"Many paths lead from the foot of the mountain, but on the summit we all look at the single bright moon." ~ Ikkyu
I was the boy who didn't like to sleep. In preschool I pretended to sleep at midday while the other children were sleeping. I've always thought life was full of exciting things to explore and learn, and I didn't want to sleep through it.
So it should come as no surprise to you that traditional meditation did not suit me well (pun intended). I remember my Buddhist grandmother singing and meditating twice a day. Still, I was never interested in mantra meditation until I was in my forties. I found it boring and didn't have the patience to sit still.
Meditation helps to relieve stress, improve concentration and increase emotional intelligence. It helps to connect you with your subconscious mind – also known as higher self, intuition or inner self. Before you embark on your trip (or disembark), you need to understand two concepts:
1. There are many ways to meditate.
Just as there is no right religion for everyone, there is no right way to meditate. There are hundreds of ways to achieve a meditative state.
When I was a teenager I sometimes changed when I played the piano. Even though playing the piano is not recognized as meditation, I knew that I was in a meditative state. It felt like my brain was producing more alpha waves, which is the case with some types of meditation.
My fingers felt nimble. I have released my feelings into my game. Everything seemed to flow. I didn't think – it was as if my higher self or intuition were commanding my fingers.
Sometimes when I was doing repetitive tasks like washing dishes, I dropped out. It seemed contradictory to leave the zone as you zoomed in to focus on washing dishes. This was my first encounter with mindfulness.
In my twenties, I started learning tai chi and yoga. Iyengar Yoga bored me. I enjoyed Ashtanga Yoga, also known as Power Yoga, but I didn't feel meditative. It felt like an intense stretch class to me.
Likewise with Tai Chi, which made me feel like I was doing choreography in slow motion, but I didn't feel any changes. In fact, I studied Tai Chi for about three years and never felt Chi energy. But in my first Reiki class I felt the chi. Go figure.
In the meantime I was a Polynesian (mainly Tahitian and Hawaiian) dancer. Unlike with tai chi and yoga, I experienced different meditative states while dancing.
High-energy dancing to live the Tahitian drumming felt like a shamanic meditation of primal energy. Dancing to traditional hula chants felt like a spiritual combination of mantra and moving meditations.
Modern hula songs are usually about love or nature. Dancing about love was an emotional meditation. Dancing over nature felt like a spiritual meditation in nature without being outside.
After ten years of Polynesian solo dances, I switched to Latin American partner dances like salsa and Argentine tango.
Improvised, not choreographed ballroom dancing is a lot of fun! I concentrate entirely on the present moment. I get into a meditative state and feel creative and playful.
Dance leaders at the moment cannot be as complete as me as a follower. You have to think a few microseconds ahead. After all, they're driving.
My favorite partners create with me and give me the space to express myself. They don't dictate all movements and try to control me like a puppet.
I imagine that musicians feel a similar flow when they spontaneously jam. When I dance to live music, the musicians and I often feed each other.
You play music that inspires me to dance in a certain way. The energy I give inspires them again. It is a win-win feedback loop!
When I dance Brazilian Samba, I can even feel high when I dance to recorded music. African drumming also has a shamanic trance energy. I did ecstatic dance meditation before I knew there was a name for it.
I return to the common forms of meditation and teach mindfulness in health education courses. As a communications trainer, I taught breathing meditation to help clients alleviate fear of public speaking. I even taught meditation to improve the assertiveness of my ESL students (English as a second language).
In short, there are many ways to get into a meditative state. Don't let anyone convince you that their method is the only right way. You may find more than one way that works for you.
2. Don't judge yourself.
Meditation helps you to pay attention to your subconscious and your intuition. However, attention is not enough. Your inner self must also feel good enough to share its thoughts with you.
Her subconscious voice was probably suppressed for years. As if you deserve the trust of a shy child or a shy animal, you have to be gentle and kind to yourself.
Don't judge your thoughts or feelings. Confirm and accept without judgment. You are what you are.
Being critical of yourself counteracts the benefits of meditation. Don't worry about how you look when you do yoga. Don't get ready if you lose track of the number of reps you sing.
Don't focus on playing the right notes or dancing the right moves. When you relax, you are more likely to get into a state of meditative flow.
Most importantly, you never feel that you are doing a meditation wrong. Or do you think that a meditative activity is not "real" meditation because it has not been codified and practiced for thousands of years. If caring for your cat or brushing your dog with a flea comb puts you both in a meditative state, this is legitimate.
Listen to your inner self to find out what kind of meditation you want to do and when you want to do it. Trust that your inside knows what is best for you.
About Cynthia Liu
If you want to explore some different forms of meditation, read Cynthia Liu's short and simple guide: A Meditation Tasting: 12 Simple Exercises from Fun to Formal . Cynthia combines twenty years of experience in various disciplines to be an alchemist for positive transformation. She is currently a health educator for lifestyle medicine and healthy nutrition. She is also an ESL trainer, communication trainer and freelance writer. Visit her at Alchemicita.com.
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