Last weekend the British Guardian newspaper published a guide to meditation. Here are extracts, as well as links to the full articles…
1. How to meditate: An introduction
Rates of depression and anxiety are rising in the modern world. Andrew Oswald, a professor at Warwick University who studies wellbeing, recently told me that mental health indicators nearly always point down. “Things are not going completely well in western society,” he said. Proposed remedies are numerous. And one that is garnering growing attention is meditation, and mindfulness meditation in particular.
The aim is simple: to pay attention – be “mindful”. Typically, a teacher will ask you to sit upright, in an alert position. Then, they will encourage you to focus on something straightforward, like the in- and out-flow of breath. The aim is to nurture a curiosity about these sensations – not to explain them, but to know them. There are other techniques as well. Walking meditation is one, when you pay attention to the soles of your feet. That too carries a symbolic resonance: if breath is to do with life, feet are a focus for being grounded in reality.
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2. How to meditate: Overcoming potential obstacles
Everyone who learns to meditate encounters obstacles. Here are some of the most common ones and a few tips on how to deal with them
Feeling bored
Everyone gets bored meditating at some time or another – hardly surprising given our busy, adrenaline-filled lives. The main thing is to see boredom for what it is. If you get too caught up in it, it’s easy to lose interest in meditating. But if you use the meditation to explore the boredom and find out what’s really going on, things will start to get interesting again.
Feeling sleepy
We’re all a bit tired on some level – no wonder it’s so easy to drift off when you meditate. That’s fine, but make sure you’ve got your timer set to wake you up! If it happens a lot, try a different time of day, or sit up a little straighter.
Feeling scared
The mind can be a dark and scary place sometimes. Sitting down with difficult thoughts and feelings can sometimes feel too much to cope with. But as long as all that stuff remains unacknowledged, it just sits there in the background. Allowing it to come to the surface is the first part of letting go of it and moving on.
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3. How to meditate: The three parts of meditation
There are three traditional aspects to meditation: approach, practice and integration. Andy Puddicombe of Headspace breaks it down…
Approach
Approach is about how you view both the contents of your mind and the technique. Get this right and your meditation will fly; get it wrong and it could seem like an endless struggle.
It’s difficult not to expect the perfect result first time around – that’s just how we seem to be programmed these days. But the reality is that meditation takes a little practice – like learning any new skill.
First, accept that your mind isn’t going to stop whirring just because you want it to – and that’s not the point, anyway. The point is to develop a new relationship with your thoughts and feelings that allows positive feelings to simply unfold.
It’s easy to be sceptical too – “of course it won’t work for me”. When it’s done in the right way, meditation works for everyone. If you’re cynical, fine – but do try it anyway. Wouldn’t it be nice to be wrong about this?
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4. Meditation centres around the UK
Amaravati Buddhist Monastery
A fully functioning Thai-style monastic community in Cheshire. A good choice if you want an authentic Buddhist experience with a genuine temple.
Be Mindful
A campaign run by the Mental Health Foundation to allow people to experience the health benefits of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). Courses nationwide. Completely secular and science-based.
Dhamma Dipa Vipassana Meditation Centre
Rigorous 10-day meditation courses in Hereford, based on Burmese Buddhism. Courses are run on a donation-only basis.
01989 730234; dipa.dhamma.org
Dhanakosa Centre
This converted farm in the Scottish Highlands offers a range of activities including meditation, yoga, hill walking, alternative health and arts. Buddhist but open to all.
01877 384213; dhanakosa.com