(this is a revised version of a blogpost that I originally wrote in March 2021)
Why Meditate?
Practically
all spiritual teachers in every spiritual-wisdom tradition agree that the
spiritual quest (aka, the Hero’s Journey) cannot go far without some form
of—what is commonly known as—meditation practice. “Meditation” (here) is
known by other names such as: prayer, mindfulness, contemplation, etc. However
it is called, meditation is essential to support your own hero’s journey,
your own spiritual quest. Why? It is that formal act done regularly of trying
to [1] reach your depth and [2] transcend yourself which, as we
said, make up the heart of all spirituality and religion.
Besides, meditation
has been proven even by numerous scientific studies to have many other benefits
for the well-being and health of your mind and body. For example, Jonathan
Haidt in his The Happiness Hypothesis, tells us that meditation is something
like a magic pill. His words: “Suppose you read about a pill that you could
take once a day to reduce anxiety and increase your contentment. Would you take
it? Suppose further that the pill has a great variety of side effects, all of
them good: increased self-esteem, empathy, and trust; it even improves memory.
Suppose, finally, that the pill is all natural and costs nothing. Now would you
take it? The pill exists. It’s called meditation.”
[for those taking the course RS2180] An important component of this
course on spiritual quests and popular culture is the task of journal writing.
I envision journal writing to be a result of your meditation on the
different learning materials of the week. Try to practice some kind of
meditation before you write your journal entry!)
Meditation Described Briefly
A simple
description: Meditation is a universal practice found in practically all
spiritual-wisdom traditions (aka, the world religions). It is basically a
concentration technique that has two key elements:
1.
First, choosing a focus
for attention. This is usually one's breathing (in and out). But it can be
extended to: an emotion, a thought, a part of one's body, etc. It can even be
applied to a sacred word or mantra (as it is done in the Christian prayer-practice
known as "centering prayer").
2.
Second, when one notices
that one's attention has wandered elsewhere, gently bring it back to the point
of focus.
That
is meditation in a nutshell! Our minds--as Buddhism often teaches--are like
restless, wild monkeys that jump from tree to tree ("the monkey
mind"). When one can tame this restless, wandering mind and train it to focus
on something, then the spiritual quest can move forward in earnest (see
Roger Walsh, Essential Spirituality, pp. 155-56).
A Suggestion on How to Meditate - A "Life-Giving Reading"
(Lectio Vitalis)
There
are many forms of meditation. The following is just my recommendation from my
personal practice. For the absolute beginner, I would recommend starting with
10 minutes every day and aim to expand that eventually to 15~20 minutes. For
people who are somewhat addicted to being endlessly engaged (often,
distracted) with technological gadgets, that can seem daunting. But it is
necessary to resolve and set out to "just do it" (as the Nike ad
says).
There
is a popular spiritual practice in the Catholic Christian tradition called
"Lectio Divina." That means "Sacred [or Divine]
Reading." It is a time-tested and proven method of reading the scriptures
in a prayerful, contemplative manner. It is based on a simple method that can
be summarized in the following steps: (1) Read -- (2) Think -- (3) Pray -- (4)
Act.
I will adopt and tweak a bit the 'Sacred Reading' method and propose it to beginners or people who want to progress further in their meditation practice. As I said, I'll rename the practice to "Lectio Vitalis" (Latin) which means "a life-giving/life-sustaining reading." The Latin literally means "Vital Reading." "Vital" here means: "life-giving, life-sustaining, life-affirming," but also "important" (vital!) for cultivating and sustaining one's spiritual quest or hero’s journey.
I
name it this way because this practice is meant to sustain us in our life and
help us both to go deeper within ourselves and also transcend ourselves. Recall
that I defined spirituality/the spiritual quest (which is the heart of all
religion) as: Finding meaning by going deeper into ourselves and transcending
our small egos (in short, becoming “deeper and bigger”!).
By
practicing this ‘life-giving reading’, we can tap into inner resources
that--the spiritual-wisdom traditions claim--can sustain, affirm, and lead us
to greater peace, balance, and wholeness. It is not only meant for religious
believers but for everyone, as long as they feel that they can use meditation
for its many potential health, psychological, and spiritual benefits. The
method is described as a "reading" because it
presupposes an attitude of openness and listening to what life itself
is teaching us.
The
method I propose here will take the traditional lectio divina steps
with a few tweaks. Instead of "Read" as step one, I will
add--what I think--is a more fundamental first step. Let me propose the
following steps then (The acronym is: BReTMA):
1.
Breathe
2.
Read (or Recall)
3.
Think
4.
Meditate
5.
Act
The Method Explained: “Nuts and Bolts”
The
different steps explained more in detail:
1. Breathe - This is the time to quiet and calm your heart and mind. Concentrate exclusively for a short while on the breath (deep in-breath / deep out-breath) until you experience some measure of inner calm.
Note well that in many contemporary explanations of meditation, this first phase is already what meditation is all about. According to this opinion, breathing is what one should mainly be doing during one's meditation time. If you feel that you want to adopt that practice because you feel that going to the other steps would "clutter" your meditation practice too much, that is of course OK and good. Refer to the simple description of Roger Walsh above. However, if you feel you need more structure (beginners usually do), you can proceed to the other steps.
2. Read / Recall - You can use a literal text here or--what we can call-- a "life text". I use "text" in the wider sense of the term. A "text" can refer to practically anything (an event, something you read, something you witnessed, a phrase you heard in a movie, a beautiful scene in nature, etc.) that recently struck you or stood out for you and to which you would like to direct some reflective and meditative attention. Remember: when something "strikes" you in life, that usually means, that thing is important for your life now! If you would like to use a written text, it can be your religious tradition's scripture (Bible, Quran, Teachings of the Buddha, etc.) or a book with short excerpts that is good for meditation (for example, short passages from spiritual teachers or collections of great teachings). It is not advisable to read passages that are too long.
3. Think - This is when you reflect on what you have read (or the "thing" that stood out to you from life). This phase is when we use our “brains”; when we engage in the active, cognitive/mental reflection on what we have just "read" or “recalled”. We actively discourse about it in our minds: trying to understand more deeply its meaning and implications, drawing out conclusions, making connections, etc. We can also ask ourselves: What is the text (or this thing that stood out to me) really saying to me?
4. Meditate (in the strict sense) - I differentiate "think" from "meditate." In this "meditate" phase, we tone down the busy cognitive (“brainy”) activities going on in our minds. Instead, we select a key word, phrase, or thought (like a mantra or a "sacred word"), savour it, make it sink deeply into ourselves by slowly repeating it for a while. This is a move from “brain” to “heart”, where our depth is located. If you are a religious believer, you can also engage in “prayer” in this phase.
5.
Act - We end the session by asking ourselves 'How
will I act in response to what I’ve meditated upon?'. Then we go back to
life and try to practice that (act!).
***
Those
steps might make the 10-15 minutes of meditation ('Vital Reading') survivable
for absolute beginners, right? For more advanced practitioners, this process
will definitely be "too busy," way too active and structured. Feel
free to tweak it as you see fit. Those steps are not set in stone at all. The
main goal is to train your mind to be less distracted and focus for a
little while on a point that will hopefully lead to more interior peace,
balance, and wisdom.
/jkk
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