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When meditation is mastered, the mind is unwavering like the flame of a lamp in a windless place
– Bhagavad Gita
A long time ago Tara Fraser told me that meditation is like sleep. You can surround yourself with the right circumstances for it, but it won’t necessarily come.
So true. And unlike sleep I’m not sure if dhyana, or meditation, has ever truly come to me.
What is mediation? Well I can tell you one thing that it’s not. It’s not about being able to sit in lotus position! You laugh, but realising that was a massive breakthrough for me. It seems obvious now but there is no point sitting in lotus for mediation unless you are comfortable in lotus. You are never going to find a place of meditation if you are using every muscle in your body to stay in position. Conversely having a dodgy right hip and knowing that lotus will never come in this lifetime does not mean that you cannot meditate. As long as the spine is straight and not slouched you can meditate. Some people sit in a simple cross-legged pose with their back against the wall. I sit on the edge of a chair with my feet firmly planted into the ground.
Meditation isn’t about what you look like on the outside, but what is going on inside.
And what should be going on inside? Well Kimberly Wilson says that there “…is no goal. Really. The point is to slow down, be still and focus within. Some sessions will be blissful, while others will feel like absolute torture…. The key is to continually return to your meditation cushion, to develop a consistent practice.”*
Consistent practice is key, because the road to meditation is a long, slow one for most of us, peppered with potholes.
So far we have brought the senses inward (pratyahara) and begun to focus the mind (dhrana). Now in dhyana we are begining to work through the layers of consciousness, past the subconscious and the unconscious minds into the place where we find our true selves, our Atman. And our thoughts and egos accompany us on that journey, constantly trying to interrupt and judge.
In her CD “Meditations for Balance and Joy”, yoga teacher Cyndi Lee says to be aware of any time you notice these thoughts springing up, label them “thinking” and put them to one side. It is important not to judge the thoughts. It doesn’t matter if they are good or bad, positive or negative, they are still thoughts and need to just be labelled as such and forgotten about. There will be a lot of “thinking” labels before the meditation session is out!
There are many many different meditation techniques from Buddhist to Christian, from meditating on the breath to meditating on an object or mandala. They key is to find one that sits with you and practice, practice, practice. Just ten minutes a day can seem like an age at first, and is probably all you need. Follow Sogyal Rinpoche’s advice: “You just sit quietly, your body still, your speech silent, your mind at ease, and allow thoughts to come and go, without letting them play havoc on you”.
Ultimately for me, I’m not sure sitting still is working. Not just yet. I’m with Desikachar when it comes to this. He’s not convinced us westerners can sit still. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, after all we all live quite sedentary lives. I don’t know if you’ve ever tried meditation in the KHYF tradition, but it’s quite different from sitting still. It involves a combination of slow movement, pranayama and chanting and it is only through this mindful moving that I am able to to truly be present and allow myself slowly to travel through the stages of consciousness. I haven’t made it all the way yet, but maybe one day.
What different types of mediation have you tried? What works for you?
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* Tranquilista (p. 8 )
