How to be Meditative amidst Noise?

A few years ago, I decided to start meditating seriously. It'd been on my to-do list for years, but I kept waiting to find ‘time’ and then the ‘perfect’ time. One fine day, like many of my life’s epiphanies, I knew the ‘perfect’ time for meditation would actually be when the time was not so perfect - because that’s when I would need it the most.

I started with chanting that went pretty well, but meditation proved harder than I'd assumed. Every time I sat down and closed my eyes, I would be bombarded with incessant mind chatter. Sometimes, I ended up feeling more exhausted than rejuvenated! My body and mind had lost the ability to relax – they always expected some problem, some task, some responsibility. Thankfully, determination and focus saved the day. I tried and tested several things with diligence and found my way in the end.

Now, I hear many of my friends and acquaintances talk of meditation as ‘wishful thinking.’ They too either don't find time or can't stop the mind chatter even if they try. The point here is, do not try. Just as all other parts of the body continue to function naturally while meditating, so will the mind. The first step, as far as I’ve understood from my little experience, is to learn to slow down and be completely in the moment. Once this is achieved, the rest will follow - and so will the mind!

Here are a few tips to help you be meditative even amidst the noise of daily life. I’ve found these to be extremely helpful. Hope they help you too.

1.      Every morning when you wake up, take a moment to smile at the people next to you (even if they're sleeping) and say ‘thank you.’ Remember what the Buddha said - “Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn’t learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn’t die; so, let us all be thankful.” This thought may appear morbid, but it’s the truth – when you and your loved ones wake up to another new day, many others wouldn’t. Make it your motivation to be joyful and grateful.

 2.      Spend a minute with your morning cup of beverage standing out in the sun, simply feeling its warmth on your skin. If you can’t do this, spend a moment in the sun wiping your hair after your bath or just before getting into your vehicle. Sunlight is free happiness. Bask in it! Quoting the champion of light, Helen Keller, “Keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows.”

3.      Use your senses to transform the mundane into magic! Daily chores tire/bore us because we tend to rush through them in our effort to get them over with. Here’s how you can turn them into meaningful experiences.

a.       While cooking, touch the vegetables and grains – feel their textures, line their shapes – the undulating bell peppers, the jagged bitter gourds, and the plump pumpkins. Observe how various tempering splutter differently – the taciturn ones hiss, the short-tempered ones crackle, the raging ones spit (Can you identify the ones I’m talking about?) Inhale the aromas wafting out of your pots. I especially love the zing of mustard oil that brings tears to my eyes (The Bong Connection); the fruity, juicy tang of lemon (popular choice); and the garden-freshness of home-grown herbs, especially coriander leaves, the baffling scent of whose seeds I can’t quite describe. Notice how the red of beetroot varies from the red of tomatoes; or the shades of purple of eggplants (my mom's never ever happy with the ones she gets outside Kolkata -- for her, there’s not enough green in the purple!) Listen to the sounds of chopping, slicing, grating, mixing. The perfect recipe for happiness anytime!

b.      While doing laundry, brush your fingers and cheeks against the fabric - silk, cotton, and linen; rough, smooth, and crisp. Smell their freshness after a wash. Watch how various lights reflect differently on them – sunlight glides on silk and fades into cotton; red light shines and reflects, white light blends in. Look closely at the colours. Let your gaze follow the patterns. Read a story there?

c.       If you do gardening, touch the barks, leaves, and flower petals gently. Feel the moisture on them, the softness, the stillness. Breathe in their fragrance. Hold the soil in your palms - grainy, wet, or plush – red, black, or brown. Walk on the grass bare footed for a couple of minutes. Ideally, we should be spending at least 5 minutes daily with nature. It keeps us grounded, in touch with our roots.

d.      Bibliophiles know how good bibliosmia feels! Many times, I’ve walked into a bookstore only for this. Those who've been to College Street in Kolkata or the Blossom Book House in Bangalore will know what I mean! So, keep doing more of this.

e.       When you sit down to eat, don’t gobble. Trust me - I’ve tried it and it doesn’t save time – only causes indigestion. Use your senses again and see if you can transform eating into an adventure as Mr. Hemingway does! “As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.” (A Moveable Feast)

 

These little time-outs don’t take time, yet they put us back in sync with our self, absorbed on the task at hand, and shutting the mind chatter. Fritz Perls is right in advising - “Lose your mind and come to your senses.”

     (My daughter imitating me :-))

4. In 24 hours, find just 1 minute to close your eyes and breathe. Yes, just breathe. And observe your breathing. It’s the fundamental activity of ‘life’ – yet how greatly we take it for granted! Do it at your desk, in your kitchen, in the shower, while walking, anytime! “Ten tiny breaths … Seize them. Feel them. Love them.”― K. A. Tucker

5.      Practice gratitude consciously. Cynthia Ozick is right in saying, “We often take for granted the very things that most deserve our gratitude.” So, thank people generously – even, and especially your family members, close friends, domestic helps, for every little act of kindness, every time they lend a helping hand, every time they make you smile. Remember, nothing is ever promised to us when we come – this day, this moment, everything we have. Anytime during the day, go out and look up at the sky (space) and send out your gratitude for being safe, provided for, and the myriad other blessings you ignore – family, food, shelter, work. This is magic. Try it!

6.      Find opportunities to walk short distances (5-10 minutes is a good start) – to the cafeteria, to the bus stop, to the grocery store around the bend, to the market or the park. Walk a bit slowly. Look at the path, the trees on your way, listen to the birds, smell the air (if it’s not polluted). This is a way to be aware of your surroundings, the environment of which you are a part - it deserves your attention so that you can assimilate wholly into it. Trust John Muir’s experience - “I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.”

7.      Observe the people around you – your children playing in the sun, your parents or grandparents laughing over an old memory, your neighbours talking to each other (maybe, gossiping!), or strangers on the streets. Notice their expressions, their smiles, their body language. Don’t stare, don’t judge – just observe. Especially children – because they are the unaffected, adventurous, happy ones. Soon, you’ll find yourself caught up in their happiness – and someone else will pick it up from you and on will go the wave… For - “When you have once seen the glow of happiness on the face of a beloved person, you know that a man can have no vocation but to awaken that light on the faces surrounding him. In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” Albert Camus said it!

    

8.      Listen to people. During conversations, we often tend to cut people short because we have no time, no patience. It doesn’t really take both. So, wait – hear people out completely. Listening can be therapeutic to both the speaker and the listener. And the more you listen, the more you get heard too! People appreciate those who give even a few extra moments to hear them to understand. Hear Mark Twain - “Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you would have rather talked.”  

9.      Observe yourself. For some time every day, consciously step away from your identity (your mind and body) and observe your thoughts and actions as a distant onlooker. Are you responding or reacting to situations? Are you thinking open-mindedly or are you being consumed by compulsive thought? Are you feeling your feelings – both good and bad - and letting go or holding on to them? It’s true as Sadhguru says, “Human beings suffer their own memory and imagination; that is they suffer that which does not exist.” Are you suffering too? Make the choice not to.

10.  Finally, before going to bed, smile. Remind yourself of the positive things (even if you perceive only one tiny thing) that happened that day (if you learn to focus on the positives, trust me, everything will appear positive). Pray for a minute – to whatever powers you believe in or to nothing in particular. Simply, pray, thank, and go to bed with a quiet mind, not obsessing over what awaits the next day. We’ll deal with it anyway! Follow Gaur Gopal Das’ matrix on problems.

In essence, to shut the voice egging us on forever to join the ‘race’, the mantras are simple:

1.   Silence your mind – And silencing is not the same as controlling, which is what most people advise you to do.

2.  Be in the moment – You can’t move ahead towards your destination unless you are where you are.

3.   Pay attention – Life is a miracle every moment – you’ll miss the best if you aren’t attentive.

So, do what you have to do – but do it with grace, complete involvement, and gratitude. As long as you are able to feel love, appreciate nature, and count even the smallest of blessings, you’re all right, you’re on your way -- that is all there is, and that is all we need.

So this Shivratri 2021 let the Adiyogi, one whose name is synonymous with meditation, show you how to look inward. 

Ready to lose your mind and come to your senses? Let us know what you thought! And remember to share, follow and subscribe to leftrightthodasacentre.blogspot.com

(Adiyogi image credit: Adiyogi, the source of yoga and meditation, at the Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore, TN, India)