Being still does not mean don't move. It means move in peace
E'yen A. Gardner
If you recall the previous post, the lesson you should have come away with was:
Breathe in……..breathe out……..wax on……..wax off……..oh wait – wrong theme! Sorry about that!
Seriously (and that is difficult for me), we learned that the key to stillness is finding a way to disengage from the thoughts constantly flowing through our mind. We found we can do this by focusing our point of attention elsewhere. In the previous post (Meditation: Stillness Through Breath) our focus was exclusively on breathing techniques. We will go beyond that in this post!
First, More Breathing: Originally, I intended to dive right into non-breath techniques we can use to find stillness, but I came across another breathing technique absolutely worth mentioning. I was re-reading one of David Deida’s many books (more on this in another post….and you will love it) and I realized that the breathing technique he was teaching is perfect for finding stillness. He was actually teaching a method of circulating energy within the body, but isn’t that what breathing is?
By the way, if you don’t know him, David Deida is an American author who writes about the sexual and spiritual relationship between men and women. We will definitely be discussing his work in later posts!
I’m sure you recall the term pranayama, which is Sanskrit meaning the practice whereby energy is expanded through the regulation and control of breath. What David Deida describes is a technique I had been experimenting with on my own, but couldn’t quite get to a point where I was satisfied. When I read of his technique, it was a perfect mesh with what I was seeking. The concept is that as we inhale, we pull energy into our body and it circulates down the front of the body to our pelvic region. As we are bringing this energy in with our breath, we breathe with our diaphragm, expanding our belly to hold the energy we bring in. When we complete the inhalation cycle, we contract our pelvic region. This is similar to a kegel or PC (pubococcygeus muscle) exercise. Then, as we hold the contraction, we begin the exhalation process. As we exhale, we should feel the energy move from our pelvic region up our spine, all the way to our head. Throughout the entire process, we keep our tongue gently pressed against the front roof of our mouth (this completes the energy circuit).
This may seem like a complicated process, but if you begin slowly and continue to practice, it becomes second nature. Don’t be discouraged if, at first, you cannot feel the energy. It will come with practice! As in the other breathing techniques we've covered, this method pulls your mind away from the “monkey mind” of distracting thoughts you may be having and places your attention on the breath and associated energy, thus producing the stillness of mind we seek.
As you begin your meditation, try this pranayama circulation technique. You may sequence through as many cycles as you need to find your quiet place. Go with how you feel as you get into the breathing! Eventually, as your mind lets go of all the extraneous thoughts you may have been having, your breathing will transition naturally to a normal, gentle breathing pattern without you having to think about it.
Now let’s depart from the traditional breath control techniques and explore a few other methods that I've found to be helpful.
Flame! The first method is exceptionally simple. All you have to do is to introduce a candle into your meditation environment. Light the candle as you begin your session. While maintaining an awareness of your breath, stare into the candle flame. Obviously, this method is more effective in a low light environment. As you stare at the flame, watch it flicker and twist in the minute air currents that flow around it. Observe the different colors within the flame itself. Observe how it appears attached to the wick. As you do this, you will eventually detach from the rampant thoughts of the day and come to find the quiet stillness you so desire. Your meditation may begin from this point, or you may wish to detach from the flame before you begin. Either way, you've found a quiet spot in your mind! It doesn’t get much simpler than this!
Got Gong? This next technique is grounded in one of the most fundamental aspects of our existence – vibration!
Hey, I’m always up for trying new things so when I saw a local meetup.com meeting to explore pranic healing, I thought, “what the heck” and I signed up! I have to admit that the closer the date of the meeting, the more nervous I became. Finally, the day arrived and as I was walking to the front door of a beautiful home in a nice neighborhood in Deland, Florida I began to have second thoughts. I realized I wasn’t even certain I knew what pranic healing was! I’m standing at the front door thinking about turning around and leaving, after all, no one has seen me yet! Suddenly, another car pulls up, a couple gets out and heads my way! Ugh, my escape route is cut off! I decided I may as well face my fate, turned back to the door and rang the doorbell. I was greeted by a very pleasant young woman and invited in.
There were several people already gathered and oddly enough, they all looked and acted like normal people. There was one man that stood out, dressed in a sort of Middle Eastern garb who went by the name of Hargobind, but he seemed like a very nice person as well. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all!
Finally, the session was called to order and we were asked to introduce ourselves. Following introductions, the moderator began by explaining that she normally opened the session with an invocation and prayer, but that due to a knee injury she had suffered recently she was going to depart from her normal routine. Hargobind was going to lead the opening of the meeting by playing a gong as the opening prayer. My mind was immediately transported to a 1950s ‘B’ movie that opened with some burly guy swinging a big mallet against a gong! I figured I might as well go along and make the best of it. We all closed our eyes and assumed a comfortable meditative position – and waited. Hargobind stood up with the gong in one hand and the mallet in the other – c’mon, let’s get this over with. And then he struck the gong…….and my world went topsy turvy!
Beginning with the very first note, my mind went completely blank! I was aware only of the various notes, rhythms, and harmonics produced by the gong. I felt totally immersed in sound and never wanted to stop – it was such a nurturing place for me. My body and mind were both in tune with that gong!
Of course, everyone reacts differently, but it was uncanny how a simple (yet unbelievably complex) gong tone could instantly blank my mind.
I desperately need for you to experience this, so here is an excerpt from a gong concert performance given by Hargobind. It is only six and a half minutes long, but he plays three different gongs, which will give you a sense of the musical range of different gongs. If you Google “Hargobind” and “gong” you will find additional performances by Hargobind as well as other Masters. Before you begin listening, get into your meditative environment and position, close your eyes, and enjoy!
As I mentioned, you can find plenty of gong performances by various masters simply by searching the internet. If you care to investigate further, you will discover that gongs come in all shapes, sizes, and frequencies. There is also a series of gong frequencies that are in tune with the planets! I will leave that to you to investigate!
Kirtan: I have to send a special thank you to my friend Juliann for reminding me of Kirtan in one of her recent Facebook posts. Please visit Juliann’s web site http://soulsoliloquy.com/
Kirtan is another technique you can employ in your quest to quiet the mind. Kirtan is music based on ancient chants accompanied by instrumental music. The chants are usually (but not always) sung in Sanskrit. Kirtan is a non-denominational experience. Everyone experiences Kirtan differently, with some finding it deeply spiritual, while others find it deeply religious. Either way, it releases our mind from the monkey mind clutter!
The leader (wallah) sings the chant as music is played and the audience then sings it back. As you participate, you find that you become one with the performers and other members of the audience. The chants may be sung for just a short period of time (five to ten minutes) or they may go on for an hour. When the chant ends, you will find that your mind is clear and still! It is an excellent way to begin a meditation.
As always, there are tons of examples of Kirtan accessible on the internet. I selected one that I particularly enjoy (and it is only ten minutes long). It is interesting in that the instruments played are both traditional and modern. They also come from several different cultures. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Good Vibrations: Have you noticed a common thread running throughout all of the techniques we’ve discussed so far? If you guessed that everything has a rhythm (perhaps a better word is vibration) you should be writing this blog, not me!!! You see, we live in a vibrational world. Not only does all matter (and energy) around us vibrate, but so do we. And we all do it at different rates! And we do it collectively as the human race! And on and on………
So what is a vibration? Think of a vibration as an object transitioning between two states. For example, have you ever found yourself wavering on what you want for dinner? One instant you are thinking pizza, and the next you are thinking burger. You just can’t make up your mind and so you oscillate, or vibrate, between these two states. And that is exactly what a vibration is – an oscillation (or switch) between two states. You go back and forth. Vibrations may be between states of mind, sounds, visual effects, and so on. At the risk of becoming too technical, the rate at which you switch between states is referred to as frequency. This is a pretty simplistic explanation, but I really wanted to introduce the concept. There is much more to the vibrational nature of our universe that we will cover later.
What’s so interesting about this is that everything we have discussed here is based on vibration. Our breathing is a vibration centered on inhalation and exhalation. The candle flame has colors, which are nothing more than different frequencies of light (vibrations)! The gong and Kirtan center around music, which is nothing more than vibration in the form of sound.
I wanted to point the concept of vibration out because it is one of the most fundamental aspects of our existence and will play an integral role as we explore the way in which we interact with the universe! You’re probably saying, “Huh” at this point. Stay tuned to the upcoming posts because it will all tie together – trust me!
As a parting gift and acknowledgement of the importance of vibration….. I give you the beach boys playing “Good Vibrations.”
Final Thoughts………
What I have presented here are some powerful techniques to help quiet your mind and prepare you for meditation. I encourage you to try them all and see what works best for you. There may be other methods, not presented here, that you discover on your own or that work better than those presented here. The key is to find what works best for you and begin to practice regularly with it. With the familiarity borne out of practice, you will find it easier to quiet your mind and as time goes on it will become second nature. And lastly, take a look at the opening quote again.......and spend some time meditating upon its meaning.
Namaste