Tag: Meditation

The Awakening Body: Somatic Meditation for Discovering Our Deepest Life by Reginald Ray

The Awakening Body: Somatic Meditation for Discovering Our Deepest Life by Reginald Ray
theawakeningbody

I picked up The Awakening Body because of a conversation I had with a friend last week. He said that when he sits down to meditate, that his mind won’t shut off, and it ruins the experience for him.

I gave him a technique about focusing on the space between thoughts, but decided that I needed something more concrete to give him. This book is perfect for anyone who feels like they can’t escape from his or her own mind.

The Awakening Body is a series of progressive meditations that take the practitioner out of “thinking” and into “experiencing”.

It’s as easy as focusing on your own toes: “In contrast to contrived conventional approaches that emphasize entry into the meditative state through the intentional thinking of the conscious mind… Somatic Meditation develops a meditative consciousness that is accessed through the spontaneous feelings, sensations, visceral intuitions, and felt senses of the body itself. … Put in the language of Buddhism, the human body, as such, is already and always abiding in the meditative state, the domain of awakening- and we are just trying to gain entry into that.” loc 110, ebook.

The teachings themselves are Buddhist in origin but you don’t have to be a practicing Buddhist to receive benefit from them. If you have a body, you can successfully do these meditations.

And the benefits from them could be enormous: “It is as if we are waking up, within our Soma (body consciousness), and we suddenly find ourselves in a new world. … We begin to see that what we formerly took to be our body was just a made-up version with little correspondence to anything real. We find in our body previously unimaginable vistas of spaciousness, experience arising that is ever surprising and fresh, an endless world of possibilities for ourselves and our lives.” loc 329, ebook.

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This book includes a link to access the guided meditations online so that you can completely focus on the practice as it unfolds. I am just beginning to work with these, but I am encouraged by my progress so far.

When I started, I couldn’t sense my big toes at all, which kind of freaked me out. Logically, I knew they was there, but I couldn’t feel them.

Ray says that this isn’t uncommon: “When we arrive at the first instruction, “pay attention to your big toe on each foot,” at first, practitioners may not be able to do this because, they often report, they have no feeling not only of their toes, but often of their feet, their legs, or even the lower half of their body. … “Keep trying,” I tell them. For even directing our attention to the vicinity of where we think the toes should or might be is already transforming our neurological wiring.” loc 1215, ebook.

That was a big wake up call for me. I’m so glad I picked this book up.

The last part of the book was the most challenging for me to understand because Ray begins to speak directly to those who have had experience with Somatic meditation. I read the words, but I can’t say that I grasped their meaning… yet. With time, perhaps I will.

I recommend The Awakening Body to anyone who is looking for a slightly different technique to begin or improve his or her meditation practice. Beginners to advanced practitioners will find this book useful.

Some further books to explore if you are interested in using/sensing the body in meditation: Ecstatic Body Postures: An Alternate Reality Workbook or Meditations for Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself.

Thank you to NetGalley and Shambhala Publications for a free digital copy of this book! And, thank you for reading!

The Space Within: Finding Your Way Back Home by Michael Neill

The Space Within: Finding Your Way Back Home by Michael Neill
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No matter how many books I read on meditation, I always seem to learn something new when I pick another one up.

The Space Within is one of the more excellent books that I’ve discovered- not pushing any particular way of being, just quietly encouraging the reader to go within and embrace what’s there.

On separating our consciousness from the universal energy that surrounds it, Neill compares the mind to a book and I’m sure most Goodreads users, like me, could easily connect with the metaphor:“Think of ‘quiet’ not as an absence of thought but as the space inside which the noise of your thinking arises. What makes this tricky, at least to begin with, is that at first glimpse the noise is more interesting than the quiet …look at the white background of this page. Chances are you can still see the words, and even read them, but without noticing it, at some point you will once again become absorbed in the words and stop seeing the white of the page.” loc 192, ebook.

Why bother to meditate? : “There is a space within you where you are already perfect, whole, and complete. It is a space of pure Consciousness- the space inside which all thoughts come and go. When you rest in the feeling of this space, the warmth of it heals your mind and body. When you operate from the infinite creative potential of this space, you produce high levels of performance and creative flow.” loc 207

And more, promises Neill. I’ve meditated for many years and I’ve experienced some extraordinary things. It wasn’t always easy and it didn’t happen all at once, but I can say, from personal experience, that this particular claim is absolutely true.

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Thoughts are incredibly powerful things. I think we forget just how life changing your personal perspective can be: “… we live in a world of unrecognized thought. Thought is the architect of both hope and despair, the source of every color in the emotional rainbow. … But unrecognized thought demands our attention and fills our consciousness. And when we get caught up in thought, we lose our way.” loc 324, ebook.

And also: “We live in a world of thought, but we think we live in a world of external experience. The mind is not a camera, it’s a projector. We can’t tell the difference between an imagined experience ‘in here’ and what’s going on ‘out there’- and that confusion creates a lot of confusion.” loc 375, ebook.

You create your own reality- but it’s easy to forget that and blame other people for your circumstances.

When I read this next passage, I thought of How The Secret Changed My Life and the incredible importance that people placed on feeling good.

Neill points out that it isn’t anything to get wound up about: “There’s no such thing as a solution to a feeling. Because we don’t recognize this fact, we spend huge chunks of our time and energy trying to ‘solve’ our feelings by changing them to ‘better’ ones or eliminating them altogether. … When it’s okay to feel good when you feel good and bad when you feel bad, recognizing that as thoughts change, the feelings change with them, there’s no need to prefer one feeling over another, let alone attempt to fix it. And when you really see that for yourself, you being to experience more of the deeper feelings that make life worth living.” loc 457, ebook.

This is a great place to start if you’re just learning about meditation/mindfulness but it’s also appropriate for more experienced practitioners- if you breathe or think, you could probably learn something from this book. Some suggestions for further reading: Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom, Meditations for Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself, or Happiness: A Guide to Developing Life’s Most Important Skill.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hay House Publishing for a digital copy of this book! And, thank you for reading.

Five Good Minutes: 100 Morning Practices to Help You Stay Calm and Focused All Day Long by Jeffrey Brantley, Wendy-O Matik, Wendy Millstine

Five Good Minutes: 100 Morning Practices to Help You Stay Calm and Focused All Day Long by Jeffrey Brantley, Wendy-O Matik, Wendy Millstine
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Things have been stressful in my neck of the woods, so I picked up Five Good Minutes to help me cope.

I’m in the fourth month of having my house on the market and my husband has been looking for employment for over a year. Yeah, I’m feeling it…

Five Good Minutes is simple enough for beginners to the mindfulness/meditation practice and filled to the brim with suggestions for ways to focus in the morning and get your day off on the right foot.

The best part of this book is that there is something for everyone- it is that broad. The techniques that it uses varies from visualizations to mindfully drinking your morning cuppa.

The worst part of the book is that, because it covers so much, that it doesn’t really talk about anything in depth. If you’re looking for detailed methods of meditation and relaxation, this is not the book for you.

Why the focus on early in the day?: “The morning is the best time to break away from old habits of thinking and feeling and to set a new direction for yourself and how you will be in your day. Any exercise in this book- done in the morning- has the power to impact greatly on your experience throughout the day, if you allow it!“

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Personally, I’ve found that I’m at my best in the mornings- well, once I blink the sleep out of my eyes. My mind is clearer and I can focus for longer periods of time.

But, if you’re more an afternoon/evening type person, don’t let the title of this book stop you. I think that these practices could be beneficial at any time of the day.

My favorites were- the Five-Fingered Peace pg 32: In which you use your hands almost as a rosary and remember awesome things that have happened to you.

Freedom from Tension pg 58: In which you scan your body and focus your relaxation on the stressed out bits.

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Your First Sip of Tea pg 94: or coffee, for me. Take your time and mindfully drink your morning pick-me-up.

A Shot of Faith pg 186: You use visualization to picture a problem turning out perfectly.

And finally, Cultivate Gratitude pg 206: “This practice invites you to turn toward the good in your life and to express gratitude as recognition grows.”.

If none of those spoke to you, there are 95 others for you to choose from.

Recommended for stressed out people everywhere and those who are interested in bringing a bit of mindfulness or meditation to their day but don’t know where to start. Some further reading: Thank & Grow Rich: A 30-Day Experiment in Shameless Gratitude and Unabashed Joy, Meditations for Breaking the Habit of Being Yourself, or 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works. Peace and thanks for reading!

How to Relax by Thich Nhat Hanh

How to Relax by Thich Nhat Hanh

There are very few spiritual leaders who can communicate with the simplicity and succinctness of Thich Nhat Hanh.

As wise as the Dalai Lama is, I’ve only been able to really understand one of the books he’s written and I think that was because he had a co-author. It seems like he contemplates this stuff so much, you know, like it’s his job, that when he’s just trying to talk to a regular person about it, there’s a gap that can’t be crossed.

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That isn’t a problem in Thich’s Mindfulness Series.

Thich encourages the reader to find the quiet within. He says: “We already have calmness in us; we just need to know how to make it manifest.” pg 14, ebook.

How do we do this? Through focus, breathing, mindfulness, and relaxation.

One of Thich’s methods for connecting with inner peace that really resonated with me was that we should take “lazy days”: “A lazy day is a day for us to be without any scheduled activities. We just let the day unfold naturally, timelessly. … When we have unscheduled time, we tend to get bored, seek entertainment, or cast about for something to do. A lazy day is a chance to train ourselves not to be afraid of doing nothing. You might think that not doing anything is a waste of time. But that’s not true.” pg 32, ebook.

Not to brag, but I rather excel at “lazy days”.

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Anyone out there have a partner who snores? I do. Thich invites us to incorporate the snores into our relaxation practice.

“Sometimes you have to share a room with someone who snores. You may get irritated. But with mindfulness you can bring about compassion. You can lean on the sound of snoring in order to go to sleep. Listen and say that this brings you home to the here and now.” pg 42, ebook.

I think this could be a difficult exercise, but I’m willing to give it a try. 🙂

Ever tell yourself that relaxation/meditation is too hard? Thich addresses that concern too: “When you sit and watch television, you don’t make any effort. That’s why you can sit there for a long time. When you sit in meditation, if you struggle, you won’t be able to sit for very long. Please imitate the way you sit in your living room. Effortlessness is the key to success. pg 76 ebook.

If you can watch tv, you can meditate. It’s silly but it reminds me of that line from Dodgeball: “if you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball”.

Highly recommended for anyone looking to introduce more relaxation into their lives and isn’t that everybody?

Some read alikes: Relax RX: A Self-Hypnosis Program for Health and Well-Being by Steven Gurgevich (very relaxing, all you have to do is listen), Guided Mindfulness Meditation by Jon Kabat-Zinn (simple and relaxing), or 10% Happier: How I Tamed the Voice in My Head, Reduced Stress Without Losing My Edge, and Found Self-Help That Actually Works by Dan Harris (a regular guy teaches himself to meditate- a light hearted memoir).

Thanks for reading!

Following Your Path by Alexandra Collins Dickerman

Following Your Path by Alexandra Collins Dickerman

Following Your Path is about using tarot cards and meditation in order to communicate with your psyche. I was particularly excited about this book because that’s the method that I use for my own meditations and writings. This book is a treasure trove of mythological symbolism and fairy tales. I enjoyed much of it. But, I felt as if Alexandra guides the reader almost too well.

She breaks down the cards into their various pieces and encourages reflection on each piece of the Tarot artwork in a sort of automatic writing process (write down the first thing that comes to mind when you look at “blank”).

I felt like she was depriving the reader of the richer experience of pathwalking into the cards themselves.

If I were to write a manual, perhaps someday, I would leave the meditations themselves as completely open ended with plenty of blank pages for writing. So, more like: “Here is the card. Walk through it as if it is a doorway. What do you see?”

It may be difficult to believe, but the mind fills the space with “something”. The endless writing prompts for the small details really aren’t needed. But, I could see this book being very useful for true beginners who are unsure of the way or don’t yet trust or know their own inner worlds.

Another small criticism, Alexandra has the reader starting their journey into the major Trumps (the minor cards aren’t even presented) and she starts her study with the Fool rather than the Universe. But, I suppose it doesn’t really matter the order in which you explore the cards. The fact that you’re doing it at all is what is important.

I loved this explanation of the psyche in the introduction by Jean Houston: “The psyche is not unlike an archaeological dig in which different civilizations, stories, and interpretations may be revealed at each level. Unlike the field archaeologist, however, we have living access to the cultures and knowings of the various strata within ourselves and therefore can learn on site how to tap our hidden dimensions for the benefit of our existential lives. It is also possible, with the help of those primordial patterns of meaning and relationship known as archetypes, to build sustaining bridges to, and networks among, these strata, thereby encouraging an ongoing communication and exchange of content- a kind of commerce of the psyche.” introduction, pg vii

There are quotations scattered throughout the text that I found very enlightening, such as: “Myth is the secret opening through which the inexhaustible energies of the cosmos pour into human cultural manifestation. Religions, philosophies, arts, the social forms of primitive and historic man, prime discoveries in science and technology, the very dreams that blister sleep, boil up from the basic, magic ring of myth.” -Joseph Campbell, pg 17 Makes you want to start meditating right now!

This book is extremely positive and affirming. I liked that in addition to the meditation prompts, Alexandra provides further exercises and questions to help heal and creatively examine the mind. She says: “It is only when we learn to evaluate ourselves in terms of our own inner values that we can exist in a positive emotional state, aware of the continual opportunities for growth and for feelings of satisfaction.” pg 138

She also provides hope for those who may be going through the darkness of depression or despair:“Often when we find ourselves in a state of stupor, hopelessness, pain, loneliness, depression, and even madness, we may be on the verge of great vision and inspiration. Our condition of desperation is often only a stopping place on the road to greater self-development. By looking inward, we can find a way past destruction, to salvation and to a new life.” pg 244 So, if you’re going through hell, keep going.

If you enjoyed this book, you may want to look at The Creative Tarot: A Modern Guide to an Inspired Life by Jessa Crispin. If you want numerous examples of tarot card pathwalkings, take a look at my book, The Light Congress: thelightcongress.com

Happy meditating and thanks for reading!