In nightmares there is often no escape, a concept that adds to their terror. We are stuck, desperate to save ourselves or a loved one until the nightmare runs its course, releasing its grip on our mind. Yet sometimes, when struggling to endure our greatest fears, we have the power to just stop and say, I can just wake up. And just like that, the nightmare is over.
That feeling of awareness, power and relief is how I can best describe the choice to meditate.
Our minds act on auto pilot bombarding us with imagined crises, worries, and to-do lists to which there seems no escape. But unlike nightmares that do eventually cease, these thoughts stay with us, running in the background of every single thing we do, distracting us from tasks, conversations, pleasurable moments… the present moment. Waking up from the conscience daymare is harder than the unconscious nightmare, but with practice we can learn to simply wake up, and just like that, it can all fade away, just like the remnants of a nightmare.
All it takes is practice.
I have recently renewed my meditation practice with vigor and already, I feel different. I am more attentive: to myself, my tasks, others; I am significantly calmer; I crave peace, within myself and with others.
Meditation requires nothing but a willingness to try. If you think you need a serene space with the perfect incense, you are terribly mistaken. Right now at your desk, on the sofa, or on the train, you can choose to close your eyes. Breathe. Note the breath, count it if that helps to anchor your mind. Feel the sensation; be in this moment. Nothing in the whole world requires your attention this minute except your breath. When a thought occurs to you, acknowledge it and simply send it away, returning your attention to your breath. Breathe…
Open your eyes. How do you feel?
Practicing meditation gives our over-active minds a much needed break, a chance to quiet the incessant thought-process that jumps with the agility and haphazardness of a flea in a shelter.
Emptying your mind is damn near impossible. What I have found useful is imagining myself on a train platform. The trains represent my thoughts. I am aware of them as they speed by, but I do not board them. When I catch myself riding a train, I do not wait for it to stop, but jump off in a very Indiana Jones sort of way, tuck and roll, and take my place once again on the quiet platform with a playful smile on my lips. Sometimes I like to imagine myself lying on a grassy hill on a beautiful summer day. The lidded darkness behind my eyes brightens with the imagined sun and a slight breeze rustles the leaves on the nearby trees. The clouds are my thoughts. I watch them as they drift by, but do not allow them to take shape. When I catch myself riding a cloud, I immediately jump off abandoning the thought, and float back down to the ground and my body.
It is one thing for your mind to wander to dinner, but quite another to allow your mind to meal-plan for an entire week. With practice, you will learn to catch your thoughts before they wander too far from home.
This blog is about my journey to becoming a gentler, happier, and more compassionate woman. The terrain is incredibly rocky and uneven. Meditation is my new walking stick.
If you are interested in beginning your own practice, and I certainly hope you are, here are some resources I have found helpful:
1. The Calm app – 7 day guided introduction practice, soothing sounds, meditation timer, guided meditations
2. Zen Habits blog – I have linked to the “start” page where you can browse the most popular posts
There are also countless articles on meditation that are helpful, but remember, research can be a form of procrastination. You can close your eyes right now and just breathe…
Close your eyes and just breathe. That's the best advice in the world. But to be able to turn off those dag-blasted thoughts, concerns, family obligations…that's the difficult part. Prayer is a form of meditation. I need to work at it very hard, but I like to go to mass and just sit there with my eyes closed and say, "Here I am, Lord." And not say anything and try very hard not to think anything. Just absorb my surrondings and, like you said, listen to my own breathing. Thanks for sharing this, Jessica.
Hi Victoria, I absolutely believe that prayer is a form of meditation. Although usually we don't try "not" to think, prayer helps us to focus our minds and we usually express gratitude (I know I do when I pray). I always feel better and calmer after prayer.
Fantastic post! I really think you've found your calling with this blog!
Kristin and I attended our first meditation session the other night here in Koyasan. It was a 1-hour private "introduction to meditation" session with a 15-year Buddhist student, an American who just so happens to be working on his PhD in Buddhism (UC Berkeley, naturally).
Anyway, after an hour of sitting cross-legged, eyes closed, breathing, listening to him ever so softly guide us in a body scan — imaging light radiating from our body, first from our toes, then our ankles and so on and so forth for an hour — we were done. It felt great. I asked him about how one deals with the random thoughts that entered my consciousness while trying to meditate. I was very happy that I didn't let any thoughts linger, but like you said, I did find myself briefly thinking about dinner.
His answer was exactly as you said. The thoughts come into mind, like a train passing by. The key is to not jump on. Let it pass. You can't help the thoughts arrival, but you are in control of how long they stay or whether or not you allow yourself to run away with them. Acknowledge them. "Okay, here comes the next thought, I see it coming. I can tell that it's a thought about dinner. Focus on the light radiating from my stomach, breathe in and imagine the oxygen, molecule by molecule penetrating the cells of my stomach, now exhale.
The train has left the station.
Thanks, Doug! Very cool. During yoga nidra (30 minute laying down meditation after my Monday night yoga class) the instructor guides us through all the parts of our body like that. That certainly helps to anchor the mind, although I wish we did it sitting up. Someone inevitably starts snoring, which is distracting haha. Thanks so much for your feedback!