We had the Sunday Introduction to Meditation Class at Yoga Bliss today: several guided meditations and a period of mindful walking. We began by feeling our bodies in the areas of the six points of posture and then entrained our attention on the sensations of breathing.
Students used concentration techniques such as counting individual breaths to sustain their concentration. While walking we maintained focus by taking a step upon inhaling and landing a step upon exhaling. Nevertheless, we all lost our attention at times. In his book, Buddhism Without Beliefs, author and meditation teacher, Stephen Batchelor describes the mind’s inherent restlessness:
Focused awareness is both calm and clear. Just as calmness is prevented by restlessness and distraction, so clarity is undermined by boredom and lethargy. Drifting between these two poles, we spend much of our time either slightly hyper or slightly depressed. . . . Distraction drugs us into forgetfulness. Even when we yearn to be focused on something meaningful, it erupts again. We cannot switch it off – and the more frustrated we get the worse it becomes.
He suggests embracing whatever mind state we find ourselves in: accept this is how things are right now. “Acceptance might even lead to understanding what it is that we’re running from.” We could even bring a sense of compassion, patience or tenderness to our experience – we all share these very human mind states.
As a kid, I remember nagging my parents during our long road trips between California and Idaho: Are we there yet? As an adult I now wonder whether There is the place where we find ourselves suspended between restlessness and boredom. It’s a place where we can be curious and open: a place where our questions are as valued as our answers. I sometimes feel the pull of resistance to experiences that I’ve framed as an obligations. I want to let go of what I think the experience will be and just jump in. Perhaps this is the journey we take together in meditation. We take the plunge and see what happens.