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Mandala Meditation

11/30/2013

A mandala is a circular shape, containing various shapes and patterns, that is said to represent the universe. Mandalas can be intricate or simple, and, have a rich history as a focus point in meditation practise.

Coloring-in a mandala for half an hour is a delicious way to meditate. You can print out a ready-made mandala from the internet, or draw your own using a compass and a ruler, or even a glass from the kitchen cupboard.

I’m no visual artist by any stretch of the imagination, and it doesn’t matter one bit. In fact, I’ve found NOT being an artist helps me to enjoy the simple task of filling a mandala with color. It’s not about what the mandala looks like at the end, or how long it takes. It’s about letting go, allowing your grown-up self to color in, draw, and be focused on something silly and fun.

Why not mix up your meditation practise with something a little different and give it a go?

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Mindful Eating

11/29/2013

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Close Up Of Woman Eating handful Of Almonds

Eating mindfully has many benefits - savoring your meal, improved digestion, a desire to eat less, and a desire to eat foods that are better for you.

I love introducing mindful eating to group meditation sessions. I usually use raisins or dates, and the reactions are always astounding.

I ask meditators to hold a single raisin/date in their hand. Then ask them to look at it. What are its colors? Its textures? Does it have a smell? I remind the meditators to check their breathing. Have you become tense, or are your relaxed? What thoughts have come up? Are there memories associated to this little piece of fruit?

Meditators are instructed to bite half of the fruit, and to hold a piece in their mouth. What does it taste like? Does it taste like it looks? Notice any tension in your shoulders, in your neck, in your jaw, in your gut. Are you breathing?

Swallow the fruit. What tastes remain? How do you feel? Check in with your breathing.

The meditation repeats until the complete raisin/date has been consumed. Some people have a real aversion to dried fruit, and the meditation makes them squirm. Others have a desire to eat the whole raisin/date all at once and ignore the meditation. It doesn’t matter what the reaction is, the point is to notice the reaction, to stay in the present moment, and to try and eat mindfully.

Try just one meal a day with the television, smart phone, and all other electronics switched off. Allow yourself to eat with all your attention focused on the act of savoring the food, chewing, swallowing, and letting it settle.

What do you notice?

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Thanks Giving

11/28/2013

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The Cruz de Fero

In 2008, and again in 2013, I walked the Camino de Santiago - a 500 mile pilgrimage across northern Spain. The highest point of El Camino is the Cruz de Fero, a large cross where pilgrims, or peregrinos as they are known in Spain, leave behind a stone, signifying the letting go of a particular grief or worry.

The night before we were due to reach the Cruz de Fero, I tossed and turned about what I was going to leave behind. Grief over my childhood? Anger at people in my life?

After a long sleepless night, I had an epiphany. If I was going to leave something sad behind, I was going to have to come back every year to leave the next troubling issue at the foot of the cross.

I decided instead to leave something that I would take with me from that day forward. And that something was thankfulness. I wrote my prayer on the back of a peppermint tea wrapper, and "posted" it to the powers that be into a cairn at a spot a little ways up from the Cruz de Ferro.

It's something I try to remember everyday. When I walked the Camino again in May this year, when I reached the same spot I wondered if the message had changed. I realized it hadn't.

Dear Universe,

For being
My soul
For love
For energy
For strength
For knowledge

Thank you.

Does this resonate for you? What are you giving thanks for each day?

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