Meditate Like Christ - Krishna Das

I am so grateful to get emails on weekly meditations from Daily Good. I received this short story today from Awakin, which is a meditation project from Service Space. Hope you find the peace, joy and love I did through reading this short piece by Krishna Das. Now I am ever more enthused to read the book by Krishna Das which was gifted to me recently.



Meditate Like Christ - Krishna Das

One day a Canadian man arrived for his first visit with Neem Karoli Baba (Maharaj-ji). He  didn't know much about Maharaj-ji but had heard about him. Maharaj-ji didn't give lectures or formal teachings; didn't write books; and, as far as I know, didn't formally initiate people. He just kept shining like the sun. Flowers don't need to read a manual on how to bloom in the sunshine. So when Maharaj-ji asked this man why he'd come and what he wanted, he was unsure how to respond. Finally, he replied, 'Can you teach me how to meditate?'

"Maharaj-ji's response was: 'Meditate like Christ. Go. Sit in the back of the temple with the other Westerners.'

"The guy came to the back, and we asked him about his darshan. He told us that Maharaj-ji had said to meditate like Christ. At first we were surprised. 'What! Meditate like Christ! What does that mean?' But then we thought about it. We were always trying to get Maharaj-ji to tell us what practice to do, but he'd never give us any specific instructions about yoga or meditation. Now he'd said this. If he said it, he must know how Jesus meditated. We decided to ask him about it. We were so excited — we were going to get the secret teachings at last!

"Later in the day, when Maharaj-ji came to the back of the temple to hang out with us, [one among us] broached the subject that had us all buzzing. 'You said to meditate like Christ. How DID he meditate?'

"It seemed as if Maharaj-ji was about to answer, but instead his eyes closed and he sat there completely still, completely silent. It felt like he'd totally disappeared. In all the time I'd been with him, I'd only seen him sitting motionless like this a couple of times before. It was extraordinarily powerful, as if the whole universe had become silent. Then a tear came down his cheek. We were in awe. After a couple of minutes, his eyes half opened and, with great emotion, he quietly said, 'He lost himself in love, that's how he meditated. He was one with all beings. He loved everyone, even the people who crucified him. He never died. He is the atman [soul]. He lives in the hearts of all. He lost himself in love.'

Once again, Maharaj-ji had gone right to the heart of it all. I was stunned. There was nothing I wanted more than to be able to lose myself in love, but there was nothing that seemed farther away.  As Kabir once said, "It is easy to bear the heat of fire and likewise it is possible to tread the edge of the sword. But to sustain an unchanging love is a most difficult business."

--Krishna Das, in Chants of Lifetime

Sukha

Meditation and Change

Most people are so amped-up about the world's goings on, and are full of opinions, arguments or debates as they like to call it, and so on. We are struggling with the changing world around us... although nothing has truly changed. Material aspects, lifestyles, food, and the "culture" which is a mummer's farce is what has changed, and a lot of us don't like that. We are resistant to change!

This affects our health. So I learned how to breathe through it, the things I don't like, the changes I can not control, meditate upon it, let it go, and I am able to deal with it.

Next time you are faced with a "who moved my cheese" scenario, and are unable to deal with it; you feel stuck; you are upset... Think about what in this "change", this situation you have no control over, upsets you, angers you, excites you. Meditate on the query, till you find the answer, and let it go. Find the peace in this process. Understanding yourself better in the process, and helping you with future "changes". Move on to the NEW cheese. I dare you to read the book ;-)  (it's a good book). However DO meditate upon it, let it go, and breathe freely and deeply.

Love
Pree

5 Finger Meditation Technique

Just as I promised to share my various meditation methods, here it is! One of them which i always like to start with is the 5 finger meditation method. Which has a very dear story to it.

I was going through a really painful break up, and I needed to get away. I couldn't stop crying, I couldn't eat, I couldn't sleep, I couldn't function... so I hopped on a bus to Chicago to see my bestie, who I hadn't seen in a while. I kept myself occupied by watching a movie on the bus, and eventually dozed-off in an awkward position. I got there and it was friday night. We washed up, and went to bed. The next day was full of activities and occasionally I would have a break down. That night we visited her pool, which also had a sauna, and I had a major break down, weeping so much that I couldn't breathe or talk. So she held my hands and told me to close my eyes, feel the warmth of the sauna, and breathe with her.

She held out her hand and used her fingers to count to three. That was the deep inhale. The exhale was longer, and she used five fingers to count the exhale. We did this for 5- 6 minutes and it really helped me calm down.

She later told me this was a method she would use to calm down/ and relax her patients! It works wonders, and I use it to calm myself down, and also help me focus on my breathing. After which meditation comes in easily.

I am so grateful for having her as my friend, and am so glad and impressed she uses meditation and other breathing techniques to calm her patients down. Which goes to prove that yoga, pranayama and meditation are practices that heal! I hope you find this technique as helpful and soothing as I have found it to be.


OM!

Picture from The Legend of Korra (A "Avatar: The Last Airbender" adventure). Korra has to learn to meditate to tap into her Avatar energies!

Meditating to Strenghten Bonds

Experiences in meditation vary, as well as levels of meditation. Today my sis was meditating on her way to work, and she came upon a revelation. Something she had to share with me. She texted me about it. It said:

"We perceive a very distorted view of ourselves. It's like looking into a cracked glass with many cracked pieces. When we accept that everyone we look up to, envy, love, wish we could be like, etc., are those tiny pieces of cracked mirror reflecting something that exists already in YOU, the Mirror will join the larger whole to un-crack and flatten to show the real you, which is all encompassing, infinite and ultra dynamic"

I asked her what made her send it to me when I needed it the most, without actually having talked to me about what I was going through, and where she found it.

She replied:

"I was meditating on the train and suddenly that entire visual and understanding came in…and I found so much peace. and then suddenly I had the urge to text it to you so I did.

love you"

 

Meditation gives way and room to help us realize things our brain usually can not  realize due to the monkey business already going on in there. Through meditation we can learn things that we can also teach others. Most of all I realized that meditation can strengthen a bond, despite distance. She is wise behind her years, but her timing impeccable... is it coincidence? or the power of meditating?

Om

Breathe in. Breathe ou... Oh look! A squirrel!!

The following is an example of what goes on in my mind during my meditation practice:

Becoming aware of my entire body. Breathing in. Breathing out. Feeling the breath on...

That dude who cut me off on the way home from work really bothered me today... oh hello anger... gentle... breathe...

Breathing in. Breathing out. Feeling each breath. Each momen...

I should go get groceries tonight. I need bread, veggies, milk... oh hello planning... gentle... breathe...

In. Out. In. Out. Air rushing in through my nose. Air rushing out thr

I am having a blast hanging out with this girl. oh hello excitement... gentle... breathe...

Nope... still can't stop thinking about her! there you are again excitement... gentle... breathe...

In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.

When do the Red Wings play again? why hello sports... gentle... breathe...

In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out. In. Out.

***Bells Ring***

Does this sound familiar to you? Notice that towards the end, my focus on my breath was a lot more drawn out. This is not always the case. Sometimes the bells ring and I am completely lost in thought.

During meditation, our minds naturally wander. Resistance is futile. Instead of letting our thoughts control us and throw us into "fight, flight, or freeze" mode, meditation helps us to notice our thoughts, spend a few curious moments with them, and then non-judgmentally allow them to fade away.

The more we practice, the more our minds learn to rest and be in each present moment. That being said, just like in a single meditation session, we often lose focus and forget (or get "too busy") to meditate for a few days at a time. The remedy for this is as simple as during a single meditation session; simply start over.

As we learned in the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction class, the people who are the best at meditation aren't those who can completely clear their mind (that's impossible). The people who are the best at (or get the most out of) meditation are those who allow themselves to start over again and again and again and again and again.

My First Official Meditation Class!

Yoga Guru: Are you free to teach the Mindfulness Meditation class tomorrow evening at 7:15pm at the studio?

I needed to pause and think about this for a bit.

A few years ago I had attended a speech/ lecture by Sri Sri Ravishankar, where he led us in a 20-30 minute meditation. I achieved a very deep level of meditation, and in someways lost touch with my body. In example my mind couldn't move my finger when I tried to will it, but let the will go as well. It was pretty amazing, and my first time going that deep. My point for this story was I felt the pressure to incite this deep of a meditation onto my new students. How would I do that?

There have been times when I have lead meditations before, but they were usually small groups, my friends, or one on one. I was nervous leading the meditation on my birthday, but I did not have too many huge expectations for it, since I had meditated with my friends on different occasions. This just seemed more formal, and official in someways.

After talking to myself a bit, and sharing my dilemma with a few close friends/ my sister, I was encouraged to 1- believe in my self  2- realize that I am not expected to lead them into that deep a meditation 3- make it my own. So I replied with a big "Yes".

Friday morning came by, and I was hoping to compose a meditation with my sister's help. However Thursday evening got busy, and I needed to write and practice it before I taught it. It was time to make it my own. So late Thursday night I wrote down 4 to 5 pages of notes, and practiced it. It felt good to me, and seeing it was Friday after a week of work, most people would look forward to relaxing. So the theme would be relaxation.

The goal was to get to the studio early, to meditate, ground myself, and set up for the class. It was my time to calm my energies down, focus them to calm others and radiate a feeling of love, safety, and calm. I was able to do so, for I found a change in my voice, however a slight bubble of excitement/ adrenalin remained. However when we sat down for class I think something else took over, perhaps the calmness I had planted during my own meditation.

I realized if I was stressed out, or made it so formal, people would not be able to relax, and meditate. I think closing the eyes and clearing the mind, needs trust to be able to relax. One needs to be very practiced to be able to focus, meditate in a stressful situation. So I began with introductions, and everyone telling a funny story, because laughter IS the best medicine to melt the worries away. Smiles are also this amazing way of reaching out to people and releasing those endorphins. Then I began the meditation part.

The meditation was composed of 4 parts: 1 Relaxing through intentional deep breathing; 2 Relaxing through letting go; 3 Relaxing and deepening through visualization; 4 Deepening the meditation by letting go, focusing on natural breathing and observing the mind. I will explain these different meditation techniques in blogs to come!

The class went well and people were indeed relaxed, and one student actually described that they had relaxed so deep, that their mind went blank. Another student described that the meditation really helped refresh them after the week, and they felt glowing and radiant after. This made me happy, however I did notice it was tough to practice being a facilitator/ leading the meditation. Especially keeping time, was tough due to having to look at my phone.

I look forward to leading more meditations in the future!


Breathe!

Picture Courtesy Conscious Culture

Birthday Meditation

On my birthday in March, my friend hosted a huge 30th birthday party for me. Like 50+ people showed up, and it was combined with St. Patty's day celebrations! However I wished to hold a meditation session before the festivities.

A few of us showed up early, and after helping decorate the place, we went up to the attic, where it was quite, and there was a little corner perfect for meditation. Cushions, a little chair, and a little window with a green view. If this spot was made for meditation or just a hang out, I'm not sure, but it was perfect. I sat in the corner and asked my 5 friends to close their eyes, find a comfortable position and to observe their breathe. Some of them were beginners and others had meditated before, but I set an intention of peace, and calmness, joy and love for the rest of the night. This is what I wanted to carry with me for the rest of the year.

We only meditated for about 10 minutes, give or take a few, but it was special for me, and I really felt the love, and appreciated them being there for me. We all hugged after I awkwardly ended it. I did not want to do too much talking as it takes away from the focus of observing the breathe. My sister did help me prepare a meditation for the birthday, but it was too distracting reading off my phone, especially for others.

I want to get better at setting a timer on my phone, and then using my "singing bowl" (Tibetan Singing Bowl) to gently bring people back to now. I want to try to help people go further with their meditation practice than just observing breathing, eventually.

I'm excited that this Tuesday, weather permitting, I teach my first Sunrise Meditation and Yoga class in a park! Nervous, but excited, and I will try my best. I will hopefully remember to take my singing bowl!


Namaste!

Picture Courtesy Conscious Culture

Stressful day? ... Meditate!

I was having a super stressful week, forget the day... and today was the epitome of it all. I wanted to scream, cry, or punch someone (sometimes this is when those video games come in handy). I have been reading the Mahabharata (Devdutt Patniak's version, if you are curious), and I remembered Krishna's words "anger multiplies, but calmness divides.

Instead of feeding my rage, letting it all get the better of me, I took a few minutes and closed my eyes and breathed. I meditated focusing on positivity which people were sending me. That's what friends are for. I then had the strength to focus and feel the positivity within me; even in the darkest times it is there, only you can let it diminish, or shine. I let the positivity fill me up like a glowing light from within, and showering on me from without.

I focused on breathing, and light, and suddenly I felt lighter. I decided to avoid the negativity at work, and focus on myself, and goodness. I can deal with the negative once I have recharged over the weekend, however this positivity would tide me over IF I were to have a confrontation. I know the evening held treasures of relaxation, rest, rejuvenation  and rejoicing, so I was ready to take on the rest of the day.


Namaste!

Meditation: Be present and Climb On!

Yesterday I climbed after a year. I do have a fear of heights, also I "self doubt" a lot regards to what I am capable of, I am also anxious about falling, although there is a trusty belayer ready to catch me; these afflictions in my mind, affect my body, and my climbing.

My first wall, I panicked the whole way up, forgetting to breathe, scared of falling. On my second climb, I heard my climbing teachers voice yell in my mind "breathe! breathe like you're having a baby." My breathing brought me to an utter awareness, and it was easier to climb.

My next climb, I almost gave up, but I took a few minutes to breathe, focus, meditating while hanging on a harness, 20 feet off the ground. Just collecting myself to here, now, me and my body. I let everyone else fade away, I let the world drop away, my breathing, my muscles, my heart all united in completing this small task of climbing to another 10 or 15 feet. It was a simple climb, but it seemed a gargantuan task, for a non-beginner, beginning to climb again. Those few minutes helped me gather some phenomenal energy to calm down and climb on. My focus was solely on me, and it was easier.

Why do I fret? Because I forget to be. I let fear take over, when all I need is me.

Meditation can help us immensely even though it maybe short... Maybe that's why they say when stressed, breathe and count to 10 when angry or flustered! So if you think about it there's been different types of meditation, through out the ages, cultures, places, and religions! The effects are always the same.

Breathe!

Om.

Meditation and Filling the Cup

Every now and then I feel drained: work, friends, family, commuting, altruistic work, hobbies, and sometimes we forget to take time out for ourselves. I felt that recently, I let myself get stressed, I noticed the lack of quality time with me, and I crashed. A mini breakdown. I as afraid I wouldn't be able to live up to my busy schedule and I would let people down.

What I really needed to do, was focus on being present, and let things fall into place. Let go of control, and just focus on my breathing. That simple act for 5 minutes even can help so much. My mind wanders, but I bring it back, to the breathing. So I finally had time to do that on Friday during my yoga class (I hadn't been able to do Yoga during the week, or meditation), except it was longer than just 5 minutes. So it really helped me align my mind, body and soul. Suddenly ten minutes was not enough! I needed more time to enjoy this feeling of calming down. This meditation, basic as it is, was filling up the shell of my body with positivity, nurturing my soul,  calming my body, and taking pressures off my mind.

The exhaustion, and emptiness I was feeling, was gone! I introspected, and then gently looked at the world around me, and suddenly it dawned on me, that I had missed connecting with me. The thing is things will never be less crazy, or slow down to resume whatever schedule I would like, so I have to make time, and fit my meditation in, I do this for me. Same with the Yoga, I have to just make minimum 10 minutes for it. Sometimes taking out time for yourself may seem selfish, but we need it, and more often than not.

OM

Meditation for wellness

 

Justin 101: An Introduction

Hello! My name is Justin. I am thrilled to be a part of this project. Meditation, while relatively new to my life, has changed me. Simply taking a moment to pay attention to my thoughts, feelings, and emotions has had a profound effect on how I live my life.

My story begins a long time ago in a faraway land. Ok, not really, but that sounds cool! My meditation journey actually begins not so long ago, and right here in Grand Rapids Michigan. I was raised by parents who loved me and provided a safe place for me to grow up. I had a normal childhood, went to great schools, and had great friends (still do!). By the time I got to high school, I was comfortable with who I was and I was loving life. In college I had the opportunity to travel, make new friends, and learn much more about the beautiful world we live in. Shortly after college I got married. I was living the West Michigan dream. Then things started to unravel.

In the span of a year, the following events took place: I had a heat-stroke and spent 3 hours in a coma after a triathlon, I broke my nose (you should see the pictures!), my grandfather died (I'm named after him), my marriage of four and a half years ended in divorce (I could write a novel about this, but I won't... yet ;D), and my parents moved from Grand Rapids to Salt Lake City. Nothing was going my way. I had spent all of my energy for two years trying to save my marriage and I was drained. I struggled constantly with depression, and I was consumed by anxiety. It was not until I sought help from a therapist that things started to turn around.

In counseling I started to figure out why certain things were the way they were. I learned about co-dependency and the effect that it had on my failed marriage. I learned about the voids in my life and the vices that I used to fill them. I came to the realization that for months on end, I was living ten feet above my body. In other words, I was constantly in automatic pilot mode. Then, my therapist introduced me to a practice that would end up changing my life: Mindfulness Meditation.

During a particularly difficult session, I felt completely drained. My tank was empty. Tears were flowing. I had no words. My therapist instructed me to close my eyes and allow the tears to flow. He instructed me to allow the sadness, loneliness, and whatever other thought or emotion that was happening in that moment to be there. He explained it like this: If you are in a cabin in the woods far from any trace of civilization and an old man knocks on your door, you are not going to turn him away. You are going to invite him in and get to know him. The old man of sorrows had come knocking, and for the first time in years, I spent time with him in curious awareness.

That is what Mindfulness Meditation is all about; simply being aware of your present experience right here, right now, in this moment. It felt amazing to allow myself to be lonely and to grieve. It seemed like every time I met with my therapist, we got real work done. One day I decided to go camping by myself. When I got to the lakeshore (Lake Michigan) I scurried down the beach to set up camp. Once I got settled, I took a seat where the land meets the water and closed my eyes. I noticed thoughts racing through my head, and instead of letting them get the best of me I simply allowed them to be. As thought after thought passed through my head like clouds in the sky, my mind grew quiet. When I finally opened my eyes, the whole world seemed new! It felt good to be me. For the first time in years I felt good in my own skin. Most importantly, I was IN my own skin!

Since my "re-awakening" on the beach, I have had the privilege of taking an eight week course called "Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction" through the Grand Rapids Center for Mindfulness (seriously, check them out). Throughout the eight week course I learned the benefits of regular meditation as well as many practices that have become a part of my daily life. After eight weeks I am feeling more connected to myself, to others, and to the world around me. I feel good! (da da da da da da da!!)

While this post is meant to be an introduction, it is also an invitation. It is an invitation to join me in my journey of healing and self-awareness. Some posts will be "big idea" stuff; other posts will be very practical. I hope that you will learn something from them and be able to apply some of the lessons to your life. Every step towards mindfulness is a worthy step in the right direction. Now join with me in the most basic form of mindfulness. Ready?

Breathe.

ॐ Yoga and Meditation 1 ॐ

I've been meditating a lot recently, thanks to yoga class, at least 2- 3 times a week. Meditation and Yoga go hand in hand. One must do yoga to quiet the body, and then meditation calms the mind and the body! Also 3 ॐ s at the end of practice can help seal the deal, in helps the vibrations from the practice be vocalized. I used to be embarrassed of the ॐ we said as a greeting and farewell, at the Sivananda Yoga center, when growing up in India. now I find beauty, mysticism, wholeness, and energy in them. Perhaps chanting, meditation and yoga all go hand in hand. It makes sense why all the Sanyasis do all three and more. So it should feel right. There is a beauty in silence and fasting too!

Last night at yoga, we meditated after the 45 minutes of vinyasa. The yogi guided us through a very interesting technique where we focused on breathing. The difference was we focused on inhale right nostril, exhale left nostril, then inhale left nostril, exhale right nostril. When focusing on this, just through your mind, I believe the nose muscles, and nostrils start actually doing it! So it is like doing Anuloma Viloma, with no hand! It was a very amazing, although I felt my breathing was loud, deep an obnoxious, so I tried to quieten it a little. We closed with a chant, and three ॐ.

At the beginning of the practice and the end, we always set our intentions for our practice, individually, for ourselves. It's internal, a quiet whisper to ourselves. We close with remembering those intentions. At the end of the meditation, we repeated our intentions to ourselves and the yogi also asked us to remember sradha the word for faith, belief and trust, and focus that onto ourselves: Internally and externally. To have sradha in ourselves, the world, the practice, to listen and then have faith. An example was when we were in headstand, we should listen to our bodies to see how far we can go, and not to push it, but trust it. It's an amazing thing to meditate on, and be aware of. Also remembering to let go of the things we can not control, those that add to our worries. These external problems/unchangeable do not help us in our sradha, but we should let it go and accept it the way it is. I am so glad the yogi is mindful to always go back to that - the philosophy, the spirituality, the connectedness and energy behind meditation and meditation.

ॐ

 

 

Notes:

Practice = the practice of living something, in this case it is yoga and meditation. Although I won't perform it, I practice it daily. :-P I guess I picked this up from my yoga teacher training class.

Sradha - Faith or see the hindu or collective definition or Buddhist definition... I hope to post more on this subject!