How to Not Circle the Drain: Keeping it Together in the 21st Century

Clear Mental Clutter: Meditation Creates Internal Space

Explore the Inner Frontier with Meditation

So many of us today become overwhelmed by the hectic pace of modern life and the constant stimulation of our senses.  The nervous system responds positively to our attempts to calm and center ourselves in the sea of constant activity.  Meditation is a way to experience your the vast expanse of your mind in a new way, by stilling the constant mental chatter, and tuning in to what has always been there beneath the surface.  It is like tuning in to a different wavelength or frequency.

 During the 1960s in the United States, the phrase “Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out” was coined by Timothy  Leary and became a phrase of the counterculture movement.  The reductionist view was that it was solely a reference to the use of recreational drugs, but Dr. Leary maintained that it was a much broader reference to accessing different realms of consicousness.  I like to use it as a reference to meditation as follows:  Drop out of your hyper-connected modern life for awhile, tune in to the calm stillness of your mind in its depths, and turn on to the possibilities of an inward and internal journey.  The pure focus on external activity is a limited focus in regard to our vast human potentiality! 

It seems that everywhere one turns lately, there are teachers and celebrities extolling the virtues of meditation.  There is a real “sell” going on in terms of what meditation can do for you.  The benefits include stress relief, various positive impacts on brain and immune system function, and a sharpened ability to focus and concentrate. These are very real benefits and by-products of meditation, and important hooks for twenty-first century humans to begin the process.

The Beatles helped to popularize meditation in the West, and they went to India in 1967 to practice with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the founder of Transcendental Meditation, or TM.  When you complete the TM program, you are given a personalized mantra for your own use.  A mantra is a Sanskrit word that translates loosely as an instrument of thought, or a tool of the mind.  It is a syllable, word, or phrase repeated over and over when meditating.  Former Beatle Paul McCartney is featured on the current official TM website (tm.org) and he is a faithful advocate of the TM method, as is Ellen DeGeneres  There is an extensive body of research that supports the efficacy of TM, including studies conducted at Harvard, Stanford, Yale, and other prestigious universities and research centers. 

 There has been a growing trend in the marketing of meditation for “no incense required,” the directives that you don’t have to sit in an uncomfortable cross-legged position, no spirituality required, that meditation is like working out for your mind, etc.  I would like to add another dimension to the current packaging of meditation to say, if you want to light incense, do it.  If you want to totally hippie out and wear flowers and meditate, have at it!

 Bring yourself to the meditation and make is as spiritual or secular as you would like.  Do it in a business suit or a Nehru jacket and beads if you want, there is no right or wrong way to meditate, no “style don’ts.”  Customize it to your own style and preferences.  If a mind work-out does not appeal to you, think of it as a mental river cruise!

Dr. Herbert Benson wrote the book “The Relaxation Response” in 1975.  He identified the conditions to create the response of relaxation in humans:  a comfortable position, a receptive, open attitude, a quiet environment, and the repetition of a syllable, word, or phrase.  The repetition is essential.

Mantra meditation is one vehicle for eliciting the relaxation response.  Probably the best known mantra is “Om” or “Aum,” and if you have taken a yoga class you may have chanted it at the beginning or end of class.  You may use “Om” to experiment with meditation of another syllable, a word or phrase from your own religious or spiritual tradition.  You could also use the number one as well, or count a succession of numbers.  The power is in the repetition. 

Test Drive #1: 

Find a quiet place.  Sit in a comfortable position, on a chair, or on the floor, cross-legged or not.

 Close your eyes and direct your attention to your breath, inhaling and exhaling.  Take a few deep breaths.  Breathe slowly and naturally.  Progressively relax your muscles from head to toe, or in any sequence, incrementally relaxing your whole body. 

On the exhale, begin silently reciting “Om” or your chosen syllable, word or phrase in a continuous loop.

As thoughts arise, just notice them as a detached observer.  Try not to hold on to them or push them away.  Gently invite them to move along, and redirect your attention to the silent repetition of your mantra or phrase.

The same orientation to any sounds in the environment is suggested.  Notice the sounds, and try labeling them, for example “lawn mower” in the burbs, or “horns honking” for a city dweller.  Don’t attach, let the sounds be as they are.

Start with 5-10 minutes and gradually increase to what feels right for you.  Dr. Benson directs 12-15 minutes per practice session, done daily.  When I took a course in Transcendental Meditation, it was recommended for twenty minutes per day, twice per day.  See what works for you!

At the end of your meditation, let your mantra go, return your focus to your breath and slowly open your eyes. 

Try not to judge yourself in this process.  A friendly orientation to yourself is always recommended.  Our minds our habituated to a high level of stimulation, so sometimes it can be a struggle to still the chatter.  Just let it be as it is, that’s the point, meditation is not about competition or being the “best” meditator.  The point is in the effort to explore the vast human frontier of your own mind and internal space! 

Test Drive #2: 

Try one of the numerous meditation apps to assist you in the process.

 My current favorite is Andy Puddicombe’s Headspace (getsomeheadspace.com), and he has a “Take 10” promotion where you get 10 free days of downloads of ten minutes duration each.  The Headspace-on-the go app has some interesting graphics and really breaks down the process in a user-friendly way. 

I also like Meditation Oasis’s Simply Being app and the Buddhify2 app, I use these three Apps regularly and recommend them to my clients who are interested in meditating.

 I like to meditate the “old school” way and also mix it up with an app depending on my mood and how jacked up I feel from my day.  These apps allow us to utilize technology to our advantage to “Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out” in a twenty-first century way!