Mindfulness Practice session 14 March, 10.30-12.30, Mini Kirtan Sunday 23 March, 2-3.45pm

Mindful Heart

Meditation

“My religion is simple, my religion is kindness” 14th Dalai Lama

What is meditation?

Meditation is a spiritual practice in many religions. There are many different types of meditation - insight or 'Vipassana', focused awareness and tranquility or 'Samatha', Mindfulness, visualization, mantra recitation, transcendental, yoga, loving-kindness, contemplative, whirling Dervesh... so it can be confusing to know where to start.

Sasha's main practices are from Vipassana, Samatha and Loving-kindness from Buddhist traditions and from Secular Mindfulness. From her experience she would say:

Meditation is offering an open, kind and receptive awareness to one's experience, of breath, body, mind and heart. This is an embodied practice that nurtures a sense of calmness, peace and loving kindness towards oneself and others. As we increase our connection to experience and understanding of our habitual reactions, we develop greater presence and chance to choose responses that are kind, and which support calmness and happiness. We also develop a deeper sense of connection to others. Meditation benefits oneself and others.

Our brains are truly amazing, they continue to grow and learn throughout life! The more we practice meditation (or anything) the stronger those neural pathways become. Research has shown that meditation and mindfulness use multiple areas of the brain and create many benefits. Here's a little neuro-science summary: The left hippocampus cortical grows in thickness and weight through regular meditation. This can strengthen self-awareness, self-regulation and empathy. Compassionate based meditation develops the limbic system which processes emotion. Meditation has also been shown to reduce cortisol, the stress hormone, which impacts to physical health outcomes.

In the 1970s Jon Kabbit-Zinn began integrating aspects of Buddhist meditation practice into a secular course called Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction. Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is a similar highly popular course in the UK. Mindful Self-Compassion is a course developed by Kristin Neff. The benefits of Mindfulness have been incorporated into therapies such Dialectical Behaviour Therapy and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy.

Loving Kindness Meditation

Understanding that there was no limit to how deep and how open the heart can be and that this is what can heal and free us - what can change consciousness in the world.

Tara Brach

'Metta' or 'Maitri' can be translated as Loving Kindness or friendliness. During metta meditation we bring to mind good wishes for ourselves and others, using phrases like 'may I be well and happy', 'may I/they be full of loving kindness', 'may they be free from suffering' or visualising in order to connect with loving feelings.

“If you compassion does not include yourself, it is incomplete".

Jack Kornfield, Meditation Teacher

Mindfulness

'When we let go of our battles and open our heart to things as they are, then we come to rest in the present moment.' Jack Kornfield

MIndfulness is a natural state of mind that we all experience, such as when looking at a beautiful sunset, the ocean, a baby laughing. These moments can bring us out of the habitual chatter of the mind, of planning for the future or reminiscing over the past or worries. We can then be more present and alive with our experience.

"The mind moves around naturally, but we don't have to be pulled away in lots of different directions." Martin Aylward, Meditation Teacher

Meditation on the present moment experience of our voice, breath, body, senses, and mind helps to strengthen our natural presence.

"To begin to meditate is to look into our lives with interest and kindness and discover how to be wakeful and free." Jack Kornfield, Meditation Teacher

When we are united with and receive ourselves in loving awareness it can bring a sense of calm and peace, and be more fully in the moment.

"True listening arouses an open receptive presence that can be truly healing." Tara Brach, Meditation Teacher

When we connect with the present moment we connect with freshness to the wonder and beauty of experience.

I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognise: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes. All is a miracle.

Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation

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