In Tibetan Buddhism, Dhyana, the meditation practice, is the fifth in a series of 'Six Perfections' or Paramitas. These perfections or 'noble behaviours' allow us to move from a place where we struggle through misunderstanding, attachment and aversion, to another location in which we're aware, free from the suffering caused by these three poisonous states. The literal translation of Paramita is to cross over to the other shore.
Much mysticism surrounds meditation, and it can appear inaccessible. It shouldn't be; everyone can meditate. There are three elementary stages to use while meditating:
Stage 1: focusing on something - for example, the breath
Stage 2: noticing when the mind wanders - without criticism or judgment, this stage provides us with the opportunity to meditate
Stage 3: returning - to our initial focus point.
When we repeat these stages, consistently starting over each time, we notice the mind spreading out, telling stories, judging and creating narrative - we reinforce our ability to gently bring the mind back from its wandering. We develop the habit of seeing each moment clearly without the extra layers our minds tend to add - preconceived ideas, judgements and prejudices.
A commonly discussed meditation aspect is vipashyana, or vipassana, as we often hear it referred to in the west. Vipashyana, or 'looking deeply', is vital as it allows us to develop insight into our afflictions. But shamatha, the aspect of 'pausing' is critical. We need to pause, step back from being swept along by our thoughts and feelings, to experience insight with clarity.
The Yoga practice is moving meditation. Its postures (the strange shapes we make) challenge our bodies and minds and give us a rich opportunity to experience some of our embedded patterns of thought and behaviour. During practice the mind chatters away, we might hear a critical inner voice, doubt, fears, and pride. We can also experience bliss, focused attention and greater awareness, moments of space between the thoughts, and ability not to react when things are tough, and insight into impermanence.
We don't need to sit for hours at a time to begin developing the ability to pause and find insight. Starting by simply checking in with where thoughts are taking us a few times a day and merely returning to our initial point of focus is a significant first step. Another is to pay attention to the words we use when describing what we're experiencing; words are our mantras 'mind tools', shaping our experiences.
Perhaps the best way to start bringing meditation into our lives is to acknowledge that we can always begin again. Every moment is another opportunity to start over, to try again.
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