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MEDITATION
Meditation Practices and Resources in Complementary Medicine

Meditation is like mental martial arts. You notice that the mind is making an assault, and with
minimal effort, you step out of the way by returning to whatever the object of your concentration
is. Little by little, you build up the mental muscles of awareness and letting go. This is a slow,
gentle process. Just as a two year old wanders off and you bring him back with tenderness and
patience, so it is with the mind. A meditation during which there are many thoughts and many
attempts to bring the mind back to focus is a great training session. During the rest of the day you
will gradually find that you have better concentration and are less prone to rumination. You are on
your way to cultivating a peaceful heart and a powerful mind.

We are all wired differently from a physiological perspective and each of us has different beliefs
and experiences. Therefore, an excellent centering practice for one person may not suit another at
all. Some people prefer a moving form of meditation such as mindful walking, qi gong, hatha
yoga or stretching exercises. Others prefer closed eyed sitting exercises such as concentration,
mindfulness meditation, centering prayer or other forms of imaginal centering.

Whatever form you feel drawn to practice, make a commitment for the full twenty-eight days and
put it into your schedule every day at the same time. This is the basis of forming a healthy habit.
Most people find that getting up fifteen or twenty minutes earlier and doing the practice first thing
in the morning not only works well in terms of getting it done, but also sets the tone for a more
peaceful, energized, loving and productive day. Physiological research shows that at least three 20
minute periods of meditation weekly are necessary to experience longterm reduction in heart-rate,
blood pressure, anxiety and other stress-related problems.

Diaphragmatic (belly or abdominal) Breathing

Belly breathing is associated with lower heart-rate, reduced blood pressure, increased energy and
feelings of peacefulness, clarity, relaxation and creativity.

• Put one hand on your abdomen and close your eyes. Take a deep breath in through your nose
and expel it slowly and completely through your mouth. You will feel your belly flatten. Let the
next breath (and all subsequent breaths) come in through your nose. Can you feel your abdomen
expand? If you can’t, just imagine that a balloon is inflating in your belly when you breathe in and
deflating when you breathe out. The outbreath is longer than the inbreath, like a gentle sigh of
relief.

For a fast mini-relaxation break any time during the day, take a deep breath and release it slowly-
a letting go breath. Try breathing back from ten to one, one number on each outbreath. By the
time you get to one, you will notice that your breath is much slower and more regular and that
your bodymind system is relaxing. With a little practice, you will form the habit of breathing from
your diaphragm most of the time.

Concentration Meditation

Harvard cardiologist Herbert Benson, M.D. first found that concentration meditation elicits what
he calls the "relaxation response." All forms of meditation, in which the mind becomes quiet and
focused, also elicit this innate physiological response which is the opposite of the body’s stress or
fight-or-flight response. Belly breathing is an important cornerstone of the relaxation response.
Benson first researched the clinically standardized "relaxation one method" of meditation in which
the word one is repeated in time to each outgoing breath. Any word will produce the same results.

An ancient Sanskrit mantra, or meditation focus, is Ham Sah. This is supposed to remind the
meditator of the sound of the incoming and outgoing breath. Ham as you breathe in, Sah as you
breathe out. Ham means I am. Sah means the inner Self, the Divine Spark. Any short phrase will
do as a meditation focus, either secular or religious. "Hail Mary" on the inbreath, "full of grace"
on the outbreath is an excellent focus for those used to repeating the rosary which is also a kind of
concentration meditation. Jewish Meditation by Rabbi Ari Kaplan, is an excellent primer for Jews.
Benson’s classic The Relaxation Response is a fine review of both secular and religious meditation
traditions and techniques.

Sitting with eyes closed, focus on belly breathing. Repeat your focus phrase, prayer or mantra in
time to either the outbreath, or both the incoming and outgoing breath if it is a longer phrase.
When thoughts come, passively disregard them and just return to the repetition.

Autogenic Training

Autogenic training was devised by two German physicians, Schultz and Luthe. With six volumes
of research, it is probably the best-researched method of meditation and physiologic self-
regulation. There are a total of six standard formulas. The first two formulas are heaviness and
warmth. If we did not practice these exercises at the seminar you attrended, these instructions
alone are insufficient for practice. They are meant as a review if we learned the practice together.

Assume the "ragdoll" position. Focus your attention on mindfully feeling sensation in each body
part as you go through the exercise. Mentally repeat each formula several times until you begin to
feel heaviness and warmth. Note the abbreviations. R=right. L=left. A=arm. L=leg. B=both.

My RA is heavy, My LA is heavy, BA are heavy

My RL is heavy, My LL is heavy, BL are heavy

My arms and legs are heavy (summary formula)

My RA is warm, my LA is warm, BA are warm

My RL is warm, my LL is warm, BL are warm

My arms and legs are warm (summary formula)

My arms and legs are heavy and warm (cumulative summary formula) which- if you practice the
two standard formulas frequently- turns into an instant conditioned relaxation response.

The other four standard formulas (to be used only after appropriate instruction are:

3. It breathes me

4. Heartbeat calm and regular

5. My solar plexus is warm

6. My forehead is cool

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Mindful Walking

The Buddhist peace worker, poet and monk Thich Nhat Hanh is known for his walking
meditations. Most of the time we are not present to what we are doing. The mind is constantly
thinking up thoughts of yesterday and tomorrow, often dwelling on the negative. As John Lennon
wrote, "Life is what’s happening when we're making other plans." Mindfulness means to be
present to what is, rather than losing ourselves in thoughts of what is no longer or what has not
yet come. Mindfulness is an awakening to life, a nonjudgmental awareness of the wonder of the
present moment. As you prepare to walk slowly and mindfully, regulating the cadence of your
steps to diaphragmatic breathing, you might enjoy repeating one of Thich Nhat Hanh's meditative
poems:

Breathing in I calm body and mind (inbreath)

Breathing out I smile (long outbreath)

Dwelling in the present moment (inbreath)

I know this is the only moment ( long outbreath).

Become aware of the rhythm of your body and breathing. How many steps to your inbreath? How
many steps to your outbreath? How does it feel to move forward, shift your weight, move your
feet? Keeping breath and body awareness, begin to notice the world around you. See the trees, the
grasses, the flowers in season, the sky. Smell the smells. Hear the sounds. Try to be aware without
judgment or reflection. No good or bad sounds. Just sounds. Nonjudgmental awareness opens the
eye of the heart. When you catch yourself thinking about something- and therefore becoming
mindless- gently and kindly refocus your attention on breath and body. Recite the poem again and
once more become mindful of the world around you.

Sitting Mindfulness Meditation

Sit in your seat with great dignity, back straight and eyes closed. Become aware of your
breathing- how breath comes in and fills your belly and how breath moves out into space. Keep
about 25% of your attention on breathing and the other 75% on the feeling of spacious
mindfulness. You may become aware of sounds, sensations, thoughts. Just let them all come and
go, passing across the spacious sky of your mind like clouds. Sogyal Rinpoche, a Tibetan Buddhist
lama, compares the thoughts that arise in meditation to waves that rise from the ocean. It is the
ocean's nature to rise. We cannot stop it, but as Rinpoche says, we can "leave the risings in the
risings."

Mindfulness Exercises

We can extend the practice of mindful awareness and spaciousness beyond the period of sitting
meditation into the rest of life. Thich Nhat Hanh has written a beautiful book called the Miracle of
Mindfulness. With true simplicity and beauty he reminds us that we can wake up in the ordinary
activities of life by bringing our full attention to eating, washing the dishes, smelling the roses,
walking, making love. Choose a piece of fruit and eat it mindfully. Be aware of its look, smell and
feel. Notice the way that your mouth fills with saliva in anticipation of its flavor. Be aware of each
bite moving down your throat into your stomach. Enjoyment and gratitude are natural outcomes of
mindfulness. Choose any activity like washing the dishes or taking a shower and commit to doing
it as mindfully as possible. For some people taking a shower mindfully, aware of their breathing
and all the pleasant sensations, is an excellent morning meditation.

Holy Moment Meditation

Healing and holy have a common root in the old Anglo-Saxon word haelen, to make whole.
Holiness and healing are found in relationship- in our ability to be present to ourselves, other
people, the natural world and the Divine. We have all had holy moments, natural experiences of
mindfulness, when our heart opened and we were fully present to a sunrise, a sunset, the sun
glinting off a snow covered tree, lights dancing in the water of a pond, or a look in the eyes of a
loved one. These are moments of deep gratitude and connection to life, and often we cry when our
full heart overflows.

Sit quietly and close your eyes. Focus on belly breathing for a few minutes. Now recall a holy
moment and involve all your senses. What did you see? What were the shapes and colors of
things above and below you, in the four directions around you? Can you recall any fragrances?
Any sounds? What about physical sensation? Were you warm or cool? Touching, moving, still?
What were you feeling? Where do you experience these emotions in your body? Let the memory
fade and return to belly breathing, keeping the focus on the feelings that remain, watching them
mindfully, flowing with them. This is the physical sensation of healing and holiness.

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Centering Prayer

This form of silent, meditative prayer has been popularized by Father Thomas Keating of
Snowmass Monastery in Colorado. You can read about it in his luminous book, Open Mind, Open
Heart. The intention of the prayer is to be in God’s presence. The idea is to shift awareness away
from the thoughts that Keating compares to boats floating down the river of consciousness to the
river itself. The river is God’s Presence, that loving lifeforce in which we live and move and have
our being.

Prior to beginning the practice, chose a prayer word, a Sacred Word, which will serve as your
reminder to let go of thoughts and re-enter the river of the Divine Presence. The prayer word can
be anything that reminds you of your intention to keep your appointment with God. Peace,
Shalom, Hail Mary, Great Spirit, The Lord is my Shepherd, are a few examples. Before the first
session, center yourself any way you choose and then pray for a Sacred Word to come to you.
Once you have chosen one, keep it for at least a month. Changing it in the midst of prayer is a
distraction.

Center yourself in the silent intention to be present to God. There is no focus on the breath at all in
this practice. When you notice your mind wandering, repeat the Sacred Word a few times until
you can let go once again to the deep silence of God’s Presence. Keating says to reintroduce the
sacred word as gently as laying a feather on a piece of cotton. As with all forms of meditation,
don’t worry about how well you are doing. As Keating writes, the feeling that we are in God’s
Presence is a kind of grace. The best we can do is to have a willing heart by intentionally entering
silence and waiting there for the Divine Beloved.

The Egg of Light Healing Exercise

One of the most ancient forms of healing and concentration consists of imagining yourself in the
center of an egg of Divine Light. Sit quietly with eyes closed and imagine a great star of loving,
living light above you. Feel streams of light washing over you and invite it to enter the top of your
head and wash down through your body like a river washes through the sand on its bottom,
carrying away any fatigue, fear, dis-ease or negativity. As all the darkness washes out of the
bottoms of your feet imagine that it is taken in by Mother Earth and turned to compost. Spend a
little extra time washing any part of the body where there is tension, pain or disease.

Let the light wash clean the boundaries of your heart, revealing the inner light which is your own
true essence. Let that heartlight shine more and more brightly, filling your cells and tissues and
then extending beyond your body- three feet above and below you and on all sides until you feel
as if you are sitting in an egg of healing, protective light. Affirm that all positive thoughts and
prayers from others will penetrate the egg and reach you, but all negative influences will bounce
back off the egg and a blessing be returned to their sender. Affirm that all your own positive
thoughts will reach through to others, and all negative thoughts will bounce back off the inner
shell of the egg and a blessing of compassion will return to awaken your heart to love.

Lovingkindness Meditation

Meditate any way you choose for a few minutes, or enter the egg of light. Then repeat these
blessings first for yourself, then for your loved ones, then for those you are in conflict with, and
then for the world. I like to imagine the star of light from the exercise above expanding into a
circle of light into which I call those to be blessed by name, imagining them as fully as possible.
Here are the blessings:

May I be at peace, May my heart remain open,

May I awaken to the light of my own true nature,

May I be healed, May I be a source of healing for all beings.

See a circle of Divine Light. Invite your loved ones into it, calling them by name. See them in as
much detail as possible, imagining the loving light shining down on them and washing through
them, revealing the light within their own hearts. Then bless them:

May you be at peace, May your heart remain open,

May you awaken to the light of your own true nature,

May you be healed, May you be a source of healing for all beings.

Next, think of those people who you hold in judgment, and to whom you are ready to begin
extending forgiveness. Place them in a circle of light, and see the light washing away all their
negativity, just as it did for you and your loved ones. Bless them:

May you be at peace, May your heart remain open,

May you awaken to the light of your own true nature,

May you be healed, May you be a source of healing for all beings.

See our beautiful planet as it appears from outer space, a delicate jewel hanging in the starry
vastness. Imagine the earth surrounded by light- the green continents, the blue waters, the white
polar caps. The two-leggeds and four-leggeds, the fish that swim, the birds that fly, those that
creep and crawl. Earth is a place of opposites. Day and night, good and evil, up and down, male
and female. Be spacious enough to hold it all as you offer these blessings:

May there be peace on earth, May the hearts of all people

be open to themselves and to each other, May all people

awaken to the light of their own true nature, May all creation

be blessed and be a blessing to All That Is.

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Archangel Healing Meditation

The four cardinal directions invoked in American Indian prayer correspond to the four Archangels
in the Judeo-Christian tradition. These angelic forces of healing and guidance can be invoked as a
long meditation any time during the day, or as a short prayer before falling asleep. After a little
practice, you will literally feel wrapped in a soft blanket of angelic presence.

Sit or lie down, close your eyes and take a few letting go breaths. Center yourself in belly
breathing for a few minutes. Place your awareness on the space in front of you, the Eastern Gate
of your body temple. Ask for the presence of the Archangel Uriel, whose name in Hebrew means
"The Light of God." Stay centered and notice whatever you can about Uriel's presence. Review
your current situation, thinking of areas where you need more clarity. Ask Uriel for any help you
need in making decisions or in discrimination.

Place your awareness to your right, the Southern Gate of your body temple. Ask for the presence
of the Archangel Michael, whose name in Hebrew means "How Like Unto God." Michael is the
pure presence of love, forgiveness and wisdom. Stay centered and notice whatever you can about
this presence. Review your current situation, thinking of any areas in which love or forgiveness
needs to flow. Ask for any insights or help you require.

Place your awareness in back of you, the Western Gate of your body temple. Ask for the presence
of the Archangel Raphael, whose name in Hebrew means "The Healer of God." Stay centered and
notice whatever you can about Raphael's presence. Review your current situation, thinking of any
emotional, physical or spiritual healing you may need. Ask Raphael for that healing. Think, too,
about the healing you can bring to others and ask for any help you might need.

Place your awareness to your left, the Northern Gate of your body temple. Ask for the presence of
the Archangel Gabriel, whose name in Hebrew means "the strength of God." Stay centered and
notice whatever you can about this presence. Gabriel is the angel who helps us overcome fear so
that we may bring forth our creative gifts for the benefit of all. Review your current situation and
ask for the removal of fear, as well as for help in realizing your creativity.

Become aware of a star of loving light above your head. Feel the Divine Light wash over you like
a waterfall and flow through you the way that a river flows through the sand at its bottom. Let the
light wash every cell clean, carrying away any fatigue, dis-ease, heaviness or pain. As the light
flows through you, imagine that it is dissolving any darkness from around your heart, allowing the
Sun within you to shine forth brightly as a blessing to all beings. Conclude with a prayer of
thanksgiving for all the gifts of your life, and the most priceless gift of all- life itself.

Bone Marrow Cleansing Excercise from Qigong

The entire bone marow cleansing exercise, plus other exellent exercises are on Ken Cohen’s
award-winning videotape, The Way of Qigong, Sounds True, PO Box 8010, Boulder, CO) 80306
800-333-9185. Or get his book, The Way of Qigong. Also visit his website at:
www.qigonghealing.com

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