Meditation:- what is it?

 Let us dive straight into the deep end. Perhaps I should have worn armbands to avoid drowning in the deep and often confusing waters of meditation. Meditation which include the practices of Mantra and breath work(Pranayama) is the only practice that I can say, without doubt, has transformed the activity of my mind. How I respond to situations. What I say, do, the quality of sleep and even how I move, keeping me light in tone and balance which before the practice I would have thought would not be an obvious outcome. I would stress I am very aware of Wim Hoff, Oxygen Advantage, Pilates, Calm, Headspace and my other small practice via the mindfulness association. All have benefits. 

Practicing stillness and encouraging a peaceful space inside us is one worth pursuing. However, it's hard! Whatever I say or get you to consider, there is no question that the feedback I receive from folks, runners, movers and shakers is......it's hard. What! Yes, being still, practicing stillness, practicing nothing much appears to be very difficult for people to do. Because you ARE doing something, no question. Behind the 'nothing much' is the intention, the breath and calming of those fluctuations of the mind which we recognise.

Why is it so difficult for people to do, this meditation thing? This is the key point and worth taking a little time to discuss and tease out. We are very much  in a constant state of distraction, attention deficit and overloaded with external signals from all sorts of artificial prompts, feedback, views and opinions. We are invited to interact, offer a 'yay, or nay, thumbs up or thumbs down' so many times during the day. Opinions swamp our thoughts and cloud our views, feelings and senses. If you are not busy, what are you DOING. You really should be DOING something. Our lives are organized in a very tight orchestrated manner, have you noticed how many reminders you get, how many times your opinions are sort. How your in box is full of stuff that seems to match your search history. All very clever, these algorithms track you, your views and behavior. Who is pulling the strings, who is the conductor? You or them, you know, those big institutions and organizations that seek to interact with you. It sounds very dark, Orwellian even and in this society of interdependence we can feel a little lost.  

Whenever I get lost or feel swamped I do close my eyes and think of one of my favourite clips ever on TV. The clip is a younger David Attenborough encountering the mountain Gorillas of the Congo way back in the 1980's. These beautiful animals sit, play, eat and relax. You get a sense of calmness, with these big animals.  The mind that is on show to me, is one of peace and a full integration with their environment. 

There, we have the word that I think is the source of the mental malaise that is being reported at an increasing rate. Our environment, the one we interact with the most, is not the one we evolved to interact with. Our environment is the natural world. Our minds and body settle here or over there! The Pandemic made us realise just how much we need nature we noticed how still our minds became when we walked and moved in the natural world around our local area. 

Tuning into simply being, being still, being alert with clarity, being aware of our internal senses is a practice that animals don't need to do. They are there. WE are the ones who are not there. The practice of stillness, meditation is about cultivating and encouraging a mind that is less easily distracted. The levels of focus and concentration over a period of time feel easier and less of a yoke. Samyama is a sanskrit word introduced in Chapter 4 of the Sutra's. We do recognise this word if I describe it thus; , there you are in an exam, fully focused, over time, everything is flowing, you are simply on point. Or, you are listening to a piece of music, reading a book, focused and present. You are less aware of the external senses and more aware of the internal you, the object of the focus is clear. You can also have the Samyama of Mathematics, astronomy, art, music and yes! Running , you get the idea. There are other words associated with this but Yoga is about encouraging what is already present and deep within us, the ability to 'see things as they are' not as they are perceived or interpreted. With this, suffering (Dukkha) is reduced and the associated emotions of  fear, desire and anger subside. 

Big ideas here, but we can sense them and taste them, even going for a wee run on my local beach. I keep this part of my life very simple, I like simple, I like playing, I also like to practice. Whatever is shared here as A G Mohan stresses 'don't take my word for it, practice'. 

see you for another Blog in a while.