With Meditation,
A Stress-Buster,
You Medi-ate (not medicate)
Who You Are

There are many approaches to the practice, and some are offered through other modalities. As part of Iyengar yoga training, breathing properly had to be mastered as part of meditation exercises to prepare one for yoga postures. We also learned to focus on a central point, be it gazing at our nose in a mirror or at the center of a mandala like the "Islam Yoga" design above. I learned a different set of breathing and focusing techniques prior to performing qigong and tai chi exercises. Finally, dhikr meditation required still another set of breathing and focusing skills for its approach. It is as centering as the others but much more dynamic, as you don't sit still and you participate in a group.

Perhaps my most relaxing experience, where the practice took me into a veritable zone, was when I attended a gong workshop led by New York-based Devya, who is a meditation expert. Information about her is included in a book entitled, Like A Natural Woman: The Black Woman's Guide to Alternative Healing (2002, Pensington) by Ziba Kashif. Devya sponsors tours to Sedona AZ and has several CDs. I bought her first one at that workshop and it is excellent. I still do the “Cork in the Ocean” exercise I learned from it even without listening to it. And I will never forget the revelation that came out of the gong workshop concerning me and my son.

Meditation in motion can happen, and as I said a dhikr ceremony was my first exposure to this. People were chanting Allah’s (God’s) names and praises, and moved in circles and paraded around the building in rhythm, holding hands and dance-walking in a spiritual kind of chorus line. I am reminded that the whirling dervishes are Sufis that dance, sing and meditate at the same time. I saw a performance of these artists during my exploration of the Sufi message of Inayat Khan.

These experiences laid the foundation for me to be able to summon the meditative state at will, whether walking, driving, working or playing. Meditating is now a listening to life for me, a state of in-the-world but not of-the-world focus that makes me lower my shoulders, breathe deeply, and release any tension or worry.

As a reiki and meditation practitioner I use these active methods of quieting myself toward stillness, as I have to center myself before working on someone. The two forms work very well together because each is managed by the control of the breath.

THE MIDDLE WAY

It may be helpful to appreciate the mediation aspect of this practice. In mediating or balancing the pulls on your attention and spirit as you attempt to center and be quiet, you can create a tool to make it easier. Find a way to create your own individual sound, drawn from deep within your body. The tool may come out of you or manifest as a tone, chant, reciting prayers or affirmations, a song, or making bird and animal calls and noises as they do in indigenous societies to promote healing.

A mantra is a sacred sound, word or group of words used by Buddhist and Hindu adherents, as well as Transcendental Meditation practitioners, to go directly into the void state. Om is probably the most popular mantra, so much so that medical intuitive Carolyn Myss and others use it as a verb.

If chanting or om-ing does not resonate with you, Devya teaches you to create a symbol or picture in your mind, and use that to focus on. I find this technique harder, but it may work for you quite well.

The major requirements are doing it the same time every day, doing it in the same place, and setting aside at least 10-20 minutes, preferably more, to practice undisturbed. Twice a day is recommended.

These days I meditate whenever I come into my office first thing in the morning, before I start doing anything. I just sit quietly and listen, and make sure I am very comfortable. I’m usually the first one in so there is no interruption. After I close my eyes and center myself, I may play one of my favorite selections, such as the Shenu meditation (All Love) led by Patrick Zeigler, to guide me into a quieted yet super-conscious mind state. Or any of the flute selections composed by Nawang Khechog for William Lee Rand’s The Reiki Touch CD. These really focus the energy in addition to stilling it and me.

In the evening, I sit quietly and gather myself before I prepare a meal or begin writing. Because of the deep pause I have taken, I'm good to go.

The benefits of the practice on meditation are legion. People have far fewer health complaints, and because of the constant deep breathing are able to manage pain and stress with more success. The mind, body, emotions and spirit therefore receive holistic benefits from meditation as a way to mediate life, and this is the goal.