Sitting in stillness and silence today is probably no harder than it was thousands of years ago when mankind began to meditate. The mind is the mind: it thinks of things. But it can be trained – through regular practice – to quiet down and focus upon one thing.
Still – that’s so hard for many of us that we put off ever sitting down and trying it. Heck, I managed to pretty much avoid sitting for the past 14 years of yoga practice. Fortunately, I was challenged with an assignment to read a Chinese text on meditation. I took it as the perfect opportunity to make meditation a habit.
I started with 5 minutes a day for a week. The 2nd week I bumped up to 8 minutes. The 3rd week: 11 minutes. These times were manageable, which kept me practicing.
By the end of the 3rd week, I figured I had formed a new, healthy habit. Apparently, I had – three months later, I’m still meditating daily for at least 20 minutes – and I look forward to it!
I would miss meditation now – I feel grounded – I’m steadier in thought and action.
It works! How? Should I even question it? That’s like biting the hand that feeds me.
I think the trick is to be comfortable – physically AND mentally. Starting off with too long of a meditation session is a little like marathoning; it’s prudent to build up to 13.1 or 26.2, otherwise, you’re asking for injury (which would be not meditating, in this case).
Gosh, imagine if more people tried it – getting quiet, observing oneself, feeling feelings – the warm and fuzzy kind along with some pretty itchy ones – without reacting to them. Maybe there’d be less road rage.
How to get started?
That Chinese text on meditation – The Secret of the Golden Flower – advises to listen to the “soundlessness” of the breath.
“Once there is sound, you are buoyed by the coarse and do not enter the fine. Then be patient and lighten up a little. The more you let go, the greater the subtlety; and the greater the subtlety, the deeper the quietude.”
Pretty simple instruction. Straightforward. And single-pointed.
The Hindi philosophy, Samkhya (one of the six Veda [or truths]) advised to listen within the breath for the mantra (a divine and sacred sound) of So (inhale) Ham (exhale: pronounced “So Hung” – I know, it might incite giggling) which translates to “That – I am” [“That” being universal consciousness]. The mantra puts the attention on the breath. Again, simple, straightforward and single-pointed.
Or, perhaps, one of these might inspire you to try it.
C’mon, give it a try – you could find yourself with a free (and infinite) source of patience.