For readers unfamiliar with this blog, this entry is a continuation in a 3 part series on a meditation seminar that I attended 3 months ago before starting a new job. See this entry and this entry for part I and part II respectively.(All pictures were taken from my trip down the California Coast during which I attended my Meditation retreat.)My Mindfulness Meditation seminar began first by entering a large round “yurt” that overlooked the blue Pacific Ocean and that was sheltered by Cypress Trees. About 20 other strangers and I took off our shoes before entering the shag carpeted round room, which was empty except for large pillows lining the perimeter of the room.
This Mindfulness Meditation seminar was being taught by James Baraz, whom I knew nothing about other than that others held him in great respect. “You are in very good hands,” one of my dinner companions told me the night before, “James Baraz is one of the cofounders of Spirit Rock.” This meant nothing to me, of course. (Later, I learned that Spirit Rock is a famous Vipassana Meditation center in Marin County.)
Sitting in the yurt, I wondered which person would actually be teaching. On my right, there was an old man with crazy long white-hair who was lying down on his back. He looked crazy enough to be a meditation guru, I thought. My eyes rested on him, waiting for him to begin speaking. All of a sudden, a soft voice spoke from the opposite side of the room, introducing the class. The man who spoke looked like a librarian. He wore a dark plaid button down shirt, a conservative gray wool vest, and khakis. Gentleness emanated from his person in both his demeanor and his voice. His conservative wear made him more credible to me.
Every day, for 3 days we would attend three 2 hour lectures, with a 20 - 30 minute meditation session during each session. I am by no means knowledgeable of Vipassana meditation, but Baraz walked us through the mechanics.
To begin with, one focusses on the breath, how it feels in the nose, and in the chest. This part is not different from other branches of meditation. But where Mindfulness Meditation differs subtly from other meditation practices can be found in the following:
- When feeling an emotion, negative or positive, feel the emotion deeply, immerse oneself in it, and you will eventually feel the emotion dissipate.
- When thinking a thought, don't chastise yourself. Acknowledge the thought and understand that it is normal to think, and then bring yourself back to focussing on the breath. Only the truly enlightened, say Buddha himself, could meditate without thinking.
- Vipassana meditation is also known as Insight meditation. Baraz claims that this form of meditation leads to greater wisdom, and self-understanding. Other forms of meditation, such as Transcendental Meditation, which focusses on breathing or chanting, leads to higher focus, but not necessarily greater wisdom. For a better explanation on how Vipassana Meditation can lead to greater wisdom, please read this "Art of Living" article.
- View yourself as being one living organism among a much wider network of living things. In my case, I envision a camera in the corner of the room looking down upon me.
In addition to practicing seated meditation (in which I almost fell asleep on one occasion), we also sampled eating meditation, a walking meditation, self-love meditation and a "loving-kindness" meditation. For our eating meditation, Baraz handed out 2 raisins per person. We were supposed to eat each raisin over the course of a minute. This exercise was supposed to teach us to focus only on the moment, instead of chewing and swallowing without actually experiencing it.
For our walking meditation, Baraz led us out of the yurt down to the grassy lawn below. Walking barefoot, heel to toe, I focussed purely on my sensory input at that very moment. This exercise, too was designed to teach us how to be in the moment.
The self-love meditation was useful to me. I am a person who oftentimes doesn't like herself very much. This meditation was helpful to be more forgiving to myself. We were asked to meditate on someone who loves us. We were asked to think about why they loved us. And whether or not we could find it in ourselves to feel the same way about ourselves as they did.
The "loving-kindness" meditation was a moving experience. We were asked to think of someone we don't know well, such as a neighbor whom we never speak to. We were then asked to send them a prayer of altruistic love. Then, we thought of someone we disliked, and we then sent them a prayer of altruistic love as well. Finally, we were asked to summon someone whom we love, and sent them a prayer. At the end of this meditation, one of the girls in the room was crying. She had just lost her father and had come to the retreat to help deal with her grief. I knew who she must have dedicated her loving-kindness prayer to.
In addition to how to meditate, Baraz talked about some Buddhist teachings and how they might apply to our lives, regardless of our religious leanings. What made sense to me was:
- Daydreaming might feel pleasant, but it takes us away from being in the now. It is a feeling that contracts us (our soul?).
- Avoid feelings of self-aggrandization, such as, "I am so smart", or "this company would fall without me." This too is a contracting thought. I think of it as the opposide side of self-loathing thoughts which are also harmful.
- There is nothing that makes us feel happier than being altruistic to others, and to spread goodness and loving-kindness to others. The world could be a better place if all of us could emanate our good feelings (karma?) to the world.
Summary
Would I recommend James Baraz's Mindfulness Meditation retreat to others? Absolutely. It may have changed my outlook on life. I am still neurotic, as many people near me know. But I believe I am handling the problems in life with greater composure, some due to my learnings gained at this retreat.
For more information on the next Mindfulness Meditation seminar at Esalen, please click here.
