The Art (and Science?) of Meditation

I've been trying to meditate and do guided imagery for a few months, and I've been pretty consistent with doing some of the "courses" provided by The Daily Om (http://www.dailyom.com/). I see these courses as "training wheels" since they're guided meditation and not self-propelled, so I was intrigued to read an entire chapter dedicated to the importance of the mind and its relationship to health, disease prevention, and general well-being when reading parts of Anti-Cancer: A New Way of Life by David Servan-Schreiber, MD, PhD. I read a really great description of how to best teach oneself to meditate (and I think I'm going to use this very specific advice, as I tend to have problems getting my brain to quiet down!):

"Begin by sitting comfortably, with your back straight, in what the Tibetan master Sogyal Rinpoche calls a 'dignified' posture. It gives full freedom to the flow of air that slips down through the nostrils toward the throat, then the bronchi, and finally to the bottom of the lungs, before reversing its route. With your attention focused, take two deep, slow breaths to begin relaxation. A sensation of comfort, lightness, and well-being will settle into your chest and shoulders. As you repeat this exercise, you will learn to let your breathing be led by your attention and to let your attention rest on your breath. As you relax, you may feel your mind become like a leaf floating on the water, rising and falling as waves pass underneath. Your attention accompanies the sensation of each intake of breath and the long exhalation of air leaving the body gently, slowly, gracefully, all the way to the end, until there is nothing more than a tiny, barely perceptible breath left. Then there is a pause. You learn to sink into this pause, more and more profoundly. It's often while resting briefly in it that you feel in most intimate contact with your body. With practice, you can feel your heart beating, sustaining life, as it has been doing indefatigably for so many years. And then, at the end of the pause, notice a tiny spark light up all by itself and set off a new cycle of breath. What you feel is the spark of life, which is always in us and which, through this process of attention and relaxation, you may discover for the first time.

"Of course, your mind is distracted from this task after a few minutes and is drawn toward the outside world: the concerns of the past or the obligations of the future. The essential art of this 'radical act of love' consists of doing what you would do for a child who needs undivided attention. You recognize the importance of these other thoughts, but while patiently promising to attend to them when the time comes, you push them to the side and come back to the person who really needs you in the present moment, that is, yourself."

What a beautiful way to describe, in detail, what so many people never do: show the love to ourselves that we would to our family, our kids, our spouse, our friends by spending part of each day in meditation. This can be prayer, or even a few deep breaths; it doesn't have to take hours each day or require you to dramatically alter your life. Even the word "meditation" sounds kind of weird or even scary, especially when we associate it with yogis or shamans or 'new age' people. I have just found that it is imperative for my state of mind to turn my brain off for a few minutes, even if I only do it once or twice a week at first. It helps me focus at work, center my thoughts, and not become stressed when new things are piled on my plate.

As my acupuncturist, the uber-talented Joshuah Kim, always says: "When you turn off the brain, the rest of the body can work like it should." Easier said than done, but certainly worth it.

*M*