The Meditative Life

Dig within. Within is the wellspring of Good: and it is always ready to bubble up, if you just dig.

Marcus Aurelius

Often shrouded in New Age mystique, meditation is offered up as a solution to everything from overcoming your deepest fears to finding ways of leaving the body in order to check out what your neighbors have in their refrigerator. Far from being other-worldly, mediation is directly tied to the universe that is you. It is not so much an act as it is a state of consciousness. This state arises when the incessant need to think about your life subsides and you experience yourself in the present moment, minus the story line.

Despite being around for centuries and documented evidence of the benefits for mind and body, many people avoid mediation like it was broccoli. I attribute this to poor marketing. Meditation would probably be an easier pill to swallow if it were wrapped up with all of the flair of an advertising campaign for the latest wonder drug. Who wouldn’t try it if it were presented as follows?

Low on energy? Feel like everyone else is getting ahead of you? Can’t think straight? Sex life on the skids? Want to feel young again and lessen your chances for heart problems and increase your chances for eternal life? Try new Medi-tate. That’s right, Medi-tate was designed by the greatest minds the world has ever known and was once only available to sages, prophets and soon-to-be deities. Medi-tate is easy to use and you can take it anywhere. You can use Medi-tate in the comfort of your home, in the office, in the subway, in your car, at the big game or while on the big date. So don’t agitate, Medi-tate. Possible side effects include the belief that you are one with the universe, feelings of bliss or euphoria and a decrease in obsessive behaviors.

Now there’s a product that would fly off the shelves.

In all seriousness, many people avoid meditation because of the concept of having to “practice” meditation. Bombarded by the constant intrusion of thoughts, it is easy to feel that one is not doing it right and in the absence of instant enlightenment, the payoff seems questionable. Thus a mental workout mentality takes over and meditation lingers unused like a dusty treadmill that seemed like a good idea when you bought it.

The good news is that you don’t necessarily have to make up your mind to meditate; whenever you leave the mind you are in a meditative state. Sure, you can sit in lotus position and gently watch as thoughts cross your mind likes clouds before the sun. But you can also tune into your breathing during the big board meeting rather than obsessing on your need to update your resume. You can pay careful attention to your steps as you take the dog for a walk rather than trying to understand why he seems to be enjoying life much more than you. Or you can turn your attention to the experience of the steering wheel in your hand as you drive rather than trying to text message a friend about the driver who just cut you off. Remember, there is no rule that you have to be sitting still in order to be in a meditative state.

The key to meditation is to drop the worry about where it will take you and simply enjoy the journey. Meditation is like dancing in that one does not dance in order to hit a particular spot on the floor but to simply experience the delight of movement. When you reach the point where your mind is still, simply be there. Realize that if you go in with your mind, it is the mind that wants an explanation. The deeper you already knows the value of silence and has been waiting for you to be quiet long enough so that you can remember. When your mind is at rest the question of “now what?” will never even occur. If, however, you still find the need to explain why you sneak off for these private moments to your friends and family you can impress them with the words of the great enlightened teacher Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj who said, “The primary purpose of meditation is to become conscious of, and familiar with, our inner life.”

As you begin to experience the world from the inside out, you will begin to feel the power of Medi-tate as it dissolves the damaging forces of stress. Rather than feeling run over by a world out of control, you will feel yourself being driven by a more compassionate force.

Give Medi-tate a try, if it does not work right away take two deep breaths, count to 100 and relax every muscle in your body until you’re a just a limp bag of flesh. Now, doesn’t that feel better?

Your Karmic Footprint

This is the profound, simple truth:
You are the master of your life and death.
What you do is what you are.
Hua Hu Ching

If I asked you what your carbon footprint is, you probably would be able to respond with something "green" that suggests a basic knowledge of how your daily living impacts the environment. Are you aware that there is another form of energy emission that also needs your attention?

Your karmic footprint refers to how you use the vital life energy that is at the core of all existence. In order to understand this life energy you have to look at the concept of karma as it was put forth thousands of years ago, before it was misinterpreted as a system of divine retribution. Far from being God’s version of "paybacks are a bitch," karma means "action." Simply stated, karma is not something that happens to you but something that you do. It is the unfolding of your life, roses and thorns included. This unfolding is not an ego event, confined to the small space of the self, but is part of the greater movement that Buddhists refer to as "interdependent origination" that points to the interconnectedness of all things. In the web that is the universe, your actions are impacted by all other actions. Additionally, everything you do sends ripples out in every direction.

When you motor through life on autopilot you do not take note of the reverberations of your actions and often stand in wonder as to why things never seem to go your way. Driven by the mind, you are likely to stumble into situations that feel like they have been scripted by someone else or are the result of the cruel hand of God. This may leave you feeling like the cartoon character, Calvin, who once told his tiger friend, Hobbes, "the world is either mean or it’s arbitrary and either way I got the heebie-jeebies."

One way to balance your karmic energy is to accept things as they are. This frees up the energy generally used to complain about the unfairness of life, allowing you to appreciate that life is not arbitrary or mean, it simply is and you provide the rest.

In the end, to know your karmic footprint is to understand the truth that Jesus pointed to when he said "you are the light of the world." Whether that light burns with the efficiency of a compact fluorescent light bulb or an itty bitty book light is up to you. Here are some helpful tips to keep your karmic energy from polluting your world.

1. Conserve: Look for the areas in your life where your energy output leaves you feeling drained. If you give it all to work, for example, chances are you are not going to have much left for family fun night.
2. Recycle: Reconnect with experiences in your life that charge your emotional battery. Take walks in nature, visit art museums, listen to your favorite music, eat more chocolate or whatever it is that makes your heart sing.
3. Unplug when not in use: The Tao Te Ching teaches "stillness and tranquility set things in order in the universe." Give yourself permission to do nothing more often.
4. Go hybrid: Don’t be afraid to mix your fuel sources. Sages from the East and West have left behind profound teachings that will get your metaphysical motor running with new-found enthusiasm.
5. Be organic: Realize that you did not come into this world, you came out of it. You are not a fluke of existence but its purpose.

I hope this helps you find the greener pastures of tranquility. It has helped my search and I know that passing it on is good karma.

Themptiness

Mindfulness is like the sun. It only has to shine its light to do its work.
Thich Nhat Hanh

What is this elusive process called mindfulness? People often talk about it with a hushed reverence normally reserved for things other-worldly. The best description I have come across is that mindfulness is "bare awareness." This refers to observing the world, both inner and outer, without the interference of the constant chattering mind. Another great description is that it is "to stop thinking without falling asleep." Far from being the sole property of monks, sages and prophets, mindfulness is actually our natural state. Watch a very young child at play and you will observe mindfulness. Get absorbed in the moment, whether listening to a beautiful piece of music, watching a sunset, seeing your team win the Superbowl (or so I am told, my team has never given me this opportunity) and you have experienced mindfulness.

Breaking through our thought addiction is the essence of mindfulness. The practice of letting thoughts pass like clouds across the sun is instrumental in seeing the world as it is rather than the way we think it should be. This non-attachment to thought brings about what I call "themptiness." This is the vast space created within us when we realize we are not our thoughts. Themptiness is the space that holds all the planets, stars and galaxies. It is the same space that makes a glass useful and turns four walls into a room. Themptiness is the interval between sounds that makes music possible and the silent gap between the in and out breath that makes life possible. It is not "nothing" but it is a "no thing" and within it all things are contained. To be thempty is to fully experience the present moment. In the here and now, you are the observer. You are awareness itself and no longer a part of the passing parade of ideas in your head. You are above thought like a Macy's Day balloon, minus the tethers.

While there are many vehicles that can lead you to mindfulness, such as meditation, yoga, and mantras to name a few, the mind often tries to grab the wheel of these vehicles as it hates taking a back seat. When this happens your practice becomes just another head trip without a map. Here is a quick exercise you can use to keep your egoic mind in the back seat where it belongs:

Find somewhere quiet to sit and observe your breath. Next begin counting with each breath. Breath in and count one, breathe out and count two. Keep counting in this manner until you get to 10. Anytime a thought enters your head, start over at the number one. Do not judge the thought and do not get mad at yourself, just start over. Keep doing this for about five minutes. Remember, the goal is not to get to 10, it is to gently go back to the start anytime a thought arrives. Happy travels!

The Joy of Stress

Our tragedy is not that we suffer, but what we miss when we suffer. Rejoice, then, when a negative feeling has been aroused in you, because if you follow it up, it will lead you closer to liberation.
Anthony De Mello

Can you remember the first time that stress entered your life as a force to be reckoned with? How far back in your history do you have to go to find the time when stress did not seem to be your constant companion? Do you find a smile creeping across your lips as you think back to the carefree days of your childhood?

During those early days, stress was something that erupted like a volcano whenever you loaded up your diaper and there was no one around to change it, or your prized blankie was reduced to its final thread. The outpouring was great, it was loud, and then it was over. You moved on. More to the point, you did not hang on to the stress. It would be back, surely, but your concern at the moment was the little teddy bear that made a funny squeaky sound when you pressed his tummy—ah, childhood.

When we grow up we have a very different relationship with stress. It is very heady in nature and deadly serious. We brood over our stress. We seek to understand it, manage it and avoid it. All of this attention, rather than solving anything, prevents stress from moving on as in those early days. We have grown out of our crib cages only to be surrounded by prison walls of experience, and we have built them high and built them strong. As children, it was our ignorance that kept us free, as adults it is our “wisdom” that locks the prison door.

Stress is the mental friction that results when the world as it is rubs up against the world that we think should be. In and of itself, it is simply energy and can be very beneficial; think of rubbing your hands together on a cold winter’s day. However, left unchecked and surrounded by the right fuel there is the potential to create a more destructive force; think of rubbing two sticks together over a pile of gasoline soaked rags. No matter what we tell ourselves, the difference between the two is not a matter of fate or fortune. The fault, as Shakespeare pointed out, “lies not in our stars but in ourselves.” Once we fully appreciate this point we can see that the solution also lies in ourselves. Once we become again as little children and take the world for what it is and not what we wish it to be, we will find that stress moves on and so can we, minus the whole dirty diaper thing.

The joy of stress comes from experiencing ourselves as we were before the thought monster ate us whole. It comes from allowing tension to be in our life without resistance. Without the fight or blame we become the perfectly tuned guitar string for which tension is essential and necessary. Once we face the fact that our attempts to avoid stress are simply games of hide and seek with the self, we will be able to return to a time when all we had to do to put an end to searching was call “olly olly oxen free.”