Secular Meditation: 32 Practices for Cultivating Inner Peace, Compassion, and Joy ― A Guide from the Humanist Community at Harvard - Softcover

Heller, Rick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1608683699 ISBN 13: 9781608683697

Verlag: New World Library, 2015

Inhaltsangabe

Meditation is a form of mental exercise with numerous scientifically verified physical and psychological benefits. As meditation teacher Rick Heller shows, the benefits of the practice extend beyond the personal to enrich relationships with others, with one’s community, and with the world. In Secular Meditation, step-by-step instructions, personal stories, and provocative questions teach empathy for others, stress reduction, and the kind of in-the-moment living that fosters appreciation for life and resilience in the face of adversity. Heller simplifies what is often found mysterious, describing and providing detailed instructions for thirty-two different practices, ensuring that anyone can find the right one.

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Meditation teacher Rick Heller leads the Humanist Mindfulness Group at the Humanist Community at Harvard. A freelance journalist, he has written for The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Buddhadharma, Free Inquiry, Tikkun, and Wise Brain Bulletin.

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Secular Meditation

32 Practices for Cultivating Inner Peace, Compassion, and Joy: A Guide from the Humanist Community at Harvard

By Rick Heller

New World Library

Copyright © 2015 Rick Heller
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-60868-369-7

Contents

Foreword by Greg Epstein, 
Introduction, 
Part One: Cultivating Love and Compassion, 
1. Loving-Kindness Meditation, 
2. Your Daily Dose of ITL[Metta]ITL, 
3. Compassion Meditation, 
4. Self-Compassion, 
5. Sympathetic Joy, 
6. Frequently Asked Questions about Compassion Practices, 
Part Two: Finding Inner Peace, 
7. Mindfulness of Breath Meditation, 
8. Ambient Sound Meditation, 
9. Mindfulness of the Body Meditation, 
10. Face Meditation, 
11. Mantra Meditation, 
12. Frequently Asked Questions about Mindfulness, 
Part Three: Cultivating Joy, 
13. Walking Meditation, 
14. Walking in the City or Suburbs, 
15. Mindfulness in Nature, 
16. Mindful Manual Labor, 
17. Mental Noting of Actions, 
18. Mindful Vision, 
19. What If You Never Saw It Again?, 
20. Contemplative Photography, 
21. Mindful Viewing of Museum Exhibits, 
22. Mindful Couch Potato, 
23. Mindful Eating, 
24. Frequently Asked Questions about Cultivating Joy, 
Part Four: Additional Practices, 
25. Mental Noting of Emotions, 
26. Yes! We Have No Bananas, 
27. Intentional Daydreaming, 
28. Meditation on Whatever, 
29. Mindfulness of Thoughts, 
30. Mindful Speech and Listening, 
31. Exploring Don't-Know Mind, 
32. Meditative Reading, 
33. Mindfulness of Your Place in the Universe, 
34. Using Mindfulness to Break Bad Habits, 
35. Making a Habit of Mindfulness, 
36. Other Frequently Asked Questions, 
Tips on Creating Your Own Mindfulness Group, 
A Secular Invocation, 
Acknowledgments, 
Resources, 
Glossary, 
Endnotes, 
Index, 
About the Author, 

CHAPTER 1

Loving-Kindness Meditation

This meditation is a loving-kindness or metta meditation. Metta is a word from the Pali language of ancient India; it can be translated as "loving-kindness" or "friendliness." It's similar to compassion, except that compassion is concern for the suffering of others. You can have metta for someone who's in a good place already.

The purpose of metta meditation is to cultivate this feeling of kindness and to learn how to bring it out in circumstances where it may not be your first inclination. Once you've learned to cultivate metta toward people, you can extend the practice by having goodwill toward anything, include your own troubling thoughts and feelings. Although this may sound difficult, once you learn how, it becomes a very positive way to live.

Let's go ahead with the meditation. Afterward, I'll discuss some of the issues that sometimes come up during the meditation.

Exercise: Loving-Kindness Meditation

Allow 30 minutes for this exercise. Find a chair or cushion to sit on. If you are using a chair, choose one that allows you to sit up straight. A very simple chair without armrests often works best.

Make yourself comfortable. Take off your shoes if you wish. Loosen any tight clothing.

Sit up fairly straight, but not rigidly so. Sometimes it helps to imagine that you're a puppet and there's a cord attached to the top of your head, pulling you up — but gently, not rigidly. If you notice tension in the upper back, tilt your head slightly forward.

Close your eyes, or if you prefer, lower your eyelids and soften your gaze. If you're not sure how to soften your gaze, try hardening your gaze by staring intently at one spot on the floor. Note the tension in your facial muscles. Now, stop staring. Notice how the facial muscles relax and how your visual field is broader, though perhaps not as sharp. That is softening your gaze, and it can be very helpful in getting into a meditative state.

Take a deep breath or two. Relax.

The Living Benefactor

Now, think of someone who has helped you at some point in your life, someone toward whom you feel real warmth. And for the language below to work, it has to be someone who is alive.

This individual, who is often called the benefactor, doesn't have to be a human being. It could be your cat, dog, or other pet. We're looking for a living being who brings you warm feelings.

If you can visualize the individual, all the better. Imagine they are looking at you with warmth.

With this person in mind, I'd like you to recite a few phrases. I'll use the pronoun you because it's gender-neutral. But you can substitute him, her, or the individual's proper name if you prefer.

So, with your benefactor in mind, say to yourself:

I'd like you to be safe
I'd like you to be healthy
I'd like you to be happy
I'd like you to be at ease in the world

Pause between each phrase. Take a breath to let the meaning sink in.

If you can, imagine what it would look like or sound like to feel that that person was safe, healthy, happy, and at ease.

Repeat the phrases, and see if you can bring enthusiasm to them.

I'd like you to be safe
I'd like you to be healthy
I'd like you to be happy
I'd like you to be at ease in the world

A Benefactor Who Is No Longer Living

For many people, it may be easier to think of a benefactor who is no longer alive. It could be a grandparent, another older relative, or perhaps a teacher. Our relationships with the living are sometimes complicated by our desires to get something from them or to change them. Since that is not an option with those who are no longer alive, we can perhaps more easily recall their love for us in an uncomplicated manner. But if no such person comes to mind, you can skip to the next section.

With a no-longer-living person in mind and using an appropriate pronoun (you doesn't work here, so I'll use her), say something like:

I remember her kindness
I remember her love
Memories like these can remind me to be kind to those I encounter.


Again, pause between each phrase, and take a breath.
Repeat the phrases, so that they sink in.

The Self

In the traditional loving-kindness practice that I was taught, one starts with the self and then shifts to the benefactor. We've reversed the order, because a lot of modern people feel self-conscious about directing warm feelings toward themselves and may even wonder whether they deserve them. So we warm up with the benefactor before tackling metta toward the self.

Loving yourself is easy to satirize, and if you take the practice too far, you're a narcissist. But really, you deserve as much compassion as the next person. If you feel guilty about loving yourself, then just keep in mind that one of the purposes of this step is to generate warm feelings that you can redirect toward others. Practicing kindness toward yourself will help you be kind toward others.

So, with yourself in mind, say:

I'd like to be safe
I'd like to be healthy
I'd like to be happy
I'd like to be at ease in the world

Give yourself some time to let those words sink in. Can you see yourself in your imagination, safe, healthy, happy, and at ease?

Repeat the phrases.

The Neutral Person

After thinking about benefactors and yourself, you are probably feeling a certain amount...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: New World Library
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2015
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 1608683699
• ISBN 13: 9781608683697
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 320
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: New World Library; https://www.newworldlibrary.com; ; 14 Pamaron Way; Novato; CA; 94949; USA
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar