5-Minute Mindfulness (6 page)

Once you feel you’ve observed yourself well, begin to observe the environment around you as you walk. Don’t let it engage you. If something you see sets you off on some long, involved path of thought that has nothing to do with how you feel walking through the place you are walking, then as soon as you catch your mind wandering (and it will), gently bring your thoughts back to your breathing.

While new to walking meditation, stay with your breath for a long while. Before you can start noticing and focusing on the rest of your body and your environment, you need to be able to focus on the breath. Otherwise, your mind will be all over the place.

FINDING THE RIGHT TIME TO MEDITATE

When is a good time for meditation? The diurnal (daily) clock is the one we set our conscious life to, but few are aware of the subtle forces at work each day. At sunrise, the environment is illuminated, and natural life awakens. At noon, the sun is directly overhead, with light and heat at their most intense. Midday is a vital time, and the life force is at its peak. At sunset, the light diminishes as it sinks below the horizon, and most active life begins to withdraw. The midnight hour is also a pivotal time of the day. These four periods are regarded as the “peak points” of the day—the diurnal rhythm. The peak points are when you may want to practice, but these times often conflict with other duties.

Sunrise Meditation

Some yoga texts say that the two hours before sunrise are optimum for deep meditation. If you have children, making time to meditate before they arise may prove the most practical. Not everyone is able or willing to make the switch to early-morning hours, but try it at least once. A vacation, pilgrimage, or retreat may make it possible. It also helps to make the intention to arise at a specific time just before falling asleep the night before.

Many people find it useful to start the day with a morning meditation. By clearing the mind and consciously experiencing stillness, the day does not seem so daunting or ordinary—whichever the case may be. Similarly, an early-evening meditation clears the mind of the day’s events.

Whatever time you find best fits your schedule, try to keep it between mealtimes. If you have not eaten for several hours, a growling stomach may interrupt your session. And, if you’re meditating right after a meal, the digestive process could be disruptive. Also, sitting for an extended period right after eating tends to compress the esophagus, bringing on acid reflux or heartburn. Choose a time that is not directly after you’ve eaten or when you are hungry.

KNOWING HOW LONG TO MEDITATE

Depending on the meditation system in question, guidelines on the length of a session conflict, so in the beginning it’s up to you to decide. Some recommend forty-five minutes; others say that twenty minutes is enough of a meditation break to make a difference. But, even five minutes can make all the difference on a stressful day.

That said, if day after day you find yourself squeezing meditation in between daily responsibilities, you aren’t allowing enough time for a good practice. Waking up an extra fifteen minutes early could remedy that or moving errands to just one part of the day instead of scattering them throughout the day could ease up on the time crunch.

Setting a timer or placing a clock in your meditation space may be useful in the beginning, but you don’t want the clock to rule your session. In fact, the passage of time is always monitored by the subconscious mind. In meditation, this awareness often comes forward. So, set yourself up mentally for a fifteen-minute meditation session, and stop when you think you’ve achieved it. If you don’t suceed, try again the next time you have a session. Since meditation is a process of becoming aware, the passage of time will make itself known soon enough. Remember, you are leaving the world of schedules and moving into the timeless. Another way to release the mind from time concerns is to buy a meditation timer. That way, you can set the timer, and its gentle “ding” will tell you when your time is up.

Remember, this is a commitment to only yourself and not to any other person or long-term goal. It’s a gift of time that you are investing in your well-being. So, take five whenever you can.

THE ONE-BREATH MEDITATION

Everyday life continually poses challenges to our inner peace. In the midst of a stressful episode, whether at home or at work, we often long for the peaceful moments that a secluded, quiet meditation offers. But the real world doesn’t offer such moments when they’re most needed. We have to create them. At these times, a conscious pause can refresh the body and mind just as well as an extended meditation session. All that’s needed is the desire to stop and take action or no action, as the case may be.

If you find yourself at a standstill at work, feeling that you’ve come to the end of the rope you’re climbing, stop. Remind yourself that this is an opportune time for momentary meditation to refresh and relax your mind from the climb. Pause all thoughts, and remind yourself that your inner peace prevails at this moment. Think of that peace as a place within you. Straighten your spine as you do this, lift your chin slightly upward and broaden your chest. Focus your eyes above your head, at the ceiling or wall. Slowly and deliberately take a conscious breath. Think of your place of peace opening its door as the air fills your lungs. On exhaling, appreciate the moment for allowing you to pause, and return to the work at hand.

Take Five

In the beginning, you may want to start with exercises that last five to ten minutes and build a longer practice from there. Don’t pressure yourself or set unrealistic goals. Just stay with your program, and you’ll see progress. Once you have decided on how long you’ll meditate, you’ll more quickly notice results if you commit to consistently follow your practice. There may be times when this is not possible, but this steady meditation practice gives you the groundwork you need to be able to meditate at any time and in any place.

CHAPTER 4

DON‘T THINK, BREATHE!

“How can you ever know anything if you are too busy thinking?”

—B
UDDHA

Meditation begins with a very simple premise—focusing your attention on a single point. It trains the overactive mind to slow its frenetic pace and hold awareness still. The focus of meditation could be the breath, a sound, or an image, but, no matter the focal point, the goal is to quiet the mind.

REIN IN YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS

Once you begin to focus your attention, a host of interesting situations— in the realm of thoughts and feelings—present themselves. Thoughts and feelings are important considerations in the early stages of meditation. As soon as you establish your time and space and start your first sessions, you may become aware that thoughts and feelings begin to rush forward for your attention. Everything you may have put on the back burner comes forward, seeking attention or resolution.

THE BACK BURNER METHOD

Instead of trying to push thoughts out of the way, you could make a meditation of viewing them in a detached, disengaged manner. You can do this by neutralizing them. Here’s how it works: If a distracting thought comes forward, welcome it and ask it to put its case before you. Then listen to what it communicates and return it to the back burner. Do not personify the thought; view it as a disembodied object, like a bubble or cloud. Consider what the thought communicated to you for only a moment, giving it a minimal amount of time, and allow the next thought to come forward.

For example, you are meditating, and the thought comes to your mind that you didn’t shop for dinner. Ordinarily, you might think of a quick menu, the items you’ll need, and if they’re not in the kitchen, where to buy them. That might lead to remembering that your checkbook is at the office so you’ll have to use the credit card, and the bill arrived yesterday.

“That’s what I call meditation. You simply stand aloof and just see the mind disappearing, like a cloud on a faraway horizon, leaving the sky clean and pure. And in that state arises your consciousness in its full glory, in its full celebration.”

—O
SHO

Instead, you neutralize the thought by acknowledging that dinner wasn’t included in today’s planning. Tell the thought you will plan it when your meditation is over. Give the thought your attention, assign it a place, and move on.

WATCH THAT ATTITUDE

Feelings are a different matter, arising from another realm of our being. Emotions are not appeased by logic; they possess a stream of action all their own. We can visualize thought as linear and emotion as circular. Thus, we cannot reason with feelings. The impressions we receive from feelings, however, do not have to affect our awareness.

Feelings may come through the body as sensations, pleasant or unpleasant. They may also appear as attitudes, especially toward yourself. For example, as you begin to sit in meditation, you feel restless, saying to yourself, “Okay, let’s get down to business.” What does this mean?

Initially, you may feel a wave of impatience because you procrastinated throughout the day and it’s weighing on you. Then you may feel a wave of frustration, as you’re reminded that there doesn’t seem to be enough time to do everything you want. And, finally, a sense of anger may well up because the interference of others has taken up so much of your time.

Try addressing the impatience with humor: “What’s the hurry? I’m here to be free of business.” Meet the frustration with calm: “The time I give myself will multiply the time I can give to everything else.” Neutralize anger with kindness: “I have been inconvenienced by the interference of others, and now I can make it up to myself.”

Too Many Thoughts, Too Little Time

Most of us think between 50,000 and 75,000 thoughts a day—up to 50,000 of which we also thought yesterday and the day before. Meditation helps us clear out the redundancies that clutter our minds—leaving space for new insights.

Other feelings may appear when you begin to meditate (for example, hopelessness, discouragement, and other counterproductive feelings). What would you say to a close friend who expressed those feelings to you? You would undoubtedly extend words of hope, encouragement, and motivation. Now, support yourself as you would support your friends.

Countering emotions is not the aim here, as that can be conflicting. The goal is to balance and settle the emotions—and that is not a quick, easy task. You will need much practice at this because you are probably harder on yourself than anyone else. One attitude to always keep throughout this process is what the Buddhists call loving-kindness. You must practice it on yourself in the beginning. Allow it to become the byword during all the time you spend in meditation, and allow it to flood into all aspects of your life.

THOUGHTS VERSUS FEELINGS

Thought and feeling can take their turns in sessions. Devote one session to thought, the next to feeling. You may alternate each time you sit for a meditation. As you continue this pattern, an interesting phenomenon begins to happen. The rush of thoughts and feelings subside, and you begin to notice that something else is present—your own awareness, anticipating the next thought or feeling. At that moment, there is a pause in thought and feeling, and it is that pause that you are seeking to cultivate. That is meditation.

The Anchor of Mindfulness

All forms of meditation have many teachings and goals in common: to be in the moment, to establish a distance between yourself and your thoughts and feelings, and to become, metaphorically, the anchor. The rest of you is the ship, and your surroundings are the sea.

Asking questions is a beneficial exercise in noticing thoughts and feelings through meditation. This is not a process of analyzing. Rather, it is a way of exercising mindfulness. And, throughout the process, you are also bringing forth another innate ability: insight. Together, these can provide you with honest, clear answers to all the questions you may have about yourself and your life in general—from “Why can’t I let that resentment go?” to “If I could change careers, what would I do?”

HOUSEKEEPING FOR YOUR BRAIN

While you are in meditation, thoughts and feelings present themselves. Don’t let them fly away; catch them—like butterflies—and ask the following questions:

• Why do I think/feel this way about that person or situation?

• What causes led to this thought/feeling?

• Why do I still think/feel this way about that person or situation?

• What conditions could make this thought/feeling change?

This is an exercise in “mental housecleaning.” And, like regular housecleaning, you can observe yourself doing it. Layers of awareness unfold like the proverbial lotus, and you experience insights along the way.

THE SEED MEDITATION

Essentially, there are two basic ways to meditate: “with seed” and “without seed.” These are generic terms, and just about every type of meditation will fall into one of these two approaches.

MEDITATION WITH SEED

What is meditation with seed? Here, you use a single image, word, or sound to focus the mind in order to reach the launching point away from ordinary mental activity. In some religious traditions, certain prayers serve as seed meditations. They can be quite extensive, and the entire meditation practice may be based on recitation or the silent reading of prayers or revered writings. In others, words of power or mantras are repeated at length to attain the launching point. These may be short or long; they may be repeated several times or just once to arouse or stimulate the mind to reach the launching point.

Seed meditation can also direct your focus to images or sounds. The visual and auditory concentration helps you stay within a theme or atmosphere of meditation. Some traditions emphasize this through meditation or prayer with statues, illustrations, and architectural design. Others use music, sounds with bells or drums, chants, and spoken prayers.