The term meditation is as broad in definition as the term
‘art’ is. Both include a wide range of practices, styles and purposes. For
instance, art can be engaged in for therapeutic reasons, or for fun and
recreation, or for many other reasons. Art has different disciplines, each with
its distinct schools of thought, media and tools. Accomplished artists in one
discipline, may not exhibit skillfulness in another, and may not even
understand the methods of a different media.
In the same way, meditation is different things to different
people. There are certain meditative practices that work better for me,
practices I respond to and understand better. By “practice” I mean the daily
method I use to meditate. If I were a water-color artist, I might say
water-color was my preferred medium and I might not care to waste my time
chiseling away at a marble block to reveal a hidden statue therein. As a water
colorist, when I spoke about my art and the benefits, goals and methods of its
practice, I would be talking in a language that other water colorists
understood. Although there would be crossover points universal to all artists,
I would have found my niche, my way and my art. I may have even dabbled with
other forms of art in the journey to discover what fits best, or I might have
been one of those duck-to-water artists that pick it up and simply know how to
do it.
A Practice the Works for You
Similarly, when I talk about meditation, I’m talking about my best practice and I tend, sometimes, to talk as if it is the only way. I know this isn't the case, and I think what is coming through is my enthusiasm for what I have developed in my understanding of what meditation can be for me. I did dabble with all kinds of practices and a little of everything I encountered along the way has lingered in what has become my practice today. I have developed a multi-faceted approach in which three distinct tools form the meditative practice I use, and that I teach to others:
- Mindfulness practices: in which we become absorbed in a purposefully chosen activity
- Sitting practices: in which we reduce the use of mental and physical resources as much as possible by sitting still and silently
- Creative practices: in which we use some device such as journaling, observing, or focusing on an inspirational passage
You can purchase The Power of Meditation
No comments:
Post a Comment