video meditation
Before I get drawn and quartered by devotees of the peaceful practice of meditation (or is that an oxymoron?), allow me to share some observations of myself and my clients, which have lead me to question some of the presumptions and prescriptions surrounding meditation as a spiritual tool.
Empirical research and personal experience certainly seem to indicate that no technique we know of (yet) can beat meditation for combating stress, training the mind and, in some cases, creating the conditions for blissful union with self, or the all that is. I'm not refuting that at all. Meditation may well be the quintessential tool for centre-ing and raising awareness; it's just not the only one. And that little distinction can be the key to freeing up your spiritual life immeasurably.
Many people I've met carry significant guilt or worry about their meditation practice, or the lack thereof. It features on every to-do list they have and yet does not ever seem to become fully integrated into their daily life. The result? They get very heavy about the fact that they're not getting light. Mmmm...
Of course this guilt feeds their heaviness and makes them feel like meditating the way a hippo might feel like taking a spinning class. He'd rather lie down and eat, which is precisely what many of them do. When we tell ourselves that we just can't do this meditation thing (today), we tend to abandon a spiritual practice all together instead of exploring other possibilities of connecting with our divinity when meditation isn't happening.
It's a bit like me and exercise. In my head, exercise = running for 20 to 30 minutes three to four times a week. When I can't, or don't want, to do that then I do nothing at all. Sometimes for months! Some part of me, quite rightly, rebels against such a narrow, externally-taught range of exercise which is seldom very much fun. And because I have an 'all or nothing' idea about exercise, this leaves me high and dry. Or fat and flat, as the case may be.
Now that I see this, I teach myself and clients (especially in the Embody and Joymap processes) to recognise lots of different and creative ways in which we might get some exercise / love / international travel or whatever else gives us joy. Exactly the same is true of a spiritual practice. If your idea of speaking and listening to your divinity consists only of meditation, then you are at the mercy of the time, energy, conditions and inclination to meditate and if you don't do it (and I can guarantee you that sometimes you won't) then you'll probably do nothing at all.
Why not expand your range of spiritual tools to give yourself a bigger menu from which to choose? Make sure that at least one of the options does not require money, at least one of the options does not require a long stretch of free time, at least one of the options doesn't require you to be well / peaceful / high energy so that you don't cop out of your spiritual practice just because on any given day those things aren't there.
Of course you can be meditative while washing the dishes, driving to work or watching a Barney video (apparently) so the art of meditation can be practiced at any moment of your day, but that's not only what I mean. Sometimes, loud or wild activity (which would seem anything other than meditative) also has the effect of bringing you back to your centre, clearing out the stuck emotions you might be carrying and clearing the path for the flow of divinity to move through you, well, loudly and wildly.
Over and above meditation, these are some of the things on my list of spiritual practices:
Putting my iPod on shuffle and listening deeply to the first three or four songs that come up. Inevitably, these raise a valuable emotion or insight for me, even if they do leave me crying in public places.
Dancing freely by myself for the pure purpose of expressing how I am feeling (i.e. not for showing my cool moves or getting sexy). For me this is one of the most effective, accessible and easy forms of letting go.
Writing and drawing in my journal.
Making love.
Talking or sending emails to specific friends with whom intimate sharing is the order of the day.
Being on aeroplanes. I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but in aeroplanes I'm immediately filled with a vast peacefulness and creativity. I step off them as if I've ohm-ed for hours. An expensive form of meditation but great for Voyager miles...
Laughing. It's irrelevant whether I'm laughing at my (big and strong) son dressed in pantyhose and doing ballet to 'Hier Kommie Bokke' (really) or at reruns of the Friends series, something about laughing in itself makes me lighter, less stressed and more open to possibilities. A very good replacement, or precursor, to meditation on the days you feel particularly down or heavy.
Bringing people to mind with whom I'm having difficulty and forgiving them (which is really forgiving myself and my own projected qualities).
Doing something I'm not good at. This weekend I played Wii Golf. You might not think that has spiritual benefits, but because this is so far off the list of things that I'm naturally good at, it did wonders for allowing me to laugh at myself and, in doing so, shrink my ego. Which is, after all, the purpose of meditation.
Your list will be different and, in actual fact, it's not the activities themselves that create the value, it's the permission behind them. If you can give permission to many more things than just meditation to be part of your spiritual practice, then you will fling open the doors of possibility and find yourself connecting to truth and divinity in the most unlikely situations. I'm sure Meditation would be proud.
Angela Deutschmann is a spiritual teacher, learner and writer who works with individuals and groups in Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban and White River. In these cities she offers spiritual growth clubs, workshops, talks and personal and group channelling.
http://www.angeladeutschmann.com/default.htm
