Meditations for the Mindful Warrior
“The path of the mindful-warrior
involves much sitting
—without falling asleep.
Just as the eyes grow heavy
—a clap of THUNDER!
A rush of cleansing tears
Hoof beats
Hard rain
Brings shining new worlds
Seeds push up
Much to do!”
—SHANNON KING, POET
“Mindfulness is the basis of happiness.”
—THICH NHAT HANH, VIETNAMESE ZEN MONK
IN TRADITIONAL CULTURES meditation was part of daily life. Today more people are taking up a meditation practice. Why? Why is meditation considered so valuable? For many, it is to hear the “still voice of God.” For others it is to tap in to their inner wisdom, to heal themselves of anxiety, and to bring more peace and happiness into their lives. Each of us will have our own reasons.
One aspect of living the Warrior’s life is to live in the present moment and to learn to appreciate each day on its own terms. A meditation practice can help you do this. Meditation is simple, yet you can have a variety of powerful experiences with a meditation practice. Through the practice of meditation you can learn to use your Thunder-energy in a genuine and creative way.
A meditation practice provides simple but powerful insights and strength needed for the journey into adulthood and beyond. It is a way to cultivate more courage, more love, and more gratitude in all areas of our lives. The central objective held within the practice of mindfulness meditation is an appreciation for the present moment. Rather than ignoring the present experience through constant worry, planning, or seeking the future, we are given a simple tool to bring ourselves back to the “here and now.”
“Nurture your minds with great thoughts. To believe in the heroic makes heroes.”
—BENJAMIN
DISRAELI,
FORMER BRITISH
PRIME MINISTER
Chögyam Trungpa in his book Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior writes: “Our life is an endless journey; it is like a broad highway that extends infinitely into the distance. The practice of meditation provides a vehicle to travel on that road.” He goes on to describe the importance of meditation on the spiritual path of the Warrior and how “sitting” in a meditative posture is a way of expressing our warriorship and our courage. Jack Kornfield, another well-known meditation instructor, describes a meditation practice as one of the most important acts we can do to improve our own well-being and the well-being of the entire planet. A meditation practice offers us what is called “direct experience”—we open up more and more to experiencing our lives more fully, more creatively, and more sensuously. We accomplish this by practicing attentiveness to the moment. We become more aware of the present experience, whatever it may be, and thus have a more direct experience. Most of us, however, are running around worrying, planning, or judging what we are doing—all of which take us away from direct experience.
We can derive many benefits from meditation, including peace of mind, better skill in athletic achievements, ability to concentrate, calmness, increased creativity, more enjoyment of life’s experiences, loving-kindness to ourselves and others, and more acceptance and tolerance of the difficult times in our lives.
”I began meditating because I experience social anxiety. It was getting worse and worse, so in my junior year of high school my parents found me a therapist who teaches mindfulness meditation. I’m still working at being less anxious and the meditation really makes a difference. On days I meditate I always notice a better feeling I carry around inside of me. When I don’t meditate the peacefulness and good feeling are so much less. Meditation is going to be part of my life, I know this. That good feeling I get tells me that someday I will be free of my anxiety.”
CECILIA, AGE 16
The Practice of Meditation
“The Kingdom of God is within you.”
—LUKE 17:12
“The same energy that moves thoughts through the mind, moves the stars across the sky.”
—STEPHEN LEVINE, MEDITATION TEACHER
AND AUTHOR OF A GRADUAL AWAKENING
A meditation practice begins with sitting down. You can either sit in a chair with your feet on the floor or sit on the ground in a meditative posture. A meditative posture is one in which your back is not fully resting against anything (unless you have back problems). So if you choose a chair, rest your lower back (not the entire back) softly against the chair’s back, or do not rest your back at all. Sitting on the floor, you can sit with your knees crossed, resting your buttocks on a pillow or a meditation cushion. You can have only one knee crossed, if this is most comfortable for you. In both positions it is important to have your back straight but not stiff or arched. This is known as an “alert” spine, one that is straight but not too stiff or too relaxed; it creates the best body posture for a meditation practice. You should be comfortable but not so comfortable that it is easy to fall asleep or to drift into daydreaming.
“You sit simply, as a warrior, and out of that, a sense of individual dignity arises.”
—CHÖGYAM
TRUNGPA, TIBETAN
LAMA, FROM
SHAMBHALA: THE
SACRED PATH OF THE
WARRIOR
Meditation teachers suggest that we imagine ourselves a mountain, sitting up proudly, with our lower spine reaching down to the earth and the crown of our head opening to the heavens. While being aware of your “body sitting upright,” allow your jaw to relax open and your tongue to rest naturally at the roof of your mouth. This makes breathing through the nostrils easier, and more natural. Once in the posture, gently close your eyes.
Mindfulness Meditation: Finding the Breath in your Meditation
“Student, tell me what is God?
He is the breath inside the breath.”
—KABIR, INDIAN MYSTIC AND POET
Breath is commonly associated with power and wisdom. The Bible refers to “the breath of life.” In the Pawnee story of Bear Medicine Woman, breath is the means to exhibit power. The Zuni believe the human spirit (pinanne) resides in the breath. Breath is considered the life principle—without it there would be no life. The connection between breath and Spirit is part of Western and Eastern traditions. Controlled breathing is part of Muslim spiritual experience and Tantric meditation, and it is most developed in the Hindu system of Yoga, where breathing aligns you directly with Spirit. Many traditions view breath as a Divine gift, which is returned to the “Giver” at one’s time of death.
In mindfulness meditation, it is the breath that brings us into the moment, and where we find our peace and courage. So, as you sit in your “mountain” posture, bring your attention gently to your breath, while you simply and naturally breathe in and breathe out. With your eyes closed, practice finding your breath. Are you drawn to the breath as it rises and falls from your belly? Or can you feel the sensation of your breath as it moves in and out of your body, softly brushing the top of your nostrils? After a few breaths, choose to have one of these locations be the place you focus on your breath.
Once you choose a focus point, either the rising and falling of the belly or the brush of air as it moves in and out of your nostrils, keep your attention there. Keeping your focus on one place—this alone helps calm the mind.
“My meditation technique is to sit in front of my altar and light all my candles. I sit on the floor and stare softly at the candles. Sometimes I sit for five minutes, sometimes for half an hour. When I have a big problem I’m dealing with, my meditations can be longer. I’ve been doing meditation and ritual since I was a little girl. It comes naturally to me.”
ERIN, AGE 17
“Be still and know that I am God.”
—PSALMS, 46:10
You can record the following in your own voice or have a friend read it slowly out loud. I recommend you read through it a few times before you actually practice it. After a few practices, you will have the basics down so you will be able to meditate without this reminder. However, some find it helpful to listen to this meditation guide every time they meditate.
Continue to sit comfortably, yet alert . . . holding your body in the meditative posture, like a mountain . . . alert and tall. Slowly close your eyes and begin to let go of the experiences, thoughts, and expectations you brought with you. . . . Let go . . . softening around the moods, experiences, and thoughts. Let them come . . . and let them go . . . like waves of an ocean. Allow yourself to be fully present for this practice of meditation, letting go of worries you may have been carrying with you. As you notice what’s present—the thoughts that are on your mind, or the physical sensations that are rising and falling in your body—let them come and go as they will. Get a sense of the container called “the body.” Notice the physical sensations of this meditating body. Get an overall sense of this body sitting. Try to not hold on to any thoughts, but let them go. As you do this, become aware of your breathing.
Notice that in the middle of all these thoughts and feelings there is a soft sensation of breathing. Now bring your attention to this breathing. . . . Letting the breath flow by itself, notice the physical sensations of breath, the coolness of the in-breath brushing against the top of your nostrils, or the rise and fall of your belly as you breathe. Notice the physical sensation of breath as it moves in your body. Let yourself feel your life-giving breath. Rest in the breathing. Rest in the meditating body. . . . Bring your awareness gently to it. . . .
Keep some of your awareness on the body as it continues to sit alert and tall. Be aware of this body meditating. Maintain some of your awareness on the body as you bring most of your attention to your breath. . . .
After just a few breaths you will notice that a thought carries you off on its own wave of experience and feeling. Notice where this wave of thought has taken you, let your awareness go there, then gently return your awareness back to the breath, and to this meditating body. Rest again and again in the breath by gently focusing your attention on the physical sensations of your breath . . . letting the breath flow through you, naturally. Hold a mindful attention on your breath, noticing when your attention moves away on another wave of thought or physical sensation, returning your awareness to the sensations of your breathing and the body meditating.
Now, when you are ready to stop meditating, gently bring your awareness to your entire body. Feel the body sitting in its upright, meditative posture. . . . At this time you may say a prayer of dedication (see page 151) as you gently open your eyes and refocus your attention on your environment.
You will quickly discover that your attention wanders away from the breath many, many, many times during your meditation practice. This is quite common. Those who have been meditating for more than forty years talk about how their attention still wanders away from the breath! Jack Kornfield reminds all his students that much of the meditation practice even for him is “returning his awareness to the breath.” He also tells us “every moment of sitting brings you closer to happiness.” No time in meditation is wasted, even if your attention is on the breath for only a minute. However, since the object of your meditation in mindfulness practice is the breath, you want to return your attention to the breath whenever you find it has moved away from it.
This is part of the meditation practice—to be aware of where your mind is! When you find your mind has wandered off the breath, return your awareness back to the breath, gently. Be kind to yourself, not judging yourself or your practice. Returning your awareness again and again to the breath is often called “bringing the mind home.” It is a process of slowly and gently taming the mind. Do you ever notice how your thoughts seem to boss you around? A worry or a negative thought gets hold of you and it just doesn’t seem to want to let go? How about those days when everything is going great, then one minor bad event and, crash, you’re swimming in negative thoughts! One thing is for certain, you have lots of company. Unless we have a meditation practice of some kind where we learn to tame our minds, our minds seem to get out of hand quite often. The mind is busy—wondering, worrying, fantasizing, guessing about the future—until we tame it and bring it home. Home to the breath. Home to the present moment.
“If your mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary things,
This is the best season of your life.”
—WU-MEN, ZEN
MASTER
Learning how to bring your mind back to the breath in meditation gives you tremendous power to bring yourself to the moment at other times in your life. This can be great for athletes, for example, helping them “keep their eyes on the ball.” Artists and writers often speak of how mindfulness meditation helps them focus on their creativity. Those addicted to drugs or alcohol speak of how meditation helps them stay clean. Those suffering from social anxiety or panic attacks speak to the healing effects of meditation.
”For one who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends. But for one who has failed to do so, his very mind will be his greatest enemy.”
—BHAGAVAD-GITA,
HINDU SCRIPTURE
To help you tame your mind you can use a technique called labeling. When you notice that your awareness has moved to a thought you can simply label it “thinking, thinking.” Then, again return your attention to your breathing, resting with the meditating body. Any time you find your mind is on a thought during your meditation practice, simply label it “thinking, thinking,” instead of following that thought to its conclusion or building upon it like a story. Always return to the breath, gently and kindly. Labeling thoughts during meditation frees you from getting caught up in anxious worries or fantasies. This gives you the power to decide how you are going to use your mind.
Another technique to help you bring your attention to the breath is to count the breaths. As you breathe out, you are letting go, and as you breathe in, you count the breath, up to ten. It is important to use the counting as a way to bring your awareness to the physical sensation of breath and not to meditate on the counting. Labeling and counting are ways to help you bring your awareness to the breath.
Remember, simply sitting quietly and softly listening to your breath is enough to experience the many benefits of meditation.
“I felt my body become like a soft rubber band that went down into the earth. It didn’t seem to stop. It was a sensation I enjoyed, so I just sat in it for as long as it lasted, focusing on my breathing.”
—SADIE, AGE 18
You will experience many sensations ranging from deep emotions to perfect stillness as you meditate. There are no wrong or right ways to feel in meditation. The key is to simply allow the feelings and sensations to arise as you rest in your breathing. Sometimes you will experience “highs” during your meditation, while other times you may feel sad, quiet, bored, or agitated. Whatever the emotions that arise, practice sitting upright like a mountain until your meditation time is complete.
If you are just beginning to meditate, sit for five to ten minutes each day. The benefits of only five minutes of meditation on a regular basis are vast. After about three months of the regular practice of meditation you will be ready to sit for fifteen to twenty minutes at a time. It is much more important to be meditating in twenty years than to do long sits at the start. This is not a contest to see who can sit the longest. The benefits come from a regular, consistent practice of meditation. Much like practicing a sport or musical instrument, it’s the commitment that results in its many benefits.
“As the web issues from the spider, as little sparks proceed from fire, so from the one soul proceed all breathing animals, all worlds, all the gods, and all beings.”
—BRIHAD-ARANYAKA
UPANISHAD, HINDU
SCRIPTURE
Dedicating Your Meditation
May my mind remain always steady and firm,
unswerving and unshaken;
May it become stronger every day. May I bear and endure with patience the
deprivation of dear ones and occurrences of undesired evils.
May universal love pervade the world and may ignorance
of attachment remain far away. May nobody
speak unkind, bitter, and harsh words!
May disease and pestilence never spread, may the people live in peace,
may the highest religion of ahimsa (noninjury) pervade the
whole world and may it bring universal good! Amen.
—JAIN PRAYER*1
All spiritual traditions have dedication prayers, used to dedicate one’s practice and spiritual efforts to benefit others. Part of the power of all the practices mentioned in this book is that they also intend to benefit the community or planet as a whole. They recognize that we are all part of the same web of life.
A dedication prayer following a time of meditation is a testimony that our meditation practice not only benefits us as we sit, but benefits everyone. As we improve upon our own well-being, everyone we come in contact with is positively affected. You have likely heard of Chinese hermits, Tibetan monks, or Christian monastics who spend months to years of their lives in meditation. They are meditating for us all, to help bring more peace and compassion into this complex and hurting world of ours. Some monks and nuns dedicate their entire life to a meditation practice for this purpose. But we don’t have to go sit in a cave or a monastery to benefit others through our meditation practice. It takes great courage and discipline to practice mindfulness meditation amid all the distractions of our everyday world! And every time we practice mindfulness, we are bringing a little more peace and sanity to this chaotic and busy world of ours.
”Just as the great oceans have but one taste, the taste of salt, so too is but one taste fundamental to all true teachings of the Way, and this is the taste of freedom.”
—THE BUDDHA
Here is a variation on a common dedication prayer:
Through the power and truth of this practice,
May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness;
May all be free from suffering and the causes of suffering;
May all be happy.
May we all live in harmony,
Without too much attachment and too much bitterness,
And live believing in the beauty of all living things.
By dedicating our practice to others we are asking for all to be free from suffering and pain. Our efforts then in meditation are extended beyond just ourselves and become far reaching. “May we all live in harmony” means not being hard on ourselves or others, or not being too caught up in the troubles of our lives. We ask to live “without too much attachment,” because when we are too attached to something we suffer, feeling “we gotta have it.” Meditation teaches us to feel our wholeness without so much attachment to what we have (or bitterness about what we don’t have). In our dedication, we wish this nonattachment and peace of mind for everyone. Finally, we are dedicating our meditation to everyone’s well-being, “believing in the beauty of all,” believing that everyone and every living creature has a right to life and happiness—even those who anger us.
You can create your own dedication or even use The Lord’s Prayer (Christian) or the Shema Yisrael (Jewish) to dedicate your practice. “May my practice benefit all who are in need of peace,” is a prayer of dedication that one young man says after each of his meditations.
Exploring Your Anger and Thunder with Mindfulness Meditation
”Freedom is born out of our capacity to work with any energy or difficulty that arises.”
—JACK KORNFIELD, MEDITATION INSTRUCTOR AND AUTHOR,
FROM A PATH WITH HEART
Meditation and sitting quietly with oneself can be helpful in dealing with anger and other intense emotions, such as jealousy, grief, and anxiety. Here’s a simple meditation that allows you to explore your anger or other intense emotions. Anger is a valuable emotion to listen to because when we are angry we are angry for a reason. But too often we get so caught up in the feelings of anger we lose sight of what we are angry about. Then we often misuse our anger to hurt ourselves or others. Getting angry about something can trigger more anger that we may have bottled up—so we can easily become “blinded” by our anger. Taking ten minutes to sit quietly, giving your attention to your anger, can give you the power and freedom to do something meaningful with this emotion.
“The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS,
ROMAN EMPEROR
You can record this meditation yourself and play it back or have it read slowly by a friend.
Sit quietly in an alert, yet comfortable, meditative posture. Begin by finding your breath, slowly closing your eyes, and practicing a few minutes of the mindfulness meditation. Listen to the rhythm of your breathing by bringing your awareness softly to your breath. Just let the breath flow by itself and for ten in-breaths and ten out-breaths listen to the breath’s rhythm. . . . Begin to open up to your anger, instead of tightening around it. Use the image of opening your hand, rather than tightening your grasp into a fist around something . . . open up to it, loosen to it . . . breathe into your feelings. Make room for your anger. . . .
Where in your body does your anger arise? Be curious rather than caught up in the anger. What physical sensations accompany your anger? Does your body feel as if it wants to jump out of its skin? Do you feel tense anywhere? Is your body tingling or jittery? Be like a curious detective and simply observe with your own inner awareness what sensations are in your “angry” body. As you do this, continue to have some of your awareness on your breath. Use your breath to keep yourself focused on the meditation if you find your thoughts wandering off to other things.
Now bring your attention to what you are angry about. What fantasies or plans go with this feeling of anger? What might you want to destroy? Who or what do you see as the cause of this anger? Do you hold any intent to harm anyone, including yourself?
Notice how the anger affects your body, heart, and mind. Listen inwardly for the answers to the following questions. (After your meditation, you may want to write in your journal the answers that come.) While still experiencing the many sensations, thoughts, and feelings that accompany your anger and intensity, use the following questions to gain more understanding and help. Answer each question for yourself. The one you may want to skip may hold the most potent insight. Again listen inwardly for the answers to these questions:
What do I usually do when I am angry?
How have I caused myself or others harm with my anger in the past?
What could I do differently this time?
What in this situation is simply unavoidable and needs my acceptance?
What can I learn from this situation and from my anger?
When you are ready, slowly open your eyes and refocus your attention on your surroundings.
“He then sits and meditates as long as he deems proper and then he rises and calls on the Spirit of the Winds and of the Clouds and of the THUNDER to help him, and makes an offering of smoke to these . . .“
“PREPARING FOR A
SUN DANCE” FROM
LAKOTA BELIEF
AND RITUAL
When taking the time to meditate and reflect on our anger we often find a hidden gem among the ruins of our feelings and experience. Most often, the help we seek is within the problem or situation that is causing us to feel angry. This means that underneath all our anger, jealousy, or anxiety is often the answer we need. So, slowing down and becoming mindful of our anger may be all we need to do to find a solution to our pain. Then we experience the freedom Jack Kornfield refers to earlier. The freedom in not letting our anger dominate us. Please remember that an important part of our meditation practice is to be gentle and kind with ourselves. Let the anger and intensity arise without becoming hard on yourself or others. This is a great accomplishment itself!
”I constantly thought about death. So much so, I found myself talking about it a lot to my friends and family. When I would watch a show on television about someone’s sorry life, my response would always be ‘I would just kill myself.’ Everyone got scared when I actually attempted suicide. It seemed to just happen. I was angry with my younger sister again, so I just grabbed a bunch of pills and swallowed fast. I got really freaked out and told my sister, who then called 911. I ended up in the hospital where they told my parents I needed counseling. My counselor taught me to meditate and to get a better understanding of myself. I’ve come to understand that my thoughts about death are my way of handling my anger. Now I’m learning to find different ways to react to bad news. I am feeling a little more hopeful about myself. And I’ve noticed that when I take the time to meditate I always feel better.”
—MERRA, AGE 16
“Do you have the patience to wait till the mud settles and the water is clear? Can you remain unmoving till the right action arises by itself?”
—LAO-TZU, ANCIENT
TAOIST SAGE AND
AUTHOR OF
TAO-TE-CHING
Loving-Kindness Meditation
“The practice of loving-kindness is revolutionary because it has the power to radically change our lives, helping us cultivate true happiness in our ourselves, and genuine compassion for others.”
—SHARON SALZBURG, MEDITATION INSTRUCTOR AND AUTHOR,
FROM LOVING-KINDNESS: THE REVOLUTIONARY ART OF HAPPINESS
We all long to be loved. We all want to fall in love and find happiness. We all want to belong to something worthwhile and be recognized for our own worth. Throughout our lives, we long to feel good about ourselves and find a greater sense of connection with Spirit or the Divine and others. In fact, all of these longings are part of our willingness to be on a spiritual path. Our commitment to the life of a Spiritual Warrior comes through listening and responding to these universal longings. The meditation practice of loving-kindness helps cultivate happiness in our lives and in the lives of others. The beautiful thing about this meditation is that it encourages us to accept and love ourselves as we are, rather than withholding such good feelings until we are thinner, smarter, popular, and so on. It is about opening our hearts up to ourselves and to others, however we are.
“Thoughts are like arrows: once released, they strike their mark. Guard them well or one day you may be your own victim.”
—NAVAJO PROVERB
Spiritual practices throughout time and around the world call for us to love ourselves and each other.
Jack Kornfield, in his book, A Path with Heart, expresses this universal truth that “all other spiritual teachings are in vain if we cannot love. Even the most exalted states and the most exceptional spiritual accomplishments are unimportant if we cannot be happy in the most basic and ordinary ways, if, with our hearts, we cannot touch one another and the life we have been given.” The teachings of both the Buddha and Jesus were founded on the practice of love.
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And, if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. . . . So faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
—1 CORINTHIANS 13:1–3, 13
The thought manifests as the word
The word manifests as the deed;
The deed develops into habit;
And habit hardens into character;
So watch the thought and its way with care,
And let it spring from love
Born out of concern for all beings . . .
As the shadow follows the body,
as we think, so we become.
—FROM THE DHAMMAPADA (SAYINGS OF THE BUDDHA)
When we sit and meditate on love, we bring on the feelings and experience of love. We cannot be sitting and thinking of hating someone or ourselves and at the same time be meditating on love. That is how the Loving-Kindness Meditation works and why it is so powerful. As you sit and meditate on love, love comes to you.
“I spent a few years learning mindfulness meditation from many Buddhist teachers. Many times I would be sitting in a ten-day retreat in silence beating up on myself! I would be thinking how I should be doing better, or I would silently compare myself to others. The teacher would then talk about loving-kindness and how important it is to bring the feelings and attitude of love and kindness to whatever our thoughts and emotions are at the time. So, I would practice bringing love to my judgmentalness, and sooner or later the harshness would melt and the feelings of love, generosity, and kindness would find their way to my heart and mind. It is always about practicing. Like, practicing the piano. When we practice, we are actually playing the instrument and, at the same time, we are getting more skilled at our playing. It is the same with the Loving-Kindness Meditation. We practice it and each time we practice it we notice that love and kindness toward ourselves and others increase. Then, as we go out into our daily life, we feel more of this love and kindness toward ourselves and others. We also find we can bring the loving-kindness practice to situations that are difficult.”
—ANNETTE, AGE 24
“All spiritual traditions speak of the importance of greeting negative circumstances with love.”
—SHINZEN YOUNG,
BUDDHIST MEDITATION TEACHER
“As he thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
—PROVERBS 23:7
This meditation too can be recorded in your own voice or read aloud slowly by a friend:
Sit comfortably and slowly close your eyes. Let your body relax more than you would in the breath meditations. Let yourself be comfortable and rested. As best you can, let your mind rest, letting go of your worries or the planning that often goes on. Take a few minutes to bring your awareness to your breath . . . bringing your awareness more and more into this time of meditation. Notice the various sensations in the body, and continue to relax and bring your awareness to your breathing and body.
Now imagine breathing into your heart. On each breath imagine your heart softening and opening. And say quietly to yourself:
May I be filled with loving-kindness;
May I be strong and happy;
May I feel good about myself;
May all my dreams come true.
Imagine each cell, molecule, and atom in your body filling up with the meaning of these words. Repeat these phrases again and again, letting the meaning fill you up. Continue to breathe in and out, saying these words of love for yourself. Feel your heart open up to you.
Slowly begin to include others in the room, or others in your life you care about. Imagine your heart opening up and sending some of this loving-kindness and well-wishing to everyone near to your heart. Bring to mind all the people you love and care about. Say these phrases softly to them:
May you be filled with loving-kindness;
May you be strong and happy;
May you feel good about yourself;
May all your dreams come true.
Send them this love, while always keeping some for yourself. This keeps you replenished. Include friends, neighbors, teachers, animals, people you know who are suffering and need your loving thoughts.
Imagine sending it anywhere and everywhere.
Try including someone you’re angry with. How does it feel to send them these kind thoughts and loving feelings?
Now sit softly in your breath for a while as you fill yourself and the world with your love and kindness. When you feel ready, slowly open your eyes.
“The habit of ignoring our present moments in favor of others yet to come leads directly to a pervasive lack of awareness of the web of life in which we are embedded.”
—JON KABAT-ZINN,
PH.D., MEDITATION
INSTRUCTOR AND
AUTHOR OF
WHEREVER YOU GO,
THERE YOU ARE
As you practice this meditation you will experience a deeper and deeper connection to yourself and to others. At first, it may feel awkward or difficult—this is quite common. Keep practicing it, and soon you will find yourself feeling more love for yourself and for others. As Buddhist meditation teacher Shinzen Young reminds us: “There are two main goals in the spiritual life. One is to have a sense of complete freedom and fulfillment for oneself. The other is to be a source of love and goodwill to others. If you can experience negativity (anger, hate, jealousy) as energy, and ‘recolor’ that energy as love and goodwill, and let it spread out from you, then you will be simultaneously achieving those two goals. With practice, any person can experience a freedom through such a practice.”
And finally, our meditation practice isn’t about becoming something better because we feel we are something bad. It is about opening up to ourselves as we are, accepting and making room for all that is inside us—the goodness, the creativity, and the messiness. If we do this practice trying to force ourselves to be a “perfect spiritual human being,” we will only hurt ourselves. Meditation practice is about becoming better friends with ourselves and the world around us. A friend accepts us as we are, while we continue to grow and change.
“The ills from which we are suffering have had their seat in the very foundation of human thought.”
—PIERRE TEILHARD DE
CHARDIN, JESUIT
PRIEST AND AUTHOR
OF PHENOMENON OF MAN
A Journey into Guided Meditations
”We increase concentration and memory skills, improve academic learning, and excel in sports through the use of imagery.”
—MAUREEN MURDOCK, ARTIST AND EDUCATOR
Guided meditations are used with the specific intent to create certain experiences. In the Sacred Tree Meditation the purpose is to connect us more with the groundedness of the earth and the expansiveness of the heavens, of which we are all a part. The Ancient Scroll Meditation helps us reach inside ourselves for the deeper wisdom and intuition we hold. We can go inside for such guidance, especially when we are getting mixed advice from others. A guided meditation takes us beyond focusing on the breath to bringing forth a particular experience.
Guided meditations use our imagination to help us get what we want out of life. But guided meditations alone won’t make things happen. Ultimately, we need to have the confidence and courage to go out and do things for ourselves. Guided meditations can, however, help build up our confidence and courage. Such meditations are a way to give time and attention to parts of ourselves that strengthen us. What we give time and attention to in return gives time to us—when we meditate on our strengths, we become stronger.
When doing a guided meditation it is very important to breathe. Sometimes when we concentrate on something, such as focusing on an idea, we hold our breath, or do shallow breathing. Begin each guided meditation with a few minutes of mindfulness meditation. Then as you move through your guided meditation, you can always return to the breath to help you stay focused on your meditation.
Sacred Tree Meditation
“It may be that some little root of the Sacred Tree still lives. Nourish it then, that it may leaf and bloom and fill with singing birds.”
—BLACK ELK, OGLALA SIOUX HOLY MAN
This meditation is a favorite among many young people. It helps connect us to the great earth, nourishing the “little root” from the Sacred Tree that lives inside each of us. It also opens us up to wisdom from above, so we “bloom and fill” ourselves “with singing birds.” Those who favor this meditation speak of a sense of strength, courage, and “groundedness” during and after the meditation.
You can record this meditation for yourself or have a friend slowly read it to you:
Sit in a chair with both feet on the floor. Close your eyes and softly focus on your breath for a few minutes, allowing your attention to come into the moment. Let go of concerns. . . . Bring your awareness to your breath as you breathe in . . . and out, naturally.
Have your awareness go to the bottoms of your feet. Feel your feet on the floor. Imagine roots coming out the bottoms of both feet. Have the roots move down through the floor and through all the layers of earth, rock, and water. With little effort, and remembering to breathe, imagine them moving down, down, until they reach the center of the earth. Once they reach the center of the earth imagine your roots pulling up energy and nutrients from the earth’s center. Draw this energy all the way up through your roots into your feet, up your legs, and up into your solar plexus area, above and behind your navel. Let the earth energy move all around in this area and then go down and out through the same roots, so you have a continual cycle of earth energy moving up and down. You are the Sacred Tree; your roots still live.
Now, like the great Sacred Tree, open the top of your head and let your branches reach up and out. Imagine the sun’s energy coming down into the top of your head, traveling slowly down your spine until it meets up with the earth energy in your solar plexus. Have the two energies mix together, as trees mix the energy of earth and sky. Sit as a Sacred Tree, receiving all the nutrients from the earth and all the strength and wisdom from the sun and sky. Feel your sacredness. You are the Sacred Tree. Feel your strength and wisdom. You are the Sacred Tree. You are the Sacred Tree. Feel the groundedness from the earth and the vision from the sky. You, my friend, are the Sacred Tree.
When you feel finished bring your awareness back to your breath. Rub your hands together and gently touch the palms of your hands to the ground as you slowly open your eyes.
“Whoever sits under the tree receives and shares this circulation of power and cleansing energy. Feel your whole body as part of this network of life, tradition and energy.”
—CAITLÍN
MATTHEWS, WRITER
AND SINGER, FROM
THE ELEMENTS OF
CELTIC TRADITION
“Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions.”
—ALBERT EINSTEIN,
PHYSICIST
“You give birth to that to which you fix your mind.”
—ANTOINE DE
SAINT-EXUPERY,
AUTHOR OF
THE LITTLE PRINCE
You may do this meditation sitting up against a favorite tree, imagining yourself becoming like the tree. When you are done, you may want to sit and remember the experience or write it down in your journal. If there is a group sharing in the meditation, you may want to tell your experiences to each other.
The Ancient Scroll Meditation
“Earth and heaven are in us.”
—MAHATMA GANDHI, INDIAN NATIONALIST AND SPIRITUAL LEADER
An Ancient Scroll is a “manuscript,” or book, believed to contain all the wisdom of all time within it. It is not a book one checks out from the library. Instead, it is available to each of us through the power of our imagination. This Ancient Scroll Meditation allows you to get in touch with a place inside yourself that holds this wisdom. When in need of guidance or ideas, go to your Ancient Scroll through this meditation. It’s important to do this (and every guided meditation) slowly, and to trust what comes. If you have concerns or questions about what you receive in this or any other guided meditation share it with someone you trust, or contact the author (see chapter resource list).
You can record this meditation for yourself or have a friend slowly read it to you:
Close your eyes and focus on your breath for a few moments. Send your roots into the ground and open your head to the sky as you do in the Sacred Tree Meditation. Continue to breathe freely. Imagine yourself walking down a path. This path represents the path of your life. As you walk, you have a destination in mind. You are going to the place on your path where your Ancient Scroll is kept. This scroll is your “book of life,” and it can help you with questions you might have about what is going on in your life at this time. Continue walking down the path. In front of you now you see a container that holds your scroll. Your scroll may be inside a castle or simply placed under a tree. The container may be a chest, box, basket, or a vase. . . . Walk up to the container and open it. Bring out the Ancient Scroll, opening up to a page that has a message or answer on it for you. Read the message. . . . What is the message for you? . . . Let the message come to you easily. It may be a sentence or two or one word. It may be an image or a strong thought or feeling. It can even be a memory or a dream remembered. . . . Trust what you get. Remember what it says, or what you experience. Open up to it without trying to force something or put too much into it . . . simply allow for something to come to you. . . . Return the Ancient Scroll to its container and begin walking back up the path. Walk until you see a nice open field. Imagine yourself sitting down in the field in a patch of warm sunlight. Feel the sunlight on your face and body. . . . Now gradually return your attention to your breath, letting the breath move in and out by itself. Softly focus on the breath. Relax back into the breath. Rub your hands together and gently touch your palms to the ground. When you feel ready, slowly open your eyes.
You may want to write in your journal what message you received. The Ancient Scroll can be a group meditation in which you listen to each other’s questions and messages in a supportive circle, giving each other feedback and support. Many times we need help understanding our message. You may want to look at the chapters on dreams or consulting nature, and use the same methods of interpreting your message as you would for your dreams or encounter with nature. You can also ask a meditation teacher, mentor, or adult friend who is skillful in meditation for help in answering any questions you might have about your experiences. If you have a therapist, he or she may even guide you through some of these meditations.
May you be filled with loving-kindness;
May you be strong and happy;
May you feel good about yourself;
May all your dreams come true.
Books, Resources, and Wisdomkeepers Related to This Chapter
Blue Jean Buddha: Voices of Young Buddhists, edited by Sumi D. Loundon (Wisdom Publications, 2001). Recommended for any teen who considers themselves a Buddhist or wants to know more about Buddhism.
Just Say OM!: Your Life’s Journey, by Soren Gordhamer (Adams Media Corp, 2001). A great book to further your meditation practice, written specifically for teens. A perfect companion to this chapter.
Loving-Kindness: The Revolutionary Art of Happiness, by Sharon Salzburg (Shambhala Publications, 1995). An easy-to-understand book on loving-kindness meditations.
Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation In Everyday Life, by Jon Kabat-Zinn (Hyperion Publishers, 1994). An easy-to-read book on the techniques and philosophy of mindfulness meditation. Good follow-up to this chapter.
Lama Surya Das
Dzogchen Foundation
P.O. Box 734
Cambridge, MA 02140
e-mail: foundation@Dzogchen.org
www.Dzogchen.org
Offers books, video tapes, and resources on Buddhist practices and ethical teachings to Western audiences. Lama Surya Das is the author of the bestselling book: Awakening the Buddha Within and is available for workshops.
Julie Tallard Johnson
Flaming Rainbow Rites
P.O. Box 186
Spring Green, WI 53588
(608) 643-3649
e-mail: jewelhrt8@aol.com
www.thunderingyears.com
Will answer questions or concerns you may have about your meditation practice. Offers group and class instruction on a variety of meditation practices, as well as tape recordings of mindfulness and guided meditations. Web site includes articles, poetry, and rituals by other teenagers. You can submit your ideas and works to the site, too.
Insight Meditation Society
1230 Pleasant Street
Barre, MA 01005
(978) 355-4378
www.dharma.org/ims.htm
Offers information about insight meditation (mindfulness meditation). See online resources below for Web site information.
Jack Kornfield
Spirit Rock
P.O. Box 909
Wood Acre, CA 94973
Spirit Rock is a meditation center with information on retreats and instruction on meditation and Buddhist practices. Jack Kornfield, the director, is the author the author of A Path with Heart: A Guide Through the Perils and Promises of Spiritual Life.
Shinzen Young
Vipassana Support Institute
4070 Albright Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90066
(310) 915-1943
www.shinzen.org
Offers retreats, cassettes, and resources on Vipassana (mindfulness) meditation. Shinzen Young is a leader in developing meditations for those living with chronic pain and meditation for athletes.
Warm Rock Tapes
P.O. Box 108
Chamisal, NM 87521
Offers cassette recordings of Stephen Levine’s (author of A Gradual Awakening) guided meditations and talks.
Online Resources
Insight Meditation Society
www.dharma.org/ims.htm
Provides information about retreats for the practice of insight meditation and scholarships available for students. Includes links to Dharma Resources and teachers and centers on the internet to help us learn how to meditate.
Learning Meditation
www.learningmeditation.com
This site is an aid for beginners to learn the basic techniques of meditation and relaxation. Various meditation practices are included, such as a reducing stress exercise, and ways to fulfill our potential in life. Many practices are accompanied by an audio guide to make learning easy.
Shambhala International
www.Shambhala.org
A comprehensive site on Shambhala meditation practices—the sacred path of the Warrior. A great resource with links to all the Shambhala centers around the world. (Every center offers free meditation instruction.)
Teaching Tools for Mindfulness Training
www.mindfulnessclasses.com
This page is a mindfulness training school on the Web with great pages that include information on Zen Mindfulness, Shambhala Training, Meditation Practices, and links to science and spiritual resources. Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, and scientific approaches to mindfulness are included on this site.
The World Wide Online Meditation Center
www.meditationcenter.com
This site contains general information for the beginning student of meditation and techniques for the more skillful, such as inner light meditation and mindfulness meditation. The center provides suggestions for meditation tapes to buy to aid in our practice and links to other alternative and spiritual resources on the Web.
“What if you slept, and what if in your sleep you dreamed, and what if in your dream you went to heaven and there plucked a strange and beautiful flower, and what if when you awoke you had the flower in your hand? Ah, what then?”
—SAMUEL TAYLOR COLERIDGE,
ENGLISH POET AND JOURNALIST