The next challenge
Coming in at #4 is this challenge to meditation:
I can’t sit still / get my body to relax
Contrary to what many people think, meditation is not about becoming a walking coma victim. It’s not about moving in slow motion, speaking in a monotone, and having no reaction if you win the lottery or lose your house.
I remember being in Central Park in New York City for the first Sunrise Meditation with the Dalai Lama. There were only about 200 of us and you could tell which lineage people came from by the way they sat. The Theravada practitioners sat very still, but had horrible posture. The Zen boys (and girls) looked like they were modeling for Buddha statues.
And then there was the Dalai Lama and the other Tibetans. After a while I stopped my practice just to watch the Dalai Lama. He shifted on his cushion. He rearranged his robes. He adjusted his glasses. He looked around the crowd. He waved to friends and sponsors. He coughed, sneezed, wheezed and, basically didn’t seem to have a big distinction between sitting and not-sitting. And the other Tibetan lamas with him were about the same.
Meditation is about that kind of naturalness. Where the word “spiritual” has no meaning because there’s no contradiction between “spiritual” and “mundane.”
It’s also about being able, whenever you want, to drop into a state that reveals clarity, insight, relaxation and compassion (among other aspects).
While sitting still can be helpful for dropping into that state, it’s not required. And, forcing yourself to sit still … well, personally, I don’t recommend going to war with any part of your experience, physical or mental.
There are a couple of IAM practices where you won’t TRY to sit still… but you probably will have a really hard time even thinking about moving! Others actually require you to move! In “Chaos Creation,” for example, it’s the subtle movements you make that actually create the profound state of quiet (of both body and mind) you sink into.
In another practice — Zooming in on Peace — you find how you don’t need to work at relaxation… it’s always present when you know where to look… and once you see it, in naturally expands.
Okay, now it’s time for me to get some sleep and prepare for tomorrow’s rowing.
BTW, the next posts will be about my Big Mess Up 
Tags: Questions //
First, I have to tell you, I have bad knees and the thought of getting down on the floor to get on a cushion in some yoga position brings tears to my eyes So the idea of meditation at any moment, any where appeals to me on so many levels.
So So good to hear a voice for life, for the integration that we are at all times, of body mind and spirit and a validation of experience that many feel justified in disparaging because it was not gained their way.
Thank you thank you thank you.
“Instant Advanced Metitation Anywhere Anytime”
Sounds like either daydreaming or maybe narcolepsy to me!
Joey,
I wish!
What I mean is that if I could create a narcoleptic effect in people at will — make them drop into sleep in an instant — that would be a billion dollar business!
IAM reveals clarity and wakefulness instead.
I liked what was written here. I’ve had a hard time meditating. I began my practice at a Zen Center and although I’ve been told there is no right or wrong way, everyone time someone did something not deemed their way, they would at least receive a look of scorn. It’s always made me feel like I would never be able to do it “right”.
The easiest meditation is to wish you “Happy Birthday”…
I would say that it’s even easier to RECEIVE all this wonderful birthday wishes!
Hi. I’ve never practiced yoga, but I was at that sunrise meditation with His Holiness. I did as he suggested–I emptied my mind of all thought, and the result was a feeling of peace and love for universe that I haven’t felt before or since.