Only the buzz words change

Introduced a year before my birth was Transcendental Meditation (TM). The idea here is to simply be. Twice daily, the practioner sits for 20 minutes and attempts to empty the mind of all concerns. A mantra helps to maintain focus. This is not a contemplative practice - there is nothing to study or focus on during the meditation - it is about finding twenty minutes a day to transcend all the "stuff" around you.

Fast forward to the 1970s, and you find EST. The actual process taught during these sessions was called "the technology of transformation." Its purpose was to bring about personal transformation and for participants to claim their own personal sense of power.

EST sounds a lot like those motivational lectures given to business people at conferences. Only quieter.


And now - mindfulness.

Simply put, mindfulness is an awareness of the moment, remaining in the moment despite the natural thoughts and emotions that try to intrude on the meditative state. It is not new, of course. Buddha provided guidance for mindful contemplation and meditation roughly 2500 years ago.

A wise person I know describes mindfulness this way: Imagine that you put a puppy in the middle of the room. What is it going to do? Is it going to sit still? No, it will run off to find something fun to do. So you have to keep putting the puppy back in the middle of the room. You may have to do this many many times before the puppy stays in the middle of the room. It may not stay there today, so you can try again tomorrow.

The puppy is everything that intrudes on your meditation. The list of things you need to pick up on your way home. The appointment you need to make later on. The possibilities for tonight's dinner menu. The criticism of yourself for not being focused enough or not "doing meditation" correctly. Endless, endless intrusions upon simply resting in the present moment that is now.

My puppy is very, very active.

But I am getting better at recognizing a wandering thought and drawing myself back to quietness without as much judgement and personal indictment. It takes time.

I had an unfortunate introduction to mindfulness. I made the mistake of buying this book. I couldn't get past the introduction. The authors - Mark Williams, Jon Kabat-Zinn and two others - begin the book by making sure the reader is aware that if they are depressed, it is their own damn fault.

Quote: "You thought your way into depression, you can think your way out." Nonsense. These "experts" have decided that all the science about what happens in brain chemistry during depression and anxiety is not worth considering. It's easier to blame the depressed person for being depressed. Lovely, yes? I wonder if they would say the same thing to someone with diabetes. "If you had only thought happier thoughts, your insulin levels would be more stable." Not likely.

Bygones.

I've not picked up the book, but I have been practicing some mindfulness exercises. I'm also aware that mindfulness is really just the "word-du-jour." What I am attempting to do is good old fashioned Buddhist meditation. I'm not all that skilled yet, but it is becoming easier to reign in the natural flow of thoughts that demand my attention. I'm getting better at saying "Oh, there's a thought. I'll get back to it later. Right now my focus is...." as opposed to "Oh, there's a thought. I'm such a jerk. Why can't I do this???!!!????"

Baby steps.

Kerrie over at The Daily Headache quotes a meditation teacher who says, "As long as you’re breathing, there’s more right than wrong with you.”

Indeed. Sometimes breathing is the meditation itself. Seems like a good place to start.

Look! Shiny!

D'oh!