Meditation-Mind Blog

 

Serendipity, or, discovering something valuable by accident, is one of my favorite experiences. When considering some words for the title of something I was writing recently, I looked for some synonyms for words having to do with abundance and well-being and soon found myself feeling very positive and very peaceful.

It dawned on me that what I had been doing, without realizing it, was a sort of mindfulness meditation or self-hypnosis. As I considered each word, I was trying it on and seeing how it felt, getting an inner sense of the word. Just by reading through a list of words in this way, I was putting myself in a positive mental state.

To give you a better sense of what I’m talking about, here are some of the words and their synonyms:

Abundant - richly or plentifully supplied, ample, more than enough, to abound, to overflow, to be fully supplied.

Flourish - to grow well or luxuriantly, to succeed, to fare well, to prosper

Prosper - to be successful, to flourish, to thrive

Well-being - quiet pleasure, contentment, ease, comfort, coziness, great satisfaction, euphoria, good health, fitness, rosiness, wholesomeness, robust health, glowing health, picture of health, in fine fettle, mint condition, heartiness, bursting with health, full of life and vigor, vital, blooming, feeling one’s oats, to feel happy, sing, purr, smile, laugh, beam

Wow - apparently it works when you write them too.

If you’d like to try this for yourself, just follow the instructions below.

Of course, the first thing you’ll need is access to a thesaurus, so here are some links to some  - one free online thesaurus so you can try this right now and one which links to Roget’s International Thesaurus, the book, on Amazon, if you don’t yet own one but would like to.

When I did this meditation initially, I used a book and could see all the entries for a word on the page, which might have some advantages. But either way should work just fine. You might also like to have a pen and some paper nearby for any notes you’d like to make.

The Thesaurus Meditation

Sit down with your thesaurus. Begin by choosing some words that are soothing to you, representing peace, a favorite color, perhaps, or the way you’d like to be feeling, or just some words that you happen to like.

If you’re having trouble thinking of some, you might try the words, kindness, happiness, and gratitude.

Let yourself get comfortable and take three slow, deep breaths.

Now, as you look up your chosen words in the thesaurus, spend a little while reading the synonyms, following where they lead. When you notice some words that you like, look those up and let yourself be led from pleasing word to pleasing word. Continue for as long as you like.

Notice how you’re feeling as you go. You might even want to write some of your favorites down when you’re finished, so you can easily return to this positive state whenever you read them.

Have fun with this. I wish you great peace and a happy experience of serendipity.

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Serendipity -  a chance discovery, finding, spotting, recognizing, bringing to light, finding treasure

Peace - quietness, stillness, restfulness, comfortableness, harmony, concordance, heart’s ease,  feeling at home, sheltered, calm, tranquil, soothed, composed, being relaxed, experiencing serenity, nirvana

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If you try this and would like to share your experience, just click on the word “comments” below this post.

Comment - to observe, note, mention, remark, muse, reflect, give one’s two cents’ worth, express, affirm, exclaim :-)

 

Even though I broke a tooth last week, it doesn’t hurt. It just seems fragile, so I’ve been very careful to do all my chewing on the other side of my mouth until my dentist can do his magic.

So I decided this would be the perfect time to practice mindful eating.

Mindful eating, some say, can be used as one tool in a weight loss program. Instead of mindlessly consuming your dinner in front of the TV, barely noticing what you’ve eaten and never feeling really satisfied, you slow everything way down and observe each individual action, which, together with many other individual actions, makes up the activity of eating.

Eating this way has opened up a whole new world. I’ve been paying careful attention as I select one blueberry from my plate, lift it to my lips, place it in my mouth, taste its sweet blueberriness on my tongue followed by a burst of tartness as I bite into it and feel my mouth begin to water. The practice continues with careful chewing and swallowing and even paying attention to the sensation in my belly after it arrives there.

Everything I have eaten over this last week has been eaten in this same way - some tiny chunks of watermelon, some spoonfuls of rice and hummus and steamed spinach with melted rice cheese, a little yogurt. Each one eaten very slowly, very mindfully.

I have to say that I’m finding it very satisfying to really pay attention to each bite. And, interestingly enough, I actually have lost a few pounds this week. Fascinating.

I first learned about mindful eating a few years ago in a workshop given by a fellow hypnotherapist teaching us about the weight loss program she offers her clients. For this experience, she asks them to practice eating grapes mindfully.

If you’d like to try it, any bite-sized food that you enjoy will be suitable. Fruit works well. Some people eat just one piece of their favorite chocolate mindfully. You may discover why some consider mindful eating one path to enlightenment.

The following script leads you through the process of eating one bite of food mindfully. If you choose to eat a whole meal this way, just repeat the process with each bite, allowing your stomach to tell you when it’s satisfied.

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Mindful Eating Script

Begin by selecting a bite-sized food that gives you a feeling of well-being, and sit down in a quiet place where you won’t be disturbed.

Breathe in slowly as you count to yourself, 1–2–3–4 and then breathe out slowly 4–3–2–1.

Take several more slow, deep breaths as you allow yourself this quiet time.

Let a welcome feeling of relaxation spread over your scalp and neck and shoulders, down over your cheeks and jaw and tongue and down into your belly. Just let your belly feel soft and relaxed.

Now take a moment to appreciate this food you have chosen, as you notice its shape …, its color…, its texture….

Describe it simply to yourself. If it’s a grape, for example, you might say something like - it’s rounded and green and smooth.

Think of this food being nourished by the sun and the rain and the earth, before it came to you.

Pay attention to how you are feeling about this food.

As you look at it, you can even say a little thank you, if you wish.

Notice the part of you that decides to begin eating.  As you move your hand slowly toward the food, observe your hand and describe your actions to yourself - reaching, reaching, reaching, and then observe your hand lifting, lifting, lifting, as you raise the food to your lips.

Before putting it in your mouth, take a moment to smell the food.

Notice whether you desire this food and where in your body you feel that.

Take a bite of the food and close your eyes, noticing how the food feels in your mouth.

Slowly chew.

What tastes do you notice? Sweetness? Sourness? Saltiness? Bitterness? Mildness? Spiciness?

Appreciate the taste and describe it simply to yourself.

Swallow when you’re ready.

Now, with eyes still closed, be aware of any sensations in your stomach.

Think of the energy of the sun and the earth entering your body, bringing health and nourishment to every cell.

Stay with that feeling of well-being for a while.

When you’re ready, bring your attention back to the quiet place you have chosen and open your eyes, still feeling very good.

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Did you happen to see Patricia Leigh Brown’s article in the New York Times about kids learning mindfulness meditation techniques? Entitled, In the Classroom, a New Focus on Quieting the Mind, it described some programs in schools in California and Pennsylvania which helped kids learn some simple stress management techniques.

A couple of times a week,  they were led through 15 minutes of such mindfulness techniques as focusing on their breathing and imagining loving kindness toward people in their lives.

The article mentioned some of the ways kids seemed to be using the techniques they had learned. One young boy had learned to “take a moment” to calm himself when he had started feeling like hitting someone on the playground.  I especially loved the story about the 4 year old girl who called out “Mommy, Mommy, you have to sing the breathing song!” as her distressed mom was dealing with road rage.

Just follow the link above if you’d like to read the article.

Reading about these programs left me wanting to know more, so I went looking for some specifics. If someone with an interest in calming techniques wanted to share them with some of their favorite children or had an interest in putting a program together what might be some good resources for doing that?

MP3’s

I was delighted to discover a collection of meditations from the Mindfulness Awareness Research Center at UCLA,  one of the places mentioned in the NY Times article. Written and recorded by Diana Winston, their Director for Mindfulness Education, they are excellent examples of the kinds of experiences that could be offered. These MP3’s are absolutely free and left me feeling wonderful. I loved the loving kindness meditation I listened to. You can check out their whole collection of mindfulness meditation MP3’s and see what you think.

Books

The article also mentioned that the programs had been influenced by the works of Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. Two books of his that you might want to check out on Amazon are Full Catastrophe Living and Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life

Online Training

Susan Kaiser Greenland at the InnerKids Foundation offers online training programs through a site called eMindful for people wanting to teach mindfulness. I haven’t tried them, but with titles like The New ABC’s: Teaching Children About Mindfulness, they look promising. You can find out more about these online meditation courses by looking at the eMindful site.

CD

Maybe someone reading this knows the breathing song that the 4 year old girl encouraged her mom to sing. If we can’t track that one down, as it happens, some hypnotherapists whose opinions I trust, recently recommended a recording by Marcel Klasen, a hypnotherapist and musician. 

It’s a CD called HAPPY SONGS, that is intended for ages 9-12, with a combination of music and positive suggestions, along with instructions for breathwork, a story about healing, a song about world peace and even a rap song. You can contact Marcel at marcelklasen@yahoo.com for ordering information.

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Care to Add One?

That could be enough to get you started. If you have any additional or alternative resources you’d like to recommend for learning and teaching mindfulness meditation or its close cousin, self-hypnosis, whether for children or adults, I invite your suggestions. Just click on “comment” at the end of this post and share your thoughts.

 

1. Take a Deep Breath. Then do it again. Now once again. One of the simplest ways to relieve stress in a matter of moments is to change your breathing.

Have you ever noticed that when you’re feeling stressed you typically breathe very shallowly, often rapidly, or sometimes even hold your breath? That can’t be good.

We can relieve stress by intentionally slowing and deepening our breathing, which mimics the way we naturally breathe when we are most relaxed. Practicing the Inner Smile Meditation you’ll find here on the blog is one of many ways to slow and deepen your breathing and relieve any stress you may be feeling.

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2. Laugh. Most of us just know intuitively that laughter is good for us. A merry heart doeth good like a medicine, as I’m sure you’ve heard.

Laughter has become a real focus of study, especially because of the many ways it benefits our health: protecting our heart, easing pain, reducing blood pressure, aiding digestion and respiration, to mention just a few. For an in-depth article on the benefits of laughter, you might find this article on How Stuff Works interesting.

And to experience the benefits of laughter right now, you might enjoy reading some of these observations from the amazing mind of comedian Steven Wright. I love the way his humor just sneaks up on you until before you know it, you’re giggling.

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3. Call a Friend. Sometimes a different perspective is all we need in stressful situations. There’s nothing like talking and laughing with a friend to help us see things differently. If the friend you’d most like to talk with is an old friend you’ve lost track of, you can look them up in the white pages at AnyWho.

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4. Listen to Soothing Music. Music can transform our mood very quickly and ease feelings of stress. Hypnotherapists, meditation instructors, massage therapists, and Reiki masters all know how soothing the right music can be for their clients and all have their favorites.

Two of my favorites are on CD’s you can find at Amazon. Since I promised that these were 7 ways you could relieve stress right now, here are two links where you can listen to free samples of relaxing music.

The first is a beautiful version of Pachelbel Canon done by Gordon Jeffries“ and the second is Mike Rowland’s And So To Dream Highly recommended anytime you need to unwind.

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5. Get Inspired. Sometimes just reading some wise, thought-provoking, inspiring or just plain funny thoughts from those who have been here before can help us shift our perspective in the middle of stressful times. Here are a few to start you off:

“There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so” - William Shakespeare

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“I have given everything I see all the meaning that it has for me.” - A Course in Miracles

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“I could see peace instead of this.” - A Course in Miracles

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“In the depths of winter I finally learned there is in me an invincible summer.” - Albert Camus

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Check out a few more inspirational quotes.

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6. Relax Completely. Taking yourself through a relaxation process that helps you to let go of the tension you’re holding in muscles all over your body is a very powerful way to relieve stress. Doing it on a regular basis helps you to keep your stress levels low.

You can use this script for a progressive relaxation in a number of ways.

You can just read it through to yourself to get the idea and then settle into a comfortable position as you follow the process. Sometimes people find it helpful to find a partner who will read it to them or some prefer to read it into a tape recorder and play it back for themselves.

No matter which way you choose to do it, whenever you follow the process, you will feel much more relaxed when you’re done.

Here’s the script for a progressive relaxation.

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7. Experience Guided Meditation. Try one of the free beautiful audio samples on Belleruth Naparstek’s Health Journeys site.

Here’s one by Belleruth designed to soothe anxiety and stress. If she had an affiliate program, I’d sign up. Her stuff is wonderful!

 

For an easy way to take a meditation break online, you might like to check out The Meditation Room at Lime.com.

There are a series of rooms to choose from ( 6 so far), consisting of beautiful slide show images with audio accompaniment. You’ll find the Space Room, the Forest Room, the Water Room, the Zen Room, the Floral Room, and the Winter Room, all viewable online, with additional options for downloading to iPod or subscribing at iTunes.

Each room is a celebration of the beauty found all around us. Each one leads to a state of calm as it focuses attention on a series of images. Each room also has appropriate music or nature sounds which can be turned off if you prefer a silent meditation.

I always like to try things out before I recommend them to you, so I can tell you that I have happily visited each room several times. My two favorite experiences are listening to the sounds of ocean surf (instantly relaxing for me) while watching the images of water drops in the Water Room and, being immersed in the beautiful shades of green in the Forest Room, which leaves me feeling very healthy, very calm, and with an overall sense of wellbeing.

You can find your own favorite for free at The Meditation Room at Lime.com. and feel calm too.

 

“Meditation comes from the human heart and is a way of warming your hands and your life at the fire always pulsing there in your core. It comes from the depths of your instinctive wisdom. Human beings are always wondering and inquiring, and meditation is a natural emergence of that adventure.”
—Lorin Roche

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“Meditation was probably discovered independently by hunters, singers, dancers, drummers, lovers and hermits, each in their own way. People tend to encounter meditative states whenever they throw themselves with total intensity into life’s callings.”
—Lorin Roche

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“Always remember, have it as your touchstone, that meditation is being with that which you love. Your path in meditation will emerge from exploring what it is you love to pay attention to.”
—Lorin Roche

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Each of the quotes above are from Meditation Made Easy by Lorin Roche

 

I’ve been reading and re-reading a wonderful book called Meditation Made Easy by Lorin Roche. I’m going to have to write and ask Lorin if he meditates before he writes. What he writes is so authentic and so quotable that it gives me the feeling that he’s in close touch with a deep place within himself. It’s the place that athletes sometimes refer to as “the Zone” and others might call being in “the Flow,” - that experience of having all blocks fall away and letting all forms of creativity joyously and effortlessly express themselves. And luckily for us, he shares the results.

We’ve all heard that meditation (or the many other names it goes by) is good for us. But that doesn’t keep all the yes, but’s from coming up. Yes, but who has the time? Yes, but my family will think I’m weird when they hear all that ooom-ing. Yes, but I don’t have one of those cushions. Yes, but my legs won’t cross like that.

Well, Lorin Roche helps all those little yes, buts drop away and leads you to discover your own natural way of taking this inner vacation

He begins by telling the story of how he was introduced to meditation. Then he has a great question and answer section, looking at many of the yes, buts already mentioned, often letting his sense of humor show. To help you get a sense of what you’ll find, here’s a little of what Lorin has to say about sitting cross-legged:

“Sitting cross-legged works well for some people and it looks really cool. But this pose does nothing for meditation that can’t be done in other ways. The main virtue of the cross-legged posture is that it’s handy if you have no furniture, are homeless, or are outdoors.”

He goes on to suggest that you start with one of 3 beginning exercises depending on what you feel like doing at that moment. Here are some excerpts from one of those exercises, called The Feeling at Home Exercise:

“Set your mind free to wander over your life experience and recall instances when you have felt very, very comfortable. They could have occurred anywhere, anytime, under any circumstances.”

“If one of your memories of being at home is standing on a shore, there is the smell of the salt air, the sound of the surf, wind, and seagulls, the wetness of the spray on your face, the brilliance of the sun or the gray of the clouds and the blue rolling motion of the ocean. Immerse yourself in each of these; let yourself rejoice in each sense.”

“As the images and memories come, breathe with them. Enter the image, see the scene, breathe with the feeling you had in your body. When you do this, the feelings come into the present. You are, in the present moment, meditating on the feeling of ‘being at home.’ ”

There are many sweet little breaks like that in this book. Reading further, you’ll find a wide variety of mini-meditations, an exploration of breath, meditations on sound, ways of paying attention with love, thoughts on what to do about seeming obstacles, ideas for finding your own individual ways to meditate and even what Lorin calls The Meditation Top Forty.

I’m delighted to have found Meditation Made Easy by Lorin Roche. Following this link will let you check it out for yourself on Amazon.

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I love this book and I have Maya Talisman Frost to thank for introducing me to it last fall on her blog, Paying Attention to Mindfulness. You might enjoy watching her free movie called “The Wow of Wonder”, a series of beautiful thoughts and images. At the end of the movie, a page will come up that lets you sign up for her free special report, “The Dirty Little Secret About Meditation”, and free weekly newsletter, Friday Mind Massage. Great title, huh? Enjoy  :-)

 

Part of learning to meditate is learning to pay attention. To observe. To notice. To look at the world another way.

It’s like a game my family used to play on long car trips when I was a kid. Everybody’s family has their own version of it, of course. Sometimes it’s spotting license plates. Ours was called “My Volkswagen!”

This was back when the Volkswagen’s unique size and shape stood out among all those large American-made cars and only came in two forms, as I recall - the VW bug and the VW bus. It was easy to spot them coming from quite a distance on the highway. The idea was to be the first one to call out My Volkswagen! and to keep a running tally of just how many Volkswagens you had seen.

Like all good travel games, it focused your mind on something besides being bored sitting in a car for hours and, of course, made you much more aware of all those Volkswagens which otherwise might have passed by unnoticed.

Paying attention. Noticing. Observing. Looking at the world another way. Seeing what is already there that we just haven’t noticed. Poets and songwriters, writers and artists, photographers and scientists, comedians and meditators all do it regularly.

Circling Around

One way to practice paying attention is to play a little game by setting a task for yourself. The one I decided to play is one where I quietly noticed all the circles around me as I moved through the day. The number turned out to be astounding.

An alarm clock, a mirror, a lamp, the showerhead, a bathroom cup, the top of the vitamin bottle, a ring, the teapot, a cup and its saucer, an orange, an apple, a bagel, and the pretty blue and white plate I put it on.

It seemed that circles in all sizes and colors were everywhere I
looked and it was only breakfast time.

If you decide to play this game, you’ll see what I’m talking about. Cars and buses and trains are full of them. Cellphones, computers, CD players, newspapers, magazines and books all have circles too.

They populate our world, showing up as symbols in many cultures and spiritual practices, and as critical components in science and math. They’re part of the way we move and dance, of the money we exchange for goods and services, of the sports we play and the rings we give to pledge our commitments to each other.

They’re part of the weather, and the shapes of our Earth and its sun and moon and the stars we wish on.

Noticing all of this makes me think of one of my favorite Harry Chapin songs, coincidentally entitled Circle. During his live performances, Harry would ask the crowd to join in singing:

 All my life’s a circle.
 Sunrise and sundown.
 The moon rolls through the nighttime
 ’Til the daybreak comes around…

 (You can hear the whole Circle song here for free. If you decide you want to own it, I recommend the version on Harry Chapin’s Greatest Stories Live album available from Amazon.)

Paying attention to the simple circle has led me to some interesting insights. Even this article could be called a circle as I return to the point I made at the beginning. The practice of paying attention, whether you try it for a few minutes, an hour, or a day, can help you see the world in a whole new way.

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If you want to play with this idea a little more, you might find this post by Linda Salazar at Awaken The Genie Within interesting. It’s all about noticing the WOW moments in our lives.

 

 

Sometimes I find that doing simple rhythmic tasks puts me into a relaxed meditative state. Now that it’s autumn, for some people, that could take the form of raking leaves or stacking firewood or gathering the walnuts that the squirrels haven’t already stored away.

At this time of year, I like to round up an assortment of flowerpots and some potting soil and search the garden for some plants that still look happy and might like to come inside for the winter.

So, over and over, I say hello to each plant and tell it I’m taking it inside as I dig it up, tuck it in a pot and press potting soil around it. Parsley, sage, rosemary, (no thyme), a marigold, some impatiens, baby lamb’s ears, some lemon balm. As I work, I take in their pungent fragrances and still-bright colors.

Experiencing the rhythm of the task, marking the earth’s change of season and feeling the joy of communing with each of these living things becomes a calming meditation. Just a short time playing in the dirt is a peace-inducing experience that takes me far away from any stresses I may have been feeling.

By the time I have all the plants settled into their new home in the kitchen window that gets the most sun, I’m feeling very relaxed, very peaceful and very good.

All winter long, each time I look at them, and each time I water them, I’ll let them remind me of the power of our minds. In the words of Albert Camus: “In the depths of winter I finally learned there was in me an invincible summer.”

For more thoughts on meditative experiences in our everyday lives, you might like to have a look at this article on meditation at Mystic Eye.