Spontaneous meditation

Spontaneous Meditation; Simple Techniques for Clarity & Creativity When was the last time you took time to think about your thinking? Generally we’re constantly analyzing and reacting to our OUTER world, but what about pausing to reflect on our INNER world? Meditation is offers a never ending process of self-discovery. Last week I produced a retreat for the Dalai Lama Fellows. The retreat brought together bright your people from 5 countries, 7 Universities and handful CSO’s who are all initiating projects to affect persistent global issues. They are trained in coalition building, design, scenario planning and contemplative practice – all important skills. At the end of the program, we asked the participants what they found most valuable, Megan said, “I’m around a lot of really smart people and we learn a lot of tools for doing – but what I’m learning that’s more important is tools for BEING. “Armaan UC Irvine said, “Contemplative practice – because I am learning how to think about the way I think.” Let’s look at this model courtesy of Mindful Schools (SLIDE #1) Usually we go through life… What a mindfulness practice develops is… Today I am going to teach you a few styles of mediation that you can use spontaneously – on the spot without any prop or accoutrement needed. I’ll show you some of the latest research findings on the benefits of mediation, and you’ll have an opportunity to ask a few questions. What I’m presenting today are points of entry to beginning a mindfulness practice – to get you started with ease. Sound good? Let me ask, do we have anyone who had meditated in the audience? (show of hands) And who here maintains a consistent, regular mediation practice? (show of hands) Ok great, thank you. Let’s take a moment right now. We’ll take a short period of a minute or two, and I would like you to relax and quiet your mind – actually stop thinking for a few minutes (pause ). Ok, good. What happened? What did you notice? Did you stop thinking? (popcorn-style audience feedback). I’d like you to take a moment and reflect on your last week or two. How would you characterize it? What was the general feel like? Would you say it was easy, open, and fluid? Or hurried, some anxiety, and perhaps obsessively thinking about what you needed to do next? Just notice. (pause few moments). So, if meditation/ mindfulness could bring one thing to tour life, what would you like that to be? (popcorn-style audience feedback). Meditation / mindfulness / Contemplative practice / Army = Mind training All cultivate greater self-awareness and awareness of the world we live in. Variety of styles of meditation practice some sit facing a wall, others practice with eyes open, others eyes closed. There is walking meditation, body scans, and more. What all forms of mindfulness/ meditation, share, is that through developing our minds (our being) we can become better leaders, avoid burn-out and create workplaces where people thrive. (10 mins) So let’s jump right in and try one – ready? To begin, please place both feet on the floor and sit upright. Bring your back straight and just in front of the seat back. Check in with our hips – do they feel balanced on the seat cushion? Make any adjustments to feel balanced. Now, take a soft gaze with your eyes. Or close them if you prefer, but avoid focusing on something specific – let your eyeballs relax. Next, place your attention on the top of your skull about ¾ way back – right where your spine would come out the top of your skull, if it could. Now you’re getting close to your body’s natural alignment – you don’t want to be holding yourself or forcing the body to do anything – allow it to move to it’s natural alignment. You may begin to feel a gentle release of energy. Now, place your attention in your stomach behind your navel and a bit lower. Resting your attention here, breathe in and out of your stomach. Feel this rise / extension of the belly on the inhale and the ease with the exhale. Take a few slow, full breaths into your belly, then exhale.. staying with your breath on the exhale. See how present you can stay to your breath. (ring singing bowl) Good, thank you. Now I will show you a few ways this simple practice can be a spontaneous meditation in your daily life- ready?! This first example applies to everyone who drives a car, rides in a car, or takes public transportation. I don’t know about you, but not too long ago I realized I’d developed a habit that was anxiety producing. Here’s how it happens. I drive. When a signal turns red, the first thing I was doing was reaching for my phone and checking for messages. Invariably there is a text, email etc and suddenly my mind is engulfed in that situation and I begin spinning. My ego likes to justify that as being efficient – but truth be told there’s also a cost. Having a full mind does NOT = Mindful This mindfulness practice is from the chapter, “When You Stop, Pause,” in my forthcoming book. ,[object Object]

You do NOT reach for your handheld device

You pause - first checking in with your posture, making your spine nice and erect from hips to the top of your skull.

Next, you place your attention in your belly and take a few deep breaths, really feeling the breath. (for those of you in a car, please keep your eyes open ). You want to notice that you’re noticing your breath. Ahh.

The light turns green, BART takes off and you’ve just had a moment of mindfulness.Let’s try this in our chairs, ready? The light’s just turned red. You sit forward, check your posture from hips to top of skull. Attention in the belly. A few deep breaths, really feeling the breath. The light turns green – ahh. This can also be applied midst your workday. I encourage you to set a few calendar reminders. It can be at say 12:45 , 3:15, whatever. There you are in the chair at your desk and… DING You sit forward, check your posture from hips to top of skull. Attention in the belly. Take a few deep breaths, really feeling the breath. Ahh. What we’re doing is training our mind to realize how much space and openness there is – even when we feel like our backs are up against the wall – there’s a wealth of room for skillful means. You can apply this in many situations, on an airplane, a boring party, at your in-laws, you name it. My goal here is to allow you to begin with very simple steps that don’t require a lot of time to begin flexing this new muscle. Over time, it is admittedly my hope that you will develop a daily practice of 15 minutes, 25 minutes, possibly even an hour! I scoffed at the notion of meditation for an hour when I began practicing about 7 years ago. Now, I spend 8 – 10 hours a day meditating on retreat, and it is without a doubt the SINGLE MOST BENEFICIAL Admittedly, I was a big fan of David Letterman’s Top 10 lists. I really liked his humor (or that if his writers anyway). In honor of Dave, I’m going to present the Top 10 Benefits of Meditation (The following will be presented on slides w/ reasons #10 - #1. Accompanying speaking part in italics) SpiritWell Top 10 Reasons to Meditate: (SLIDE) 10. Meditation Changes Your Brain. It’s true, researchers at the Univ of Wisconson, U Mass and Univ of Penn have all found that even short periods of meditation produce lasting positive changes in brain functioning. 9. Meditation Increases Intuition and Creativity. Harvard University has found that meditation increases brain-wave activity, enhances intuition and improves concentration. ,[object Object],7. Meditation Increases Alertness. University of Kentucky researchers found that sleepy people who meditated did better on a test of mental quickness than those who took a nap. 6. Mediation Increases Productivity. Both job performance and job satisfaction rates have been measured to increase among meditators. 5. Meditation Slows Down the Aging Process. People who meditate for five years or more have been found to be physiologically younger by 12 years than their chronological age. 4. Meditation Increases Fertility (joke – but true!) 3. Meditation Improves Sleeping Patterns. A study of insomnia patients reported 100% experienced improved sleep and 91% either reduced or eliminated sleeping medication use. 2. Because You Care. You care for your body through nutrition and exercise, how are you caring for your mind 1. Meditation is Sexy! Seriously – through a mindfulness practice you can become less anxious, develop empathy and more compassionate… You can develop greater clarity of mind, creativity and move through life with a grace and ease that people find sexy! Over time, I’ve found myself becoming less focused on “The Libby Show,” yet, accomplishing great things. So, given these options, there’s no reason to hold back. Time to learn Spontaneous Meditation #2! This is a meditation on sound. We’ll begin again with our 3 points of posture; sitting forward in your chair, hips balanced and spine upright, gently lifting through the crown of the head. Taking a moment and feeling your breath. Now shift your attention to your ears. What sounds do you hear? (pause… then comment on hum of a/c, any papers shifting, voices at a distance). Where does the sound begin? At your eardrum? How close to the sounds origin can you trace it? Relax your ears, soften your attention and listen. (pause) Perhaps you hear the sounds of your breath; your heart beat. Can you hear a sound and allow it to be a sounds without labeling it? Without mentally saying car, voices, etc? In a moment I’m going to ring the singing bowl, and I’d like you to see how long you can stay with the sound. When does it really end? (ring singing bowl) What did you notice? Did you drift into a thought before the sound faded? Were you able to stay with it the entire time? Let’s try this once more. (ring singing bowl). Ok, good. The point here is to notice our noticing, and how quickly we label our environment. (develop this a bit more) Let’s take a moment, and see what questions I can answer for you… (q & a for few minutes – participation depending) In this fast-paced world, so much of our focus is on, getting what we want. What do I need to do to get the funder to say yes?” “Once we raise $10M, then we’ll be okay. If only they’d give me the COO role. We just need to get to the IPO stage…” and on and on. We do this in our professions and we do this at home with our relationships. This definitely fosters what the Tibetan Buddhists call, “hungry ghost” way of being. (show slide image) Notice how the throat is so tiny and the stomach is bloated? The icon is from the Tibetan Wheel of Life and represents how for many of us, no matter what we have, it’s never quite enough. We become tortured by our own cravings and yearnings. Through your mindfulness practice, you can develop a greater sense of appreciation for what is, rather than what isn’t. And this translates back to the greater sense of ease, confidence and clarity that’s magnetizing (and sexy). I will close today with another practice from my forthcoming book in the chapter called, “A Moment of Appreciation.” We’ll begin again with our 3 points of posture; sitting forward in your chair, hips balanced and spine upright, gently lifting through the crown of the head. Resting your eyes; taking a moment, and feeling your breath. (pause) Bring to mind someone something or some situation you are thankful for. This could be a family member, people you work with. (pause). Now, think about how fortunate you are to be in this room today. That you have intelligence and vision. That you are free to express your entrepreneurial spirit and have this incredible opportunity to thrive, to fall, to stand back up and go for it again.” (ring singing bowl) (maybe reference a quote?) Thank you for your listening. Please contact me if you are interested in developing a meditation practice personally or within your organization. I’m happy to answer your questions and have abundant practice resources to share with you. Be well~ (Closing slide: Libby WeathersFounder, SpiritWell libby@spiritwellgroup.com spiritwellgroup.com415.259.8707

Spontaneous meditation

Spontaneous meditation

Spontaneous meditation

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