{"id":1640,"date":"2019-03-13T17:54:58","date_gmt":"2019-03-14T00:54:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.reed.edu\/meditation\/?p=1640"},"modified":"2019-04-02T10:32:47","modified_gmt":"2019-04-02T17:32:47","slug":"march-is-meditation-month-at-tricycle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.reed.edu\/meditation\/2019\/03\/13\/march-is-meditation-month-at-tricycle\/","title":{"rendered":"March is Meditation Month at Tricycle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tricycle magazine runs a support campaign<\/strong><\/a> every March for meditators and the curious. Whether you already have a regular meditation practice, or have tried meditation before and moved on (do you know why?), or are just curious about how to meditate, this campaign is for you<\/em>. And me.<\/em><\/p>\n

As things stand in March, 2019, my personal take on my meditation practice is: I wish<\/em> I meditated every day, but I don’t. Not right now. These days a ‘good’ week of practice will include 4-5 days with 20-60 minutes of meditation, but most weeks aren’t ‘good.’<\/p>\n

Why don’t I respond to my wishes? The reasons are several, and they are tangled up with each other like the t-shirts and socks in my laundry basket. Too many commitments. Not enough time. Not always drawn to the idea of sitting still. Right now<\/em> just doesn’t feel like a good time. And so on.<\/p>\n

This is where I find the Tricycle campaign (among other things) supportive and helpful. They provide links<\/strong> <\/a>to several insightful and inspiring online articles that reassure me<\/em> that my situation is far from unique, suggest simple things<\/em> I might do to sustain myself even when I feel too busy (or substitute: overwhelmed-lethargic-apathetic), and remind me<\/em> why I became interested in meditation in the first place.<\/p>\n

And, maybe best of all (is there a best<\/em> of all?), there are online guided meditations<\/strong><\/a>. A new one is being posted every week this month, and there will be four in all (see below). I have listened to the first one, and I provided a summary (see below). Briefly, it is wonderful. Simple, yet inspiring. I will summarize the next three after I have given them a listen, so keep checking back.<\/p>\n

We are all in this together. Thank you for reading. -Alan<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Guided Meditation #1 – Beginning with Mindfulness<\/a>. <\/strong>Well-known meditation teacher and author, Martine Batchelor<\/strong><\/a>, is Tricycle’s meditation guide for 2019. I have read\/own several of her books, including the gorgeous and informative Meditation for Life<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

What is so delightful about Martine’s approach to meditation is its down-to-earth simplicity and practicality. Let me give you an example from this online teaching. Early on Martine refers to two aspects of awareness that are cultivated by mindfulness meditation, concentration<\/em> and inquiry<\/em>. This is traditional terminology that has been used by hundreds of Western meditation teachers for many decades, but Martine isn’t stuck on these labels. She immediately drops them in favor of calm<\/em> and openness<\/em>. Much more transparent, I think.<\/p>\n

If you decide to give the guided meditation a listen, here’s what you should know. The full session runs a little over 22 minutes. Only the last 15 minutes are the actual guided meditation. The session starts with a few minutes of introductory remarks (what are we trying to accomplish by sitting still?), followed by:<\/p>\n