Meditation and I have never really stretched into a lazy, warm silence. My brain doesn’t know how to be turned off by regular breathing. Instead, my mind pours out and doesn’t allow me to shut down. As much as I try and I try now more than ever, I cannot just listen to my regular breathing. I even try saying Ohm and counting my breaths, but I even lose the ability to concentrate on that. I say Ohm 1, Ohm 2, Ohm 3, and by then I’m thinking about the noises I hear outside and the chores I haven’t finished and the writing work I’ve either just finished or need to finish. And then I try counting my Ohms again. And my brain of course interrupts again. But I never say no to a meditation session – even the sound bath technique has come into play. I want to be successful at it, so I don’t give up. No matter how many times I unsuccessfully try, I’m willing to try again. The only thing that scares me is going to a meditation retreat where people sit and meditate for hours in the … [Read more...]
Learning more about meditation
I've never been a good meditator, but lately I've given it another try. Here are my thoughts about that: The meditation man said we should not try to fight our tiredness. That we should take advantage of it and rest. And even if we just rest for only ten minutes it will do a lot of good. Whereas, if we don’t rest, we will make ourselves feel worse. I experienced that today during our meditation practice and felt a wonderful sense of restfulness during the ten minutes he was speaking. Hooray. I was able to concentrate on my breathing and nothing else – a huge breakthrough for me. That can be the beginning of a new practice for me because up until now I have always been a poor and unsuccessful meditator. I could never stay focused on my breathing and getting rid of all the stuff in my brain. My mind would always wonder, my thoughts would stop and start, start and stop, stop and start all through the session. And when the session was over, I would be more unfocused than when … [Read more...]
Have you ever taken a sound bath?
I've been experiencing a new meditation technique lately - called a sound bath. And I love it. Here's why: The other day I spent forty-five minutes in a sound bath. I sat in a straight-backed chair in a small auditorium with my eyes closed while listening to the leader play eight frosted glass bowls of various sizes. She used long glass sticks on the inside and outside of the bowls to create a rhythmic and continuing sound while she sat on her knees on the floor. I know because I opened my eyes to see what she was doing for a minute or two. After she finished with the bowls, she played two kinds of drums. One made a quiet rattling sound like it was filled with small beads, the other sounded like low-keyed chimes. She walked around the room with each of the drums so the participants could get the full effects of the sounds they were making. We also were instructed to breathe deeply throughout the session. She said to take one deep breath and hold it in while taking a second … [Read more...]
