This meditation thing's getting kind of popular - I wonder what it's going to mean...

Over at his blog "The Middle Way", Wade reports that the Question "How to Meditate", has made Google's "Top Ten How-to Issues" list.

I'm reflecting on what this brings up for me (and sometimes needing to notice and then let go, as appropriate).

One of the first things is a sense of satisfaction - a feeling of "Huh! See? I was right!" Not the most constructive feeling in the world, I grant you. I've long been a believer in the axiom that you can be right or happy, but you can rarely be both. In this case, it's because I'm used to quote-normal-unquote people thinking I'm kind of weird for wanting to follow a meditative path - for stating openly that if it wasn't for the meditation and exercise routines I've established in the past, I'd never be able to deal with the daily stress of my life. Now these so-called normal folk are starting to see some value in this path...

So, OK, I'll let that need to be right go - let it just float away - and instead, I'll focus on gratitude that more and more people are looking around for techniques that will benefit their lives, and quite possibly the lives of people around them. After all, more self-aware, self-fulfilled, generally happy-with-themselves individuals has got to be good for society as a whole, right?

Next, there's a feeling of hopefulness that comes from a recognition of the forces of supply and demand. See, if huge numbers of people are looking for information on a particular topic, then experience suggests to me that other people are going to be trying to meet that need - which means that information's going to keep appearing. Now, I grant you, some of this information will be faulty, and some of it will be put up for sale by people looking only to cash in on the demand... but the Internet is a big place. There are enough folks out there who *are* honestly looking to met people's needs first and make money second, if at all. (Note: I'm not trying to say that there's anything wrong whatsoever in trying to make a living meeting people's needs for information or anything else for that matter. Making a living at their expense by making promises that don't end up kept, however, is a very different kettle of fish).

So yeah, I guess I could sum up my response there as being one of hopefulness that, with so many people expressing interest in learning how to meditate, we'll start seeing more and more resources appearing that'll help guide beginners who are wanting to learn techniques (and online community for those that theoretically know the techniques but don't practise them).

And finally, there's curiousity. I know why *I* decided to start investigating meditation: I wanted to feel more in control of myself and my thought processes - wanted to be calmer and less drama-driven - wanted to be still enough to connect with Spirit and with my own intuition. As I've trained and investigated and researched and just learned from experience, though, I've realised that reasons for learning to meditate are as individual as the people who are learning.

So now I'm curious about what's prompting this many people to want to learn now. Is it stressful lives? Health concerns? A feeling of emptiness and yearning for Spirit? A tool they can use to give them an edge in their busy on-the-go lives? I don't think there's any reason that's right-er or wrong-er than another - but the kind of resources people are looking for will influence the kind of resources that become available... and it'll be interesting seeing how that develops.

Speaking of curiousity, why did you originally want to explore meditation? What were you looking for when you started searching? If you've been learning for a while now, have your reasons changed as time's gone by?

I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts!

Blessings



Starfire

Article on Mindful Breathing

As I was working my way through clearing all the articles on my RSS reader, I came across this gem about developing mindful breathing practices throughout the day (as compared to setting aside blocks of time specifically for meditation).

The article is called 'Finding the Rhythm in your Breath' by Jeannie Marshall, whose articles I've enjoyed in the past.

The technique Jeannie suggests is very similar to what I'm doing in many of my post-workout park meditations (although sometimes I don't limit myself to just focussing on my breath, and let myself notice environmental stimuli as well; other times I deliberately narrow my focus down to my breath)

How does this technique work for you? Is it something you can bring into your everyday life, or are you more comfortable blocking out specific sessions of 'meditation time'? Or, like me, do you find a combination of both types of mindfulness works in your practice?

I'd be interested in hearing your thoughts.

Blessings; and whichever holidays you celebrate at this time of year, may they bring peace and fulfilment.


Starfire

Visualisation Difficulties

I've just read an excellent guest article by the Urban Monk at Litemind talking about visualisation, and it reminded me of the frustrations I've experienced in the past around trying to visualise.

Here's the comment I left on his post:

"Hi Albert

I found this a good article, but I’ll admit that it was a tad frustrating for me.

I’ve always found visualisation agonisingly difficult. My mind is naturally very audially based, with a little kinaestheticness (kinaesthesia?) thrown in for good measure. Visually, though, it’s like my inner eye is blind :-S

When I “see” something in my mind, what I’m actually experiencing is an inner running commentary of what’s where, or a verbal description of a thing’s features. I can hear any sounds it makes, or if I’m “imagining” interacting with someone, I can hear their voice, tone, accent and speech cadence clearly in my mind. Occasionally, I’ll “see” the way it feels under fingertip or foot, or the way I move when I use it or interact with it.

Visually though? Nothing but the briefest, dullest occasional flashes. It’s like I’m walking around inside my mind with a multi-layered blindfold on, and every now and then, just for the very briefest instant, all but one or two layers is pulled away and then quickly replaced again.

I’d be interested to know if you’ve come across other people who find it easy to imagine things in rich audio and kinaesthetic detail, but almost impossible to imagine visually.

Curious blessings

Starfire"

I've been aware of this difficulty pretty much ever since I started meditating, and right through my priestess training. And minds being the innovative things that they are, I've found ways around not being able to visualise (like focussing on the other sensations that my inner sense *can* perceive.

But writing that comment today was the first time I'd created a metaphor around how it feels for me to try and fail to visualise. That feeling of having my inner eye blindfolded... yeah, that's exactly how it is for me!

So I'm wondering if anyone else has the same issues around visualisation. Has anyone had difficulty in the past with it, despite being easily able to interact using other inner senses within a meditation - and then learned how to visualise without it being an agonising effort?

If so, I'd really *really* like to hear from you. Please - drop me a line in the comments! Thanks so much :-)

Blessings




Starfire

More park meditations, and an audio file review of "Flying Underwater"

This week I've done a couple more post-workout 'sit, breathe and just be' meditations in the park between my house and the gym.

I'm not sure what inspired me to try that the first time, but it really, really seems to work for me. Even on days when I don't have "the best" meditation session there, it usually still feels streets ahead of how a similar session would be were I to have it at home on the sofa or my bed.

Something interesting I noticed is that I find I need to close my eyes more when I'm sitting on the picnic table in the park though... there are so many things to distract my senses there. Even with my eyes closed, I'm still getting constant feedback from the scents, sounds and sensations on my skin - but somehow, without adding sight to the mix, I can happily just sit and observe myself sensing. As soon as I'm getting input from my eyes as well though, it feels like it's too much - if I try to be mindful about my surroundings, it becomes overwhelming. Huh... I never really thought about that before.

I also did a sitting meditation last night before bed, intending to try out another of the free sample audios I'd downloaded from Dragon Rising (note: at the time I wrote this post, their server had gone down - apparently this does happen from time to time) This particular one was called "Underwater Flying".

Now, I'm not entirely sure why, but I'd expected it to be another guided visualisation, like the Ice River one I mentioned a couple of posts back (Oh, while I think about it - I did try the Ice River one again with different headphones, and no still luck, unfortunately. The music / vocals balance was still off enough that there were still places I totally lost the flow of the visualisation... so no, I won't be purchasing any of the downloads in that particular series, alas - and it had so much potential!).

Anyway, no, I was wrong about Underwater Flying being a guided visualisation. It was, in fact, just a piece of music... but it was a wonderful piece of music - great to sit and breathe/meditate to... The sounds woven into it really did suggest an underwater journey to my mind's ear, so yes, the title is a good reflection of what it feels like to listen through the piece. I'll be moving this one from my 'meditations' playlist to my 'meditation' one (yes, I have separate playlists for the two!), and using it again in future for any unstructured underwater journeying I do.

This one I highly recommend (well, I do if and when Dragon Rising's server comes back up anyway) for those who like unstructured visualisation and journeying when they meditate; as well as those who just want some wonderfully evocative music to relax, breathe and dream to.

If you do try the piece out, I'd love to hear your reactions to it.

Blessings




Starfire

Breath meditation to music (and a review of Dragon Rising's "Ice River" audio meditation file)

So last night I did a breath meditation to music and followed it up with listening through a Dragon Rising meditation audio I'd come across a couple of nights ago and downloaded.

The breath meditation went well. I found myself pretty easily relaxing into the music and rhythms of my breath. Plus, the earphones I was using are those ones that actually slip slightly inside the ear canal, which means that not only do they help block outside noise, but they mean that I actively hear my own heartbeat - which is great for grounding me within myself :-)

There were a couple of times where my mind wandered away on its own for a bit before I gently reined it back in; but other than that, it was all good. I started off only focussing on breath, but eventually, felt that I wanted to work toward an endpoint, so I counted each breath as it flowed in an out, and basically stopped at 50.

After completing that, there was a new audio I wanted to check out that I'd downloaded a couple of days back from Dragon Rising. It was the "Ice River" one, which is part of a group of meditations that together are called 'Wisdom of Water' and are billed as a 'collection of healing dreams, each one evoking a rich tapestry of healing energies, of states and of experiences.'

And the results? Conceptually I liked it, but I found the balance of music volume to vocals volume frustrating. It may just have been those earphones I mentioned (I'll have to try it again with a different set of phones and see if it makes a difference), but the music seemed 2-3 times louder than the vocals, which meant that I'd often have to strain to pick out what the narrator was saying - not conducive to a relaxing meditation! Sometimes I'd lose the vocals track altogether for 10-20 seconds at a time, meaning there were parts of the visualisation where I had no idea what was going on, or how I got from one point to another.

I'll try it again today with a different set of phones and see what that does for the experience. Assuming it doesn't change at all, though? My general response to this particular meditation is "great idea, but unless the execution is improved, I'm not likely to be buying any of the download files (something I was considering doing if I liked the free sample download) any time soon". :-(

Ah well, c'est la vie sometimes.

Philosophical blessings




Starfire

Meditation and mindfulness posts for today

The two articles that grabbed my attention today weren't actually meditation based, although both of them deal with specific kinds of mindfulness. These posts spoke to the part of my mind active when I'm *not* meditating. Hope you enjoy them!

• Over on "Zen Habits", Leo Babauta talks about 15 simple ways to declutter your mind. There's little in here I haven't heard before, but I like the clarity Leo's laid it out with (plus, it' s a great reminder of how important sleep is when it comes to maintaining balance)
  
  
• Tina at "Think Simple Now" talks about 5 myths about positive thinking, and where the difference between positive thinking and Pollyanna-ishness really lies

Blessings



Starfire

Meditation posts that have got me thinking

A few posts to meditation-related blogs that have got me thinking today:

• In her blog "Wonders of Meditation", Anadhura offers her take on the right balance of spirituality and materialism
  
  
• Also in "Wonders of Meditation", Anadhura tries to get a handle on what this thing called meditation actually is
  
  
• And finally, in his blog "Meditation Photography", Suresh (am I a bad person for having immediately thought of the Heroes character upon reading Suresh's name?) discusses whether or not a quiet environment is really necessary for finding inner stillness.

I hope you find them as enjoyable and thought-provoking as I do!

Blessings



Starfire