Frazzled Meditation
Hello hi areet! How are ya?
It’s November now. I succeeded in that October was indeed the acclaimed ‘dry
month’. Apart from best mate Al’s 40th night out – that I knew of;
and has been the breaker on other dry-spells in previous years too – I drank
nothing alcoholic. Woopidoo! Gold star! Woo. Ahem.
Benefits? The pocket maybe,
but not massively. Hmmm. Coffee instead of booze? Different story coming soon!
Okay. To the real blog
intention. Meditation.
Beryl King my meditation teacher
at the fantastic resource of Benmar House (MSRRF) was on holiday at time of this
writing. Point in question, she loaned me a book last month that I have just recently
finished. And what a book.
A Mindfulness Guide for the FRAZZLED by Ruby Wax. It was highly
recommended by Beryl, and with me being a ‘slow
reader over-thinker analyser’ type, it took a while to finish.
I loved it and it has
inspired me to investigate to (possibly) further my meditation journey beyond
‘client’. Vehicle for that yet unsure, but it is in motion….
As an engineer (OK, I was,
but once an engineer…) the actual writing of the guide has me thinking through
the related and quoted science. Lost? Fair enough. It is not a ‘science book’! What I mean is that Ruby (my mate, well that
is how it feels a bit after the read) has been a successful TV entertainer and comedienne for 25 years and is famous for it. She also has a family that
contributed to some hard times; and has suffered deep depression for years too.
That lead to a reinvention for her as she started to study mindful-based
cognitive therapy (MBCT).
The study ended with a Masters
degree from Oxford University. This is no biography; but why MBCT? I will quote
the book:
“The only reason – and, I
repeat, the only reason – I went for
it was because of the impressive scientific evidence proving that it has the
highest success rate in treating a whole pot-pourri of physical and mental
disorders.”
“pourri” not my spelling.
I have said elsewhere in
other related blogs, that I enjoy doing, learning and practicing meditation. If
I didn’t I simply would not do it. Off you ohm!
A word or two that I got
from the book?
Acceptance.
Of the ‘monkey mind’ of
manic thoughts. As monkeys jump wildly from branch to branch to tree to branch
randomly, that is similar to how ones’ thoughts can leap too.
The knowing of this and the
frustration can be somewhat annoying and then some (my opinions obviously).
Accepting those thoughts, as briefly as the acceptance may be, you’ve
recognised said thought and that alone can be calming. My take on this anyway!
I will improve.
Attention.
Yes, attention. As in paying
attention to something on purpose. Using one of the five (basic) senses. This
is a blog not a reference document! Think of noticing a ‘thing’; at that moment.
For example/s:
Sight
- Look at an item that may have caught your attention. Slowly think of it. Colour, texture, memories… Whatever.
Hearing
- Hear a sound. Traffic, radiator clicking, fridge, pet…
Smell
- Food(!), flower, traffic, aftershave, pet…
Taste
- Food, drink…
Touch
- Washing, brushing teeth, working, typing, digging…
Some examples of what we do
and take for granted? Consider the actions and by actually doing so, the thought
pattern is focussed. Not on the millions of daft thoughts rushing continually
through the mind – the monkey mind.
First things last!
Breathing.
Breathing is where a lot of
meditation principles and practices start. Again, by paying attention to the
process, it is already literally starting. More to come soon, not patronising
now!
So, where to now. Well, breathing
and the Chakras. Not a typo. Another type of meditation I particularly enjoy.
Enough for now!
Any thoughts to share, or
are you too busy thinking!?
Comments
Post a Comment