Easy Meditation

http://dennisgeorgerudolph


In this life stuff happens.  Like a wheel... going round and round, up, then down... people set goals, strive for them, the goal is achieved... or not... and then on to another goal... Maybe there’s a larger vision in mind, with goals on the way to it, maybe that vision changes sometimes... on we go...


Yet at the center of that wheel, that endless cycle of change, is a hub, a still point that remains unchanging while all around it spins through time.  Whether you’re aware of it or not, it’s still there, never going any place, never changing.  This stillness is both inside of you and outside at the same time.  When you access it deeply, become acutely aware of this stillness, it becomes obvious that inner- and outer- are just ways of thinking about it, and that you are it... inner and outer all at once. 


Meditation is often suggested as a way to get to this inner stillness, and yet having such a goal is often an obstacle to meditating.  If you haven’t done it before, or even if you’ve been doing it for ages, you might want to start with the idea that you’re just going to sit quietly and do nothing... meditating just for the sake of meditating.


There are many methodologies for meditation, and many are worthwhile.  I’m going to suggest a simple form of sitting breath meditation, which is usually more than sufficient.  This is not at all a dismissal of other worthy ways, just some suggestions for easy, effective meditation.


You may want to set a timer for about 20 minutes, so you don’t have to look at the clock while you meditate.  If you want to do it for longer or shorter periods of time, that’s okay; 20 minutes is a good time to start with.  Now, sit quietly and gently pay attention to your breathing.  You can close your eyes to make this inner awareness easier.  Don’t try to change your breathing now, just let it happen.  Some methods have you counting your breaths, or saying things like “In... out...” as you breathe. Right now you’re doing none of that, you’re just focusing on your breathing, feeling it, and allowing whatever sensory awareness comes along with that attention.


Thoughts will come along from time to time, especially at the beginning.  That’s okay.  It’s like you’re watching a stream, maybe from a bridge above it, and that stream is your breathing.  Occasionally some object comes floating down the stream... a thought... so you notice it as it goes by, and return your attention to the stream.  No need to follow or chase the thought, you just let it go as you return your attention to your breathing.


Sometimes those thoughts may seem important, like... “I’ve got to do something!”  It’s useful to have a paper and pen or pencil handy, to jot those thoughts down... then you can get back to meditating.


So what are you doing when you do this type of meditation?  Ultimately, nothing... but it’s nothing packed with stillness, with the silence at the core of all things. 


The Tao Teh Ching puts it well, in chapter/verse 48:


Learning consists of daily accumulating;
The practice of Tao consists in daily diminishing.


Keep on diminishing and diminishing,
Until you reach the state of Non-Ado.
No-Ado, and yet nothing is left undone.


Meditating is not about setting goals.  Transformation happens, but not because you’re trying to make anything happen.  You don’t make it happen, you let it happen.  The bigger You becomes more apparent when you let the little “you” step down out of the way.


What do you think might happen if you were to sit quietly, for twenty minutes each morning, and just pay attention to your breathing?  What if you were to do this for twenty minutes in the afternoon as well?


The effects of regular meditation have been described and even formally researched.  Inner effects include a greater sense of personal peace, freedom from depression and anger, greater openness to useful ideas, increased creativity, and greater awareness of personal identity with All That Is.  Outer effects include greater harmony with people around, goals achieved more easily, and there have even been studies to suggest that violent crime rates go down in communities where numbers of people begin meditating on a regular basis.


Meditating with these effects as goals, though, seems to block them for many people.  To meditate just for the sake of sitting quietly and doing nothing... that is enough.  As the Tao says, “No-Ado, and yet nothing is left undone.”


http://dennisgeorgerudolph.com
dennis@dennisgeorgerudolph.com


Copyright 2011 by Dennis George Rudolph.  All rights reserved.

The Best on Meditation, Here, Now.

http://dennisgeorgerudolph.com


For anyone exploring "spirituality" or seeking the answer to the Ultimate Question of Life, the Universe, and Everything, and wondering what to do... meditation is the best place to begin.  These are the best and most practical resources on meditation that I know of, all recommended highly:


Slow Love: A Polynesian Pillow Book by James N. Powell
The chapter "On Doing Nothing" is one of the best writings on practical meditation I've come across in a long time.  This book is also one of the best on romantic and sexual relationships as well.


Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies and the Truth About Reality by Brad Warner
Funny and educational autobiography of an 80s hardcore punk bass player (for Zero Defex) who went to Japan to work on Japanese monster movies and wound up becoming a Soto Zen priest.  Funny and insightful, this book also has practical instructions for traditional zazen practice.


Zen without Zen Masters by Camden Benares
Discordian Zen, with an extensive section on practical meditation "how-to"s.  Lots of Discordian stories and paradoxically insightful nonsense, all with an introductory commentary by Robert Anton Wilson.


Catching the Big Fish: Meditation, Consciousness, and Creativity by David Lynch
Yeah, the same David Lynch... the prolific filmmaker behind Eraserhead, Blue Velvet, and a lot of other films... and, at one time, weather reporter in LA.  Not a "how-to", more of a brilliant autobiographical exploration of meditation and the creative process.


While reading about meditation can teach you a lot, nothing compares to the experience you have when you really do it!  I'd love to read about your experiences... dennis@dennisgeorgerudolph.com.


http://dennisgeorgerudolph.com


Copyright 2011 by Dennis George Rudolph.  All rights reserved.