Saturday, May 18, 2013

In the Deep Blue

photo:  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Water_drop,_single.jpg
I have been discussing meditation a lot lately.  With close friends, some whom I had no idea were devoted to the practice, as well as with new acquaintances.  I am a starter and stopper.  A drift away from it for a while, then come back to meditation with renewed enthusiasm kind of person.  For anyone who has meditated for even a short while, you know that it requires discipline.  The whole process is about discipline.  Focusing the body, staying still for a prescribed stretch of time, tuning the world out, focusing the mind, focusing the breath, and focusing the will to do all of the aforementioned.

The nature of meditation is to sit in silence and focus the mind.  This is when we are inevitably hit with "mind chatter".  Allowing each thought a moment of clarity and recognition, we then gently quiet that thought and come back to silence.  Each thought, in turn, is given its moment in the spotlight before we come back to mindfulness.  It's one of the most challenging devotions that can be embraced, in my opinion.  It's much easier to let the squirrel energy of all that mind chatter grab our attention and lead us far and wide from the original goal.

I have several friends who do active meditation where they listen to guided meditation recordings whilst doing some other activity such as exercising, house cleaning, etc.  I've tried that and I can see the beauty of combining activity with meditation, but I much prefer the sitting in silence method.  Occasionally I will listen to a guided meditation series, and I enjoy those because they allow a different type of relaxation and renewal.

What I tend to be drawn to the most is my own mental imagery.  From my earliest years of meditation, I've continually returned to the mental image of a deep blue pool where the occasional drop of water splashes down, creating a singular sound (in my head, I hear it as music - a clear single bell tone) and those lovely rippling eddies across the surface of the water.  If you can imagine being in a cave with a deep blue pool of water, and the cave being illuminated, that is the mental image that crops up the most when I meditate. The photo I shared above is a fair approximation of what I see in my mind's eye.

The single focus being the pool of water means there are no other distractions and my consciousness is narrowed to each droplet of water as it descends and bounces into the deep blue pool.  In my imagination, this cave is comfortably cool, clean and safe, and each droplet of water, and corresponding bell tone and beautiful ripple drops my consciousness deeper into the meditative state.

As I write this, it has been one of my lengthier stretches of time away from practicing daily meditation, and I find myself ready to embrace it again.  To step back into that mental imagery and focus on, and in the deep blue, and to greet that sense of Inner Peace that comes from opening up my full Self to the voice of the Divine.  It is the wee hours of the morning at the moment, but tomorrow will see me grabbing floor space to sit in meditation again.

Do these thoughts have a point?  They're my ruminations on something that has been a guiding force for much of my adult life.  Perhaps some of you reading this are fellow meditation devotees.  Some, myself included, see meditation as a different form of prayer and connecting to the God-Force.  I know that when I devote daily time to the practice of meditation, my daily existence is enriched.

And the most delightful part of this post?  It came about from a conversation with one of my dearest friends, who knows me better than most, and what I called a "good, old fashioned front porch talking to" where she helped me find some balance.  I have been wrestling with writer's block to a degree I rarely experience and couldn't find a way out of it to save my life.  It felt like I was trapped in a huge room with wet draperies hanging down that would twine about me every direction I turned, until I became immobilized.  The conversation with my dear friend cut the wet draperies and allowed my hands and mind a breathing space.  Directly on the heels of that huge inhale of fresh air came immediate inspiration for this post, and the urge to step back into focusing on the deep blue, allowing the rest of me to expand in awareness.

14 comments:

  1. Dawn.....my workday is closing soon and I want to thank you for giving me something worthwhile to read here in the last hour. I have definitely experienced the benefits of this practise, though I don't do it nearly often enough. The one I do most often is meditate on Psalm 23. I memorized it several years ago just for this purpose. I find the mental imagery perfect for me...I pause on each mental picture and usually I end up falling asleep! I think now more than ever when we are barraged with constant noise, static from everywhere. It is imperative to shut down the mind from time to time. I mean totally shut it down. Thank you for this!

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    1. Lori, you and I have this in common - focusing on the 23rd Psalm is something I do when my heart and mind are too full of chaos and stress. I hadn't ever thought to make it a focus for meditation, though, and I love the idea! The 23rd Psalm is so enduringly beautiful and it never fails to bring me to a bright space of peace and calm.

      Blessings to you, and thank you for sharing such wonderful thoughts here! <3

      - Dawn

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  2. There are close parrallels in being "self-actualized" in your career and experiencing "zen" moments every day.

    Please enjoy my review of the book about zen in photography. The link is in my blog on zen and the art of assasination.

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    1. Chip, I loved your post about Zen in photography! It got me into very deep...dare I say it?...Zen-like contemplation. I love when that happens! It showed me just how often I drop into a Zen state and I was happy to come to that conscious realization. :)

      Namaste', dear friend!

      - Dawn

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  3. Thank you Dawn, I think this is an answer I 've been waiting for... I need to make quiet time for me... meditation is the answer <3

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    1. Launna, I'm so happy this had value for you! I hope that you enjoy your own process of meditation. It is of vital importance, I feel, to be good to ourselves and take that quiet time to renew, to process and to come to peace and balance. Good for you, chickadee!

      - Dawn

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  4. I have you to thank Dawnie for encouraging me to begin meditation years ago. I heard your suggestion but did not begin practicing until "the going got rough" for me..No better time to begin!

    I prefer meditating in silence as well. I have too many monkeys jumping in my banana tree mind to add more noise to my thoughts!

    Like you, I am reaping the benefits from this practice and I also find this has been a place where I have found a deeper connection to God and to myself.

    I am thrilled for you that you have once again returned to this daily discipline which eventually feels effortless!

    Looking forward to reading more of your Healing Moments!

    Loving You!
    Janie

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    1. Janie, I think we all go through cycles with any deep discipline. I tend to get more serious about meditating when times are more challenging, also!

      That deeper connection to God through meditation is so beautiful, yes? For me, it's a quality of communication that gets richer the more I focus with daily meditation.

      I'm so happy to see your comment here today! Thank you for visiting and taking time to share your thoughts.

      Loving you in return, sweet girl. <3


      - Dawnie

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  5. I have over the years been a hit or miss, stop and start kind of meditation person. But for the last several months, I have settled into a pretty regular practice. I usually start my day with meditation, and I often end it with meditation as well. I use different methods depending on my mood. A more regular practice certainly has revealed to me how busy my little brain is all the time!

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    1. Galen, it's truly noteworthy, isn't it, how the mind just babbles away the very minute we settle into the meditative process! I often find it humorous, particularly with how all these great ideas for articles and plots will pop into my consciousness when I'm meditating and can't get to my laptop to write them down! I've learned to keep a notepad handy and jot the ideas down after I'm finished with meditating.

      Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this! :)

      Namaste',

      Dawn

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  6. Seems like your writer block has melted beautifully, Dawn :-)

    I have been meditating (in different ways) daily since age 18. A natural break from that practice occurred a few years ago. At that point, it felt beautiful to just be in the world, becoming more aware there.

    I've come back to meditation a year or so ago, from a new perspective, supporting me in bridging the inner and outer for myself and for others in a new way, I feel.

    It definitely is something I'm going to include in the resources I prepare for widows - it can be such a wonderful support on a path from grief to growth.

    Fortunately, there are many ways to meditate and the art of it is to find something that works for oneself, at that particular stage of life.

    Kindly

    Halina
    http://halinagoldstein.com/blog/about-halina/

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    1. Halina, isn't that one of the most beautiful and interesting facets - how as we grow and change, our connection to Self via meditation shifts accordingly? My own practice has taken on several iterations over the last 20 years. Right now, I'm thinking of recording some spoken thoughts and seeing how that works for me, to listen to my own voice as a prompt and focus.

      Those pauses and sabbaticals happen for a reason, I think. I know I come back to meditation with more enthusiasm after taking a break. I wish you much luck with your grief support system that you're building for widows, and thank you for visiting and sharing your wonderful thoughts on this topic!

      Namaste',

      Dawn

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  7. Welcome Back Dawn..
    starting afresh is the best thing that can happen :)

    you are lucky to have a lovely friend. Friends are amazing they can pull us back from any pit :)

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    1. Thank you, Jyoti! I'm still working on finding a balance with writing here, I admit it. I finally decided to stop wrestling with it, because I was causing myself needless angst. That has helped a great deal, just letting go of expectations and knowing that when the timing it right, the writing will flow.

      I agree with you that I'm blessed with that particular girlfriend! She's wonderful in every sense of the word and I love her dearly. :)

      Much love to you, sweetie! <3

      - Dawn

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