate for the Sake of Others!
While there are many reasons to practice meditation, one of the main reasons that I have found to practice meditation is to be less distracted and more present, to be more aware of what is going on within my mind and to be more aware of those around me. With an increased awareness of what goes on in my environment, there's also the potential to become more aware of what is happening to those around me and to attend to those who need my help or assistance. This "compassionate impulse" is a benefit that is not always found in discussions [...]
Meditating on Mountains of Suffering
Integrating Meditation Into Physical Challenges Maybe I've been spending too much time on the cushion lately. Or, maybe I've been working too hard on integrating meditation into my family life and into the process of writing and publishing my book. Whatever the reasons, I recently experienced an entirely new level of challenge in working with my mind while training for the Colorado Triple Bypass (a bike ride, not a surgery!). The Triple Bypass is a popular, "lung busting" 120-mile bicycle ride over three mountain passes, climbing a total of 10,000 feet of elevation, in a day's ride. How I got [...]
Part Four – Challenges (and Solutions) With Learning to Meditate
Challenge Number Four: Sleepiness! Oh my gosh, do I need to sleep! Why am I so sleepy? Was I meditating or sleeping? I don't know how many times I've said any or all of these things to myself while trying to meditate. I've started my session doing everything that I needed to; gotten myself a glass of water, made sure that the phone was out of reach, opened up some space in my calendar. Perfect! I sit down to start practicing, and the next thing I know, instead of realizing some great depth of my mind, I’m nodding off…or even [...]
Part Three – Challenges (and Solutions) With Learning to Meditate
Challenge Number Three: Emotions! In the previous two posts, we've discussed how to work with our thoughts and with sensations while we practice to meditate. Once we've gained some stability in working with our mind and with the thoughts and sensations that arise, we'll notice that they can come and go rapidly, and that given some space and distance, they'll disappear back into the landscape of the mind. But, what about emotions? Strong emotions can feel like tidal waves, washing over us, knocking us from any sense of stability that we may have around our meditation practice. I know that [...]
Part Two – Challenges (and Solutions) With Learning to Meditate
Meditation Challenge Number Two: Sensations! In the previous post, we looked at how to work with our thoughts when learning to meditate. This topic was identified as one of the four major challenges in learning to meditate. In this post, we'll move the discussion to how to work with the sensations that arise when we meditate. As we discussed previously, many people experience difficulties and challenges when first starting to meditate. Especially if the technique or method that is being used is based on observing the mind and its characteristics. Sensations are....Sensational! Many (or most?!) of our thoughts are based on [...]
Challenges (and Solutions) With Learning to Meditate
Challenges in Meditation? I think that it's fair to say that many people experience difficulties and challenges when first starting to meditate, especially if the technique or method that is being used is based on observing the thoughts, feelings and/or sensations. We need to know that there's nothing wrong with us if we find ourselves wanting to get up from our meditation practice and run away, get a cup of coffee, watch the TV...basically, do anything but meditate. What are the biggest challenges in learning to meditate and what are solutions to these challenges? In this four-part series, we’ll address [...]
Meditation is More Powerful Than Morphine!
How we experience our world, including our perceptions of the internal world, can be dramatically changed, and mediated, through meditation.
The Nature of Mind, Nursing, and Rumi’s Wisdom
Minding the bedside, remaining mindful, aware, and compassionate in the presence of those we care for, comes from turning the mind, re-turning the mind inward; transforming the stormy arisings of thoughts, emotions and feelings and recognizing them to be impermanent phenomena, like passing clouds in the sky. The Poet Rumi wrote: The Guest House This being human is a guest-house Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its [...]