The Basics
At DCMC, we teach mindfulness and meditation practices. This includes the practice of sitting still – maybe daily or as often as we can – for an extended period of time, maybe 10-20 minutes or more. During that time, we attempt to settle the mind, by choosing and anchor point and gently bringing the mind back each time it wanders away. Over time, we can also simply abide and be present to what is, sounds, physical sensations, emotional tone, thought patterns in an attitude of simple open awareness.
When we walk away from our meditation seat – sometimes feeling more settled, or at other times, feeling that nothing has changed or nothing worthwhile is happening – we may be asking ourselves what this is all about and why we are doing this?
So, what, if I can sit still for 20 minutes? Do I get a certificate for that? Can i ask a promotion or reward for that?
Unlikely.
In our mindfulness meditation practices we are not pondering, thinking deeply, or trying to solve any of our life’s problems. And we are told they are not practices of “seeking” anything, so we are not seeking transformation per se. But transformation happens never-the-less, it shows up in our every-day life in oftentimes surprising and circuitous ways.
How Transformation takes hold in us
Little by little we may begin to notice that some changes are happening in ourselves and in the way we conduct our lives. TRANSFORMATION HAPPENS ON ITS OWN, often in SURPRISING WAY. Once Transformation takes hold – even if very limited at first – then it becomes easier to practice.
- At the beginning we have to practice on faith that “something” would happen.
- Now we have tasted it, so we begin to TRUST the practice a whole lot more. We have put our foot on the first ring of the ladder, and we feel encouraged and empowered to move along and persist.
The Variety of Transformation Experiences
Transformation can happen at many different levels. And it will be different for each one of us.
- Physical changes: we may become aware of our breathing and of the patterns of breathing changes as breathing changes under stress becoming shallow, sometimes stopping altogether. We may notice changes in tension in our body. We may notice more what happens when we engage in physical activity, at the gym, or when engaging in physical work at home. Or we may notice that it is a bit easier to fall asleep and experience quality sleep.
- Dampening of our reactivity: we may notice that we are becoming less reactive. We may notice that we are becoming less reactive, and that our reaction to a stressful situation is less intense. Things that annoy us habitually seem to be less triggering, so our level of perceived stress is reduced. And when stress really happens, we may find ourselves better able to cope with it if we can’t eliminate it.
- Enhanced emotional regulation. Meditation will not eliminate emotions or our emotional responses to events. But it will change how we handle them. We may become more aware of how we react to unpleasant news or events, whether with frustration/anger, or with fear/anxiety, or by becoming withdrawn or despondent. With this increased awareness and discrimination comes the possibility of noticing without immediately reacting. We may also become able to disengage more quickly and recover our senses more quickly. “We are having emotions; emotions are not having us”.
- Improve mental acuity: as we learn to sustain our attention, there is an improvement in our focus. If we want to focus on a task at work or at home, we may find that our mind is better able to stay on task rather than wander to habitual patterns of thoughts or mind wandering.Improve mental acuity: better work habits, better ability to focus on the work at hand.
- Change in the way we see and understand ourselves We may become less rigid and less self-critical in the way we see and understand ourselves, questioning the stories we tell ourselves about ourselves. This may be a watershed moment creating a tremendous opening of the mind to as we cast aside limited and limiting beliefs about we can or cannot do, what we can or cannot be.
- Change in the way we see, understand and relate to others people around us. We may notice that we approach people differently, in a more opened manner, being more able to see them as they are and less as we think they are. Giving them a chance to be who or what they are with less judgement from our part as we become more tolerance and more compassionate.
- Change in the way we understand the world. We may experience a shift in what we consider most important in life, from material goods and rewards toward a more spiritual view of the world, or we may deepen our understanding of religious or spiritual practices in a way that is more opened and freer as we experience a blending of of our ordinary life into a more contemplative way of being.
What is really changing
All of these changes can come about because we become more able to move out of our automatic ways of being, reacting, thinking – our automatic patterns. Not all our patterns are problematic, of course, but many are creating problems in our lives. And as we grow in awareness and in our “presence to what is”, we become able to “see” our patterns. From seeing we now have a chance of altering, of changing these patterns.
These changes come about spontaneously, in their own way and it their own time. We can facilitate their growth, but we can’t force them to grow in a certain way. That’s why they are sometime called THE FRUITS of practice.
So, here is to your enjoyment of your own summer fruits of practice !
Christiane Baud