Someone once told me (Lawrie C?) that prayer is where we ask for guidance, meditation is where we receive guidance. I'm working with a sponsee and she is learning to listen to herself, her body, and slowly finding her own Higher Power. Part of our process has been for me to share some of what I have learned about meditation. I put some notes together for her and I thought I'd post them here too for safekeeping. They remind me why I meditate and how.
Meditation Resources
Mindfulness
helps us slow down, feel what we feel and accept it. We gather all our attention and energy to
ourselves, whether through anchored meditation (usually focused on our breath),
walking meditation, guided imagery meditation.
And then we can look at giving our attention and energy to others
(loving kindness meditation is an example).
Best
practice is to be seated, with your head, neck and spine straight. If you lie down, you are more likely to fall
asleep as you start to relax. Do not use
any of the meditation recordings while driving…
Mindfulness
can be done anytime, anywhere, even for a few seconds. We focus on what we are doing, the feel of it
in our body, our movement, our breath. You
can practice mindfully brushing your teeth.
Or eating. Or getting dressed.
Remember
that it is totally expected for your mind to wander off – planning, judging,
whatever. This is “monkey mind”. Just name what you’re thinking and return to
your breath. Nine thousand times if
necessary. You cannot do this
wrong! Be gentle with yourself as you
would be with a curious puppy.
Easy practices, multiple times in the day
or whenever feeling stressed:
4
count breath: breath in through your
nose on a 4 count, breath out through your mouth on a four count. Visualize you are drawing a box with your
breath -- across the top for four counts
breathing in, down the right side as you breath out for four counts, back
across the bottom for 4 breathing in, then up the other side to close the box,
breathing out. Repeat for as long as you
want.
Simple
Grounding: Slow down, feel yourself in
your body. Look at all four corners of
the room around you, one at a time, slowly.
You are here. You are
present. Tell yourself this!
Simple
Grounding 2: Slow down, feel yourself in
your body. Your feet on the ground, your
bottom on the seat, your spine stacking vertebrae on top each other, your head
on top of your neck, shoulders relaxed, hands relaxed. Breathe slowly and naturally. Then, mentally look for five things you can
see, one after the other. Then, four
things you are touching. Three things
you can hear, two things you can smell, one thing you can taste in your
mouth. Repeat as desired.
Other grounding exercises:
·
ground yourself, feet on the floor, feel the earth
supporting you. Press your hands on your
thighs, pressing down. “I am here.” Alternatively: Place your hands over your heart, pressing
gently. “I am here.” “I am loved”.
·
Stand on your feet, in a posture with dignity, feeling
the ground beneath you (doesn’t matter if you’re on the second floor!). You are being supported. Rock gently, moving your weight from the
balls of your feet, to your heels, and back.
Sway gently from side to side, shifting your weight from hip to
hip. Breathe.
·
Walking:
slowly, feel your weight transfer from your heel to the front of your
foot, witness how your weight shifts forward as you move through space. Breathe.
Feel the soft movement of air on your skin as you move forward.
Simple affirmations: I am here. May
I be safe. May I be happy. May I be free from inner and outer harm. May I be healthy. May I live with ease. May I be surrounded by loving kindness.
Books: anything
by John Kabat-Zinn, Sharon Salzberg, Tara Brach, Pema Chodron, Thich Nhat Hanh
Podcasts:
Tara
Brach on iTunes or at www.tarabrach.com. Her book Radical Acceptance is also great. The Meditation Podcast (Jesse and Jeane
Stern) on iTunes.
App:
Insight Timer (free on iTunes):
both for the timer which is great.
Explore the Guided Meditations too – quality and subject matter varies
widely.
No comments:
Post a Comment