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A Simple Meditation Liz Graham is part of the THOMAS Team We spend so much of our waking life thinking about the past memories, past incidents, reliving events, reworking the past; or thinking about the future anticipating what could happen, rehearsing what we will do or say, worrying, fantasising, planning. We are rarely in the present moment and because of this we can have a sense of life half lived, of dissatisfaction, of somehow missing something. Alternatively when we experience being in the present moment we have a sense of being intensely alive, alert and aware. Meditation is a means of calming and refining the mind to a point where we are aware of being in the now. The breath is always with us starting from when we are born it remains with us until this life ends, and without it we could not be alive and yet we are rarely conscious of it. The character of the breath is always changing reflecting our state of being in any one moment, and because of this it is always interesting. It is ideal therefore as a method of bringing our focus into the present moment, as a means of focusing, training the mind. Here is a simple meditation that uses the breath as an anchor.
Settling down Find a quiet place to sit where you wont be disturbed, where you will be comfortable. Find a way of sitting that enables you to be relaxed yet alert this can be in the traditional way of sitting on a cushion cross legged, or kneeling supported by cushions underneath your bottom, or sitting on a chair with your feet on the floor whatever is most comfortable for you. The main idea is that you are upright, not slumped, relaxed, supported yet poised, the shoulders relaxed, the head suspended above the neck as if a thread is holding it from its crown. Give your self time to settle, become aware of the points of your body which rest on the floor and cushions, gently scan the body for tension or pain feet, knees, hips, back, abdomen, shoulders, neck, arms, hands, chest, face - and allow them to soften a little, release if possible, allow the earth to take the heaviness of the body. Simply note any areas of pain and discomfort and take a deeper breath. Now bring your attention to the breath not trying to change it in any way, not judging it, just observing it, following its rise and fall, simply noting its character and flow, and allow yourself to settle for a few minutes.
Just Looking Now turn your attention outwards and allow your gaze to look. If you are near a window it maybe the clouds shifting in their shapes in the sky as they pass over, it maybe the waving of the leaves on a bush in the breeze or the variety of green, or the shadows on a wall, or the colours you see in the room, the shapes of your trainers as they lie on the floor, whatever is there just look. And then look again, and you will find something else you had not seen before, look deeper. Not judging, or grasping at anything just looking and riding on the breath.
Inevitably concentration will be lost at some point and you will find the mind wandering, thinking about other things. When you become aware that this has happened simply see this as a point of awareness and return to the breath not judging or grasping at thoughts, just letting go and returning to the breath to anchor your self into the present, and return to looking. This may happen a number of times, it does not matter we are training the mind to concentrate and be mindful of the present moment, this is a skill and we get better at it. If you are new to meditation try doing this at the beginning of each day for 5 or 10 minutes and see if you can extend the time as you become familiar and more skilful with the method.
You can also use this meditation when walking alone sharpening awareness of your surroundings, the ground you are walking on, the air on your cheeks.
As we practice this meditation our awareness becomes refined and we notice more, become aware of those things outside ourselves. This offers us powerful lessons for life we start to notice that everything changes it is subtle but there light shifts, leaves move and fade with the seasons, clouds pass over, emotions rise and fall, the breath changes with our moods, and everything is linked and interdependent. This meditation leads us to just be and observe this, to embrace all that we see, to just look.
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