Tergar Buddhism, Mindfulness, Meditation

One of the great adventures in life is about going out and exploring the world. Another one is about looking within and exploring your mind. Self-discovery is something many of us fight with from time to time. And some of it is quite fascinating, and a specific example I have in mind is: What we think we are supposed to want and what we actually want but are in active denial about. And when we try to suppress our thoughts instead of acknowledging them, sometimes they can manifest themselves anyway in strange ways. Better to tackle such things head on.

One mechanism by which to explore yourself is through meditation. An annoying word that just gets thrown around a lot. Somewhat recently I attended a sort of conference / workshop that had a nice introduction and practice. It is hosted by the Tergar Meditation Community, and is quite popular-- the one we attended filled up an entire theater. I want to share my perspective on this event.

The first thing that struck me was the sense of humor of the meditation leaders. They really liked to crack jokes. A few weeks prior we had gone to a screening of a film called Walk With Me (narrated by Benedict Cumberbatch!), and I got the same vibe from this as well. Humor as a way to connect with us all. I'll give some examples below.

Awareness. This was the theme of the day, and is the key to meditation.

"Who knows what awareness is?" Hands are raised.

"Who doesn't know?" Other hands raised.

"Who knows that they don't know?" Hands uncertain.

"That is awareness."

Huh?

"You all know. But you don't know you know."

I think I just died inside.

So yeah, awareness. It comes in many flavors: sensory awareness, emotional awareness, thoughts awareness. And many exercises to tune into each one.

It all starts with the breath. It's the simplest thing you can notice yourself doing that you don't realize you are doing most of the time, or we don't really think about. Then we go into the variation.

First up, "Sight Meditation". The instructions? "Look at this flower." And notice what you are feeling.

Source

Next? "Sound Meditation". The instructions? "Listen to this sound." And notice what you are feeling.

Then, "Taste Meditation". Perfectly timed for lunchtime. My favorite. Great vegetarian lunchbox provided. A fun quote (not actual quote, taking a few liberties here):

"Don't be a meditative try-hard. For example, don't be like this." Proceeds to imitate carrying a spoon and moving in slow motion as he picks up some air soup and moves it slowly towards his mouth. "I... am... meditating... now...."

"No, be natural. Do what you are doing, but add awareness-- how you are feeling, and that you are noticing what exactly your body is doing. That is awareness. That is meditation. Open your lunchbox, notice what you see, notice what you smell. Taste it, notice again. Experience your lunch!"

At lunch I did just that, and it was delicious. I thought I took a photo of it, but I appear not to have done so. Must have been just in the moment.

On the way back I saw a butterfly flapping and took a capture of that.

What's after that? "Sleeping meditation." Well, I don't know about the meditation part, but I certainly got a lot of sleep. Had a headache that day. I think I was supposed to notice what I am feeling before I... zzzzz

A few more after. "Thoughts meditation". Instructions? He ponders for a moment. Something people like in Taiwan: Stinky Tofu. Okay. Don't think about stinky tofu. Go.

Thoughts are interesting, because we can't really control it. He compared them to a river.
"If you are swimming in a river, can you observe the river? You want to let the thoughts flow by and simply observe them, let them come and go." Something like being at the riverbank. Reminds me of a mindfulness/meditation class I took awhile back, advising just that.

The final one, emotional meditation. Instructions? "Think of someone you really, really, dislike. Everyone got it? Need help thinking of one? Maybe a political leader of your country perhaps? Okay, now think of them now, and notice how you feel."

Each of these sessions lasted quite awhile, and it was easy to lose track of time. I think I fell asleep doing some of them by accident, since I was just so tired by then. But I really gained some nice perspectives.

A little tidbit before I call it a night. He brought up that for daily practice, there are two kinds of meditation we can take part in. The first, "informal meditation", is simply to be noticing what you are doing at that moment and how you feel, while you are doing it (just remembering once in awhile). Just checking in on your awareness. Like say... "Oh. I'm on Steemit! This is fun. I feel happy."

Then there is "Formal meditation". These are focused sessions of of awareness, catching thoughts, or catching emotions, essentially the exercises we were led through that day. Working these into the daily routine can help round out the day. It's basically a workout for the mind!

Anyone else incorporate a mind workout in their daily routine?