Having the last few posts building up to and then encompassing meditation, begs the question, how did we do? If you have any
thoughts insights or questions, please email me at carrollhypnotherapy <at> gmail.com.
I would love to hear from you.
Last week we arrived at meditation, this week let’s go deeper into variations. While meditation’s overarching goal is mindfulness and inner peace, the path is unique in it’s myriad approaches to mind quieting. We do not have to commit to a single style, but rather give ourselves permission learn from a variety of approaches. Each offers a different facet of both ourselves and our mental landscape.
Take, for instance, that we view meditation as Observing the mind. Observing offers us the opportunity to simply witness thoughts and emotions as they arise and pass in the mind-body. This sort of awareness gifts us the time to flow with our mind activity rather than resist it. Here we simply accept the mind as it comes to the table. It is paramount in this type of meditation to train the self to observe without judgement or attachment.
Look upon the self kindly. As the parent would the child. As the highest self would the human version striving to ascend.
These skills go far day to day in facilitating mindfulness as well as a more loving inner dialogue (yes, you deserve that) and self regulation.
Because the observant mind practice is the noticing of thoughts, sensations and emotions as they come and go without getting caught in the wave of their energy, this style of practice becomes about rooting firmly in the now. Finding the now is in the stepping away from mind loops and patterns. Here we give ourselves the opportunity to observe how thoughts and mind activity is an ever changing flow in which we need not involve ourselves. By observing the mind we recognize several things.
- We are not our thoughts. Can we be, simultaneously, the observer and the observed?
- Thoughts pass.
- Everything passes.
As we begin to allow the steady flow of now to enter our awareness, we find that now piggybacks the concept of fluid change. Nothing is permanent from moment to moment, with the exception of who that observes. What arises, passes; and life continues on. This realization ultimately helps free us from habitual patterns, reactions and emotional triggers.
Many use the concept of Silencing the Mind. As it sounds, silencing the mind is shutting down the incessant stream of chatter running amok in our brains. This is about allowing the mind to rest in a state where domineering thoughts lose their grip, often introducing profound stillness. Practiced techniques like focusing on the breath, or a flame, or a mantra, are mind quieters by design. By allowing the mind to focus on a single point of awareness we gradually find less noise and a more engaged quiet. People often find that silencing the mind is the beginning of profound mental calm and newfound clarity. This is a particularly effective technique for those struggling with constant or negative mental activity.
We could also enter into the practice of Emptying the Mind. This is generally considered a deeper meditation whose more advanced goal is to reach a state of consciousness that is pure awareness. Simply the resonance of, I am. Here the mind remains free of thoughts, emotions and, eventually, even identity. This is a practice that requires consistency, effort and patience. It also requires the mindful attunement to a stillness so profound that we begin to understand a state exists that transcends the mind-body in the ultimate act of letting go.
Remember that meditation isn’t a final place. It is not that which we procure, but rather a journey in the practicing of meditation. Enjoy it. Play here. It is not a science, but a consistent process of reminding ourselves to stay on the task at hand. Each harness and return of the mind becomes the practice of striving toward a deeper understanding of the self. The repeated wandering and return to quiet is meditation. It is not a test that we can fail, but a path that we build brick by brick; each careful bricklaying allows us to take another step on the path uniting us with ourselves.
Herein lies the most challenging task of all, the day to day discipline to stay the path and keep walking forward.
One step, then another.
We create the path forward. Each step taking us deeper into the center self of knowing. See yourself with amusement, with a gentleness bespeaking love and respect. Learn to be there, in your quiet.
And revel in you.
