An ongoing meditation practice increases the power of your presence and the focus of your attention, and strengthens your spirit. Over time, sustained practice literally rewires and increases the capacity of our nervous system. This is quite amazing to see!
Though there is some advantage in doing meditation practice now and then, the real benefits come through establishing the discipline and momentum of daily practice. This is analogous with physical training: intermittent exercise may feel good on occasion, but does little to really develop strength, health, or vitality. Similarly, sporadic meditation practice may feel good but offers little benefit in comparison to daily practice.
The Real Goal of Meditation
The real goal of meditation practice is to develop a quality of lucid, loving, peaceful, radiant presence that you can then carry over into every moment and activity of your life. Each brief period of quiet meditation to touch and develop your latent strengths and positive qualities concludes with the challenge of carrying these qualities into dynamic action as you set forth to move through the world.
Throughout the day, consciously recall and reenergize the feelings of peace, clarity, understanding, kindness, and vitality that you brought alive in your meditation. Particularly when you start to rush and tumble, internally pause, center, and move toward the sense of harmony you experienced earlier in your meditation session. Formal meditation time is really just an opportunity to practice, without distraction, bringing alive those qualities and ways of being you hope to awaken more fully in the other moments of your day.
Weaving Meditation Into Your Daily Life
Periods of quiet, undistracted meditation provide precious opportunities to get in touch with qualities that will gradually grow through cultivation and pervade even your busiest activities. With practice you will find that any activity can become an opportunity to train your mind, develop concentration, refine your awareness, deepen your insight, practice patience or loving-kindness.
There are many simple ways to weave meditation practice into your daily life. For example, we know a woman who does the nine-part breath every morning to help her get focused for the day while she is waiting for her car to warm up. Another friend makes it a daily ritual to watch the sun come up and to contemplate his life in relationship to the cosmos. Others take time each day for contemplative prayer.
Many friends practice mindful walking on their way to work. For others, reading or listening to the morning news and opening their hearts to send healing prayers to those suffering throughout the world is a daily form of meditation. Some people practice mindfulness of breathing to polish their minds, or mindfully watch the spontaneous display of the mind’s amazing creativity. Because mindlessness and distraction are such well-established habits, any movement toward developing a meditation practice is a step in the right direction.
Too Busy? Start with Being Mindful While You Do A Regular Activity
Many people tell us that they don’t feel they have the time to add meditation to the long list of duties already crowding their daily life. As a starting point, we suggest that you experiment with simply being mindful as you do something you regularly do every day, or something that you enjoy. For instance, if you like to walk, walk mindfully. If you like to listen to music, then give yourself time to really listen to some music. If you like to take showers or bubble baths, then bathe mindfully. Or, as you talk with someone that you love, read a story to your child, or make love with your lover, really be there wholeheartedly in the experience.
Properly understood, every activity and every moment of the day offers an invitation to open the door of your heart-mind to a deeper quality of aliveness, relationship, and inspiration. Simple things—brushing your teeth, walking to your office, or mindfully tasting and chewing the first three mouthfuls of food at each meal—can become opportunities to strengthen your mindfulness, build your concentration, or deepen your insight. Stoplights can provide an opportunity to center yourself by consciously enjoying three mindful breaths.
Some people find it helpful to practice loving-kindness meditation on the way to work, radiating wishes of peace, happiness, health, and protection to all the drivers rushing headlong around them. Others recite mantras or prayers to steady and anchor themselves in a deeper rhythm as they drive or walk to work. For some of us, a morning meditation may simply be the practice of mindful shaving, mindful make-up application, or mind- fully eating breakfast before launching into a busy day.
If you work out in the mornings, try building in an extra five to twenty minutes at the end of your workout for deep relaxation and meditation. The natural physiological rebound into deep relaxation after exercise can also be an especially good time to deeply relax and meditate—whatever the time of day. Even the dozens of conversations and interactions you have with people throughout the day can become opportunities to practice deep listening and mindful speaking.
If you transform only a few encounters throughout the day with a meditative quality of presence, this will still be quite revolutionary. See how many of the mindless moments of your day can be transformed into opportunities to strengthen concentration, develop mindfulness, deepen insight, expand creativity, and open your heart. Live in a creative and meditative way, as though your life were a dream within which you are awakening.
Cautionary Guidelines about the Perils of the Path
Over the years of our search for deeper understanding, our work, travels, and research have led us to encounter many different spiritual paths. Having also encountered many of the perils of the path—and having worked clinically with some of the casualties—we offer the following list of cautionary guidelines to check out before you “sign up” with any spiritual teacher or group.
Though it is possible you may also find some of these warning signs on an authentic path, they are more often associated with less trustworthy situations. It is always wise to observe the integrity of people’s behavior carefully, and ask yourself:
* Does what I hear make sense to me?
* What is the intention? Is it to harm or to help? Is it for limited self-interest—“self”-improvement—or is it an expression of kindness and service for the good of the whole and of benefit to many for generations to come?
When looking for a spiritually healthy path, beware of any of the following “red flags”:
* Teachers or circles of practitioners on your journey who are out of integrity, or who don’t practice what they preach.
* Situations where questions are not welcomed or answered in straightforward ways, or where raising concerns about conduct or ethical violations is frowned upon—especially if you are told you are being “too judgmental” when raising honest concerns.
* Anyone who claims that they can give “it” to you, especially for a price.
* Anyone who claims to be the only teacher or path that can deliver the goods.
* If the price of admission excludes people who are truly sincere.
* If you are expected to purchase lots of expensive merchandise or paraphernalia to get on board.
* Slick, extravagant trappings or heavily marketed, empire-building enterprises.
* Discrimination or attempts to turn your heart against others.
* Hidden agendas.
* Fanatical, narrow-minded sects.
* A heavily authoritarian, paternalistic, sexist, or militaristic tone.
* Teachers, paths, or seminars that seem ungrounded, make outrageous claims, use coercion tactics, or hustle you to get others to sign up.
Communities of Support Can Help
Most people find that to maintain the discipline and momentum of a meditation practice it is helpful to have the support of others. Many participate in weekly meditation groups, others in Bible study and prayer groups, while some join book clubs to read and discuss books on meditation, spiritual practice, or peak performance. Others meet with kindred souls at work to take tai chi or yoga classes, or even go for a mindful walk or jog.
Some people choose to live in or near spiritual communities that study the scriptures, do meditation or prayer practice together, or participate in community service projects. In most cities it is possible to find at least one group to meditate with just about any evening of the week.
Most groups are open to new people, and few charge a fee. Many groups also meet in the mornings before work, offering wonderful opportunities for fellowship, community practice and support as you start the day.
Since there are so many traditions and styles of meditation practice, it is sometimes helpful to ask friends with more experience which groups they would recommend— and also, perhaps, which to avoid. This process is a bit like finding a new church or synagogue in a new community—it may take a few visits to find a congregation that feels right to you. Also, keep in mind that many more traditional churches, parishes, temples, or synagogues now offer programs on meditation or contemplative prayer. If you are more comfortable with a traditional Judeo-Christian, or New-Thought, approach to meditation, this may be a good place to begin.
Muster the courage to explore some new territory, and “shop around” until you find a group to practice or study with whose community, meditation practice, and style suit your needs. We suggest you rely on the guidance of people whom you respect, and approach this “field research” of local resources with the curiosity, openness, and discernment of an anthropologist or sociologist. It is likely that along the way you will encounter some situations that just don’t feel right for you. Keep in mind the “perils of the path” outlined above, and mark those experiences up to learning. Remember, you have no obligation to get involved in any situation that compromises your sense of what is correct for you.
Start Your Own Meditation Group
Another way to find a meditation group is to start one! One group we were connected with began with two friends meeting together after work to meditate and share dinner one evening a week. Gradually other friends asked if they could join the circle, and eventually the group grew to over sixty people coming together every week for meditation, followed by a potluck, discussion of themes or readings related to meditation, and sometimes a video or audio tape. Spin-offs of the group led to days of mindfulness, moving parties, community service projects, meditation sessions
and potlucks in other neighborhoods at different times, and field trips to lectures, retreats, and the establishment of numerous other meditation groups.
Wherever two or more are gathered with sincerity and an openness to learn and support each other for learning in a sacred way, the potential exists for something wonderful to awaken. So even if you just get together with a friend once a week to talk about your study and practice of medita tion, this can be a very powerful support for maintaining the continuity necessary to really deepen your practice.
©1999, 2015 by Joel Levey & Michelle Levey. All rights reserved.
Reprinted with permission of the publisher, Conari Press,
an imprint of Red Wheel/Weiser, LLC. www.redwheelweiser.com.
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Mindfulness, Meditation, and Mind Fitness
by Joel Levey and Michelle Levey.
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About the Authors
Dr. Joel and Michelle Levey were among the very first to bring mindfulness and mind-fitness teachings to mainstream organizations beginning in the 1970s. They have taught tens of thousands of people in hundreds of leading corporations, medical centers, universities, sports, government, and military arenas, including Google, NASA, World Bank, Intel, M.I.T., Stanford, and World Business Academy. They are the founders of Wisdom at Work.
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