Meditation: An oasis of peace and tranquility
By Rahayu Ratnaningsih
JAKARTA (JP): There is something good about living far away from your workplace. It gives you more opportunities to meditate during the journey to and from the office -- providing you are not the one driving.
You'll find time means little when you are meditating. An entire Nat King Cole CD, or about one hour, might waft away, simply by focusing your mind on a chain of deep inhalation and exhalation. The feeling is indescribable.
Our minds are like monkeys, jumping around from one thought to another. One thought leads to another which leads to worry which then leads to depression. That's all it takes to make oneself indulge in self-pity and anxiety. Meditation redirects these counterproductive impulses of straying consciousness to a more empowering, peaceful state of mind.
Hence, the key is really to be here now. Past recollections create anguish and regret, thoughts of the future breed anticipation and anxiety. Only living the moment brings inner peace.
We can practice many different ways of concentration and meditation techniques in one sitting, from counting to focusing on breathing, from visualization to affirmation, from metta meditation that focuses on cultivating universal compassion to all beings to vipassana meditation that concentrates on the cessation of suffering and achievement of enlightenment. Each has its own merit.
On one occasion, I visualized my friend's mother who is suffering from cancer. In my mind's eyes, I was with her in her hospital bed sending her my love and get well wishes. I did the same thing to other people I know, those who I love and don't love! I could feel my heart opening and filled with loving energy.
Another time, I counted to five while inhaling, held my breath for 20-30 counts, and exhaled for 10 counts, while visualizing the air going in and out of the trachea and lungs like in the cough medicine advertisements. The effect was energizing and produced complete mental focus.
On another occasion, I visualized myself standing by a river, enjoying the beautiful verdant surroundings, then my hand delved into my chest, took my fear out, put it in a small basket and let it wash away with the river. I did the same thing with my anxiety, envy, anger, ignorance, hatred, and all the mental defilements I could imagine.
There are several kinds of meditation. One is vipassana meditation. The purpose of this meditation is to attain the cessation of suffering through correctly understanding the true nature of mental and physical processes. The degree of concentration needed can be attained through constant and uninterrupted mindfulness of the mind-body process. There are a variety of objects of meditation: happiness is one such and so is anger, sorrow, painful sensation, stiffness, numbness, and so on. Any mental or physical process can be the object of meditation.
The difference with samatha meditation (meditation to attain tranquility and peace of mind), which can be done through concentration on breathing or a visual object, is that in vipassana meditation we follow wherever our mind goes and strive for constant awareness of every kind of thought it brings. We watch the rising and passing of thoughts and bodily sensations in a state of total detachment.
These techniques are priceless gifts for anyone wishing to develop awareness and aim for a life of balance and equanimity. In our small world plagued with insanity, monetary, political and moral crisis, the process of reading, learning and developing the knowledge to achieve an increasingly enlightened state represents an oasis of solace.