Meditation For Dummies!

meenasankaran · Aug 17, 2016

Next to those who eat a bunch of leaves with an abundant topping of 8 nuts for a meal, I have a healthy respect for those that can meditate. Meditation seems to be the new hot social topic in my world. Yoga, muscle-tearing exercises and zero-carb diets have gracefully stepped aside for this new champion. When my friends were ready to swear on a stack of invisible Gitas about the power of meditation, I was convinced enough to give it a shot.

I confess that I was a bit smug going into this business. After all, how hard could it be? If dumping all thoughts from the mind and being in a zombie-like state was meditation, I felt pretty confident about it. If you are acquainted with me, you would know that I walk around in exactly that state most days anyway. So one day, I warned my family to not disturb me for a while, rolled my shoulders and closed my eyes. Just so you know that I was not fooling around, I even switched off the TV.

Thus began my personal epic journey. Well, more of a mini trip to the kitchen pantry, if you must know. Who knew I had so many active gray cells in my brain? My mind, apparently, was a giant monkey on steroids. It jumped up and down, side to side, upside down and any other direction I have neglected to mention.

Okay, so it was not going to be as easy as I thought which only meant that I had to try harder next time.

Posture could be the key to this, I figured, and tried to sit crisscross on the floor like I had seen sages do in the old movies. Let’s just say that I had to ad lib the plan at the last minute and forego both the floor and the crisscross sitting. One challenge at a time seemed wise. Next, I dug into my treasure box, unearthed a couple of sandal incense sticks and lit them. Ambience is half the battle, after all. There, I really felt ready this time. Finally, sitting comfortably in my very red, very designer settee, I closed my eyes and tried again.

I brought to my mind a white jasmine flower that I had seen in a pot in the back yard the previous day. Did I tell you that I had decided to use a prop to focus my mind on? A secret weapon to tame my monkey mind, so to speak. I had a good feeling about this already.

I remembered the day a dear friend brought a cutting from her jasmine plant for me saying that it thrived in her garden and gave her many blooms. I wanted it to live and thrive in my garden too so I gave it to my husband to plant and water. If you would stop being judgmental for a second, I will tell you why. He is the protector of plants in my house. The one that who shields them from my very black thumb.

When I peeked in yesterday, it had so many buds ready to bloom. I wish I had learnt how to string a garland out of flowers. It would be nice to wear a string on the hair one evening. The last time I wore a string of jasmine on my hair was last year when I had gone to India. Both my mother and mother-in-law would insist that I keep flowers in my hair whenever I visit home. I am eternally grateful for having those two in my life. They are such kind people. I remember going to a wedding when I was there last year wearing more flowers than what my fragile head had called for. It was funny how people kept asking if age had mellowed me into a shy person since I had my head down most of the time from the weight of the flowers. Hah!

Wow, wait a minute! That’s not meditating! I just took the fastest trip to India and back and still managed to make a few gigantic detours to LaLa land. Okay, may be that prop was a bit too stimulating for the mind. Time to zoom in on something dull that is bound to not kick start my mind into overdrive. What could be duller than a bowl of oats, I thought and went in search of a new room, a new chair to begin my next mini epic journey.

If you are thinking that focusing on a bowl of bland oats would put any mind to sleep, you would be entirely wrong. My monkey mind jumped up and down with excitement and decided to devise many recipes that would spice up the dull oats into a culinary pleasure. Oats mixed in a coconut, vegetables and green chilies gravy; oats slow-cooked in almond milk and sweetened with a dollop of honey; oats mixed in a hot cup of pepper rasam and more. I realize that I don’t have a full handle on meditation yet but I do know that one is not supposed to drool in the process.

Do you possess the ability to rein in your mind so it is not bouncing all over the place, even if it is only for a few minutes a day? If so, you are my new hero replacing an elderly uncle with no teeth that I once met who could still eat a plate of murukkus with gusto.

I always whine to my husband (because he lets me) that I haven’t gotten ‘THE CALL’ yet. May be, if I tame my mind enough to listen, I might hear Him call.

How do you meditate?

ashima10 · Aug 17, 2016

All things you mentioned has happened with me. My husband is quite a yoga master and can go deep meditating . I have not even crossed primary threshold .

Whenever we go to beach he makes me float ...eyes closed ..something visually orangish and utter silence inside water .. Although I barely float for 5-10 secs this entire thing gives me goosebumps as well as a strange feeling of calmness every time I do it. I think thats the way I meditate !

Srama · Aug 17, 2016

Dear Meena, Meena, Meena!

That jasmine meditation was the best I have to confess. One little jasmine flower and what a wise idea to eep it as your point of focus and look at the story it has behind! How beautiful life is no?

I don't think you want to know

meenasankaran said: ↑

How do you meditate?
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as to how many hours I can sit silently but I will based on my jasmine comment go ahead and tell you that my meditation is simply that - going to my happy place and not letting negative thoughts and things come my way of enjoyment...Shh...now you know the secret to my joy in nature. Don't tell anyone! And on the days I do drag myself to the mat, after 4 seconds into sitting down and wondering as to why that alarm hasn't gone off, after all it feels like a life time, I start counting my thoughts and when I reach a number like 250 or 300, with happiness I open my eyes to see that barely 2mins have gone by! I realize my mind works way faster when I try to still it, turn off the alarm, roll up my mat and come into the kitchen! There that is my meditation.

As always such a pleasure to read you!

vaidehi71 · Aug 18, 2016

Ha ha
That was a really good snippet on meditation. Never expected it like that when I started to read it as I basically was attracted because of the title.

You should know why, because I wanted to learn how to do. Lol. So now you know where I stand in that meditation learning curve.

Thanks for your write up.
Vaidehi

shyamala1234 · Aug 18, 2016

Dear Meena,
I can concentrate without the name meditation on something or some project that I am doing
the monkey sits quietly like a good student. But the moment I sit straight, close my eyes the monkey immediately jumps out of cage and behaves like a Telugu saying "kallu thagina kothi"..... Rough translation is the way a drunk monkey behaves. So, I gave up.
Syamala

Viswamitra · Aug 18, 2016

Dear Meena,

Congratulations on your successful attempt to become a pro in meditation! Probably, eating leaves and nuts help meditation better! Meena, you have described me when you talked about walking with a Zombie-like state of mind not knowing why I walked up to a particular spot at home, only to return back to what I was doing and then remembering the purpose of my walk towards the earlier spot.

For me, any thought about food including oat meal would drive my monkey nuts and last thing I would like to do is to imagine jasmine flower at the age of 62 as my monkey will go on a wild goose chase.

My monkey is the least of the trouble when it is fully occupied and has no time to breath and asking it to stay quiet is quite a challenge unless it is sleeping. My challenges to try silent sitting (I hate to call it meditation as it has a complete different meaning as part of the self-realization process) are as follows:

1) I am told I need to have my back straight while sitting so that all my Chakras are in straight line. How am I going to accomplish that even if I do, how long?

2) I am also told that the best time to attempt silent sitting is early morning around 4 a.m. or evening around 6 p.m. when my Satwic guna is dominant. How do you expect me to give up my sleep or dinner to do silent sitting? It is not even an option.

Seriously, when I attempt to do silent sitting, my monkey serves me with as many thoughts as possible and take me away from my effort. I imagine a light in front of me and keep throwing them into it so that they would burn into ashes. I imagine playing cards where I discard everything that I don't need. I imagine throwing stale food out of my refrigerator. I imagine moving my garbage out into my driveway and the truck taking the garbage away out of my sight.

Keeping an incense is the last thing I would do as I know keeping any of my senses alert is the best way to keep my mind occupied. Before even attempting to calm my mind, I would prefer to calm my senses, close my eyes gently, focus only on breath control, choose a time that is really quiet so that my ears are not looking for sound, neither too full nor too hungry and sit in the middle of the room so that my body is not touching anything. Seriously, after waking up, I don't even like to wash my face as it wakes up all my senses.

I know I am on a marathon race and I am a few miles into it. I have a long way to go. But I imagine people are available near each milestone cheering me to go all the way.

Viswa

Kamla · Aug 18, 2016

Hello @meenasankaran ! Long time no see!!

Okay, the reason for that is not you but me. I have been absent from my favorite site for so long that when our Viswa of @Viswamitra fame came knocking on the FP doors to nominate this post written by "Meena", I wondered if a new writer has joined the snippet clan and came over eagerly to read. Lo behold, I read your name and an instant tickle sensation went up my spine for I know what awaited me...utter fun!

You too Meens? Can't meditate?? Well well, what's new I ask...If you are anything like me ( and I want you to be like me for I like your sense of humor!!), throw the towel in and go take a stroll in your backyard looking at those jasmines. At least their scent will lull your mind to happiness and will put a lovely smile upon your face!

Thanks for this lovely snippet and I bet many more comments will follow (ie, if ILites are not as lazy as me!)and all will tell you how well you know what happens when one tries to meditate! Well, provided no Meenanandas arrive and all are like you and me!

L, Kamla

Balajee · Aug 18, 2016

Oh great guru,until now I had no clue what meditation meant but now I know. It means shooting tranquilizer darts into the giant monkey instead of pumping it with steroids.

joylokhi · Aug 18, 2016

meenasankaran said: ↑

Throughly enjoyed your snippet.
My experience: Leading a true retired life since the last few after both our sons and their families settled elsewhere. So, i have all the time in the world and thought what better way to reign in my thoughts in some spirituality instead of worrying about existing/non existent problems. One of my nieces introduced my to the online system : "Heartfulness" - its available on the net.
Have been trying to get the feel of all that relaxation/calmness etc - but sadly my mind refuses to focus for more than a minute or so - and as u say - even that seems ages! I suppose practice makes perfect and am continuing to try
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