MEDITATION... ITS GONE TO THE DOGS!

Meditation... its Gone to the Dogs!

 

Actually that’s not true, the dogs and the cats and the horses and the cows and the donkeys have always had it. The point of meditation is, very simply, a moment of stillness and every animal seems to have the capacity to slip into stillness in an instant. We humans had to invent a thing called ‘Meditation’ to find our way back to the stillness.

There are many ways to meditate. Some require rigorous discipline and effort, some just a piece of synthesized music. Different styles bring different challenges and I don’t think there is one style that works for all. If there was, we’d probably all be doing it.

If, instead of ‘trying to meditate’, we simply do what it takes to experience stillness, we shortcut the process. Repeated experiences of stillness, however small, create an appetite for stillness and also make it progressively easier to access.

Here is the simplest technique I know for experiencing a moment of stillness. It always works for me and so far has worked for everyone with whom I've shared it. Here’s what you do:

Step One: Turn off your mobile phone and sit down in a comfortable chair somewhere you won’t be disturbed for a minute. By a minute, I mean literally sixty seconds.

Step Two: Cross your ankles.

Step Three: Raise your non-dominant hand to your chest and gently press your pulse into the centre of your chest.

Step Four: Raise your dominant hand to your chest and place its pulse over the wrist of your non-dominant hand with a gentle pressure. Your wrists are now crossed, one over the other, dominant hand on top and non-dominant hand pulse down on your chest. Notice the point of contact, chest to wrist to wrist.

Step Five: Sink back in the chair and close your eyes. Enjoy the stillness.

That’s it!

Notes: This is a soothing posture and always pleasant to do. To start, the moment of stillness usually lasts only a split second so do the posture for only fifteen or thirty seconds. However try and do it at least five times throughout the day.( That’s less than five minutes out of your day.) The important thing is to access it frequently. Frequency is more important than attempting to prolong the length of the experience. Over time the length of the experience of stillness will increase naturally.

 You can do the posture while sitting comfortably or lying down.

            DO NOT DO IT IN A STANDING POSITION.

 Let me repeat that:

 DO NOT DO IT IN A STANDING POSITION - you will almost certainly fall over when you close your eyes.

Within two weeks you will find you have an appetite for stillness and the technique has become something you enjoy and want to do. Many of you will find, in a short space of time, that it’s possible to simply access the stillness because you want to; there is no longer any need for the special posture.

We are told that the benefits of meditation flow from the stillness, and this has been my experience. Apparently so too do the higher states of consciousness. It's all good!

I have kept this as brief as possible, however meditation is something about which we could talk forever, so please feel free to comment or ask questions.

Thanks for looking in,

Rex

ps: The picture of the meditating dog is from the public domain.