A digest for conscious living
This morning the energy flow in my body returned to normal during my meditation. I am happy about this- not because I was concerned about getting it back, but simply because it feels good.
As with everything in life, if one wants to attain a high degree of proficiency at the skill meditation, it is important not only to practice, but to practice properly. I’m reminded of the adage that I heard so many times during my development as a violinist: “Practice does not make perfect; Perfect practice makes perfect.” How true, how true.
As I wrote in my last entry, at the moment I am not very inclined to think too much about the effects that my Spiritual Practice has on me. Since it seems like thinking about the path just distracts me from following it, I’d rather focus on the Practice itself. How can I improve the flow of energy in my body and my ability to quiet my mind? There is a skill or a technique that must be honed.
I remember when I first arrived in Europe being very impressed with the ability of a British friend of mine to speak fluent German. At the time I was still struggling to learn the language, so I asked him what his secret was. He turned to me with a Grin and in a thick Lester accent exclaimed, “Its easy mate, you just have to become FASCINATED with it!” I think this is the secret to achieving master at anything. I would go so far as to say this is the secret to being satisfied and happy with life.
If something is fascinating, keeping my attention on it becomes effortless. It is this effortless concentration that constitutes the foundation for pure meditation. Of course sometimes, if my mind is very agitated, it may be necessary to exert myself and struggle to maintain focus, but this struggle will almost certainly taint the purity of my meditation.
So an important part of coaxing the mind into the right kind of focus is finding the fascination in whatever the object of meditation might be. The way to make something fascinating is to look more deeply into it. This universe, this dream, is fractal and holographic in nature- I need only look deeply enough into anything and I will be able to see it is the seed for everything.
Its amazing how much there is to be discovered through the simple act of observing my breath. On the one hand, its an incredibly complex mechanism with many different aspects on which I can focus. On the other hand, it is one act- one continuous flow which will never reveal its inner most secrets through dissection. Even when I think I am concentrating all my attention on it, I eventually realize that there is yet another level to which I can refine my perception of the act of breathing.
Whatever the object of meditation may be, I have to try to find something new and undiscovered about it every time I sit down to meditate. If the object is my breath, I can focus on the feeling of the air caressing my lips as I draw a breath in through my nose. I can feel the coolness of the air at the tip of my nose and the way it is gradually warmed as it moves through my nostrils and into my chest. I can go deeply into the sensation of my diaphragm dipping and rising and experience the relaxation that sinks into my whole body as I begin allowing it to move undirected. I can hear the sound of my breath like wind through a tunnel. I can witness the correlation between the thoughts that might flow through my mind and the rhythm and depth of my body breathing. I can feel the life energy flowing through my breath and into my legs and arms with each respiration. Each one of these sensory experiences can be delved into to an incredible depth.
If I look deeply enough into my breath, or anything else, it becomes fascinating. If I look even deeper, I see all of life the way it really is- fascinatingly ordinary.
Goodnight,
Kikta