Mediation is like the recognizable elephant described by blind men, one of whom said the animal was a snake as he held its tail, while another insisted, based on its leg, that it was a tree. There are as many types of contemplation as civilization it seems, but they all share a commonality of being based in experiencing the completeness of the current moment freed of the mind’s grasping and control. It is a way, as the Beatles say, to just “let it be.
Zen meditation, in particular, is ideally suited as a basis for any spiritual practice. Zen doesn’t espouse any particular ideology or belief system other than being able “to enter the next moment with no trace of the last.”
1. Close your eyes and sit quietly and contentedly, hands folded in your lap. Relax your shoulders, belly, jaw and space between your eyes/ Sit down directly but not severely. Let your spine suppose its natural shape.
2. Obtain deep, stimulating and standard breaths from deep in your abdomen. Usually, our breathing is trivial and fast, particularly when we’re over- thinking things. By slowing down your breathing, you’ll slow down your thoughts.
3. Scrutinize your breathing as you sit, feeling the flow of air in and out of your nostrils. Silently, repeat a word or phrase (called a mantra) over and over to act as an anchor to which you tie the itinerant mind. It could be as simple as the Hindu “Om”, Wiccan “Blessed be” or as complex as saying the Rosary.
4. Do not attempt to block out thoughts, emotions or other distractions. Simply observe them as you would clouds passing through a clear blue sky, which is actually the true state of our minds when at rest. Watch them come. Let them go.
5. If this is your first practice, try to sit for a minimum of ten minutes. If you like it, try to grab at least that much time daily to hit the clear button on your mental calculator, as I like to call meditation.