This interview was published on January 5th 2016 in the MONADNOCK LEDGER
We hear all the time that meditation is good for us. How exactly does it benefit one’s health?
What is health? Is it just having a functioning body? I think being healthy should include a life that is free of suffering (there is enough pain!). Suffering is what happens when our mind turns something painful into something un-ending, because we keep ruminating about things that are, in fact, out of our control. Meditation is the training of our unruly minds, i.e. learning to direct our attention where we want it to be.
Reducing ruminative thinking, gaining perspective and self-awareness, being less reactive to the stressful events in our lives (while still able to respond skillfully) are certainly great health benefits! In addition, meditation has been shown to reduce high blood pressure, lower heart rate, reduce anxiety and create new, adaptive neuronal pathways in the brain. The benefits are endless.
There are two basic ways of approaching meditation: One is stress reduction, as promoted by Jon Kabat Zinn with Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction programs (MBSR) and the other is meditation as a spiritual path, as taught by the various schools of Buddhism. The basis of the two approaches are the same, but the goal for the second approach is much larger and further reaching.
It seems there are as many techniques for meditating as there are yoga styles. How does one sort through the maze of options and get started?
Get started! Don’t miss another day! Pick an approach that has a good history and has been around for some time. If you look for a westernized approach pick MBSR. Don’t worry too much about the approach. Getting started and establishing a consistent practice is the hard part. See what door open for you and go with that. Try to find a group to work with to support your practice. Don’t pay too much money. These teachings are traditionally given for free.
For basic stress reduction, i.e. MBSR use this resource: http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/stress-reduction/
If you want to use an introductory book to guide your meditation practice on the Buddhist Spiritual path, I recommend this one: Finding the Stillpoint by John Daido Loori. It’s an introduction to Zen Meditation. Once you have some practice and your interest is kindled you may want to look for relevant podcasts from someone like Gil Fronsdal, who teaches at the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA. Search for ‘Zencast’ or ‘Audio Dharma’. A great meditation app is Insight Timer, it’s free, from the app store.
It seems like the thoughts in the head are never-ending. How does one know they’re meditating?
Our thoughts are endless, aren’t they? Once you notice that, you have a good starting point. You are just like everybody else! Can you observe your thoughts? Step away from them? Do you notice how your thoughts carry you away at times? In these moments you become your thoughts, you have identified with them. Once you notice that you are ‘thinking’ and you have left the present moment, notice what happened, take a breath, and gently and patiently bring yourself back to your body, your senses, and most importantly to your breathing. So, once you sit down to meditate, you have started. Create a nice quiet place, assume the right posture, stay still and set a timer (if only for five minutes) and enjoy the stillness. That is the beginning, and you are on the path. It’s the walk, not the summit. Now, watch the show!
What exactly happens when one is meditating?
The same stuff that happens all along during the day, but this time you pay attention, exquisitely precise attention to how your mind operates. We live, in a way, unaware and kind of automatic much of the time. You are taking a time-out from being busy and give yourself a pause to ask ‘how am I doing – right now and in this moment? – and the next? And this one? And now?’
Observing what is going on in our minds is called the ‘step back’. We constantly step back from what our mind is doing and watch it ‘do its thing’. It is actually quite an interesting process. After each distraction we come back to our breath, which is our anchor throughout the whole process. Our breath brings us back to our senses, and we literally ‘come to our senses’. What we practice is re-focusing our attention, bringing it back where we want it to be.
How did you get started meditating, and what motivates you to continue your practice?I had my first contact with Buddhism and meditation in the 1970’s when I went to see Jiddu Krishnamurti who was lecturing in Gstaad Switzerland, the country where I grew up. It still took me another 30 years to develop a somewhat consistent practice. I am still a beginner. Truly a beginner. I need to strengthen the discipline in my practice. Rare moments of peace bring me back to it, and besides, I could not do the work I do without this practice.
Anything else you would add to this discussion?
Meditation contains an interesting tension between being active and not doing anything. We are active: We prepare a space, set the timer, assume the meditation posture and we observe our thoughts, focus our attention, over and over. On the other hand, we don’t do anything. We don’t move, don’t scratch ourselves, don’t get anything accomplished, at least not in the sense of our usual activities. We start to notice how we relate to ourselves – how we may get impatient, full of wants and needs, distracted by our worries and fears, pressured by things that may or may not be real. And we keep taking the step back, looking at ourselves, noticing and coming back to our breath. And in this process the mind begins to settle, like a glass of water with lots of shaken debris in it – eventually the dirt will settle on the bottom and the water will clear – if we manage to let things be and refrain from stirring the pot! Meditation helps everybody – it increases our compassion for ourselves and others.
Come sit down beside me
I said to myself
And although it doesn’t make sense
I took my own hand
As a small sign of trust
And together I sat on the fence
(Michael) Leunig