There is a quality to meditation that is like floating on the surface of the ocean. If it is a tranquil day, there is a gentle lift and sink with the internal fluctuations. The emphasis on creating regularity thru my breath or a mantra is less neccessary.
If I there is a lot going on, mentally or emotionally, the surface is rough, and just sitting can be tenuous. Breath or a mantra is like a lifeline. And being curious about the process really helps.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Day 10
Centering in before I start seems to be a contemplation of my feet. Feet are the connection to the earth. Before I close my eyes, it seems reassuring to acknowledge them, flex and spread my toes, relax them.
I thought meditation would get easier to describe, as I learned to do it. But it is what is around the meditation, that is easier to describe, the method, (vipassana) the approach to it, the settling it-like the negative space in a drawing that reveals the subject-I guess because what is there is never the same twice, and it is too ephemeral to hold on to, or some how shifts under any description...
I thought meditation would get easier to describe, as I learned to do it. But it is what is around the meditation, that is easier to describe, the method, (vipassana) the approach to it, the settling it-like the negative space in a drawing that reveals the subject-I guess because what is there is never the same twice, and it is too ephemeral to hold on to, or some how shifts under any description...
Monday, April 5, 2010
Day 9 Becoming ready to meditate
Organization of meditation. Set up comfortable seat. Listen to meditation instructions. (Shinzen Young's Vipassana) Start to become ready. Re-set seat. Listen. Set timer. Listen. Stop instructions. Meditate.
Somehow, it is this 'becoming ready' that is most important. It is like seeing the dock thru the trees, you are in shadow, the dock is in light. Sunlight, reflected light from the water. Keep walking, stepping out of the trees, you are in light. No longer walking on dirt and bits of forest, the path is clearer, drier. Stepping on to the dock, smooth wood, redolent of warm sunlight. Walking to the edge. Standing on the edge of the dock. Poised. And then you are in it.
What ever it is.
Somehow, it is this 'becoming ready' that is most important. It is like seeing the dock thru the trees, you are in shadow, the dock is in light. Sunlight, reflected light from the water. Keep walking, stepping out of the trees, you are in light. No longer walking on dirt and bits of forest, the path is clearer, drier. Stepping on to the dock, smooth wood, redolent of warm sunlight. Walking to the edge. Standing on the edge of the dock. Poised. And then you are in it.
What ever it is.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Day 8 why meditate?
discipline, concentration, insight.
slowing down, new perspectives, energy shifts.
enjoying quiet, feeling relaxed alertness, calm.
slowing down, new perspectives, energy shifts.
enjoying quiet, feeling relaxed alertness, calm.
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Day 7 Cooking Meditation Matzoh Lasagna
Cooking fills me with gratitude, so it is well suited to meditation for me. I made a matzoh lasagna (it is passover) with spinach and leeks.(substituting for the onion) Thank you Captious Vegetarian.
(http://captious.wordpress.com/2009/04/12/spinach-matzoh-pie/)
This recipe is about spring and freedom. The leeks and dill have the scent of spring, the cheeses and eggs make the greens a beautiful pastel, and the matzoh is significant of freedom.
Also, it is delicious.
(http://captious.wordpress.com/2009/04/12/spinach-matzoh-pie/)
This recipe is about spring and freedom. The leeks and dill have the scent of spring, the cheeses and eggs make the greens a beautiful pastel, and the matzoh is significant of freedom.
Also, it is delicious.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Day 6 Vipassana
Balancing the meditation into the day. Meditating in the morning, (or almost.) Setting up comfortably. Listening to the meditation instructions. (it's an audio book- Shinzen Young's 5 Classic Meditations) Only meditating for 10 minutes.
Vipassana is like light and shadow. You flicker thru yourself, lead by a preverbal bodily sense, that you verbalize. (thought at a certain point I stopped verbalizing for awhile, as I was too much in my mouth and throat). It was curious and enjoyable, mostly.
Vipassana is like light and shadow. You flicker thru yourself, lead by a preverbal bodily sense, that you verbalize. (thought at a certain point I stopped verbalizing for awhile, as I was too much in my mouth and throat). It was curious and enjoyable, mostly.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Day 5 Falling Asleep
Today I settled in, I set the timer for 20 minutes. I 'om mani padme hum' ed for 9 minutes, and fell asleep. Because I was sitting up, I caught myself right away. I re- settled. I decided to try again and follow my breath. I re-set the timer. After 10 minutes I fell asleep again.
Today is rainy, quiet, gray. And, for some reason, I thought meditating after lunch would be OK. This is not the case. Today feels so interior, that to meditate is like a double folding in. And a triple folding in with my falling asleep.
Even with this experience today, there was the self discipline of sitting down to meditate, and some insight; chose the correct time of day to meditate, and the meditation that matches the day.
Today is rainy, quiet, gray. And, for some reason, I thought meditating after lunch would be OK. This is not the case. Today feels so interior, that to meditate is like a double folding in. And a triple folding in with my falling asleep.
Even with this experience today, there was the self discipline of sitting down to meditate, and some insight; chose the correct time of day to meditate, and the meditation that matches the day.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Day 4
Sometimes meditation is diving into that interior ocean, long clean and deep. Other times it is a walk in the rocky shallows, with maybe an interesting tide pool or too- but maybe not.
I did not want to meditate this morning. I did anyway. I tried Vipassana meditation, as described by Shinzen Young in his book, Five Classic Meditations. (I am enjoying this book very much) Briefly, Vipassana is seeing what is truly there. You observe the intersection of the bodies sensations, and the mind. Clearly I need a teacher for this meditation.
I reverted to breathing meditation. Saying the parts of the body that felt something, quietly out loud, or then even to my self, felt like too much. The words themselves carry so much sensation, and 1,000 attendent associations.
Interestingly, there seem to be different understandings of vipassana;
http://www.dhamma.org/en/vipassana.shtml
http://www.meditationiseasy.com/mCorner/techniques/Vipassana.htm
I did not want to meditate this morning. I did anyway. I tried Vipassana meditation, as described by Shinzen Young in his book, Five Classic Meditations. (I am enjoying this book very much) Briefly, Vipassana is seeing what is truly there. You observe the intersection of the bodies sensations, and the mind. Clearly I need a teacher for this meditation.
I reverted to breathing meditation. Saying the parts of the body that felt something, quietly out loud, or then even to my self, felt like too much. The words themselves carry so much sensation, and 1,000 attendent associations.
Interestingly, there seem to be different understandings of vipassana;
http://www.dhamma.org/en/vipassana.shtml
http://www.meditationiseasy.com/mCorner/techniques/Vipassana.htm
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Day 3
Today the meditation is a cooking meditation. Karma yoga. The yoga of action. Cooking with out distractions. The recipe is Pan-fried Chickpea Salad, from 101cookbooks.com. Thank you Heidi. I will substitute ginger for the garlic.
(http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/panfried-chickpea-salad-recipe.html)
The chickpeas are the 'ground' of the recipe. Dried, they wait patiently for their moment of soaking, cooking, of realization. The leeks are spring. This moment, evanescent. The spices the energy, the rising; and the yogurt the descending, the calming.
(http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/panfried-chickpea-salad-recipe.html)
The chickpeas are the 'ground' of the recipe. Dried, they wait patiently for their moment of soaking, cooking, of realization. The leeks are spring. This moment, evanescent. The spices the energy, the rising; and the yogurt the descending, the calming.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Day 2
Today I sat on a cushion, and wore my yoga pants to meditate. It was much more comfortable. But still, after a few minutes the urge to look at the timer was almost overwhelming. I varied the tempo, volume, and color of the chant to keep my mind focused on "Om mani padme hum". This seemed to work, and when the timer went off, (my iphone set to 'harp') it was a surprise.
When I cook, I am often gauging the time. This unfortunately seems to happen unbidden in the meditation. In meditation I want to fall into the fabric of the sound, and making the sound, as a field, like a trampoline- not a linear path, or beads on a string...
When I cook, I am often gauging the time. This unfortunately seems to happen unbidden in the meditation. In meditation I want to fall into the fabric of the sound, and making the sound, as a field, like a trampoline- not a linear path, or beads on a string...
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Day One
20 minute meditation on 'Om Mani Padme Hum'. Using Shinzen Young's Five Classic Meditations book.
This is the actually the second time I have tried to meditate. It is hard. My mind is impatient. Telling me, "maybe you didn't set the timer correctly, go ahead, take a look." My right leg fell asleep, and I had to shift position before I was done.
There were lovely images too, that floated up. All these staircases from my life. Actually, any staircase that was by a window-but these staircase were now out in the sky, finally on the other side of the windows. And lotus's floating down from the sky, and some hovering, some settling. It sounds cheesy, but maybe I can make a picture of this.
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