MEDITATION

 

Walsh and Shapiro (2006) define meditation as a “family of self-regulation practices that focus on training attention in order to bring mental processes under greater voluntary control and thereby foster general mental well-being and development and /or specific capacities such as calm, clarity and concentration.”  In meditation, one learns to focus on a specific object in order to deepen ones’ awareness of the present moment, in a nonjudgmental way.  There are two major branches of meditation practice that go hand in hand.

  

Concentration meditation involves focusing on a specific object for an extended period of time to train the mind to avoid wandering, and to become steady and rested.  Hence, concentration meditation is a tool to achieve peace and stillness which prepare us to hear the voice of the Spirit when He speaks.  “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalms 46:10).   That’s why meditation has been found to help with ailments such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, chronic pain, and gastrointestinal distress.  Typical preferred meditation practices are breathing meditation, listening meditation, mantra meditation, and walking meditation, depending on personality, life style, preference, and personal challenges.

  

“Mindfulness meditation, in contrast, emphasizes insight through the awareness of the present moment, a process of self-awareness that non- judgmentally accepts everything that arises in the mind and in the body” while focusing on an object, often the breath (Hansen, Nielsen, & Harris, 2008).  Hence, mindfulness meditation enhances one’s ability to see with clarity the kinds of thoughts and feelings that arise in the mind with some degree of detachment.  Through inward observing, meditators increase their opportunity for personal transformation.  It is Nephi who cried: “I pray the God of my salvation that he view me with his all-searching eye” (2 Nephi 9:44).  Mindfulness meditation is often prescribed in psychotherapy and self –improvement approaches.

  

Concentration Meditation

1.  Breathing Meditation-- the corner stone of all meditation practices

What is it?

All you have to do is to notice and observe your breath; track how your breath moves in your body with each inhalation and exhalation.   With experience you can learn to “send your breath” to different parts of the body.

  

Why using it?

Use breathing meditation whenever you need to get centered, if stressed, fatigued, or overwhelmed.

  

For how long?

Try 3 minutes at first, and work your way up to 20 minutes, eventually.

  

How do I do it?

Find a quiet, relaxing environment.  It’s especially important, when you are beginning, to avoid obvious distractions.  Turn off TV sets, phones, or other noisy appliances.  If you play music, make sure it’s calm, repetitive and gentle, so as not to break your concentration.  Meditating outside can be conducive, as long as you don’t sit near a busy road or another source of loud noise.

 

You can meditate on a chair, with your feet flat on the ground.  You can also sit on the ground using a cushion if the floor is uncomfortable.  If you choose to lie down, place a folded towel under your knees for support and keep your arms at your sides at a 45 degree angle.  Be careful that you are not so relaxed that you fall asleep.

 

Keep your eyes shut or you can also keep them half open gazing to the floor, one to two feet beyond your feet.

 

Let your attention rest of the flow of your breath.  Listen to it, or sense it at the tip of your nostrils.  Beginners may find it easier to count their breaths.  Try counting your breath (on the in-breath or the out-breath) from 1 to 10 and then, back from 10 to 1.

 

You will soon notice that your mind wanders because you will lose your concentration.  If your mind starts wandering or bouncing from thought to thought, do not judge yourself for it, but simply and gently bring your attention back to your breath.  If you were counting, return to 1 and start all over.  It’s the practice of going back to the breath that trains your mind. In other words, don’t judge yourself for getting distracted; distractions provide you with the opportunity to build a strong stable mind.

 

After some time, begin to send your breath into areas of your body that may feel inert, dull, or usually “unreached” by the breath, such as the small of the back.  Don’t force your breath, just breathe naturally and observe your breath.

 

At the end of your session, stretch and slowly move out of your meditation place.

2.  Listening Meditation

What is it?

Listening meditation invites you to engage with the sounds all around you.  Instead of fighting noise, you work with it by listening to the vibrations and the quality of the sounds rather than attending to the information and meaning of the sounds.  Notice the energy of the sounds and allow yourself to experience that energy with your senses.

  

Why using it?

When you are in a crowded area, on the busy street or other public place, listening meditation comes handy.  When your mind is buzzing with thoughts, you will welcome focusing outwardly for a few minutes.

  

For how long?

Again start with 5 minutes and move up to 15-20 minutes, adding a couple of minutes at a time.

  

How do I do it?

Start just like breathing meditation (see above).  Once centered, open your ears and tune your awareness to all the noises around you.  Take it all in; don’t favor one sound over another.  When distracted by a thought such as “that’s a pretty bird’s chirp”, notice you’ve been thinking and gently return to just hearing the sounds around you.

 

After a few minutes, gently open your eyes and start moving.

3.  Mantra Meditation

 What is it?

A mantra is a word or set of words in an ancient language such as Sanskrit (ancient language still spoken in India) that creates certain vibration in the body when spoken.  The sound and vibration still the mind and calm the body.   The words have deep spiritual meaning and have been used for meditation for thousands of years by monks and others who practice it.  For example, an easy mantra to remember is “sat-nam” (pronounce sut-nom) which literally means truth-identity.   In other words, the intent of the mantra is to identify spiritual truth that transcends doubt or fear. 

  

Why using it?

You can select the mantra you want to create a desired effect.  If you want more clarity in your mind and heart, then satnam is a good choice.  If you want to feel more peaceful, the word “om” as a mantra produces calming sensations in the body.

  

For how long?

Start with a couple of minutes and gradually move up to 10 minutes.

 

How do I do it?

Start just like breathing meditation, getting focused and quiet the mind by focusing on the breath.

 

Take a deep and long inhalation and as you exhale pronounce  out lout and slowly sat (sounding “suuuuuuut”); near the end of your exhalation, say nam (sounding “nommmm”) and then take your next breath.  Pay particularly attention to the vibrations the words create in your chest cavity and elsewhere in your body.  Continue the pattern for a few minutes.

 

When you are ready to come out of the meditation exercise, take a couple of deep breaths and sense into the energy that flows in you as a result of your practice.

4.  Walking Meditation

What is it?

Walking meditation consists of slowing down the process of walking in order to increase awareness of each movement involved in the process of walking (lifting one foot, swinging it and putting it down).  Walking meditation will help you develop more awareness in your daily life.  Indeed, actions are actually made of a series of sub-actions that come together with intention.  This realization is important to understand the connection between actions leading to other actions, and thoughts leading to other thoughts.  When awareness develops so does agency and therefore, personal choice and transformation.

 

Why using it?

When you feel agitated or restless or too anxious for sitting meditation, walking is an effective way to channel the extra energy and calm the body.

 

For how long?

Start walking for five minutes, the equivalent of about 15 steps in each direction.  You can increase the time up to 15 minutes by interspersing walking with five minutes of sitting meditation.

 

How do I do it?

Find a private indoor or outdoor place away from onlookers that may distract you.

 

Stand in a relaxed position, feet parallel, and arms along your sides or hands clasped in front of or behind you.  Look down about 6 to 8 feet ahead of you as focusing directly on your feet may make you lose your balance.

 

The movement has three parts repeated twice:

 

• First, inhale while lifting your right heel off the ground by keeping your right toes on the ground; exhale.
• Second, inhale again as you lift your right foot and swing it forward and place the heel on the ground; exhale as you place the rest of the foot securely on the ground, transferring the weight  and balancing yourself.
• Third, take a full breath (inhale and exhale).
• Repeat with the left side.

 

At first it takes a bit of concentration and mental cues to remember the tempo.  But after some practice, you can really focus on your body sensations only.  Go in one direction for 15 steps, and then turn around and repeat.  The purpose of walking meditation is not to arrive anywhere but to fully embrace the energy of the walking movement and developing mindfulness of the present moment.

 

Mindfulness Meditation

 

“Mindfulness meditation is not about achieving or tranquility, rather its aim is to see things as they really are and more clearly” (Salzberg, 1995).  When practicing mindfulness meditation you simply pay attention to the object of your meditation in the present moment, non-judgmentally.  For example, when drinking a glass of water, bring awareness to the way the water feels in your mouth from the moment it touches your lips to the instant it hits your stomach and then disperses.  The same kind of attending applies to internal processes such as thoughts and feelings.

 

Why using it?

Mindfulness is a form of brain training in that the brain slows down to notice everything about a certain phenomenon or activity.  When it comes to your thoughts and feelings, mindfulness helps you perceive more accurately your experience, including your blind spots.  That’s the reason why mindfulness can lead to personal transformation.  Mindfulness is also the gateway to enjoying the daily gifts of life more abundantly, such as the sensations of the warm sun rays on your skin or the song of a bird while taking a walk in the middle of a busy day.

 

How long does it take?

To train your brain effectively, start with sitting five minutes daily, and move your way up to 20 minutes.  You can also practice any time, for a few minutes, as you mindfully eat, walk, do the dishes, listen to someone speak, the goal being to live your life as mindfully as possible, being present in the moment with your experience.

 

How do I do it?

Start in the same posture as with breathing meditation, sitting or lying down.

 

Continue with a few moments of listening meditation.  Remember to not hold on to any sounds.

 

Focus on your breathing, in and out, without forcing anything.   You may even want to internally say “in” and ‘out”.  That will be your home base for the practice.

 

As you quietly breathe in and out, thoughts will start to pop up, or feelings or physical sensations will manifest themselves.  BRING YOUR FULL AWARENESS to those, acknowledge their presence and then gently return to home base, breathing in and out.  Do not rush the process.  Mindfulness is about acknowledging what is on your mind, not judging it and letting it go by returning to the breath.

 

Traditionally, mindfulness meditation ends with an acknowledgment of the positive energy created (acknowledgment, acceptance, and letting go), and to dedicate it to others.

 

Disclaimer:  Formal mindfulness meditation which focuses on inner experience as described above should not be practiced by individuals who are psychotic or losing/afraid of losing touch with reality or by folks who have experienced trauma which still overwhelms them, unless it is part of their treatment program.  Nevertheless, those individuals can still practice daily moments of mindfulness of the external world, especially when distressed.

 

There are many variations on meditation for different purposes, but you now have the basic instructions and rationale.

 

Extra tips

 

• It is easy to lose track of time while meditating.  Some people find it liberating to set a timer with a gentle ring (such as ringtones found on cell phones).

 

• Some people find it difficult to meditate immediately before bedtime.  If you are sleepy, chances are you will fall asleep; conversely, it may energize your mind, making it difficult to fall asleep.

 

• Don’t expect immediate results.  Meditation works best when it is done for its own sake, without becoming attached to the results.

 

• Set aside time for daily practice.

 

 

Sources used for this document are listed below:

Hansen, K., Nielsen, D., & Harris, M. (2008).  Meditation, Christian Values and Psychotherapy. Journal for The Association of Mormon Counselors and Psychotherapists, 32, 41-51.

 

Lefkowitz, F (2010). Meditation Made Easy. Natural Health Magazine, September/October 2010, pp 68-72.

 

Salzberg, S (1995). Loving kindness: The revolutionary art of happiness.  Boston: Shambhala Publications (Quoted in Natural Health Magazine, September 2010, p. 70).

 

Walsh, R. & Shapiro, S.L. (2006).  The meeting of meditating disciplines and western psychology: A mutually enriching dialogue. American Psychologist, 61 (3), 227-239.

 

Useful website:  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/ -- access articles on meditation written by John Kabat-Zinn and Zindel Segal.