Meditation Blog

Recently I was discussing the Tao Te Ching with one of the people I help guide in meditation. As with all books they can only convey impressions and ideas, they can not reveal spiritual truth. But what they can do is to inspire a person to discover the truth for themselves through their own experiences and realisations.

One of my favorite verses from the Tao Te Ching is the following:

"We put thirty spokes together and call it a wheel,
But it is on the space where there is nothing that the usefulness of the wheel depends.
We turn clay to make a vessel,
But it is on the space where there is nothing that the usefulness of the vessel depends.
We pierce doors and windows to make a house,
And it is on these spaces where there is nothing that the usefulness of the house depends.
Therefore just as we take advantage of what is, we should recognize the usefulness of what is not."

For me this is really about meditation and the way that without stillness there can be no form. But what is really important is for you to ask the question "what do I understand by this?" because it doesn't matter what anyone else understands, only what you understand for yourself. Another person's realisations, no matter how profound will not free you from your own limits.

The first line shows not only how all form is made of other forms, for example a wheel is made of 30 spokes. But this line also shows how we (through our minds) ascribe labels to things. For example when you read the word "wheel" you have an idea of what that wheel would be like. But everyone's idea of the wheel may be different. Is it a bicycle wheel, a wooden wagon wheel, or a thick car wheel. Is it 30 cm across or 100 cm? So the label is not the thing.

Then the second line: "But it is on the space where there is nothing that the usefulness of the wheel depends" describes how it is the hole in the middle of the wheel that allows it to be "useful". The wheel by its very design has a purpose, to allow something to move. So it is the hole or absense of form that allows the wheel to carry out its function.

The following lines also carry on this theme of the formless allowing the form to function. It is a metaphor, a hint at meditation. Because in meditation our bodies, much like the clay vessel are our form and we focus our awareness on the "space" inside. This space you can also label as emptyness, stillness, neutrality, balance, inner peace, tranquility and Love. By being aware of this "space" we allow our vessel to realise the function of it's form. Without the "space" it is just another form. The last line brings the two together, unifying form and nothingness to say that one without the other has no use.

This idea that usefulness comes from balance between nothingness and form can be considered from the microcosmic to the macrocosmic; a personality and the stillness within, to the manifest creation and absolute Love.

It is the edges of the wheel that reveal, by contrast, the emptyness in its hub. Each exists, and without the other there is no contrast to recognise the other.

So I wonder what you understood as you read the above verse. But whatever it was, be prepared to change, because as we discover more of our truth by exploring this inner stillness through meditation, what we can understand evolves with our ability to be still. The stiller we get the more clarity and understanding though being we enjoy...

Sitting on the tube today on my way into London I picked up the Metro newspaper (8th April 2010) and two different articles got my attention:

Say Om

In this article they say that saying a mantra like Om can reduce stress and depression by up to 48% according to two studies in the US.

The "Om" sound, like all sounds is a vibration which when repeated internally resonates certain parts of your aura and energy field. A very soothing and calming effect. When I teach people they have the opportunity to experience even more powerful mantras and work with pure sound vibration. Taking their meditation even further into quite frankly amazing depths of stillness and inner peace. What I really love about this is that this is provable! Every person I have taught in the last 10 years has reported that when they use these mantras and other techniques regularly that they actually feel great and get real positive benefits.

Doherty takes up new vice - Tai Chi

This article (page 32) tickled me too. Pete's probably no stranger to altered states of awareness due to his reported drug taking over the years. The problem is that drugs "force" your awareness and consequently cause damage as the shifts are imbalanced. Now he's experiencing "balance and serenety" in a natural way by using Tai Chi - a physical form of meditation.

I have used Tai Chi with three different teachers over the years and it's a fantastic way of gaining physical and etheric balance. As with all meditation techniques the "object" of meditation also defines the limit of where your awareness is expanded. So a physical meditation like Tai Chi which works with the physical body and chi (etheric body) will expand and balance the awareness in the Physical and Etheric planes. This is great for meditators because it then makes it a lot easier to become aware of the more subtle vibrations beyond these bodies. Well done Pete, maybe you're finally waking up! :)

I've been teaching meditation for well over 10 years now and I've noticed some simple and obvious patterns that apply to everyone I've seen including myself. One of them is that:

"the more regular a person meditates, then the more they get from their meditation and the more it benefits them in their everyday life".

Maybe you've already noticed this too?

Now, being a busy person I can really appreciate that sometimes life throws obsticles in the way. And I certainly don't give myself a hard time if it's just not possible to meditate. I just look forward to the next meditate even more!

It seems it's a really subtle distinction between what is a genuine reason why one can't meditate as much as one would like as opposed to an excuse to miss it. And the reality is that only you can tell if it's a real reason or a convenient dodge. One of the most inspiring thoughts I've heard on this was from a good friend and long time meditator Dan, who said "When I don't want to meditate, that's when I sit down and meditate".

I really get what he was saying there. You see even when a person has transcended the mind, the personality, which is still there, is certainly not beyond the mind and so can still seem to "get in the way" or to put it better "gain your attention". So it's the attitude that a person fosters within their personality that can help then not get stuck in these unhelpful habits. By developing a good pattern of regular meditation then that pattern gains momentum.

I've known some delightful and naturally gifted meditators who, before they knew it had suddenly not really meditated for months or more because they "got caught up in life". It's always a real shame because it's like watching a light slowly turn down. Once they realise what has happened they start to get back into their meditation and rediscover the stillness and peace and all the other benefits. Sadly though they have lost time they will never get back and, within creation, time certainly is never on anyone's side.

So remember, if you want to then it's a great idea to keep your meditation regular. Like healthy exercise and having fun, the more you do then the better life gets.

Keep your light shining

Mark

It's a question I get asked very often. The simple answer is as often as you like.

I generally encourage people to explore their meditation so I may say: "meditate at different times of the day, notice what is the same, notice what happens when you meditate in the morning as opposed to the evening. Meditate twice a day, do one long meditate and then several short ones... notice what's different."

It also depends on where you are in your meditation.

People who are already meditating on pure energy find it even easier to sit for many hours, whereas if you're just learning the breath meditation, then 5 mins is also great. But to turn it on it's head, I recently sat and meditated for 4 hours with one of the people I am teaching, and despite the fact she had only ever done 45 mins up till then, she found it so easy that she didn't even believe she had actually done 4 hours!

The more people relax, and enter their meditation with a sense of adventure and delight then the easier it is to simply enjoy it without referencing time. I have on a number of occassions, taken time off and sat literally for days meditating between 4 and 10 hours at a time without moving. I recently meditated for 10 days, which was an absolute pleasure. Each day I meditated between maybe 10 and 20 hours. Now years ago when I started, I wouldn't have believed I'd be saying that! My first meditate was 2mins and 13seconds! - yes I actually timed it!

Practical Meditation Advice

So here are some handy hints in reference to meditation and time:

1. Use an alarm clock. If you're meditating and you know that in 30 mins you'll need to do something then set an alarm, otherwise you'll be monitoring the time in the back of your mind and you may struggle to become as still as you could if you let the alarm take care of time.
2. The key is to be regular. it is better to do 30 mins a day than one 2 hour meditate once a week.
3. Mix things up! While regular meditation is a good habit to have, if you are always meditating at the same time, in the same place, for the same duration, then do something different, otherwise you're just becoming more unconscious in the habit and less likely to actually turn up and notice what's happening in your meditation.
4. Take care of your body! Especially when it comes to longer meditates, if your body is well looked after, you'll find it easier to sit and be comfortably still for longer periods... allowing you to enjoy the inner peace and stillness more.
5. Challenge your limits.... like my friend who went from doing 45 mins to 4 hours! She found new levels of stillness and inner love by being willing to challenge her limits :) in a nice way.

There's plenty more I could say but this time I'll stop for now :)

Enjoy your meditation!

One of the things I hear a lot is the idea that you have to "still the mind". It's in a lot of books (some of which are very old). However one of the realisations you can make when meditating is that you are more than your mind and that there is an amazing stillness which is untouched by thought. The mind itself - by it's very nature - is movement. It is the flow of thoughts through it that animate it. So the idea that you can still the mind is fundamentally flawed.

It is more accurate to say that "a person becomes still by focussing on the stillness that is present instead of focussing on the mind which is perpetual movement".

Many people have been given well intentioned, but unhelpful advice... like "you must still the mind" or "If there are thoughts then you're doing it wrong" and naturally trying to follow this advice just creates dissapointment and holds you back. It's a shame that so many people give themselves a hard time over their mind in meditation when they don't need to... all because of a mis-interpretation.

I teach people from all kinds of backgrounds how to discover the stillness that is already present and ultimately how to discover a stillness and peace that transcends the mind.

One way of thinking about the nature of the mind and how to become still (while accepting the mind is motion) is to consider a fish tank:

"The tank contains water and fish. Fish are like thoughts and when people look at a tank they are naturally drawn to the fish because they move and have a definate form. They seldom notice the water which surrounds and supports the fish. Meditation is like learning how to notice the water, without having to remove the fish from the tank in the process!"

I hope this helps you.

Peace and Love