Seated Listening Meditation

Before you speak, it is necessary for you to listen, for God speaks in the silence of the heart. ~ Mother Teresa

Dan Rather once asked Mother Teresa what she said during her prayers. She answered, "I listen." So Rather turned the question and asked, "Well then, what does God say?" To that Mother Teresa smiled with confidence and answered, "He listens."

With our busy lifestyles it is very difficult to find time to just sit and listen, or so that is what we tell ourselves. How can we afford to not take a few minutes out of our day to listen to the most important message we will ever hear? Today, I can't afford to not listen. There was a time in my life when I lived in full self destruct mode - doing what I wanted, when I wanted and how I wanted...regardless of who I hurt...I listened to no one - especially that still small voice inside of me. I was angry at the world hell bent and determined to storm my way through life! It was fun for just a little while and then I was miserable. So very miserable in fact that I raged so loud for so long that one day the still small voice became a loud booming voice! And yes, it freaked me out! As the wave of the storm receded I heeded the advice of my elders and began to take a look at things I was "running" from -the first and most important "thing" was my spiritual life!

What I have learned is that when we ignore the still small voice it becomes louder! When avoided long enough "it" becomes shouts of frustration. This was a major turning point in my life. I began five years ago to practice listening to the still small voice by using different forms of meditation. My journey has lead me to study other religions and the way that others commune with the God of their understanding. What I have found are similarities. Prayer and meditation are an integral part of all spiritual disciplines. The "way" may look different but the goal is the same - to improve our conscious contact with the God of our understanding.

Websters defines meditation as the act of contemplation or reflection for the purpose of reaching a heightened level of spiritual awareness. Monks do it, Ministers do it, Spiritual Leaders from all walks of life do it, lots of people do it - even big macho guys - do it and of course, I DO IT. On a daily basis - I practice the art of listening to God listen and answers come. It's simple, not physically strenuous and very enlightening! It only takes 10 minutes 3 times per week - that's 30 minutes out of 10,800 minutes! I don't know about you but that isn't an extraordinary amount of of time. You don't have to do anything but sit in a chair and be quiet! It's called seated meditation and it's the simplest form of meditation.

Most people think about a seated meditation posture being cross-legged on the ground. But the most simple seated meditation posture is actually sitting upright in a chair.

Here’s how:

1. Sit in a comfortable chair with your feet on the ground.

2. Feel the two sitting bones beneath you (your butt bones).

3. Feel your connection to the chair through the two sitting bones as you lengthen through your spine. Place your hands on each side of your body and lift up, so you create space between the hips and lower ribs.

4. Lengthen through your spine and imagine space between each of your vertebrae to create length in the spine.

5. Gently drop your chin down and in, so your neck is in alignment with your spine, and lengthen through your neck to the top of your head. It sort of feels like there's a string attached to the crown of your head up to the ceiling or sky.

6. Make sure your low back is not overly arched, if it is, gently tuck your tailbone and gently draw in on your abdomen.

7. Place your hands on your legs either palm up or palm down. Or you may fold them in your lap.

8. Take a moment and make sure you feel comfortable. Make any adjustments you need to make to get comfortable. Stay relaxed, even as you keep your body nice and upright.

10. Gently close your eyes and prepare for meditation.

11. Begin to breath naturally and normally in and out of your nostrils. As your mind wanders out of the present moment, gently bring your focus back to your breath. Breathing gently and deeply in and out. Follow your breath for several minutes.

12. Ask one simple question, "How do I listen to the still small voice?" or "What is you will for me today?", you can even petition God for guidance, "God, how can I better serve you today?". Begin to observe the images, messages or sensations that are coming into your conscious awareness. Answers will come!

You may not see a burning bush. You might not hear a voice other than your own head ceasing to roar. You probably won't even gain any clarity the first time or second time or third time. But with regular practice you will learn to discern God's will for you. The more you practice the better you will become at listening. If it worked for me - it will CERTAINLY work for you!

Before you speak, it is necessary for you to listen, for God speaks in the silence of the heart . . .
- Mother Teresa

Welcome to my blog about my morning meditative journey. Beginning on January 1st of this year I began to write about the daily experience of meditating. I have been meditating for several years. There have been many amazing moments of stillness in my life during this journey. I have gained insights into the nature of human beings. As I understand it, that is called knowledge. The most inspiring moments for me have been the ones in which I have seen lessons that apply to my own nature. Some days I just sit, others I have very visual imagery and then there are the days when I hear a still small voice. It is becoming more apparent to me that my meditative journey has to have intent. For the first 6 or 7 weeks of this year I went on a marvelous journey into the valley of my soul, complete with a meadow, a path, a lake and a mountain. Then there came a still period of nothingness and then there came a period of nothing! For a couple of weeks I sat in the "nothing" and wondered what was wrong...then I realized that I was only meditating for the sake of saying I was meditating. There were benefits to my physiology, the ability to pause when agitated being my favorite. But what I realized was I had gotten hooked on being in the valley and when that didn't happen in my minds eye, I began to grasp for it. Grasping is not meditation. Meditation is the opposite. Today I went to meditate with intent. The intent to become calm and perhaps to be enlightened. And what do you know - I made it back to the valley of my soul.

My schedule was off today as I awoke late. There was a worker in my house making a tremendous amount of noise. People were expecting me to lead a noon meditation and I was beginning to panic. It dawned on me that I could sit and listen no matter what. So that's what I did. I went into my meditation room and sat still. There were the levels of relaxing and breathing, physical sensations, passive thoughts and the meadow. Being in the meadow brings me so much pleasure. The visual images are soothing to my soul. It's as if I'm at one with nature. Sometimes in the meadow there have been baskets of virtues, I learned that the virtues are gifts I bring to life. I found my spirit guide in the meadow, his name is Lagan (which I found out means meadow!) There's a lake in the meadow which is my subconscious, and I swam in the lake uncovering painful memories so that I could release them. Once in the lake I had to bring souls back from hell and give them lights. That was really fascinating! I've even climbed the mountain and sat on the edge admiring the vast world below. A couple of times I've even gone before a counsel of elders, that's um well kind of freaky! I've been given wisdom - like, let life unfold like a flower, or life's is between the blades of grass, and I've learned to just sit under the Bodhi Tree that grows beside the lake. Today in the meadow there way a bunny. Now, I've seen monkey's and I know about "monkey mind", I've even let myself be the monkey and swung from tree to tree, but today there was RABBIT.

A Rabbit? Seriously! At first I thought, "I wanted to see Lagan, or climb the mountain and become enlightened anything familiar, but a rabbit? Then I remembered in this place of calmness that I could become the rabbit. So I did. I imagined being a rabbit hopping down the dusty path in the meadow. I smelled grass and flowers. I felt dirt on my paws and whiskers twitching on my face. It was fun to say the least. But I as moved in my minds eye seeing the world from the perspective of a rabbit my ears perked up! No pun intended...and I began to hear the world with different ears. I was listening to the world around me. I heard birds singing and they sounded beautiful calling to each other - warnings and messages of love. I heard crickets chirping melodies of happiness. I heard trees rustling as the wind gently licked at there leaves. I listened and heard stillness. Then I knew that today the message was me to listen with new ears. Listen to others as they share their sorrows and joys, their hopes and fears, their stories of love and loss. I listened with compassion and for the moment I was free.

I am grateful today for moments of stillness. Listening to world around me with new ears has been a blessing!

Thank you for visiting my blog but most of all thank you for listening to me share about my meditative journey!

My Inner Voice

Remember my toolbox - the one where I found some of my "voice"? Well, I have something to tell you that's much more spectacular than what I found in the garage in my old toolbox...in fact...it's so much more of an "aha" moment, that I can barely begin to articulate it. The voice I found on the mountain resonates with a depth that expands from the Valley of Pocahontas, WV to the top of the East River Mountain and beyond!

Shhh...now don't fall over...(promise?)...are you smiling with anticipation yet? If not, I'll drag the suspense out for a while longer...See the picture...it's a picture of "the meadow". The meadow is on the top the East River Mountain in Bluefield, Va. Down in the Valley...the part you can't see ...is Pocahontas, WV. The place with coal mines that helped drive the Industrial Revolution and fueled both world wars with it's bituminous coal...I found a few pieces of it as I hiked through the hills.

But that's not really what I wanted to tell you about...Coal? Seriously, I had on a pink cowboy hat for goodness sake.......I really rode all over the mountain on a four-wheeler with my pink cowboy hat on searching for bear sightings mind you!! And yes, I carried my "Barney gun"...the one I carry for safety but keep the bullets seperate from it! However, as I seriously digress, while trying to hold you in suspense...I need to get to the point. (yes, I promise to tell you about the bears later!)

In case you haven't guessed by now - I ask a lot of questions. About the nature of man and the universe, motives, emotions, spirituality..nature...my existenence - belief systems, upbringing, religion/mythology. For several years now as I enter early mid-life and trudge thru menopause (yeah go figure...I thought I was too young too!!), these two things pop up daily, "finding my voice" and "pay attention". I began to get the pay attention part early on - stay in the moment, stop and smell the roses, listening when I ask questions, really listen when other people are speaking, holding thoughts (you know because words trigger thoughts - thoughts trigger emotions) and an endless litany of other valuable lessons over the course of the past four years. "Finding my voice" has been another story.

After the first year of my search...through self help books, journaling, getting in great physical shape, exploring my spiritual and religious beliefs, I began to take "voice lessons"(I did this right out of high school too, but my goal was to be an opera singer!)...please stop laughing...I know, it sounds funny...but I didn't find it when I was younger and I couldn't find it four years ago so I went for help! Of course, it did help - it gave me confidence in myself because the voice teacher was also an acting coach. I got to see myself on camera every week! I learned what I did and didn't like about myself in the most visual and auditory way possible - through the lenses of a camera. Articulation and body language were the focus of each lesson. It was awesome - but, I am sad to report, I did not find my voice. Gaining a desire to model again and become an actress were good esteem builders but I don't think that's my true purpose. (and yes, I'll tell you about that experience later too.

As I lay in bed several nights ago...in the pitch black filled with soothing quiet and a soft stillness ...in a tiny cabin not far from the meadow - I talked to God. Asking what I was supposed to be doing with my life...why couldn't I find my voice...where was it...I'd looked everywhere...my mind began to race with questions...one thought leading to the next...until I got completely off track...yes, I know...it's the same way I write! An no it's not because I like to hear my own head roar...it's because I have a very difficult time with focus and concentration. Back to the pitch black filled with soothing quiet and a soft stillness. Guess what? .... I found my voice! AHA!!! It was amazing - like a jolt of electricity running through the mountain top where no electricity has ever been. It was really quite simple - in the darkness there were no sounds...my head stopped roaring...and deep inside my being...somewhere in the region of my heart a small tiny voice pushed sounds filled with wisdom, morales and values, intuition and experiences. I giggled with amazement as quietly as I possibly could...I giggled so hard that tears began to stream down my cheeks and fall onto my pillow. The voice was much stronger than the piece I found in my toolbox! Because...it all of sudden dawned on me that it wasn't my larynx or my diaphram or even my vocal box....it was my INNER VOICE!!! Well DUH!

The voice was mine! The missing piece of the "finding my voice" puzzle. You see even when I found my voice in my toolbox it didn't dawn on me that my voice was inside of me. I still thought that somehow the voice belonged to everyone! Thus my impatience and aggrevation with individuation! It was truly one of the greatest AHA moments of my life! In the middle of the night on a mountain top ...hey, didn't Jesus always go to the mountaintop for revelations? I can truly see why. My voice ...it resides within me and it's steeped in a life time of experiences most of which have been learned the hard way - by making mistake after mistake...probably because I go too fast! My voice filled with millions of intuitive moments. My voice is growing louder and stronger with each breath I take...and for that today, I am truly grateful! The gifts I was given in that four days on the mountain will stay with me for a lifetime.

In the darkness comes a light. A light of hope! Feelings are just that...they are real but they are just tools! They are each individuals responsibility - feel the feeling but don't take negative emotions out on other people but I think showing positive ones are okay - love, kindess, and even firmness are acceptable responses to life...and we are only human and will make the mistake of lashing out in anger and resentment! The goal is to try and not be that way.

The goal is more to be "fingers on a hand"...a unified act of accomplishing tasks and duties...meeting deadlines, even simple ones like leaving the cabin at the previously designated time. But I'm beginning to sound preachy aren't I? My voice is bursting to come out...I have meandered down the mountain back into civilization...busy busy busy! But my voice came with me...my goal for today is to not let it be drowned out by life outside of me!

"Seek out that particular mental attribute which makes you feel most deeply and vitally alive, along with which comes the inner voice which says, 'This is the real me,' and when you have found that attitude, follow it." James Truslow Adams