as it just seems easier for me to meditate outdoors however, my patio does not have the wonderful porch swing I discovered at Harte Lodge. As I sipped my coffee gazing out at the trees and began thanking my HP for a new day, my right foot slowly pushed the swing into a gentle rhythm. A few moments of this gentle swaying and something deep within my self also began to sway gently. A deep peace descended upon me embracing my body, my spirit and my mind.
Swaying, I remembered the peace and joy of rocking my babies, I remembered the family rocker at the cabin that has lulled both babies and adults into a serene state of dozing. I was soothed into a level of being that in some ways I had forgotten how easily it may be achieved.
Soothe: to soften; to calm; to mitigate, to mollify. Oh yes, my time on the porch swing did all of those actions quite effectively: my spirit softened as my mind and body became calm. Reluctantly leaving the swing and early morning peace to head into a shower and the work of a busy day I thought, 'I think we modern adults have forgotten the need to be soothed and not just relaxed.' That thought has been swirling in the back of my mind for the past couple weeks as I went about life down here in the Valley wondering what the difference was between soothing oneself and becoming relaxed and what exactly are the necessary components for soothing?
Relax: to become less stiff or rigid; to loosen. The trick to relaxing is actually fairly simple because usually just 'shifting gears' will allow for the sensation - however momentary - of relaxation: changing position, thinking a different thought, engaging in conversation, doing an activity that has a different quality than the actions of the previous one, all of these allow a part of the self; physical, mental, emotional, social or spiritual to loosen a bit. But the sensation I had as the porch swing rhythmically swayed went much deeper than simply feeling relaxed and one thing I found sort of amazing, was how quickly I felt soothed. 'Ah-ha' I realized, it's the component of the body: to be soothed the body must be engaged in a rhythmic action!
Then I realized that when I colored my mandalas I felt soothed, that the reason I turned on classical music while writing was I found it soothing and one aspect of cooking I enjoy is when a recipe calls for ingredients to be diced or chopped. The action of laying down color on a mandala is a rhythmic movement of the hands as is chopping or dicing vegetables and classical music is kind of magical as it seems to enter the ears and then it's rhythm seeps into the body's muscles and blood. As the clarity of the need for the body to be involved in a rhythmic action in order for the sensation of feeling soothed to be activated began to blossom in my mind, I realized that what happens as the body settles into a simple cadence is that the mind and then the spirit just sort of naturally follow along. Pretty soon the elements of self: body, mind and spirit become engaged in the action generating feeling soothed: the individual parts become gathered into a singularity of being.
Singularity: a single or individual form. In others words: all that composes me is operating as one being in one rhythm. Well darn! No wonder the sensation of swinging gently on that porch felt so right; not just good but the sensation of right, that is in proper order. No wonder I can get lost in my mandalas or gently putting down ten or twelve layers of color as I create a background for one of my drawings: how could one not enjoy feeling 'put together' on the level of one's energy system?
As all these definitions and thoughts began to take shape I realized that this is why I find I meditate best while outdoors. When I sit on the patio my body becomes engaged: I hear the birds, my eyes take in the sky, the clouds, the trees and the flowers and my skin feels the movement of the air: I am cradled in creation while outside. I'm sure a scientist could explain what I am about to say which is that while outdoors my body, on some level, is aware of and therefore becomes, a teeny-tiny part of the cosmos. While outside, I am able to experience on some level the sensation of taking my place in life. I suspect this is one of the reasons gardeners love the entire process of gardening and hikers are willing to get blisters in order to spend hours on a trail in the woods. Both activities provide a means for soothing the mind and spirit as the body happily moves into it's place in the cosmos of life. We become reconciled with life in those activities of being one with creation.
When I looked up the definition of soothe the word mollify was given as a synonym, which means to appease which indicates a willingness of conciliation (to be reconciled) or to disarm. What is clear to me is that when I engage in an experience of being soothed my mind becomes 'disarmed.' To disarm something is to take away the weapons {the weapon of the mind is the ego which has been 'armed' with a well fortified defense system} and the other definition of to disarm that amused me greatly as I thought about it in reference of disarming the mind was to 'remove the fuse from'. When we 'disarm' the mind, our prejudices, shoulds, oughts, musts, beliefs, perceptions and attitudes sort of dissolve - the fuse is removed - which is why the sensation of being soothed is one of softening or melting. Once the mind become 'disarmed' our being becomes capable of softening into a single rhythm, a singularity.
Ah-ha I thought, the reason I meditate so easily outside is, as I wrote earlier in this piece, I become soothed by the energies of nature and because I feel 'soothed' i.e., flowing as a singular unit (with a 'disarmed' mind) I am able to be open to the Spirit. Even more importantly, even though I had not formulated this thought before, after decades of doing this activity, I expect to feel the Spirit. Why do I have this expectation? Partially because I believe I will simply because I do, but my new insight on the porch swing was when I am 'soothed' there's room for the Spirit to move around within me and so I am able to feel it's movement. This is probably one reason I began journaling after my meditation period: I was moved to bring my thoughts into this process of singularity. A friend of mine who tends her roses like a mother tends a baby, told me recently that she almost always journals after she had gardened. The sensation of singularity - of wholeness - is a terrific precursor to creativity and clarity.
Creativity is the purpose of living. The creative use of my being - my singular self - is how living is created. Creativity by the way does not necessarily include 'the arts' or 'crafts' although it may and often does. The meaning of 'creativity' is the bringing forth that which is new: has not yet existed. You have never existed before as you are right now today. Everything you are and everything you do is a unique creation for life. This is the point of being alive: to share your unique being with life creatively. However, in order to truly live creatively, it seems that as a human being, it is necessary that I 'disarm' my ego for at least a little while each day.
Why does my ego need to be disarmed in order for creativity to emerge? The short - very short - explanation is that our neuroses (and yes we all have them to greater or lesser degrees) feed off our ego. Another very short explanation of this is that actually a neurosis is simply the negative use of our will. Yes, we do create our own neurosis but that's a topic for another day. On my many bits of paper I have strewn about my living space is a quote from a book titled Creativity by Matthew Fox: "Since neurosis is a negative act of creativity, healing can happen through redirecting one's creative impulses to love of life rather than love of suffering; to creative action rather than control."
Redirecting ones creative impulses to love of life is simply a matter of understanding that you have control over your thoughts and then being willing to take on that responsibility. {See the posting title Baton} How did I to these thoughts about neurosis and creativity from the concept of being soothed? Soothing brings us to an experience of 'singularity' and it is this experience of wholeness which allows for health to occur within all the levels of self: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. The capacity for 'redirecting' the thought process is a matter of being willing to engage practices that strengthen your wholeness.
Strengthening your wholeness can begin by a willingness to add just ten or fifteen minutes of time several times a week devoted only to being present to Life and breathing in the qualities of goodness and love. This action is ten or fifteen minutes of deliberately directing your mind to the concept of the love of life and breathing this love and goodness into yourself. If you are able to add a soothing element: coloring, rocking, music, walking ('power', goal oriented walking doesn't count), yoga, tai-chi, gardening (I'm sure the list could be very long if I had more than just my brain here for the brainstorming) the strengthening is accelerated.
I wonder if we could convince the AMA that writing presciptions for rockers and porch swings may be as beneficial as pills? Hmmmmmm .......
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