The Methodist Chapel probably will not have chairs as comfortable as the chair shown BUT it is an ideal to try to get in place at home. Most of your meditation will be done by yourself at home. A chair with arms is ideal to get fully relaxed in. Spend some time fidgeting and getting yourself feeling like you will be able to maintain the position you are in for 20-30 minutes. So, it is a good plan to shuffle and tune the way you sit right from the very beginning.
Next is concentrating on your breath. My preferred method is to breathe through my nose and notice that when you breathe in, the tip of your nose feels cold, and when you breathe out, it feels decidedly warm. Try three seconds in, three seconds hold, and three seconds out. Nothing is prescriptive; if you prefer two seconds or four seconds, then do that instead.
Just mentally scan your body. Do you feel tension in any muscle? Typically, I have tightness in my shoulders and rigidity in my arms. If you concentrate on trying to relax any areas of tension, then do that next. A good way is to continue with your focused breathing and tense and relax the muscle area concerned. As in physiotherapy, if you need to use your hands to tense muscles, then do that. Don’t rush any of this. Preparation is the key to success.
Music to tell you the 30 minutes is still in session.
Below is The Silent Version for experienced meditators.
What could possibly go wrong?
- Ma-Ra-Na-Tha gets muddled. You are not sure what syllable comes next. OR you get the syllables in the wrong order. Ra-Ma-Na-Tha is common for me. DO NOT PANIC. Simply gather your thoughts and restart saying our Mantra from the beginning anew. Ma-Ra.Na-Tha, Ma-Ra.Na-Tha, Ma-Ra.Na-Tha
- You fall asleep. Very Common. Meditation relaxes the mind and body so much that falling asleep is a natural thing to happen. If you feel yourself nodding then concentrate on your breathing. Make your breaths slower and deeper. The increased oxygen will wake you up. The aim with Meditation is to be more in the moment and not less. This is very important to understand. You must be aware of your being. Hence the straight back, the stillness of body, the relaxation of muscles. All that prep before you start is to make you more aware of your bodies condition.
- You cannot put your mind into “Quiet Mode”. Thoughts (usually minor worries) will not quit. That shopping list has to be done. Tell your self that at this moment in time nothing is more important than your meeting with God.
- You cannot get comfortable in your chair or you feel cold. During Meditation your Heart Rate drops, your breathing slows. The body can get cold at the extremities (hands, feet, fingers, toes.) Keep a blanket nearby and it you feel cold wrap up warm in your blanket.
- There is too much distraction in the room. You will never beat this one. If you really have no way of reducing the distraction then call it a day and try again when life is quieter.
- Your mind is in disbelief. “How can this possibly work? It is all too simple to be effective! Pointless.” This meditation will certainly test your faith. It will also test your courage. Have you the will to even try this? Faith gets stronger when you have been doing this meditation for a while. Your head will seem clearer. Problem solving will get better. You will feel less anxious. (When meditating only at first) BUT later most of the time.
- You will have a greater understanding of your own spirit which yearns, not for material things, but wants connection, love, goodness, charity, sharing, peace, to be more able to forgive and be forgiven, blessing and not curses for others, in short you want to be right with God.
- The Scary bit. There will be times where you are not in this world. You are not asleep and yet not awake. This is Sydney Bank’s “Home”. It is a space where you feel totally calm, safe and relaxed. You will NOT be used to this. It is an out-of-body experience where you have nowhere else that you would rather be. Perfect Stillness of both Mind & Body. 20 Minutes of Lost Time.
The last words. The most important thing to you during the time you spend in meditation is saying the mantra. The mantra is your number one priority. Every other thought is secondary. When you get distracted (and it is 100% certain that you will), then as soon as you realise your attention is not focused on saying the mantra, get back to this essential task. So, for example, the thought that you need some bread from the Co-op later on is neither here nor there compared with repeating Ma-Ra-Na-Tha. Once you get this right, your distractions will still occur, but your focus is where it should be as you return to the top priority task.
John Main insists we are not here to talk to God. We are here to listen to HIm. God is found in silence and stillness that we very rarely experience. Saying the mantra is the way to still the mind from its ever-creating thoughts. Meditation is also about the stillness of the body. When we are still in mind and body, we encounter God.
