In 1985 a number of changes occurred in my life and I soon found myself in a strange city with my
young family solely depending on me to provide a healthy, safe home. I knew I
needed some guidance. First and foremost, I needed to start working towards
bringing balance to my life.
At the time, there was a surge of information filtering out into
the public on the benefits of meditation.
I was more than just interested.
This sounded like something I already had an understanding of. What I didn’t know was how I was to go about
finding an instructor. Of course, as a
'new-be', I hit the classified ads.
I was in a fairly small city so my confidence level in
successfully finding someone knowledgeable and experienced was not at an all
time high. I also didn’t want to end up
with someone who would insist I give away all my belongings (not that I had
many material items) and fly off to an ashram.
Now looking back, this was a ridiculous stereotypical expectation and
nowhere close to the reality of what unfolded and would eventually change the
course of my life.
Over the years, with numerous teachers patiently sitting
with me I came to appreciate that I had been meditating since I was a
child. When I would run away to the
river to sing, pray and then sit in silence … this was meditation. I would pay attention to how each part of my
body was responding to my breath. I would listen to the water and observe her
rhythm and then my own … watching as they fell into sync with each other. As I child, I thought this is what everyone
does when there is quiet time.
Today, when I am asked to help someone explore meditation my
first offering is this:
· Find a comfortable place to sit where you feel
safe and that you will not be disturbed.
· For the first time, simply sit in a way that
makes you feel comfortable. Preferably with a straight spine but not ridged…instead
with softened muscles. Have some part of
your body touching the floor or ground. (Feet/sitting in a chair, butt/sitting on the
floor, or your back/if laying down)
· Observe your breath as it flows in through your
nostrils and out your nostrils. You do
not have to control anything…just observe.
This is an opportunity to witness how your body responds to oxygen.
· Your mind will have all kinds of thoughts
surface. Just observe them for a moment
without engaging in internal dialog - then let the thought go like you would a
balloon filled with helium.
Forcing the mind to stop working is like telling the heart
to stop beating. That’s its job. Rather,
give it something else to rest on, like the rise and fall of your belly as you
breath…in and out.
If you have an interest in starting your own daily
meditation practice, start off small with 10 minutes each morning and evening and working your way up to 20 minutes each sitting. You just may find your day is less stressful and a lot more
manageable.
For those of you interested in some music samples, please visit the menu to the right and click on the Music Links.
My simple gratitude,
Deborah
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