Discovering Love -- Advanced Guided Meditation

I'm calling our latest podcast episode "advanced" because to experience the love that the meditation points to requires that your mind be settled enough to notice some subtle experiences. The meditation prompts you to become aware of tendencies to resist what is happening in your thoughts and emotions, and even further to the feeling that underlies those tendencies -- a sense of things being not quite right. It's a sense of not being alright as you are. It's a sense of life not being alright. It's at the core of the suffering which is part of the human condition. Of course, we all like some feelings and experiences more than others. That's natural. But suffering results when we feel that things should be different, that we should be different -- that we should feel differently than we do. When we are able to let go of the resistance to how we feel and stop trying to make ourselves be or feel something else, then what is left is love.

I'm not talking about love in the way we usually think of it. When we say love, we are usually referring to a sentiment or feeling. The feeling of love can be mixed with affection, respect, gratitude, infatuation, passion, all sorts of things. What we usually identify as love is something we feel in response to someone or some thing. The love I am talking about is not an emotion, and it is not dependent on anything. It is the very essence of our existence and reveals itself when we let go of resistance and attempts to manipulate our experience. It is the natural state of our own awareness, of our "beingness", which is always there in the background but is largely ignored. My hope is that with this meditation, you will be able to recognize and enjoy it.

You may need to use this meditation a number of times before this love is clearly experienced. If you are new to meditation, it might help to try the podcast episode one (Relaxation Break) or the Breath Awareness Meditation until you are able to settle down enough for this meditation.

I'd love to hear your experiences with this meditation. The feedback we've received here and at the meditationoasis.com website has been really helpful. And, as always, we welcome your questions.

Relax and float down stream...

We named our podcast Meditation Oasis. The name came to Richard early on. Then we spent a lot of time brainstorming to find the "best" name, but Meditation Oasis stuck. We didn't realized that the name would have a life of its own. I recently did a search on iLike.com in order to "claim" our artist pages. Not only were we listed as Mary and Richard Maddux and Mary Maddux, but Meditation Oasis was there as well. When we started a page on MySpace a couple weeks ago, the only kind of page we could fit into was a "band" page and now we're a band called Meditation Oasis on MySpace! Instead of just "going with the flow", I found myself saying hey, whoa, is this really the name we want? Let's sit back and think this thing over. Maybe there's a better name. It's something about how I was raised. It's always been a challenge for me to buy the first thing I see. I can find the perfect pair of jeans right off, but end up having to try on all the rest "just in case". I measure my progress sometimes by my ability to go with the first thing that comes along when it feels just right. But this one really challenged me -- the name our work is coming to be known by. Life once again is challenging me to walk my talk (or I should say follow my own meditations!)

"Meditation Oasis" has a life of its own. Life itself is a life of its own. It's not mine to direct in what I may think is the "best" way. It happens. And once more, I'm learning to go with the flow.

As Lennon and McCartney once sang it, "Turn off your mind, relax and float down stream...".

Gratitude Guided Meditation Podcast

Gratitude is the highest, most fulfilling, emotion we can feel.  Yet so often we're focused on what we don't have, what we want to be different, what we think is wrong rather than on what we can be grateful for. There's nothing wrong with that -- it's human nature -- it happens to all of us. Yet most of us would certainly prefer to feel grateful. When feeling grateful is so rewarding, what can we do to feel it more often? We can't manufacture gratitude. It comes on its own. But we can give it more opportunity to appear in our lives, simply by taking time to focus on what is good in our lives, to "count our blessings".

I feel it's important, however, not to get caught up in the feeling that we should be grateful. There's nothing we should feel. Gratitude has become a hot topic among spiritual seekers and often when something is seen to be spiritual, it starts to get associated with being virtuous, or being a good person. I'm not interested in gratitude because it somehow makes one a good person, or because I feel we need to learn to feel only positive emotions. I'm interested in gratitude because it uplifts our spirits and feeds our hearts.

I make this point because when I led a gratitude meditation with my local guided meditation group, it wasn't until I gave them permission not to feel grateful that they were able to relax and have a genuine experience of gratitude arise. As you listen to the Gratitude Guided Meditation podcast episode, be easy with it. If you don't feel grateful at times while you are listening, let that be OK. Don't try to make yourself feel anything. Next time you listen, the experience will be different, or you might find that feelings of gratitude surprise you later on during the day. The meditation is simply designed to give you an opportunity to feel gratitude by taking the time to focus on the things in your life you are thankful for. We're just giving gratitude a chance to come up naturally. Chances are you will at least feel moments of gratitude during the meditation, and when you do, let yourself sink into that feeling. Notice the details of the experience of gratitude -- how it feels in your body, how your energy feels. Let it permeate your whole being when it comes up.

We hope you enjoy this meditation, and would love to hear about your experience with the meditation and with gratitude in your lives.

What is my philosophy and background? Part 2 -- Up close and personal.

And now for a more "up close and personal" answer to Erica's question (on the About page of this blog)... Erica asked about my philosophy of life, and my dilemma is that I don't really have one in terms of having a set of fixed beliefs. At the same time, it's fair to say that I've spent a good deal of my life philosophizing. After taking a vocational aptitude test in college, my advisor scratched his head and said, "this indicates that you'd do best at being an armchair philosopher". I love to think about the nature of life and look at things from all sorts of angles. I love to question things. I've also had a love of asking the question "why" which doesn't really have an answer, and I suppose much of my journey has been to give up the need to know answers and to be able to embrace lovingly what is here in this incredible play of life, with all its contradictions and paradoxes, and with all its joy and pain.

So it's difficult to say what my philosophy is, but I can say something about what's behind my guided meditations. Behind them is a quest, a quest for greater acceptance, peace and to be more fully alive. My guided meditations are as much for me as for those who listen to them. It's not like have a specific philosophy to share. It's more like I see us all on a journey together. Along the way on my journey I started meditating, then teaching meditation and eventually leading guided meditations. It's in my nature to communicate and share what I learn and experience.

When I create a guided meditation, I close my eyes and drop into a meditative state and see what comes. I am literally meditating with you, and the meditations speak to me in the same way they speak to those of you who enjoy them. What they speak about for me is trust in the natural flow of life and relaxing into that. For want of a better way to describe it, I view life as a flow of energy, much like a river. That flow is governed by the same natural laws as those that move the river along its path. Everything that we do and experience is a part of that flow. Events are a part of that flow, as are our reactions to those events and all of the thoughts and emotions that arise within us. My path has been one of developing trust in that flow. Relaxation is a reflection of that trust.

Some of the guided meditations I lead are simply about that -- about relaxing into life as it naturally unfolds. The Relaxation Break, Simply Being, Effortlessness and Letting Go are examples of that kind of meditation. When I first started leading guided meditations, I thought that was all that I would do, because that is the kind of meditation I had always taught. But things evolved and I found it was useful to sometimes direct the attention in ways that helped to create balance and enhance fulfillment in life.

So there are meditations about healing, the chakras, nature, etc. I enjoy the process of creating these new meditations, and a lot of this is happening thanks to the podcast and the requests and feedback I receive. I decided not to restrict myself to just one kind of meditation. All the other meditations, however, are based on starting with a relaxed, open state of awareness. That's why they all start out in much the same way. Then the meditations that have a specific focus will be much more effective if one starts with that non-resistant, going with the flow, state of awareness. If we are tense and fighting with what's happening within us (or noise or something going on around us), then all our energy goes to that and we can't direct our attention in other ways.

As for my background, it's been very eclectic. At first I learned and taught meditation in a style from India. I was trained in a very specific technique and the essence of that technique was effortlessness. This had a great deal of influence on me. After years on one path, however, I began to study with some other teachers and learned other practices and was exposed to a number of philosophies. I also studied and taught energy healing for a number of years and that too has shaped my meditations. I also worked as a counselor in mental health and hospice, and the insights and understanding I gained from that certainly influence the meditations I create.

I'd have to say that my guided meditations today are a synthesis of all of these different influences. Of course, this synthesis is unique because I am a unique individual just as we all are. Ultimately, everything that has happened in my life contributes to the meditations, because everything in life is a teacher.

It's interesting that people often recognize their paths in my work. Erica asked about whether I have a background in Buddhist Vapassana meditation and I don't, although often people have found that in my work. People have also found similarities to Christian centering meditations and other traditions. I think that’s because the same principles and concepts are arrived on many different paths.

Often as I am creating a meditation, I am surprised at what comes out. It will not be quite like anything I've heard before. That's part of the fun of it, and part of the reason I don't relate too much to tradition and what's gone before. What's really alive is what is fresh in this moment, in the infinite creativity of the life force as it expresses itself here and now.

What is my philosophy and background? Part 1-- Keeping it universal.

"Erica" asked a the following question today on the About page of this blog. "I am wondering if your style of meditation is rooted in any specific philosophy. I have had an interest in Buddhist Vipassana meditation (Insight Meditation) for several years. I seem to hear many of the same principles in your meditations and on your website. Could you share a little more about the origins of your meditations and life outlook? Sorry, I know it’s kind of a big question… I’m just curious."

I've hesitated to write much about my background and philosophy for a number of reasons. One reason is that I'm much more interested in people formulating their own philosophies and having their own unique journeys with the meditations than I am in having people focus on mine. Another reason is that I can't really say I have a philosophy of life. I'm definitely interested in becoming more alive and more at peace, but when I try to put that journey into words, the words can be misleading. In addition, my philosophy of life, if I have one, is constantly evolving. What I might say today is not what I might say tomorrow...

As for my background, it's something that happened in the past. True meditation is a fresh, new experience. It is influenced by everything one has done and studied before, but it's always an opportunity for a new discovery. If I look to the past, I may limit what can happen now and my desire is to become increasingly present to the here and now. I try not to limit myself or anyone else by the past.

I also hesitate to be really specific about my background because I want to leave the door open to anyone who may resonate with the meditations I create. In truth, my background has exposed me to many teachers and teachings, but what I have discovered is that there are common elements among different teachings and those elements that are universal seem the most useful and "true". For me the experience of meditation is what is important, not the ideas about it and philosophies. What is fascinating to me is how different people can have such different insights and results from the meditations. What we get from meditation or a teacher is based more on our own process and intentions than it is on what is put forth by the teacher.

Erica did ask me to share something about my background and philosophy, however, and we do learn something from hearing each others' journeys and experiences. So now that I've told you some of the reasons I like to avoid talking about these things, I think I'll go ahead with Part 2 of this post and get a bit more "up close and personal". Thanks for asking, Erica!