On bones & meditation
In yesterday’s meditation session - our last before summer break - the group were taken through an alternative body scan.
Body scans are a bit like Marmite - you either love them or hate them. On this occasion we delved into the skeletal system: exploring the bones and their articulations. The above video is beautiful in that it brings this hidden aspect of our inner bodies to life. This amazing structure of ours has taken lots of evolution even when we consider our fingers and thumbs and how they can grip - our progression as tetrapods and developing digits meant we didn’t keep slipping back into the sea?!
Another wonderful aspect of body scans are our ability to be aware.
If I mention the back of your hand, immediately you become aware of this part of yourself both from an interior and exterior perspective.
It’s this awareness of being aware which makes us unique as a species, but also lends itself to the practice of meditation.
How would you respond to, ‘what’s the point of meditation?’
Typical comments may be:
[…] because we want more out of life and ourselves. We might want to be more centered, for example. More peaceful. More focused. More balanced. More patient. More mellow. More wise. 1
All of these are valid reasons to why we may have come to a meditation practice (initially), however they are all by-products and are not guaranteed to happen.
Part of the issue is that we have an image in our minds of what meditation is, and what it will give us, when in reality meditation is seeing our lives as they are, not how they could be.
The practice of meditation is just sitting.
Just sitting and being present with whatever comes up in that moment.
Just sitting and not applying a storyline or dialogue to what comes up.
Just sitting and not judging what comes up.
Just sitting and being present one breath at a time.
Just sitting and noticing your feet, your hands, your pelvis, your breath, your whole body.
Just sitting and getting out of your mind and into the body.
In words it seems simple. In reality it’s different and that’s why it’s called practice.
Also this week I co-hosted a death cafe with Sakyadhita UK.
For those not familiar with the format, death cafes provide opportunities for people to discuss the topic of death openly (it is not bereavement support or counselling).
The conversation can go in any direction and has no objectives other than open discussion on the theme. Ideally they are held in person where the chat can take place over a cup of tea and some cake, though they lend themselves to Zoom very well too (as in this week’s offering).
It was the first one I’ve hosted and the topics that arose were quite far ranging too and the time evaporated. Whilst the theme is death, it also becomes a celebration and appreciation of life.
If you are interested in a future offering, do let me know and I’ll add you to the list.
Handwash Cold by Karen Maezen Miller