Let go of all your ideas about how to meditate!

When you listen to our Meditation Oasis podcasts, it's best to leave all your ideas about how to meditate behind. Forget about what you think meditation is or how you think it should be done. Most definitely let go of any expectations of what the experience should be like. Let it all go and listen with a "beginner's mind" and open heart!

One goal of my guided meditations is to create a space where you can be effortless, allowing the natural flow of life and living. Coming to the meditation with the idea that you have to breath in some special way, that you should not be having thoughts or even that you should feel a certain way during meditation can make meditation into a struggle.

I recently received an email from someone who said she was having a "hard time breathing" during the meditations. It soon became clear that she was trying to breath deeply and do it "correctly". I responded that she didn't need to breath in any particular way, but simply to allow the breath to go on its own naturally.

In a sense, my guided meditations are about being in the "allow mode", not resisting what arises. Thoughts, emotions, sensations in the body come and go. Noise happens around us. All of this is part of the natural flow of the energy of life. The instructions are just gentle suggestions which are not meant to be followed in a rigid way. If the attention wanders, that's fine. Just bring it easily back to the meditation.

There is no "correct" experience. There are no mistakes in these meditations. If there is a sense of strain or struggle, it's just a sign of effort and the formula is to let it go. Take it easy, take it as it comes!

Meditation without Borders

From my point of view, there is no wrong way to meditate. I didn't really give voice to this viewpoint until I received an email from someone who is enjoying our podcasts. She said she liked them for a number of reasons -- "There are a few aspects of the meditations that stand out for me. One I like, is that they don't seem to have an agenda. Another is that you stress that there is no wrong way. The open endedness is lovely." When I received this email it reminded me of the name a woman in my local meditation group suggested for my meditations -- she called them "meditations without borders". Hearing this same sentiment again caused me to reflect on the meditations I lead and how they may differ from others.

My goal, if there is one, is to create a space for people to have their own meditative experience. I trust in the natural capacity of the mind to shift into a more simple, relaxed mode given the chance. I trust in each individual's process and how their unique spiritual path unfolds. "Open endedness" is such a lovely way to describe it. While all meditation styles are suitable for some people, those which require concentration and effort do not allow us to relax into a spontaneous and natural way of being. What I hope to create is an atmosphere where one can relax into the natural flow of life and living. I hope to encourage trust in life as it is unfolding in each moment, and trust in oneself.

I've been enjoying receiving emails and feedback from people listening to the podcasts. I hope this blog can become a place for a lively exchange and encourage you to leave your comments!

On Podcasting Meditation

Usually when I lead guided meditations, it's in person. Podcasting has been a very different kind of experience. In person, I see everyone's faces, I have a sense of "where they're at" with meditation, and I can feel the energy of the group and how it's responding during the meditation. There's an immediate kind of feedback mechanism. The meditations are created by the consciousness of the group.

When I record a meditation for a podcast, I know its also being created by the group, and yet I don't really know who is "out there". It's been great receiving emails, and they've helped me know what people are responding to and hoping for in future podcasts. One woman, for example, wanted some direction about coping with grief, and I plan to focus on that in a future podcast.

I'd love to hear from you -- you can leave comments here if you wish. Ultimately I know, however, that even if I don't hear from another person, we are meditating together in what, for me, is a most unexpected and delightful way. Thanks for visiting and thanks for listening!

Meditation at Candleday

Anything can trigger a "meditative state". That shift in awareness that we call meditation is natural to the mind. The mind will take the opportunity to shift any chance it gets, we just don't always give it the time and space to do it. But sometimes it happens unexpectedly -- the sight of a sunset, a baby's wide open eyes, even something painful like grief. It happens when something jogs the mind out of its analytical, linear mode and allows the awareness to expand. It happened to me today when I visited Candleday, the blog of Tomas Karkalas who posted the very first comment to my very first post on this (or any) blog.

Candleday, with its beautiful art and straightforward, heartfelt spiritual depth created the heart-opening, body-relaxing, sense-enhancing shift that I needed to take with me into my left-brained adventure into learning how to blog.

What triggers a meditative shift for you? Would love to hear your comments.