Image shows a mountain stream with rocks and fallen trees. In this distance are trees and a sunny sky.
“Through me course wide rivers and in me rise tall mountains. And beyond the thickets of my agitation and confusion there stretch the wide pains of my peace and surrender. All landscapes are within me. And there is room for everything.” Etty Hillesum.
This passage is so evocative of Instinctive Meditation® to me. In this practice, we welcome all aspects of ourselves- the wild, the serene, the playful, the contemplative. The mind is allowed to go on an adventure. It may roam around for awhile, and it may eventually settle into a state of apparent stillness and calm. Find a deeper connection within, as well as the outer world.
This is the way of meditation for modern people. Won’t you join me?
Image shows purple artichoke flower in front of tree that has deep red leaves.
I can’t clear my mind. Focusing on my breath is boring. I can’t sit still. Sitting cross-legged on the floor is too uncomfortable. I’m worried that it’s against my religious affiliation.
These are all things I’ve heard recently from people about meditation. Thing is, you simply might have not found the right meditation practice for YOU.
I specialize in the practice of Instinctive Meditation®. This practice holds that meditation is an innate instinct in all of us, just like eating or sleeping. The relaxation response is just as natural as the stress response. Our modern lives often call on us to push aside relaxing and regenerating, which can result in a number of things such as stress, poor sleep, boredom, etc.
Meditation can be as simple as gazing out across the horizon at the beach, merging with your favourite music while dancing, looking at a piece of art, journaling, cooking, taking a nap.. and so many other things. You’ve probably been meditation already, and just didn’t know it!
Potential benefits of meditation can include entering a state of relaxed awareness more easily, decreased stress, enhanced communication skills, better sleep, easier access to your creativity, and a richer engagement with life in general.
I would love to meet with you and help craft a practice that is right for you, and support you on your meditation journey.
Right now you can experience one on one meditation coaching for free via Zoom as part of my practicum for my advanced meditation teacher certification. Send me a message, and let’s get started!
I also need two of these participants willing to be recorded on Zoom. One person once, and one person twice. The recordings will only be used internally as part of my completion portfolio, and you’ll need to sign a waiver.
Can’t wait to play in the land of meditation with you!
Have you every meditation about your meditation? I did today.
I did one of my favourite urban hikes that ends for me at the grounds of the Self-Realization Mother House near where I live. I wandered behind the main building so I could see the vista of mountains, covered with more snow than I’ve seen in my entire time living in Los Angeles.
And I thought– this is my image of sovereignty. Not in human form, but in the quiet solid ancient strength of mountains. The roar of water. Gnarled tree roots that I imagine were braided by faeries. Not in human-created deities. I felt filled with the beautiful power of Nature.
I wandered over to the Temple of Leaves to sit a bit. Another person was sitting down as I arrived, and he was loud and purposeful in his breathing. I sat and listened to the birds and wondered more about sovereignty as I fell into the delicious comfort of meditation.
I began to sense a light deep in my brain, and then I could see it, and it had a faint, indescribable. sound. Bells made of water is the closest I can come.
I got curious about the light, and inwardly said “I would like to see more, please.”
The light grew and I could feel it both inside and outside more forehead. Like the looking glass Alice fell through.
My eyes still closed, the light moved and was hovering in front of me. It looked something like the Sun, but more- with a wavy ribbon candy corona, and rays flowing out. So beautiful.
I felt a pull to the center, and the image grew to encompass my whole consciousnesses.
I moved towards the center and was hearing “In the center is a jewel. and the jewel is the center.” So many indescribable feelings.
And then “Your heart is the jewel, and the jewel is your heart. Your heart is all hearts, and all hearts are One.”
All of me was filled with light that felt like carbonated water. And the breeze around me blew tendrils of light and energy off of me.
Right around then something growled in the bushes, and I could hear a crack as I was startled back into ordinary consciousness.
Once I determined it was frisky squirrels and not a threat, I sat there a few more moments. Thinking about how humans have tried to describe the Undescribable through myths and religions- through art, and music.
And how, if one is very lucky, one can enter and experience a glimpse of what is beyond ordinary human consciousness and bring back a beautiful impression and memory that can be opened again at any time.
************************************* Image is a photo I took on my walk.
Image show bright green moss growing from grey rocks. I stood and looked at it for the longest time.
Cultivating a sense of awe is an important skill to have.
Instinctive Meditation® is one of the ways to increase this sense of awe. It doesn’t require large block of time, uncomfortable postures, or memorization of mantras. It’s a practice that is unique to you, and unique from day to day.
Awe doesn’t have to be a goosebump moment. It can simply be a deepened sense of appreciation and wonder.
“On fMRI studies, awe quiets the default mode network in the brain, which results in the quieting of our internal and self-referential inner voice, hence a smaller sense of self and greater sense of connection.”
More good stuff in this article I found via The Good Life Project. It’s geared towards those in the caring professions, and has much good in it for the rest of us, too.
I would love to collaborate with you in creating your own instinctive meditation practice. Send me an email at craftingthespirit1@gmail.com, and let’s begin our adventure!
Here is an idea of how you might approach a meditation on the sense of sight. Take your time as you explore.
This is a great practice to cultivate if you spend a lot of time working with close vision, such as computer work.
If your sense of vision is impaired, I offer a possible alternative for the experience. If there is a better approach for impaired vision, I’d love to learn about it.
craftingthespirit.com 