CLASSES
The Basis of the Class
Our “Meditation-In-Action” class is designed to provide a broad foundation for what is known as contemplative or meditative practice. Usually, when people think of “meditation,” they imagine someone sitting quietly, eyes closed, trying to calm or silence the mind, mainly for the purpose of reducing stress or increasing happiness. However, meditation, as it’s been practiced throughout the world for thousands of years, is made up of hundreds of practices – both physical and psychological – which can be done seated or in the midst of daily life. And all of them have essentially one purpose – to train our attention in order to direct it inward, to the “core,” the center of our consciousness deep within. This innermost core is known by many names – the Christ within, the Buddha Nature, the “True Self”, or simply “Being”.
Meditation has been practiced over the millennia by members of all known religions as well as those who belong to no particular religious tradition. You don’t need to believe anything in order to benefit from meditative practices. If you like, you can think of the “core” simply as the experience of a quiet, calm consciousness which, the more you experience it, leads to greater health, more joyful and loving feelings, and calmer more focused thinking.
What is the Class Like?
We do many different things in class, but each moment, no matter what we’re doing, is ultimately about one thing – learning to train your attention in order to help you get in touch with the experience of the core of your being. We include live music to help relax the body, calm and focus the mind, and open the heart, all of which help you to be more aware of the peace, joy, and other luminous qualities that are native to that core.
The first section of class, which lasts about 15 minutes, consists of a series of slow meditative movements based on Qigong, a Chinese “moving meditation”. We sometimes include an inspiring song to help calm the mind and open the heart. This is followed by some faster movement and a longer stretch of slow, meditative movement, all accompanied by live music.
There are a number of universal ethical principles and practices that support the practice of meditation – qualities like “compassion”, “generosity”, “loving-kindness”, which are natural expressions of the core. In the next section of the class, lasting about 30 minutes, we engage in a “reflective meditation” on one of those themes, reading relevant quotations from various spiritual traditions as part of the reflection. We may also mention some of the latest compelling research on the powerful healing effects of meditation and positive emotion. Ultimately, our aim for this part of the class is to reflect on how we can make compassion, generosity, and other qualities of the core a more integral part of our lives.
After the reflection we engage in creative music making – improvising rhythms, as well as singing meditative music. Guidance is given throughout all activities so that they become a means of training attention and evoking such qualities of the core as peace, contentment, joy, and ease.
We close class with a brief, more traditional, seated meditation.
What is the Core?
The yoga sutras, written about 2000 years ago, is considered by many to be the basic text on meditation in the yoga tradition. Its first four verses sum up the essence of all spiritual practice.
1. Now the teaching of yoga begins (“now” refers to the eternal, timeless moment that is now… and now… and now…….)
2. Yoga is the settling of the mind into silence.
3. When the mind is silent, our true nature – boundless, infinite consciousness – is revealed.
4. When our mind is active, our attention is drawn to the endless procession of thoughts, hopes and fears, which keeps us from being aware of our true nature.
When Jesus said, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God”, he was pointing to the “purity” of the core, our true nature, which spontaneously emerges when our mind falls silent. In that silence, the presence of God – something which is ever and omnipresent, but invisible to us because we are so relentlessly distracted – can be revealed.
All spiritual traditions tell us that this core deep within, our true Self, is the source of a peace that “passeth understanding,” an infinite joy, happiness, strength, and wisdom. It is not just within each one of us separately. Because we all share that same essential nature, we are interconnected in a very real and profound way.
The purpose of everything we do in class, is the same as the purpose of all meditative practice. It is not about “creating” some special state of relaxation, calm or peace. Rather, it is to train our attention so that we can remove the obstacles to experiencing what is already present within us – right here, right now, in this and every moment – the peace, joy, strength and wisdom that lie at the core of who we are. Once we recognize how our attention is continually caught up in various thoughts, fears, desires, and emotional reactions, we can learn to “unhook” our attention and redirect it within. As we learn to do this, we begin to catch glimpses of that vast ocean of calm and peace that lies “behind” our ordinary state of mind; we begin to taste some of the deep joy and happiness that resides “behind” our heart; to feel the strength and power radiating from the center of our Being.
Does Science Have Anything to Say About the Core?
Well, actually, no. The core – our true nature, the Self or Spirit – is immeasurable. Therefore current scientific methods, which rely on measurement, cannot determine whether there is a core, nor can they say anything about it. However, scientists have done a great deal of research which confirms that by our training attention, we can increase such qualities of the core as love, kindness, peace, compassion, non-reactivity, etc.
Numerous studies in the last several decades have shown that training attention can help us to develop more positive attitudes which in turn generate more positive emotions. Dr. Barbara Fredrickson, a prominent researcher in the field, found that to the extent people attend to and focus on positive qualities, they become more optimistic, more resilient, more open and accepting, and have more of a sense of purpose in life. In relationships, learning to express higher levels of positivity deepens feelings of intimacy and reduces the likelihood of divorce. Even in regard to physical health, focusing on the positive has a number of benefits including; fewer sore throats, lower levels of stress-related hormones, higher levels of growth-related hormones, enhanced immune functioning, lower blood pressure, less pain, diminished inflammatory response to stress, and a lowered likelihood of developing diabetes or having a stroke. Overall, research shows that positivity leads to a longer life.
Dr. Daniel Siegel has done research that shows what happens in the brain when we train our attention. The simple act of attending to moment-to-moment experience with care and compassion, without reaction or judgment, activates and helps to develop the mid pre-frontal region of the brain. The pre-frontal cortex is the newest, most complex, part of the brain, and it is unique to human beings. Activating the mid portion of this part of the brain has been found to have the following effects:
1. Rebalancing the two branches of the autonomic nervous system – sympathetic and parasympathetic:
In our modern, hectic world, much of our day is spent either in overdrive or exhaustion. Overdrive often results from an abnormally heightened response of the sympathetic nervous system to perceived threats. Exhaustion is often the “crash” that occurs when an over-activated sympathetic nervous system gives way to an over-activated parasympathetic nervous system.
Activating the mid pre-frontal cortex by simply paying attention in the moment – calmly and without judgment – to our sensations, thoughts, and feelings, without making a conscious effort to change them, can actually rebalance the autonomic nervous system, leading to a state of relaxed alertness, ultimately improving both physical and mental health.
2. Calming the limbic system:
The limbic system plays a crucial role in regulating our emotions, which are also often in a state of overdrive. Activating the mid pre-frontal cortex as described above, can calm the emotions, bringing them into balance with our thinking and behavior.
3. Balancing the functioning of left and right hemispheres of the brain:
The left hemisphere of the neo-cortex is responsible for our ability to think critically. Unfortunately, our modern culture tends to exalt this type of thinking to the relative exclusion of more intuitive, creative thought. This has the effect of limiting our experience to a set of concepts and mental models, and alienating us from the rich emotional and aesthetic texture of our immediate sensory experience.
Even our capacity to think critically is adversely affected when not integrated with the rest of our capacities. Whether writing a report at work or making a decision about something in our personal life, we will be far more effective when the “big-picture” comprehension rooted in the right hemisphere is allowed to participate.
The mid pre-frontal cortex – when developed by cultivating the capacity for calm, focused attention, naturally integrates the left and right functions of the brain as well as rich emotional understanding rooted in the limbic system, as well the intuitive wisdom of what has come to be known as the “heart brain.” When integrated, we spontaneously know which function or functions of the brain to call upon for the most effective and harmonious response to any given situation.
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Copyright 2008 Don Salmon and Jan Maslow
