Meditation and Riding: Part II Richard I Jontry, Ph.D.,
MAC, CAC Diplomate |
The first thing most of us want to do when we are faced with a problem is to fix it immediately, if not sooner. Meditation is more of a tool for understanding and learning about the problem and is thus juxtaposed to the solution-focused approach. To paraphrase an old proverb—drive a person's buggy to the store and you get them where they want to go; teach them to drive it themselves, and they can get there by themselves whenever they want to go. Meditation enables us to learn why we are having that particular problem in our lives now; what we are `supposed' to be learning from the problem; and with that, what we might do differently usually emerges on its own. Your life has been going along pretty smoothly and so has your riding. You've advanced to the level where you believe you've earned a more challenging horse. You look around, preview some videos, talk to trainers and breeders, and find the perfect horse for your pocket book and skill level. Things continue to progress smoothly for awhile and then all of a sudden your horse gets stubborn, or lazy, or disinterested, or maybe goes lame. You try and figure out what's going on and how to fix the problem. You may even succeed. Great. Congratulations. You move until the next problem arises. You may have figured out what to do with the horse, or mortgage, or footing. What, if anything, have you learned about yourself? What have you learned about yourself that will help you avoid having the same problem come up again? Meditation in its many guises is a way to look at the problem and eventually learn something important about why the problem has arisen for you at this point in your life. It is a way to learn what you are supposed to be learning from the problem. If there weren't something to learn, you wouldn't be having the problem in the first place. Naturally, that is only a perspective – a way of looking at things. How we react to things exists in direct correlation to what our previous life experiences up until this moment have been. Meditation aims at breaking up the conditioning that has been established so that it is no longer the major determinant of future action/reaction. At the very least, meditation changes our normal reaction to stress, and thus the way difficult problems are faced. Stress is estimated to be responsible for 60-90% of all doctor visits. What percentage of bad riding do you think it accounts for? Meditation helps quiet the mind. It is not necessarily the events in our lives that are stressful. How we react to the events in our lives- worrying, fretting, and getting scared or angry- is what creates most of our stressful reaction. Meditation can change all of that. All disciplines of meditation include, in one form or another, a repetitive word or activity that takes the practitioner to a deeper level of consciousness. The word is sometimes called a mantra; the action is often following one's breath. Every time your mind begins to wander you bring it back to the “one thing” – the word or breath. You do this over and over and over again. When the mind wanders (to worry, negative self-talk, fear, anger, etc.) you bring it back to the word or the breath. After awhile the mind begins to quiet down. The calmness spills over into other parts of your day—into your riding—and the way you've reacted to things begins to change. Focus on a word or phrase and disregard all other thoughts. The word or phrase you use is of no importance for the success of the mediation. Individuals who use the practice of meditation for religious or spiritual advancement very often chose a word or phrase of spiritual significance to them. Om or grace are two commonly used words. If the experience will be most meaningful or pleasant for you through the utilization of a word having special meaning for you, by all means use one. A word of caution though. The word itself may be so loaded with thought associations that using it as your meditation “mantra” may intensify the intrusive nature of unwanted thoughts. So now you have a word or phrase to use. Sit comfortably in a quiet place. Sit in a chair or on the floor with your legs crossed and your hands in your lap. Close your eyes and follow your breath. Follow the in and out of your breath for a few minutes. Then begin to say your word or phrase on each out breath. Notice when thoughts arise to distract you and just say something like “Oh, there's a thought” let it go and return to your mantra. Be careful not to get yourself tense by thinking you have to repeat the mantra on each and every out breath. It is OK to let it come and go from your consciousness. Remember to keep coming back to it. It is also OK to change the speed and tempo of your breath/mantra. After a little while it may seem as if you are not saying the mantra. It may seem as if you are hearing it. That's great. Don't worry if that happens. YOU ARE NOT GOING CRAZY. It may only take a few sessions before you start looking forward to your twenty minutes meditation sessions. You may feel yourself entering a very pleasant relaxed state of being. You may fall asleep, your head may fall over, you mouth may start to droop. Don't worry about any of that. If it happens, notice it, and bring your awareness back to your mantra. After twenty minutes (it is OK to sneak a look at the clock) stop saying your mantra and stay quiet a few moments longer. Gently bring yourself back to full awareness. As with most practices, consistency is more important than duration. Shoot for twenty minutes a day. If that is impossible on some days at least do ten of five minutes. And yes, before meals is much preferable to after meals. Once you get the hang of this you might try using a phrase relating to something that is a problem area for you. For example, if you are having trouble doing half halts you might use “half halts” as your mantra. I invite you to be open to whatever show up for you. Many people experience a shift in problem or issue they are exploring when they do this. At first nothing may happen. Then you might notice that the whole meaning of the concept you are focusing on shifts. It may even become meaningless or foolish. That's OK. Allow whatever happens to happen. You may next notice a new perspective, insight, awareness, or meaning arise from your mediation on the concept. All of a sudden you may know exactly what you've been doing that needs to be corrected and how to go about it. Experiment. Have fun. Relax. A suggested site for information
on meditation on the WWW is
THE MINDFULNESS CORNER. |
