In my previous article on “Does doing good make you happier?” I draw a distinction between what I called “willed goodness” and “natural goodness”. In this article I want to look a little bit at how meditation is naturally good or virtuous. If we are defining virtue or goodness as an activity, we could say that it is any activity that leads us to an experience of happiness and peace. Meditation is a naturally good or virtuous activity because:
1) When we engage in meditation we make more space in our mind. With more space in our mind, we naturally develop a connection, conscious or otherwise with the deeper soul or spiritual levels of who we are. So in this sense we can say that meditation is naturally good because it acts like a window to a deeper, more profound and peaceful awareness of who we truly are.
2) When we make more space in our mind, we naturally become aware of and sensitive to how our actions of body speech and mind affect ourself and others. Because of this we will naturally start to modify our behaviour in order to bring it into line with this new found sensitivity.
3) Because we have more space in our mind we also have more room for concern and consideration for others. In a perpetually busy mind there is never any room for the ‘I’’s of others, because our whole moment to moment experience is taken up with busy thoughts about ourself, and with emotions relating to these thoughts. With a perpetually busy mind it is very difficult to be consistently unselfish even if we want to be, because the dynamic of our mind is such that egoic self concern is always the aspect of our consciousness that is making the most noise. When we meditate, there are fewer thoughts, more space, and so it is literally easier for us to take in the perspectives of others and to include them in our circle of concern.
So, these are some of the reasons why meditation is naturally and effortlessly a good of virtuous activity. That is not to say that it is always easy and effortless, rather it is saying that the process of meditation in itself is naturally good.
The meditation on equalizing self and others.
We can also use specific meditations that include conceptual content in order to help us develop more space in our mind in a way that is complementary to simply calming and reducing the thoughts in our mind. One such technique that I learned during my time in Tibetan Buddhism is called the meditation on equalizing self and others. It is quite simple, and the basic reasoning can be summarized as follows:
“In the same way that I always wish to be happy and free from all forms of suffering, so do all other living beings without exception. Regardless of whether they are large or small, regardless of their level of intelligence, regardless of shape or species, all creatures are all basically the same in this regard. Considering all living beings from this perspective, I can see that we are all fundamentally equal in this basic wish, and because of this I now determine to cherish all living beings equally with myself.”
If we consider the above level of reasoning and see its validity, we can develop a powerful determination to try and cherish others in the same way that we cherish ourself. This determination is a very helpful factor in keeping our own problems in perspective. Because we are aware that everyone, human or animal has similar problems, this prevents our mind from becoming neurotically preoccupied with our own personal problems. We have a bigger, more stable perspective from which to view what is happening to us in our life.
In quiet contemplation we can visualize other people or creatures, and practise including them in our circle of awareness, trying to see things from their point of view, and take their perspectives into account. When we are out and about in our daily life, we can try and be as conscious as possible of the other living beings whom we are sharing our space with (whether it be the other people in the train carriage, or the creatures around us in a forest), and take them into account in any activity that we may engage in.
Simple sitting meditation on equalizing self and others
If you contemplate the points in the above section, you can see quite clearly the validity of making the effort to cherish others equally with yourself. Once you have convinced yourself of the validity of this, you can then just sit quietly and turn your attention to your breathing. As you breathe in you can mentally recite “I will cherish others” and then as you breathe out “equally with myself”. Use the breathing in this way to consolidate your determination. As you use the breathing to calm your mind, you are also affirming the determination to cherish others equally with yourself, and allowing it to lodge deeply in your subconscious mind.
Do this for as long as you wish or for as long as feels comfortable before relaxing and brining the meditation to a close.
Read article by Toby on natural intelligence and natural dignity on the Mentalfitnessnow.com site
© Toby Ouvry 2010, please to not reproduce without permission.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Monday, May 10, 2010
Does doing good make you happier?
I will be starting a series of meditation classes on “how to develop ethical intelligence” tomorrow, so with this in mind I thought I would have a little bit of a look at the basic question “does doing good make you happier?” And a second follow up question, “if it does make you happier, why do we find it so tough to do, and so easy to do the opposite?” Then I want to finish off with a meditation exercise where we are specifically developing an appreciation of our own good actions, and seeing just how happy they can indeed make us.
So, does doing good make you happier?
On a basic level, yes it does, when you can combine TWO different types of good actions into your life in a balanced and harmonious way. I am going to call these two types of good actions “naturally good actions” and “willed good actions”.
Naturally good actions:
Naturally good actions are actions that are more about cultivating relaxed forms of holistic awareness that, when we engage in them help us to connect to conditions of healing, regeneration and wonder within ourselves. They are not “willed” dynamic actions, but more about opening to what is already there and allowing ourselves to sink into the experience. Some examples of naturally good actions might be:
- Creating spaces in our day for our mind to naturally unwind and unclutter, so that we can connect to the natural wholeness and dignity of our soul and inner being
- Connecting to the natural rhythms of nature and landscape, and allowing these natural planetary rhythms to bring our own individual rhythm back into balance
- Deliberately getting in touch with deeper conditions of “feeling-ness” within our mind and body, and making sure that we do not allow our mind and daily actions to become feelingless and mechanical.
Naturally good actions are an essential part of leaning to do good and enjoy it. They are not about doing anything special, just creating spaces in our everyday life to open to what is there and improve our qualitative experience of it.
Willed good actions:
Willed good actions are more dynamic forms of virtue where we are actively taking a step to do something that we consider to be positive for ourself or for the sake of another, amongst infinite examples here are a few
- The giving of time and money to good causes
- Helping others to develop their skills in an area where we have competence
- Refraining from food from unethical sources, or where animals have had to die for our pleasure
- Reducing our energy consumption
- Actively refraining from our own negative habitual actions such as bitching about others behind their back
So, I think we are all familiar with the different types of willed good actions on a basic level.
Why do we find it so difficult to do good, and so easy to do the opposite?
There are many answers to this, but my answer here is that one main reason why we find it so difficult to do good is that our understanding of good actions is very biased toward “willed” good actions that I mentioned above, and we have not developed our experience of “naturally” good actions substantially enough. If we see good actions as something that we SHOULD do, and continually will ourselves to do those good actions, we will lose sight of the NATURAL PLEASURE of doing good. Doing good starts to feel like an obligation, and of course when our ego feels like we are obliged to do something, then it rebels, it looks for reasons to sabotage our perceived obligations.
So, my proposed solution here is that we spend more time getting in touch with the “naturally” good actions that I outline above. Engaging in these activities each day will help us to keep in touch with the natural feel good factor of goodness, and prevent us from feeling as if doing good is an obligation. Naturally good actions are those that naturally help us to rest, regenerate and revive depth and sensitivity of feeling, and that heal us of the naturally fractious and fragmented states of consciousness that we find ourselves in for so much of our everyday life.
Meditation for combining the willed and natural good within us.
What I am going to do now is outline a meditative exercise that will help us to combine both natural good and willed good into a single experience. In this exercise we look at willed good actions that we have done in the past or present, and rejoice in them, allowing our contemplation of them to produce feelings of natural goodness and depth within our being. It is very simple and easy to do, and you can apply it to your own experiences with no trouble:
Firstly sit down in a comfortable posture with a relatively straight back, spend a little time relaxing your body and breathing, setting aside your daily tasks just for a short time.
Now bring to mind two or three willed good actions that you have done recently, here are my three that I am thinking of as I write:
- Renewal of my membership to treesforlife.co.uk , a group that is regenerating the wild rainforest in the west coast of Scotland
- Time spent last night helping a friend talk through an issue on the phone
- The fact that our family now uses 100% green washing powder for clothes and dishwashing liquid
Bring these to mind (write them down if you like), and just contemplate them and breathe with them for a while. In my case using the above examples, I think about how in some small way I am helping regenerate forest in Scotland, how I have helped a friend clarify their issues, how the water that goes into the drain from our house has far, far fewer damaging chemicals.
As I contemplate like this there is a NATURAL feel good factor that starts to arise, I can feel my body relax, my face begins to smile gently, it feels good to have done good.
Once you have that good FEELING in your heart, mind and body from having contemplated what you have done, you can now stop contemplating the specific actions that you have done, and instead just breathe the feeling that you now have in my mind and body in and out. Allow that good feeling to move as deep as possible into your consciousness and into your cellular structure. It is almost like you are soaking in your good feeling like soaking in a bath. Stay with this feeling, (using the breathing as a focus point to orientate you concentration) for as long as you like, then when you are ready relax and move back to your daily awareness.
So, my final comment here is that doing good does make us happy, but we have to learn to do good in the right way, out of a conscious volitional choice, not out of obligation!
© Text Toby Ouvry 2010, please do not reproduce without permission.
So, does doing good make you happier?
On a basic level, yes it does, when you can combine TWO different types of good actions into your life in a balanced and harmonious way. I am going to call these two types of good actions “naturally good actions” and “willed good actions”.
Naturally good actions:
Naturally good actions are actions that are more about cultivating relaxed forms of holistic awareness that, when we engage in them help us to connect to conditions of healing, regeneration and wonder within ourselves. They are not “willed” dynamic actions, but more about opening to what is already there and allowing ourselves to sink into the experience. Some examples of naturally good actions might be:
- Creating spaces in our day for our mind to naturally unwind and unclutter, so that we can connect to the natural wholeness and dignity of our soul and inner being
- Connecting to the natural rhythms of nature and landscape, and allowing these natural planetary rhythms to bring our own individual rhythm back into balance
- Deliberately getting in touch with deeper conditions of “feeling-ness” within our mind and body, and making sure that we do not allow our mind and daily actions to become feelingless and mechanical.
Naturally good actions are an essential part of leaning to do good and enjoy it. They are not about doing anything special, just creating spaces in our everyday life to open to what is there and improve our qualitative experience of it.
Willed good actions:
Willed good actions are more dynamic forms of virtue where we are actively taking a step to do something that we consider to be positive for ourself or for the sake of another, amongst infinite examples here are a few
- The giving of time and money to good causes
- Helping others to develop their skills in an area where we have competence
- Refraining from food from unethical sources, or where animals have had to die for our pleasure
- Reducing our energy consumption
- Actively refraining from our own negative habitual actions such as bitching about others behind their back
So, I think we are all familiar with the different types of willed good actions on a basic level.
Why do we find it so difficult to do good, and so easy to do the opposite?
There are many answers to this, but my answer here is that one main reason why we find it so difficult to do good is that our understanding of good actions is very biased toward “willed” good actions that I mentioned above, and we have not developed our experience of “naturally” good actions substantially enough. If we see good actions as something that we SHOULD do, and continually will ourselves to do those good actions, we will lose sight of the NATURAL PLEASURE of doing good. Doing good starts to feel like an obligation, and of course when our ego feels like we are obliged to do something, then it rebels, it looks for reasons to sabotage our perceived obligations.
So, my proposed solution here is that we spend more time getting in touch with the “naturally” good actions that I outline above. Engaging in these activities each day will help us to keep in touch with the natural feel good factor of goodness, and prevent us from feeling as if doing good is an obligation. Naturally good actions are those that naturally help us to rest, regenerate and revive depth and sensitivity of feeling, and that heal us of the naturally fractious and fragmented states of consciousness that we find ourselves in for so much of our everyday life.
Meditation for combining the willed and natural good within us.
What I am going to do now is outline a meditative exercise that will help us to combine both natural good and willed good into a single experience. In this exercise we look at willed good actions that we have done in the past or present, and rejoice in them, allowing our contemplation of them to produce feelings of natural goodness and depth within our being. It is very simple and easy to do, and you can apply it to your own experiences with no trouble:
Firstly sit down in a comfortable posture with a relatively straight back, spend a little time relaxing your body and breathing, setting aside your daily tasks just for a short time.
Now bring to mind two or three willed good actions that you have done recently, here are my three that I am thinking of as I write:
- Renewal of my membership to treesforlife.co.uk , a group that is regenerating the wild rainforest in the west coast of Scotland
- Time spent last night helping a friend talk through an issue on the phone
- The fact that our family now uses 100% green washing powder for clothes and dishwashing liquid
Bring these to mind (write them down if you like), and just contemplate them and breathe with them for a while. In my case using the above examples, I think about how in some small way I am helping regenerate forest in Scotland, how I have helped a friend clarify their issues, how the water that goes into the drain from our house has far, far fewer damaging chemicals.
As I contemplate like this there is a NATURAL feel good factor that starts to arise, I can feel my body relax, my face begins to smile gently, it feels good to have done good.
Once you have that good FEELING in your heart, mind and body from having contemplated what you have done, you can now stop contemplating the specific actions that you have done, and instead just breathe the feeling that you now have in my mind and body in and out. Allow that good feeling to move as deep as possible into your consciousness and into your cellular structure. It is almost like you are soaking in your good feeling like soaking in a bath. Stay with this feeling, (using the breathing as a focus point to orientate you concentration) for as long as you like, then when you are ready relax and move back to your daily awareness.
So, my final comment here is that doing good does make us happy, but we have to learn to do good in the right way, out of a conscious volitional choice, not out of obligation!
© Text Toby Ouvry 2010, please do not reproduce without permission.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Meditation and reflection on the four levels of love.
This article is intended to help us identify four different levels of love, and to help us see where these different levels fit into our overall process of integrated mastery. For the purposes of this article, we are going to be defining love as simply the creative force or impulse that lies behind and within our lives, and that drives us forwards in our journey, whether it be on a biological, psychological or spiritual level.
First level: biological or procreative love.
No need to say too much here, the biological impulse toward mating, procreation and reproduction shared by humans, animals and plants alike, in its many varied formats!
Second level: Emotional and or psychological love.
This is the love that is shared as a process of daily give and take between individuals and groups of individuals. In its most complex forms it is found in human love, but it is also shared to a greater or lesser degree in the more complex and intelligent members of the animal kingdom.
Third level: Soul level love.
Here love is expressed benevolently within an individual as “the attitude of the soul toward life”. Someone who has a stable realization of this form of love has his or her creative energies firmly and constantly focused on nurturing and service towards the greater and higher goals of any individual or group that s/he has a relationship with. Ideally this is the form of love that we are trying to establish as the basic context for our daily actions and experiences in life. With our inner being centred around soul level love, any act of biological or emotional love that we engage in will be guided by the benevolent perspectives of the soul.
Fourth level: Universal love
This is the level of love that we contact when we are able to set aside our individual identity, and allow our “small self” to merge with a sense of the Universal Being or Consciousness that lies behind all life forms in existence. Typically this is contacted at first in deep meditational states, but over time we can stabilize the experience in our consciousness so that it starts to pervade our awareness as we go about our daily actions. This level of love is paradoxical (like all spiritual experiences) in that on one level we could call it “impersonal love” as it dissolves our sense of individuality and does not favour any one person over another. However, when we contact universal love, there is also a sense of finally having come home, and in this sense it is the most personal and intimate of experiences.
Ideally in our own inner growth we are aiming to centre our basic identity at level three, soul level love. With ourself in this position we can then act as mediators of universal love to the lower levels of emotional and biological love.
What follows below is a brief poetic meditation form on these four levels of love that can be used as a way of developing a sense and feeling of how they (the four levels of love) interact with each other. This in turn will enable us to start to orientate our own experience of love toward the soul and spiritual levels.
I would recommend that you simply read through the description below on a contemplative way, allowing yourself to explore the four different levels of love imaginatively. Then once you have done this you can then spend some time in meditation focusing on the parts that move you most. However this can also be done as a more systematic, four stage meditation where you focus for a few minutes on each level, spending equal time on all the levels.
Meditation on the four levels of love.
Seated comfortably, spend a short while simply relaxing your body and mind, and disentangling them from the business of your daily life using breathing meditation or any other form of centring meditation.
Now, from where you are sitting, allow your awareness to expand and spread across the surface of the planet. Sense the biological life around you; human, animal and plant. Sense the power of biological, procreative love within yourself and in nature that sustains physical life forms and causes them to grow and sustain their species.
When you feel ready, turn your attention to the humans in your area. Contemplate the complex patterns of emotional and psychological love that exist within their (and your own) minds and relationships, the continuous give and take, ebb and flow, the pleasure and the pain, the elation and confusion, the power and the vulnerability.
Now see within your mind’s eye sitting next to you there is a being who has realized soul level love ( this could be an actually figure such as the Buddha or a Saint, or an unknown figure that appears intuitively to your consciousness). As you observe her/him you sense a continuous, benevolent flow of positive, loving energy gently pulsing from the core of their being. Anyone whom the energy of this being comes into contact with benefits from exposure to their energy, whether they know it or not. Without trying too hard, this soul realized individual next to us benefits others simply through their loving presence and manner.
After focusing on this person for a while, now imagine yourself AS that person; see yourself as a soul realized being, gently radiating your love to those around you. You are someone for whom love is their basic attitude towards life.
Finally, allow all thoughts, feelings and images in your mind to dissolve into the Universal mind and heart, like a tiny drop of water dissolving into an ocean. As you allow yourself to relax and move deeper into this infinite universal consciousness, feel within it the primal creative impulse of universal love. Feel that you are in a space within which exists all possibilities, all creative potentials. If you like you can combine your breathing with this experience; as you breathe in feel the creative impulse of universal love flowing into your being, and as you breathe out, feel this impulse flowing outward from your being into the hearts of all living beings.
Read Toby’s previous article on “the challenges of meditating on love”.
Monday, April 26, 2010
The challenges of meditating on love
What could be more pleasant than meditating on love? In this article I want to explore a little how a simple meditation on love/loving kindness will actually stimulate a complex and challenging developmental process for us if we do it sincerely and consistently. What I will do first of all is outline a very simple meditation on what is called wishing love, then we can have a look at an example of the sort of stuff that love meditations can bring up.
A simple meditation on wishing love.
This meditation is called wishing love because it focuses on 4 benevolent wishes that we direct toward living beings which are:
May everyone be happy,
May everyone be free from misery,
May no one ever be separated from their happiness,
May everyone have equanimity, free from hatred and attachment.
In Tibetan Buddhism these four wishes are called the four immeasurables, because they take all living beings as their object. However we can alter the structure of the sentences to direct the wishes to ourself (may I be happy), or a specific group of people (may my friends/family/so-and-so be happy). So, by altering the structure of the verse we can make it a meditation on love directed to self, others, or all living beings. We can even structure it in such a way that we spend the first 5 minutes focusing on ourself, the second 5 mins on a group, and the third 5mins focusing on all living beings.
The challenge.
So there you go, a simple, flexible format for meditating on wishing love, where does the challenge lie you ask? The challenge comes because what happens is that as soon as you try and develop these types of loving wishes toward self and others, all the things in your mind that are NOT compatible with these wishes will start to come to the surface and start to object to or block our expression of these wishes. Here is an example from my own experience. I am generally ok with directing love toward myself, toward all living beings, Gaia, the Planet, the Universe, and specific groups of living beings including some humans. However, when I think of humans in general here are some of the type of dialogues that come up:
Loving wish “May humans be happy” – Mental response: “Hold on, I’m looking at humans every day, aren’t they the wilfully selfish, self centred, animal abusing, planet polluting consumer zombies that are the source of all the problems on the earth? I’m supposed to love them? I don’t even like them!”
Loving wish “May all humans be free from suffering” – Mental response: “Since they are creating so many problems with their egos, don’t they deserve what is coming to them? Wouldn’t it be justice?”
As you can see, my mind has plenty of issues in this area, how did I / do I get around this? Some of the points being raised are indeed legitimate! I get to the fourth wish:
“May all humans have equanimity, free from hatred and attachment” – Mental response: “Ok, I can get behind that one, if they did not have hatred, attachment, pride, egoism and all the other delusions in their mind, they would not be so harmful to themselves and the planet, I can get behind this wish!”
So, in this case my solution is found in the fourth wish, I feel I can legitimately extend a loving wish that humans be free from delusions, as it resolves the somewhat legitimate objections that have been raised; I can wish humans happiness and freedom from pain by becoming free from their delusions, which will also stop them causing so much carnage! I can also start to channel some of the anger and aggression that humans stimulate in me toward doing things that will help humans overcome their delusions (see article “In order to be happy sometimes you have to get mad as hell!”)
From this example we can see that the meditation on love stimulates some quite challenging developmental processes, and for each person there will be different challenges. People with low self esteem will have trouble connecting to the wish for themselves to be happy. People who are habitually self or family centred will have trouble wishing happiness to others whom they may not know. My basic point here is that this sort of developmental challenge is where the real benefits of the meditation is. Love is not just about connecting to a soft, rosy emotional feeling, it is about truly caring about ourself and others enough to look deeply into the dynamic of our mind and our life and to get to the bottom of the human issues that we face. To REALLY meditate on love you have to care enough to get through all the uncomfortable stuff, so that your wish to give yourself and others happiness is coming from a very deep and stable place.
Good luck!
Read next article on the "four different levels of love".
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Magical meditation as a method for awakening our psycho-spiritual powers
In this article I intend to have a look at the meaning of the word "magic", and outline a practical walking meditation method for integrating it into our daily life in such a way as to awaken our inner powers.
First of all lets look at the meaning of the word magic with fresh minds. We have to let go of all the programming that we have received from mainstream media and culture regarding what magic means. If you think of the word magic, you are most commonly going to think of fantasy genres such as the Harry Potter series of books and films (which I quite like but are not the same as what we are investigating here), or you are going to think about TV shows with very clever people doing funny things with cards, coins etc, or playing fascinating mind games with members of the audience. So, I would like you to set all that aside for a moment. Instead, here is a working definition of magic that can give us insight into how magical work has been used for centuries, particularly in the western tradition of spirituality, in order to facilitate peoples psycho-spiritual growth:
"Magical work involves any activity that aims to bridge the gap and facilitate communication between the inner worlds of our mind and spirit, with the outer worlds of our physical being, environment and action.
In particular, all white forms of magic aim to harness the power of the inner worlds of mind and spirit and direct them in such a way as to facilitate positive change in our outer world and environment. All forms of magic, being facilitators of communication/communion between the inner and outer worlds help us to develop a sense of empowered participation,creativity and belongingness in the world and environment within which we live."
It is worth spending time with the above definition as there are quite a few levels of meanings and connections that you can start to grasp intellectually and poetically just by reading it through a few times. What I want to explain below is a basic "magical walking meditation form" that can be worked with and explored easily. It involves developing awareness of our energy body, and the energy body of the place where we are walking, and using it as a way of connecting to and communicating with the spirit of that place. Practiced regularly, it is a very good way for awakening your basic psychic powers in a natural, healthy and balanced way.
Basic magical walking meditation form
First select and travel to the place that you have chosen to walk. A place with plenty of trees, nature and living creatures is preferable. If you live in a city environment then a park is an obvious example of such a place. Places of real wildness and natural power are ideal, so this is a good practice to do when you are on holiday in an area where you have access to such areas. For this explanation, I am going to take the example of a wooded area within a park.
Connecting to the living spirit of the place:
Stand at the periphery of the space you have chosen. In our example we stand just outside the edge of the trees that form the wood where we are going to walk. Now observe and contemplate the trees and woodland as a whole, try to sense and feel it as a singular, living being with its own unique spirit and presence. as you stand before it, take a few deeper breaths, and sense the woodland breathing with you. Feel your energy and the energy of the woodland connecting.
Setting intention and requesting permission to enter the space:
Before you proceed any further, set your intention that for the duration of the walk you are going to connect with the spirit of the woodland in order to facilitate healing and communion between the human world, and the world of nature, particularly as it is found within this wood. It is also advisable to ask the permission of the woodland to walk within its body, and to commune with it. Most times you will receive an affirmative answer but if you feel intuitively that the answer is a "no" or there seems to be some kind of strong negative energy or resistance to you doing so, then it may be advisable to seek another place to walk.
Connecting to your energy body, and the energy body of the place:
Having connected and received permission to walk in the woodland, focus now on the energy of the earth beneath your feet. Several meters beneath the surface of the earth sense a vast lake of golden earth light and energy. Now feel that energy rising up in two streams to the soles of your feet, from where it proceeds to fill your body with earth light and energy. You now feel as if you have an energy body, or light body that is inhabiting the same space as your physical body, and it has a set of subtle senses (sight, touch, hearing etc...) that are the energetic equivalent of your physical senses.
Having built your energy body in this way, now turn your attention to the land in front of you, and be aware that the earth light is also flowing up into the body of the landscape and the plants, trees and creatures within it. Sense that the whole of the landscape, like you, has a subtle energy or light body from which emanate subtle forms of energy, colour, sound and so on.
Walking in and through the land:
Having attuned yourself to the spirit and energy of the place, in this case the woodland, in this way, now proceed to enter into the woodland, and walk mindfully and slowly through it. Allow the particular direction that you take to be spontaneous and intuitive, just let your feet lead you where they seem guided to go. For the time you have allocated for your walk, proceed carefully and gently, observing the physical surroundings, and also attuning to the energy/light bodies of the trees, creatures, objects and spaces that you come in contact with. Pay particular attention to the plants, trees, stones, streams etc... whose energy seems to resonate strongly with you. You may find that certain animals "seek you out", and that more than once you find yourself face to face with them during your walk.
Concluding:
After you have finished your walk, don't forget to thank the spirit of the place where you have been. Walking in the same location regularly enables you to build up a relationship to the spirit of the place that is somewhat like (though different from) an ongoing relationship with a friend or family member. We develop a sense of how we can communicate with it, participate in its life, and both give and receive deep levels of love and soulful companionship. There are also many levels of (magical) inner work that may become available to us by engaging in this walking form regularly, but that is the subject of another article, and also for you to find out about through your own experience!
Text © Toby Ouvry 2010, please do not reproduce without permission.
First of all lets look at the meaning of the word magic with fresh minds. We have to let go of all the programming that we have received from mainstream media and culture regarding what magic means. If you think of the word magic, you are most commonly going to think of fantasy genres such as the Harry Potter series of books and films (which I quite like but are not the same as what we are investigating here), or you are going to think about TV shows with very clever people doing funny things with cards, coins etc, or playing fascinating mind games with members of the audience. So, I would like you to set all that aside for a moment. Instead, here is a working definition of magic that can give us insight into how magical work has been used for centuries, particularly in the western tradition of spirituality, in order to facilitate peoples psycho-spiritual growth:
"Magical work involves any activity that aims to bridge the gap and facilitate communication between the inner worlds of our mind and spirit, with the outer worlds of our physical being, environment and action.
In particular, all white forms of magic aim to harness the power of the inner worlds of mind and spirit and direct them in such a way as to facilitate positive change in our outer world and environment. All forms of magic, being facilitators of communication/communion between the inner and outer worlds help us to develop a sense of empowered participation,creativity and belongingness in the world and environment within which we live."
It is worth spending time with the above definition as there are quite a few levels of meanings and connections that you can start to grasp intellectually and poetically just by reading it through a few times. What I want to explain below is a basic "magical walking meditation form" that can be worked with and explored easily. It involves developing awareness of our energy body, and the energy body of the place where we are walking, and using it as a way of connecting to and communicating with the spirit of that place. Practiced regularly, it is a very good way for awakening your basic psychic powers in a natural, healthy and balanced way.
Basic magical walking meditation form
First select and travel to the place that you have chosen to walk. A place with plenty of trees, nature and living creatures is preferable. If you live in a city environment then a park is an obvious example of such a place. Places of real wildness and natural power are ideal, so this is a good practice to do when you are on holiday in an area where you have access to such areas. For this explanation, I am going to take the example of a wooded area within a park.
Connecting to the living spirit of the place:
Stand at the periphery of the space you have chosen. In our example we stand just outside the edge of the trees that form the wood where we are going to walk. Now observe and contemplate the trees and woodland as a whole, try to sense and feel it as a singular, living being with its own unique spirit and presence. as you stand before it, take a few deeper breaths, and sense the woodland breathing with you. Feel your energy and the energy of the woodland connecting.
Setting intention and requesting permission to enter the space:
Before you proceed any further, set your intention that for the duration of the walk you are going to connect with the spirit of the woodland in order to facilitate healing and communion between the human world, and the world of nature, particularly as it is found within this wood. It is also advisable to ask the permission of the woodland to walk within its body, and to commune with it. Most times you will receive an affirmative answer but if you feel intuitively that the answer is a "no" or there seems to be some kind of strong negative energy or resistance to you doing so, then it may be advisable to seek another place to walk.
Connecting to your energy body, and the energy body of the place:
Having connected and received permission to walk in the woodland, focus now on the energy of the earth beneath your feet. Several meters beneath the surface of the earth sense a vast lake of golden earth light and energy. Now feel that energy rising up in two streams to the soles of your feet, from where it proceeds to fill your body with earth light and energy. You now feel as if you have an energy body, or light body that is inhabiting the same space as your physical body, and it has a set of subtle senses (sight, touch, hearing etc...) that are the energetic equivalent of your physical senses.
Having built your energy body in this way, now turn your attention to the land in front of you, and be aware that the earth light is also flowing up into the body of the landscape and the plants, trees and creatures within it. Sense that the whole of the landscape, like you, has a subtle energy or light body from which emanate subtle forms of energy, colour, sound and so on.
Walking in and through the land:
Having attuned yourself to the spirit and energy of the place, in this case the woodland, in this way, now proceed to enter into the woodland, and walk mindfully and slowly through it. Allow the particular direction that you take to be spontaneous and intuitive, just let your feet lead you where they seem guided to go. For the time you have allocated for your walk, proceed carefully and gently, observing the physical surroundings, and also attuning to the energy/light bodies of the trees, creatures, objects and spaces that you come in contact with. Pay particular attention to the plants, trees, stones, streams etc... whose energy seems to resonate strongly with you. You may find that certain animals "seek you out", and that more than once you find yourself face to face with them during your walk.
Concluding:
After you have finished your walk, don't forget to thank the spirit of the place where you have been. Walking in the same location regularly enables you to build up a relationship to the spirit of the place that is somewhat like (though different from) an ongoing relationship with a friend or family member. We develop a sense of how we can communicate with it, participate in its life, and both give and receive deep levels of love and soulful companionship. There are also many levels of (magical) inner work that may become available to us by engaging in this walking form regularly, but that is the subject of another article, and also for you to find out about through your own experience!
Text © Toby Ouvry 2010, please do not reproduce without permission.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Single Pointedness and Going with the Flow
Article subtitle: The two fundamental types of meditation found within eastern teachings, and a practical method for exploring both.
To a person new to meditation, the potential choice of different meditation types and traditions, together with all the different terminology that is used can make for quite a bewildering experience. The fact that the world is rich in spiritual traditions is a cause for rejoicing, but when it comes to the question “which meditation form should I choose” the diversity can be a challenge!
What I propose to do in this article is to point out a basic two fold division within which can be placed almost all of the meditation practices that one may find in the eastern traditions of meditation. Many of the western traditions of meditation also fall into these two categories, but I specifically want to focus on eastern traditions here, as they fit into the two categories much more obviously and systematically. By Eastern Tradition, I mean principally Buddhist and Hindu as these are the two eastern traditions from which spring most of the applied meditation systems that you can find and practice today.
The two fold division I am going to call one pointedness meditation and insight meditation respectively. Here is a brief summary of the meanings of both terms:
One Pointedness Meditation - Focusing the mind on a single object without distraction:
So, one pointedness meditation is essentially a training in concentration. Using one object, such as the breathing, a mantra, a feeling (love, compassion, joy etc…) or a visualized object, the meditator trains him/herself and her mind to focus attention on the object without distraction. The training progresses in stages; First the meditator is only able to focus for a few seconds before getting distracted, but gradually she builds focus until she is able to hold it for a few minutes, then ten, half an hour, one hour and so on, until eventually she can enter into meditation and hold the object in his or her mind without distraction for as long as desired.
For someone engaging in one pointedness practice, meditation is an act of will, one exerts effort to keep one’s attention where it is supposed to be, and not get distracted by extraneous mental activity. It is through this concentration that the meditator makes progress in his path of inner growth and development.
In Tibetan Buddhism this form of meditation is called tranquil abiding meditation, in Theravada Buddhism it is called the jhana or samatha meditation, and in Hindu and yoga meditation practice it is called dharana.
Insight Meditation - Going with the flow:
In the second form of meditation, insight meditation, rather than try and control the mind, the essential point is to witness the mind as an observer. No attempt is made to stop the mind working, the meditator simply sits and takes in all the information that is available to him. He notes the experiences coming from his senses, notes his breathing, the thoughts and feelings flowing through his mind. He also notes the spaces in between the thoughts and feelings in his mind. The only thing that the meditator must NOT do in insight meditation is to get caught up and identified with what is arising in his mind, if he does this then he has lost the thread of his mediation. As soon as he becomes aware that this has happened, he should immediately return to his position as an observer and witness.
As his practice progresses, gradually the flow of thoughts and feelings within his mind recedes, and the true nature of his mind is revealed to him, which is why it is called insight meditation.
In Tibetan Buddhism this is called mahamudra meditation, and/or dzogchen. In Theravada Buddhism is called vipassana meditation, although some vipassana traditions seem to emphasize meditation on the breathing in a way that is more like one pointedness meditation.
For us today in contemporary society, I think both meditations have their merits as both of them teach us useful skills that we can apply practically to our daily lives. One pointedness teaches us focus, strength and stamina whilst insight meditation shows us how to let go, how to allow, go with the flow and to develop our reflective wisdom.
With this in mind I am going to outline below a simple practice that you can do where there is alternation between one pointedness and insight techniques. Practiced together in this way they form a complementary whole where we can develop both skill sets.
Combined one pointedness and insight meditation form:
Setting up the meditation:
Find a comfortable meditation posture on a chair or cross legged on a cushion, the main feature of the posture should be a naturally straight back, with the muscles relaxed, doing only enough work to hold your posture upright and no more.
Once comfortable, make a decision to relax and take your mind away from the business of your life for the period that you have allotted for meditation.
Use the natural process of your breathing to start to bring your mind into the present moment, and onto your body. Once your mind has settled somewhat, become aware of the expression on your face. Raise the corners of your mouth just a few millimeters, so that you are now wearing the expression of a gentle half-smile **(see note below), note that the physical expression of a half smile if held consciously gradually gives rise quite naturally to a naturally positive inner smiling energy.
The main meditation form
Stage 1:
Now, for five breaths, try and focus on the inhalation and out exhalation without distraction. As you breathe in focus your attention on your inner smile, and as you breathe out, feel the energy of the inner smile gently expanding through your body and mind. This is the one-pointedness aspect of the form.
Stage 2:
Once you have completed five breaths without distraction, relax your exclusive attention on the breathing, and just take it easy for a few breaths. Be aware of the whole of your moment to moment experience, the breathing, your senses, your body, the flow of thoughts and feelings though your mind. The only thing you CANNOT do in this phase of the meditation is allow yourself to get lost in thoughts and distractions. You are a witness and observer as you relax and let go! This is the insight meditation aspect of the form.
For the next part of the meditation, just alternate between stages 1 and 2, focusing on the breathing and smiling for five breaths, then relaxing and observing for a few breaths. Do this for as long as feels appropriate.
Optional stage 3:
This is a slightly more advanced stage, but you should find that it comes quite naturally once you have been practicing stages 1 and 2 regularly in your daily meditation. You should find that as you do stages 1 and 2 above, a sense of space and clarity starts to appear quite naturally within your mind, like a clear sky emerging from behind clouds. So, with stage 3, As you do the five breath single pointedness section, rather than focusing on your inner smile as you breathe, focus single pointedly on the sense of inner space as you breathe in and out. Then, as you relax for a few breaths as in stage 2, rather than focusing on the stream of thoughts and feelings flowing through your mind, instead focus on the spaces between the thoughts and feelings.
In this way you can use the one pointedness part of the meditation and the insight part in a complementary way to gradually journey deeper into the experience of inner space and clarity within your mind.
** For more information on the inner smile meditation please go to:
Introduction to the inner smile meditation
Practical applications of the inner smile:
Text Copyright Toby Ouvry 2010, please do not reproduce without permission.
To a person new to meditation, the potential choice of different meditation types and traditions, together with all the different terminology that is used can make for quite a bewildering experience. The fact that the world is rich in spiritual traditions is a cause for rejoicing, but when it comes to the question “which meditation form should I choose” the diversity can be a challenge!
What I propose to do in this article is to point out a basic two fold division within which can be placed almost all of the meditation practices that one may find in the eastern traditions of meditation. Many of the western traditions of meditation also fall into these two categories, but I specifically want to focus on eastern traditions here, as they fit into the two categories much more obviously and systematically. By Eastern Tradition, I mean principally Buddhist and Hindu as these are the two eastern traditions from which spring most of the applied meditation systems that you can find and practice today.
The two fold division I am going to call one pointedness meditation and insight meditation respectively. Here is a brief summary of the meanings of both terms:
One Pointedness Meditation - Focusing the mind on a single object without distraction:
So, one pointedness meditation is essentially a training in concentration. Using one object, such as the breathing, a mantra, a feeling (love, compassion, joy etc…) or a visualized object, the meditator trains him/herself and her mind to focus attention on the object without distraction. The training progresses in stages; First the meditator is only able to focus for a few seconds before getting distracted, but gradually she builds focus until she is able to hold it for a few minutes, then ten, half an hour, one hour and so on, until eventually she can enter into meditation and hold the object in his or her mind without distraction for as long as desired.
For someone engaging in one pointedness practice, meditation is an act of will, one exerts effort to keep one’s attention where it is supposed to be, and not get distracted by extraneous mental activity. It is through this concentration that the meditator makes progress in his path of inner growth and development.
In Tibetan Buddhism this form of meditation is called tranquil abiding meditation, in Theravada Buddhism it is called the jhana or samatha meditation, and in Hindu and yoga meditation practice it is called dharana.
Insight Meditation - Going with the flow:
In the second form of meditation, insight meditation, rather than try and control the mind, the essential point is to witness the mind as an observer. No attempt is made to stop the mind working, the meditator simply sits and takes in all the information that is available to him. He notes the experiences coming from his senses, notes his breathing, the thoughts and feelings flowing through his mind. He also notes the spaces in between the thoughts and feelings in his mind. The only thing that the meditator must NOT do in insight meditation is to get caught up and identified with what is arising in his mind, if he does this then he has lost the thread of his mediation. As soon as he becomes aware that this has happened, he should immediately return to his position as an observer and witness.
As his practice progresses, gradually the flow of thoughts and feelings within his mind recedes, and the true nature of his mind is revealed to him, which is why it is called insight meditation.
In Tibetan Buddhism this is called mahamudra meditation, and/or dzogchen. In Theravada Buddhism is called vipassana meditation, although some vipassana traditions seem to emphasize meditation on the breathing in a way that is more like one pointedness meditation.
For us today in contemporary society, I think both meditations have their merits as both of them teach us useful skills that we can apply practically to our daily lives. One pointedness teaches us focus, strength and stamina whilst insight meditation shows us how to let go, how to allow, go with the flow and to develop our reflective wisdom.
With this in mind I am going to outline below a simple practice that you can do where there is alternation between one pointedness and insight techniques. Practiced together in this way they form a complementary whole where we can develop both skill sets.
Combined one pointedness and insight meditation form:
Setting up the meditation:
Find a comfortable meditation posture on a chair or cross legged on a cushion, the main feature of the posture should be a naturally straight back, with the muscles relaxed, doing only enough work to hold your posture upright and no more.
Once comfortable, make a decision to relax and take your mind away from the business of your life for the period that you have allotted for meditation.
Use the natural process of your breathing to start to bring your mind into the present moment, and onto your body. Once your mind has settled somewhat, become aware of the expression on your face. Raise the corners of your mouth just a few millimeters, so that you are now wearing the expression of a gentle half-smile **(see note below), note that the physical expression of a half smile if held consciously gradually gives rise quite naturally to a naturally positive inner smiling energy.
The main meditation form
Stage 1:
Now, for five breaths, try and focus on the inhalation and out exhalation without distraction. As you breathe in focus your attention on your inner smile, and as you breathe out, feel the energy of the inner smile gently expanding through your body and mind. This is the one-pointedness aspect of the form.
Stage 2:
Once you have completed five breaths without distraction, relax your exclusive attention on the breathing, and just take it easy for a few breaths. Be aware of the whole of your moment to moment experience, the breathing, your senses, your body, the flow of thoughts and feelings though your mind. The only thing you CANNOT do in this phase of the meditation is allow yourself to get lost in thoughts and distractions. You are a witness and observer as you relax and let go! This is the insight meditation aspect of the form.
For the next part of the meditation, just alternate between stages 1 and 2, focusing on the breathing and smiling for five breaths, then relaxing and observing for a few breaths. Do this for as long as feels appropriate.
Optional stage 3:
This is a slightly more advanced stage, but you should find that it comes quite naturally once you have been practicing stages 1 and 2 regularly in your daily meditation. You should find that as you do stages 1 and 2 above, a sense of space and clarity starts to appear quite naturally within your mind, like a clear sky emerging from behind clouds. So, with stage 3, As you do the five breath single pointedness section, rather than focusing on your inner smile as you breathe, focus single pointedly on the sense of inner space as you breathe in and out. Then, as you relax for a few breaths as in stage 2, rather than focusing on the stream of thoughts and feelings flowing through your mind, instead focus on the spaces between the thoughts and feelings.
In this way you can use the one pointedness part of the meditation and the insight part in a complementary way to gradually journey deeper into the experience of inner space and clarity within your mind.
** For more information on the inner smile meditation please go to:
Introduction to the inner smile meditation
Practical applications of the inner smile:
Text Copyright Toby Ouvry 2010, please do not reproduce without permission.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
An answer the the question "How do I experience meditation?"
I was asked the other day during a coaching session "How do I experience meditation?" I thought this was actually a very good question to ask a meditation coach, it seems a very obvious one, but I don't think I have ever been asked it before so directly, which seems quite remarkable considering the amount of time that I have been a meditation teacher!
Anyway, the answer that I initially gave was something to the effect that when I meditate these days the meditation tends to ''do itself" in the sense that it now has its own natural momentum, and I just have to follow it. Some of what I experience is directly related to techniques that I have been practicing for a long time, but other aspects of my meditation experience are direct and spontaneous, where the technique has been left behind and given rise to an experience that ''is itself'' not taught but discovered.
So, later that day after my own regular sitting meditation practice I sat down and wrote another response in my journal that came to me and seemed like it was worth recording. This response is what I want to share with you below, as I think it may provide some interesting insights into the subjective experience of someone who has been meditating consistently for many years. If you compare it to the formal meditation technique on the "Level 2 microcosmic orbit meditation" that I recently placed on the Qi Gong blog, you will see certain common points. If you compare and contrast the two you can start to see how a formal technique evolves into a deeper, more free-form/fluid and participatory experience.
So, here is my answer to "How do I experience meditation" as I sat down and wrote it in my journal. Please remember I have done it in a subjective, poetic and creative manner, rather than a scientific or technical one. As many of you know I am a practicing artist, and this response is a reflection of this part of who I am. It is one answer of potentially many that I could have made:
"Imagine that beneath the surface of where you live there is a big lake of Earth light, or Earth Soul, a huge pool of liquid golden light lying within the body of the planet. Imagine then that when you meditate this light is catalyzed, starting to rise up to the surface, flowing into your body through the soles of your feet. This fills your body with a sensation that is tangible physically and gives rise to a deep sense of connection/connectivity to the Planet and to the Whole.
So, then imagine that as you continue to meditate day by day, gradually more and more of this light starts to rise up to the surface of where you are living. It start to flow not just up into you, but also up into things like the trees and the plants in your neighborhood, even into the fabric of the buildings, paths, concrete and so forth.
The natural flow of the Earth light / Earth Soul is catalyzed so that, even if (like most places) the surface environment where you live has been tampered with, blocked and otherwise abused by human activity, the flow is revived, renewed and increased. To what extent it is renewed depends upon many factors, such as the power of the meditator, how badly the original energy flow of the place has been blocked, what ongoing activities there are around about and so on.
Then imagine that the increased flow of energy up from the Earth and land below into the trees, the living things, and the natural and artificial structures in the landscape around you has another effect. Imagine that it starts to attract and catalyze an increased flow of Star light and energy down from the sky above which flows down through the body of you the meditator, and the bodies of the things on the surface of the land around you.
It seems almost like the Earth light and the Stars above start to communicate and interact, and everything on the surface world in the middle, including you and your body experience a participation in this energy exchange and dialogue.
In this experience, speaking from the subjective view of the meditator, there is sometimes a lot of dynamic energy and movement through the body, and sometimes deep stillness. Most often it is a balance of the two that is ebbing and flowing in an organic and protean way.
Within the context of this description, the meaning of being human seems to be revealed as a mediator of energies between Heaven and Earth, a potential catalyzer of the evolutionary process of the Planetary being of which we are a part. To be human in this way feels deeply wonderful and meaningful.
For me meditation seems to contain much in the nature of communion, a sense of contact, a sense of finding that which takes away any sense of isolation, and replaces it with a deep, centering experience of belonging.
© Toby Ouvry 2010, please do nor\t reproduce without permission.
Anyway, the answer that I initially gave was something to the effect that when I meditate these days the meditation tends to ''do itself" in the sense that it now has its own natural momentum, and I just have to follow it. Some of what I experience is directly related to techniques that I have been practicing for a long time, but other aspects of my meditation experience are direct and spontaneous, where the technique has been left behind and given rise to an experience that ''is itself'' not taught but discovered.
So, later that day after my own regular sitting meditation practice I sat down and wrote another response in my journal that came to me and seemed like it was worth recording. This response is what I want to share with you below, as I think it may provide some interesting insights into the subjective experience of someone who has been meditating consistently for many years. If you compare it to the formal meditation technique on the "Level 2 microcosmic orbit meditation" that I recently placed on the Qi Gong blog, you will see certain common points. If you compare and contrast the two you can start to see how a formal technique evolves into a deeper, more free-form/fluid and participatory experience.
So, here is my answer to "How do I experience meditation" as I sat down and wrote it in my journal. Please remember I have done it in a subjective, poetic and creative manner, rather than a scientific or technical one. As many of you know I am a practicing artist, and this response is a reflection of this part of who I am. It is one answer of potentially many that I could have made:
"Imagine that beneath the surface of where you live there is a big lake of Earth light, or Earth Soul, a huge pool of liquid golden light lying within the body of the planet. Imagine then that when you meditate this light is catalyzed, starting to rise up to the surface, flowing into your body through the soles of your feet. This fills your body with a sensation that is tangible physically and gives rise to a deep sense of connection/connectivity to the Planet and to the Whole.
So, then imagine that as you continue to meditate day by day, gradually more and more of this light starts to rise up to the surface of where you are living. It start to flow not just up into you, but also up into things like the trees and the plants in your neighborhood, even into the fabric of the buildings, paths, concrete and so forth.
The natural flow of the Earth light / Earth Soul is catalyzed so that, even if (like most places) the surface environment where you live has been tampered with, blocked and otherwise abused by human activity, the flow is revived, renewed and increased. To what extent it is renewed depends upon many factors, such as the power of the meditator, how badly the original energy flow of the place has been blocked, what ongoing activities there are around about and so on.
Then imagine that the increased flow of energy up from the Earth and land below into the trees, the living things, and the natural and artificial structures in the landscape around you has another effect. Imagine that it starts to attract and catalyze an increased flow of Star light and energy down from the sky above which flows down through the body of you the meditator, and the bodies of the things on the surface of the land around you.
It seems almost like the Earth light and the Stars above start to communicate and interact, and everything on the surface world in the middle, including you and your body experience a participation in this energy exchange and dialogue.
In this experience, speaking from the subjective view of the meditator, there is sometimes a lot of dynamic energy and movement through the body, and sometimes deep stillness. Most often it is a balance of the two that is ebbing and flowing in an organic and protean way.
Within the context of this description, the meaning of being human seems to be revealed as a mediator of energies between Heaven and Earth, a potential catalyzer of the evolutionary process of the Planetary being of which we are a part. To be human in this way feels deeply wonderful and meaningful.
For me meditation seems to contain much in the nature of communion, a sense of contact, a sense of finding that which takes away any sense of isolation, and replaces it with a deep, centering experience of belonging.
© Toby Ouvry 2010, please do nor\t reproduce without permission.
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