February, 2022
I get great creative insights when I meditate. That sounds like a good thing, and for the most part it is, but the challenge is what to do with them when they come around. Meditation wisdom says don’t hang on to your thoughts, let them pass by like a feather floating down a stream. But what if they are really amazing ideas? Do you keep a notepad nearby and just really, really quickly jot down a few key words so you don’t lose the thread forever? That feels like breaking the rules, somehow, but what if that burst of inspiration is really important, and what if the rest of my sit is lost anyway to worrying about whether or not I’ll remember it?
If I find myself caught in the idea that silently, constantly repeating the idea to myself to lock it in and can’t break out of it, once in a great while I’ll hit the record button on whatever device is nearby and just record a fragment or two. That seems a little less disruptive than stopping to write something down.
For the most part, I’ve decided to trust. After all, meditation is kind of an exercise in trust anyway. I try to trust that the really important stuff will resurface, maybe in an even better, refined version of itself. And like many of my meditation experiences, I am often frustrated in the moment but gratified in the end.
January, 2022
When sitting doesn’t work, and lying down seems too much like a nap, there is always walking meditation. Here’s the idea – you walk, usually back and forth, not trying to get anywhere, taking each step deliberately. If there is a labyrinth near you – lots of churches are adding them now – that’s one way to give your practice a framework. Just for inspiration, here is a website that helps you find labyrinth’s around the world. OK, so if there isn’t a labyrinth, you can use a hallway, or just walk around the same block over and over. At one point I enrolled in a self-study mindfulness meditation training program – sort of a pre-requisite to teacher training – and the final day long retreat included a few rounds of walking meditation. Due to the weather and other stuff, I wound up doing mine walking back and forth, up and down a hallway in a rental condo, and it worked just fine.
It’s pretty tempting to pass off just any old walk as a walking meditation, but there is something about walking TO somewhere that changes the dynamic. On the other hand, as nice as it is to do this kind of thing in the quiet woods or along a waterfront, it works in a busy city too – a nice walk around the block, and around, and around, and around. . . . . . .
November, 2021
Like most things in meditation, there are lots of opinions about the “right” posture, and lots of people who will sell you props to help you sit comfortably. At many yoga centers or spa retreats the meditation classes are stocked with yoga mats, blankets, backjacks, round cushions called Zafu in Zen meditation and for the teachers even low wooden benches.
Some people think you should be sitting flat, and other think you should prop your behind and hips a little above the level of your knees. The underlying idea is to sit with intention, no slouching, but it is also important that you be comfortable enough, at least in casual practice, to not sabotage your ability to stay still. After all, we aren’t talking here about the kind of meditation you do for six weeks at an ashram where triumphing over physical pain is part of the program.
I’m kind of a minimalist, at least for right now, but that could change as my body continues to age and change. I sit cross-legged (no, not full lotus or half lotus, or anything like that). The most I may do is wedge a pillow a little under my backside, but not all the time. Often, I will put a pillow in my lap and hold my hands to the side or underneath – I’m not sure why, it just feels right to be, kind of the same feeling as sleeping under a weighted blanket I think.
Here’s the thing, though, there are a lot of options and I’ll talk about some more of them as time goes by. Meanwhile, don’t let concerns about posture be a hurdle – if you want to sit in a chair with your feet flat on the ground, or anything else, do that. No one is watching.
September, 2021
Most of the posts here and on my Instagram til now have been art-focused, but we are all multi-dimensional, right?
I am pretty open about the fact that I meditate. In fact when I would go to conferences and conventions for my regular gig, and someone would propose an early morning group run, I would offer an early morning group sit as an alternative (no one ever took me up on it).
In 2020 and 2021, one of the things I was particularly grateful for is having formed the habit of daily meditation years ago – I’m not ever sure how many years ago, maybe 7, maybe 10.
When you meditate, it is said that you “sit” no matter what your posture, which is what we were all called to do during the COVID times – to pause even as our thoughts are racing.
There are plenty of places you can go to read about mediation – how to do it, why to do it, the mystical things that happen. That isn’t my purpose here. My purpose here is to share my experience, not my wisdom. I study up on it a little bit, but I don’t worry a lot about how it is supposed to be. For me, it is a very practical magic for any time in your public and private lives, and we can all use a little magic, so from time to time, you’ll see this different kind of post. If you like them, you can filter the feed with the search bar above, and share your email below for regular updates and some free treats.
June, 2021
I made this mala a couple of years ago, and it has seen some hard use lately (can you seen the wear and tear on the stringing?). So, it’s time to repair it. While I’m at it, it’s probably time to make use of these tassels and beads I have in “inventory”. I’d love to say that I can make a few more strictly out of my stash, but like all projects we start with good stash-busting intentions, some new shopping is likely to be in my future.
