Making time for meditation

Leading the very busy lives that a lot of us have these days can make it seem quite difficult to find time for meditation. Partly there is a reality to our business, especially if we have a family, job etc. But we can always find 3 minutes in our day, in fact even several 3 minutes and a 3 minute breathing space can really help us connect to that deeper and truer part of ourselves.

Establishing a regular longer practise of meditation, can take time, finding the right time in the day for instance, are you more of a morning person and could you get up earlier in the mornings before others are awake? There is something quite magical about being up very early before the world has had time to wake up. If you are more of a night owl then meditating in the evening is also fine. Start with 15 minutes 2 or 3 times a week and then either build up to 30 or 40 minutes 2 or 3 times a week, or 15 minutes 5 or 6 times a week.

Can you find some where outside in fine weather to meditate ? It can bring a whole different feel to our practise sitting with the wind in our hair and our feet in contact with the earth. Creating a little space for ourselves inside too is important by doing this we establish a commitment to our meditation. Having just a really nice bunch of flowers to gaze at before we meditate can also really help create the right atmosphere.

As we sit we build up positive habits and a momentum to our practise, and sometimes in a fairly short time it is as if our mind and body know what is expected and start to practise as soon as we sit down. But what will really motivate us to find the time to meditate will be the results that we experience from meditation.

Rumi the great Sufi poet also alludes to something important and relevent here in this line I think.

"Come out of the circle of time And into the circle of love." Rumi

When we sit to meditate we are in a sense leaving the mind preoccupied with time and entering into a heartfelt connection with ourselves and the world.

Qualities of mindfulness

One of the areas I often reflect on is one of the nature or quality of mindfulness that we are trying to cultivate. How does mindfulness feel when we practise it in everyday life?

The quality of mindfulness needed is not just about efficiency, getting jobs done like washing up as quickly as possible or with as little effort as possible. It is not a mechanical type way of activity, far from it. When I think about tasks I've done hurridly and with little thought, filing, cleaning or shopping sometimes, I am aware that I am not enjoying the tasks, I'm not really engaged or aware, and my mental state is usually one that includes irritation.

Mindfulness has something to do with being wholehearted, the qualities of paying wise attention to our activities and jobs.When I have been really aware, sometimes in a conversation for instance, that conversation has taken on qualities of depth and pleasure, a sense of flow and lightness. I am really engaged and listening deeply, and responding from a greater depth in my self, there are qualities of a heartfeld engagement too.

If we can give ourselves up as it were to the job in hand and really engage with being mindfull in the moment, our experience really expands and becomes richer and more enjoyable.

Living with Awareness

One of the benefits of meditating regularly is an increasing sensitivity and development of awareness. This is particularly clear if you have been on retreat where the build up of meditation practise seems to allow us to see the world anew. Colours, sights and sounds can all appear heightened and fresh, as if we have a new pair of eyes. It is our consciousness that has changed in this instance. But I think I first became aware of this benefit in everyday life while out and about in the rain.

I am happy to see the rain fall on the gardens and land when I am inside, but having to handle busy streets and rush hour public transport in cold wet grey weather has never been my favourite pastime.On this particular day I was waiting at the bus stop wondering when the bus would arrive and whether I could fit myself on it when it arrived, I looked out at the grey clouds and was suddenly aware of the delicate colour of the grey, like the soft luminous grey of doves or wood pigeons. Then it seemed my awareness was switched on in the way it could be during meditation, The rain drops falling from the bus shelter made soft sounds and patterns on the ground and the water on the roads shone with the reflections from the sky.

It totally changed my experience of that wait for the bus to the extent that I was happy to wait and just be aware and appreciate the sights and sounds of the rain. What I also realised was this way of awareness was available to me at any time.

Although subsequent experiences based on this sort of realization are never perhaps as strong as our first ones, it can lead to a real change in our capacity and ability to respond and see the world around us.