An Introduction to Meditation in the Christian Tradition: Session 3
St. Teresa of Avila once said the human mind is like a boat where mutinous sailors have tied up the captain. The sailors all take a turn at steering the boat and of course the boat goes around in circles and eventually crashes on the rocks. That is our mind, says Teresa, full of thoughts taking us off in every direction. She also says ‘Distractions and the wandering mind are part of the human condition and can no more be avoided than eating and sleeping’.
James Finley was a Trappist monk, who was tutored by the great Thomas Merton. From Merton and the Benedictine/Trappist tradition he was introduced to the practice of meditation. In his book Introduction to Christian Meditation he writes that meditation is perplexing: “What is more we must be willing to befriend our perplexity as a way of dying to our futile efforts to grasp the ungraspable depths that meditation invites us to discover.” If, as we begin to try meditation we find our mind wanders and thoughts and feeling pop up uninvited, this is to be expected. Even experienced meditators experience wandering thoughts and emerging feelings. And as with all things, we will get better with practice. Or at least, as time passes we will learn to calmly accept that our minds like to wander.
Eknath Easwaran, a teacher of meditation, writes: There is another wonderful story, which illustrates the capricious human mind. In India the mind is often compared to the trunk of an elephant, restless, inquisitive and always straying. In India if you watch an elephant in a parade you will see how apt the comparison is; in Indian towns and villages, elephants are often taken in religious processions through the streets to the temple. The streets are crooked and narrow, lined on either side with fruit stalls and vegetable stalls. Along comes the elephant with his restless trunk, and in one quick motion it grabs a bunch of bananas. You can almost see him asking. ‘What else do you expect me to do? Here is my trunk and there are the bananas.’” He just doesn’t know what else to do with his trunk. He doesn’t pause to peel the bananas, either, or to observe all the other niceties that masters of etiquette say should be observed in eating a banana. He takes the whole bunch, opens his wide mouth, and tosses the bananas in stalk and all. Then from the next stall he picks up a coconut and tosses it in after the bananas. There is a loud crack and the elephant moves on to the next stall. No threat can make this restless trunk settle down. But the wise trainer, if he knows the elephant well, will simply give that trunk a short bamboo stick to hold on to before the procession starts. Then the elephant will walk along proudly with his head high, holding the bamboo stick in front of him like a drum major with a baton. He is not interested in bananas or coconuts any more; his trunk has something to hold on to... The human mind is very much like this trunk of an elephant. Most of the time it has nothing to hold on to. But it can be kept from straying into the world of thoughts, imagination and fantasy by simply giving it something to hold on to...
Use of a mantra, a prayer word or phrase or a focus on our own breath gives us something to hold on to, so that we can be present to the moment and to God.
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St. Teresa of Avila once said the human mind is like a boat where mutinous sailors have tied up the captain. The sailors all take a turn at steering the boat and of course the boat goes around in circles and eventually crashes on the rocks. That is our mind, says Teresa, full of thoughts taking us off in every direction. She also says ‘Distractions and the wandering mind are part of the human condition and can no more be avoided than eating and sleeping’.
James Finley was a Trappist monk, who was tutored by the great Thomas Merton. From Merton and the Benedictine/Trappist tradition he was introduced to the practice of meditation. In his book Introduction to Christian Meditation he writes that meditation is perplexing: “What is more we must be willing to befriend our perplexity as a way of dying to our futile efforts to grasp the ungraspable depths that meditation invites us to discover.” If, as we begin to try meditation we find our mind wanders and thoughts and feeling pop up uninvited, this is to be expected. Even experienced meditators experience wandering thoughts and emerging feelings. And as with all things, we will get better with practice. Or at least, as time passes we will learn to calmly accept that our minds like to wander.
Eknath Easwaran, a teacher of meditation, writes: There is another wonderful story, which illustrates the capricious human mind. In India the mind is often compared to the trunk of an elephant, restless, inquisitive and always straying. In India if you watch an elephant in a parade you will see how apt the comparison is; in Indian towns and villages, elephants are often taken in religious processions through the streets to the temple. The streets are crooked and narrow, lined on either side with fruit stalls and vegetable stalls. Along comes the elephant with his restless trunk, and in one quick motion it grabs a bunch of bananas. You can almost see him asking. ‘What else do you expect me to do? Here is my trunk and there are the bananas.’” He just doesn’t know what else to do with his trunk. He doesn’t pause to peel the bananas, either, or to observe all the other niceties that masters of etiquette say should be observed in eating a banana. He takes the whole bunch, opens his wide mouth, and tosses the bananas in stalk and all. Then from the next stall he picks up a coconut and tosses it in after the bananas. There is a loud crack and the elephant moves on to the next stall. No threat can make this restless trunk settle down. But the wise trainer, if he knows the elephant well, will simply give that trunk a short bamboo stick to hold on to before the procession starts. Then the elephant will walk along proudly with his head high, holding the bamboo stick in front of him like a drum major with a baton. He is not interested in bananas or coconuts any more; his trunk has something to hold on to... The human mind is very much like this trunk of an elephant. Most of the time it has nothing to hold on to. But it can be kept from straying into the world of thoughts, imagination and fantasy by simply giving it something to hold on to...
Use of a mantra, a prayer word or phrase or a focus on our own breath gives us something to hold on to, so that we can be present to the moment and to God.
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When we find our mind has wandered we simply come back to the present moment. We cannot force this way of prayer through sheer will power. Do not try too hard. Let go, relax. There is no need to fight or struggle with distractions. Simply return to the present through the use of a mantra, or a through focus on your breath. Do not get mad at distractions. This is a non-violent way of prayer. Ignore distractions by continually returning to the present. If one is distracted with thoughts 50 times in a period of meditation, when one returns to the present that is 50 times we have chosen God over the distractions.
It is important to remember that when we are bombarded with thoughts and images at our time of meditation our will is still tuned in to the presence of God. To handle distractions we do require gentleness and patience. While we are aware of distractions we should never let them disturb us. We can even see the good in distractions; they keep us awake and on the journey. They come in one door and leave by another.
John Main also reminds us that we cannot attempt to force the elimination of distractions. In fact we must let go of goals and trying to achieve anything. Meditation is centering ourselves on our inner core and allowing God to pray within us.
From the book Christian Meditation: Contemplative Prayer for a New Generation by Paul Harris
From Session 1
The Mind:
• Be present, open and awake
• Neither cling to nor reject anything. Thoughts, feelings and images will arise, be present and then pass away. Just be present and open to them. It’s like watching a sunset, or admiring a painting. Just be present. We neither think our thoughts nor try not to have them. They are like clouds floating by in the sky, or like leaves blowing past on a windy autumn day. “
• That does not mean to toss the thought out of the mind when it appears. We simply refuse to encourage it to stay. We let it come, and we let go. Henepola Gunaratana: Mindfulness
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It is important to remember that when we are bombarded with thoughts and images at our time of meditation our will is still tuned in to the presence of God. To handle distractions we do require gentleness and patience. While we are aware of distractions we should never let them disturb us. We can even see the good in distractions; they keep us awake and on the journey. They come in one door and leave by another.
John Main also reminds us that we cannot attempt to force the elimination of distractions. In fact we must let go of goals and trying to achieve anything. Meditation is centering ourselves on our inner core and allowing God to pray within us.
From the book Christian Meditation: Contemplative Prayer for a New Generation by Paul Harris
From Session 1
The Mind:
• Be present, open and awake
• Neither cling to nor reject anything. Thoughts, feelings and images will arise, be present and then pass away. Just be present and open to them. It’s like watching a sunset, or admiring a painting. Just be present. We neither think our thoughts nor try not to have them. They are like clouds floating by in the sky, or like leaves blowing past on a windy autumn day. “
• That does not mean to toss the thought out of the mind when it appears. We simply refuse to encourage it to stay. We let it come, and we let go. Henepola Gunaratana: Mindfulness
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Fr. Thomas Keating writes of this kind of prayer: “it can feel like it does not "achieve" anything, and you don’t get anything out of it. There is neither a “good” prayer period nor a “bad” prayer period. Whether there are few or many distractions is irrelevant. This is prayer stripped to its naked essentials: faith and intention. Prayer at its simplest.”
