I just finished reading the news. My morning routine starts with Google News, clicking on articles that catch my attention, then through a series of online “newspapers,” including The New York Times, Washington Post, BBC News, Wall Street Journal, Al Jazeera, USA Today, UPI, Montreal Gazette (to check on Les Canadiens locally,) The Times, and several others.  Here’s the thing:

on none of these this morning did a front page story appear about Haiti.

It was bound to happen. The news keeps happening. That’s the way of news and the reporting of it. Pros in the business talk about its “cycle.” There is a periodicity which controls and dominates. Thus a catastrophe like Haiti was bound to get shoved aside by a great Super Bowl win, an epic snowstorm in Washington D.C., Yanukovych’s victory in Ukraine’s presidential election, and Laura Chincilla’s as first female president of Costa Rica, etc., etc.

The more recent swamps the more heart-breaking. The way we get the news nowadays is mainly through the eye, pictures and huge headlines, snapshots of history’s march across time. Our eye channels relevance and the eye is so greedy for novelty. The Haiti images are  ….  well  …. “so yesterday.”

Yet, the misery endures, the needs persist, the outstretched hands are still extended. Haiti as “issue” will be with us (the world’s compassionate) for years to come. Growing tired of it is not an option.

What to do?

Whenever you remember and your heart aches, just dial the Red Cross number text number, 90999, enter “HAITI” and send $10. Keep doing this; until the number no longer works.  Do it now. It is an act of faith, hope, and love and as such nothing is more important.

Two main areas to touch on to complete this little introduction.

Timing

The minimum time to make the dynamic work is 15 minutes; the maximum  is one hour, but a realistic target time is half an hour. The issue is how to know the time (whichever) has passed. Constantly looking at a watch or clock destroys the entire point of the exercise, to get away from the world of busy-ness, the life of telling/marking/saving/making time. There are devices exactly for this purpose which can be set for the desired time when a soft bell rings to call you back to the world of the everyday. Years ago I used a cassette tape which had been recorded to be silent until music would start to play at the desired time. I have told you it essential to turn off your cell phone, but it probably can be set as an alarm with the alarm sound activated and all others on silent.

Content

There are as many suggestions for how to occupy your mind as there are dandelions in the yard! I want to focus on three and suggest you try all of them until one seems natural.

The Sacred Word. This is the technique of centering prayer. A sacred word is chosen and as you sit you slowly repeat it (either whispering or silently mouthing or merely thinking) whenever your thoughts start to flow along the path of everyday worries, concerns, or trivialities. This is all well and good, but the truth of the matter the flow never, well …. rarely, stops and so really the sacred word will become a mantra unceasing. It is, however, a very popular method, especially amongst beginner meditators. The key to selecting a sacred word is to avoid hard consonants (fricatives and the like.) This explains the power of the famous “A-umm” and why it will never be replaced by “clickety-clack.”

The Brief Refrain. Rather than a word a phrase or entire sentence is chosen and softly repeated, whispered or said in the mind. This offers a stronger flow against the “monkey mind” which seeks ever to intrude and distract. The Jesus Prayer (O Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me) has been used this way for centuries, especially amongst the Orthodox hysychast tradition. Whatever is chosen should not be too long, e.g. the Lord’s Prayer or the 23rd Psalm. The brevity of the phrase allows for the repetitive pattern to become solidly established and serve as defense against “monley mind.”

Breath Counting. The pure Zen tradition asks that you simply count breaths, seeking to reach 10 without mental wandering. In–one; out–one; In–two;out–two, etc. This sounds easy until you try it!

Focus

One other point and it concerns the eye. The eye is the main medium of receiving content and is both greedy and easily distracted. What to do? Close them? Whoa! That leads to predictable disaster. Sleep is not the objective; meditation is not nap time. The secret is to occupy the eye and prevent it from flitting from here to there and back again. As you sit (see earlier posts on posture, hand placement etc.) you can pick a point on the floor directly in front of your feet. Lower your lids, without closing them, and focus on the spot. Alternatively light a candle and either stare at the flame and at the candle immediately below the flame. If you have chosen to walk rather than sit then of course your eyes will need to attend to your surroundings somewhat, but insofar as is possible keep the focus on the path right in front of your next step.

Finally

What to do if you “fail,” if you sit and cannot get into it, if your sacred phrase is constantly being thrust into silence by worries about what Aunt Matilda is going to say about your cooking at Thanksgiving? I once heard it said that when this happens (as it will and does to all) then you do not start over, but you simply start again. The practice is not a goal to accomplish, an objective to complete. It is its own doing. Doing it means you cannot fail. You can give up, but you cannot fail.

But, but, but (I hear you) what is supposed to happen and when will I know it has? Reread this entire series of posts! You have not understood.

There is an alternative to sitting and this post will deal with it before concluding this series of posts tomorrow with some “content” ideas and suggestions.

If the idea of sitting for anything up to an hour (more on timing tomorrow) promises for you only cramps or certain sleep, if you know that physical restlessness will triumph meditative good intentions, than here is an option. This option can also be used as a periodic change of pace for sitters!

Walk!

The walking I have in mind is distinctive. It is not the aerobic movement of the exerciser, nor is it the casual stroll of, say, the window shopper. Here is the outline of the dynamics for meditative walking. These derive from walking the labyrinth.

A labyrinth, unlike a maze, is not designed to “get you lost” even leading to the need for rescue. Fun perhaps, but not conducive to meditation. (Often in Greek mythology the word labyrinth is used as a synonym for maze, but nowadays the distinction I have drawn is usually recognized.) A labyrinth is designed not to get you lost, but on the contrary to lead you, guide you, towards the longed for goal, namely the center. Its symbolism is obvious.

As a mediation/contemplative technique, the labyrinth is entered, leaving behind the ordinary world with its hustle, bustle, and demands, its laughter and tears alike; leaving behind the pretend self.

Following the path alone with no chat companion, without decision or choice, and at a steady and deliberate but neither exerting nor lazy pace, the walker walks.

A prayer or biblical phrase or passage can be recited in rhythm if this helps.

Upon reaching the center (where some labyrinths provide a bench for a moment’s sit) a prayer (perhaps of confession or gratitude is recited) and then with more determination, the walker returns to the entrance and leaves, returning to the everyday world.

What to do, however, if you choose to walk and there is no labyrinth available?  Create one! I do not mean to design and mark out the complexity of an actual labyrinth. But, the symbolism is what counts not the design. So, how about this?

Out the door (of your office or home) down the street to the second corner; down that street two blocks and over to the bridge, the park, the outdoor café, just some permanent destination that can serve as “the center.”

This established, unvarying route is your labyrinth now. Apply the same principles outlined above and do it!

Tomorrow I will offer some “content” ideas and suggestions.

Equal to the importance of clear breathing and indeed to enable it, is good posture.

Too many of us slump too much of the time. I have a habit of looking at drivers in cars beside me at red lights. Hunched. Hunched. Hunched. We all tend to crush and smoosh down. Maybe it is car design, perhaps it is driving anxiety, but it is bad for breathing.

So, unless you choose walking as your technique, more on which later, you have to sit in such a way as to allow for clear breathing. Also, though, your body cannot be contorted into discomfort. Many neophytes to meditation or contemplative prayer have been made familiar with Zen or Yoga postures and feel these are essential. Nothing could be further from the truth.  Kneeling on a Zen stool or, even worse, adopting the lotus position, would, if not break my knees, render them useless. My knees are not perfect and have long since surrendered suppleness to constant pain. So, how to sit.

A posture must be chosen which is natural, repeatable, clear breathing assisting, and resistant to sleep. Obviously the chair you flop in to watch the big game, feet up with cup-holder, is not what I have in mind. Also, a couch won’t do: all too easy to flop sideways. Here’s how to get settled.

• A comfortable but straight-backed chair.
• Back resting gently backwards but not in any way slouched.
• Chin up (see the advice on the thumb-fore finger gun.)
• Feet flat on the floor at a natural distance apart and angled without any tension in the knees or ankles.

Hands. Oh my: the hands. What to do with the hands?

As with posture in general, some artificial pose, mudra-like, will not last and will only serve to distract. I recommend one of two options.

• Palms lightly cupped on each knee, or
• one hand lightly resting palm up in the other, palm up, cupped slightly so the tips of the thumbs touch, the whole gently lying in the lap.

So, you are sitting, chin up, breathing, all electronic devices out of ear shot, but where are you?

Remember the purpose of repetition. Same time, same dress, same place every day. All this so no decision, i.e.no activity, is required. All is repetitive ands thus receptive.

Only you can answer this question of place for yourself. Perhaps a walk-in closet, a bench around the corner in the building atrium, even a seat in your car (if so, not the driver’s seat with all its busy associations.)

So, there you are: sitting. What now?

More tomorrow.

I will return to my “essay” on meditation tomorrow, but for now just had to write this.

What would you think of your doctor were you to go to him/her with a broken leg and the diagnosis be: Nothing to worry about; it’s just a little loose? Or maybe it’s broken!

What would you think of your car mechanic were you to be told that the reason the brake pedal slammed to the floor with no slowing effect was simply because: No problem, it’s easier to push that way? Or maybe it’s dangerous!

So, what do you think about climatologists when you read the following paragraph, an article in its entirety, from The Economist (January 16th-22nd):

The earth is in a negative phase of the Arctic oscillation, a particular mode of atmospheric circulation, which explains the unusually cold winter that is chilling America and northern Europe. But what intrigues climatologists is the uncertainty over whether this phase will ultimately cause Arctic sea ice to thicken or melt.

Maybe the climate isn’t broken nor its patterns a danger. Maybe it behaves in ways we simply do not, nor cannot, understand.

One other preliminary comment:

All the meditation traditions emphasize the vital importance of the breath. Breathing must be free and flowing. This seems obvious, but if you reflect on your own breathing you will be astounded to note how often it is too shallow, too fast, passing through restricted airways. The fact of the matter is that most of us most of the time do not breathe well.

Having said that, it is also true that once you become self-conscious about it, breathing becomes almost aggravating. It can consume attention to the point of all else. Runners and other athletes know how important it is to establish a regular pattern of oxygen replenishment in order for their activity to be efficient and productive. It is the same with meditation. So, how to breathe well without falling in to an obsession about it?

The key is the chin. It must not fall downwards towards the chest. Keeping it “up” allows the entire airway through the head and down the neck to act as a unit, and thereby fill the lungs efficiently. Here is a small trick to determining the correct chin position. (For you golfers, this also works for your head position during the swing!)

Take your right hand and with thumb and index finger form a right angle, like pretending to shoot a gun. Now place the tip of the thumb on your breast bone and the tip of the index finger right behind your chin on the soft tissue there. (I know: it;s like your going to shoot yourself! bad thought.) That’s it. Your chin is now in the perfect position for breathing. Keep your hand in that position while you sit down and now breathe. Feel the free flow of air.

Practice this several times throughout the day. Try and “catch” your chin when it drifts downwards. Feel the restricted air flow. Immediately do your thumb/finger exercise and feel the difference.

After a while, try to establish the correct position without the “gun.”

Do this throughout the day for a few days. Sitting at the desk, driving, watching TV. Get into the habit of breathing freely.

Then, on to the next step.

More tomorrow.

There are countless aids written about meditation techniques for the novice. My intent in this brief post is not to replace or compete with those, of which a few are actually worthwhile. Instead I will summarize insights I have gained over years of on again off again practice.

First, adopt a no results approach.

We in the west are so goals and objectives oriented; we assume measurability makes for value; that time without accomplishment is wasted. All of that has to go by the wayside. Any of the practices I’ll suggest are not a means, but the end itself. Their value is simply in their being done. Nothing needs to “happen.” The only reality is doing it. Only that; nothing more.

Second, understand repetition is a good thing.

Christians sometimes feel they are betraying the spirit of Jesus’ saying about not being like the Pharisees and uttering “vain repetitions.” There is a different understanding of this text (which I may post about later) but for now simply tell you that in meditation technique repetition is a good thing, as it is, say, in developing a golf swing or another athletic move needing muscle memory. Meditation needs to develop mental, spiritual, and emotional memory. Repetition, of actions, words, and the like, save the need to  make decisions. Deciding is action and the goal is receptivity, passivity.

Third, do not fight your self.

If you are a word person understand that using words may be good; if you are best at being active, something physical may be better; if artistic creativity is your thing visual aids may be useful. In the actual ideas and suggestions that will follow tomorrow I’ll offer a range of options. Try a few to “get the feel” for you.

Finally, for today, pick a time and space which you can utilize normally.

By “normally” I mean “nearly always.” Vacations, business trips, do intrude into life, for sure, but most days are routinely the same. Thus, I am going to insist you practice in the same spot at the same time every day, preferably dressed the same. This time and space has to enable a half hour of zero interruptions; no people, no cell phones,. no bells ringing, no dog to let out, nothing!

More, and last on this, tomorrow.

“The true north strong and free.” This is how Canadians describe their awesome, huge, and surprisingly empty country.

I can get fed up driving through Ohio to New York or the south. When is it going to end? Ohio seems to go on and on.

Ohio has nothing on Ontario!

Strong, free, huge, and so empty.

I heard a number, I think it was 30%, of the entire 30 million population live in the southern Ontario corridor, Hamilton to Scarborough, and also the sprawling megalopolis that is Toronto. If you drive from Buffalo to Kingston, say, you are hardly out of built up areas. But, this smushed together crowd makes the point. If 30% of Canadians are squeezed in to this comparatively small area, then the rest of the vastness is without people.

You capture this as soon as you get just a tad north of this corridor. Driving from Sarnia, say, across from Michigan’s Port Huron, east to London along the 402. Flat farm land; occasional house or two; small villages and towns indicated only by exits, otherwise invisible. Heading east if you look to your left, north, the land stretches away and away and away and away, up to Hudson’s Bay. Not only that, this long stretch of road is oddly exposed. During the winter it offers the only true threat between Port Huron and Toronto. It is a mini, teeny, tiny, taste of what Canada is really like.

The other day it was also cold. Really cold. Sub-zero. Wind chill way down there. The kind of cold that you simply cannot endure for more than a minute without some serious bundling up. Get out to pump gas? Bundle up. Run over to get a coffee? Bundle up.

(Needless to say, this is NOT HOW IT IS IN THE SUMMER!!. Never arrive in July with the skis on your car. It gets hot and humid there too. Good grief.)

So, why write all this?

Is there not a longing in all of us somewhere, some of the time at any rate, for that “true north?”  I do not mean a longing to visit Canada, although that is fine, especially, by the way, many of its wonderful cities, Montreal being my favorite with its stunning culture and out of this world restaurants.

No, I am talking about an inner longing. For authentic emptiness. For the reality of stillness. For the touch of Nature raw which shows me who I really am.

Verizon’s big red map is everywhere and do we not long and even need to get away from living under its umbrella, the constant tether of electronic obligation? Wouldn’t it be great, just for a while, to be out of range of Keith Olbermann, Glenn Beck, and all their ilk?

The great masters of spirituality all knew this and still do. Our sanity, they teach, depends on it.

So, today I issue an invitation.

Make time for a “visit to Canada”, today and every day. Carve out intentional space and time for entering the emptiness. Start slow and small. After all, emptiness is a big place.

I’ll offer some pointers next time.

It was unprecedented. Congressman Joe Wilson’s shout to a president of the United States during his speech, “You lie.” It led to an apology and much kerfiuffle. Such a break with protocol, crossing the respect lines of tradition.

Yet, last night’s State of the Union displayed something similar. Justice Alito mouthing “Not true” as the president attacked the Supreme Courts recent camping finance ruling. Both crossed those old lines.

Is this the new “state of the Union?”

Two border crossing stories.

First: my wife and I approached the Canadian (Sarnia) side of the bridge at Port Huron en route to Ottawa. Always an anxious moment. How long will the lines be? Will we (she!!), à la the supermarket checkout, chose the “right” line? (I hasten to add this is my anxiety, not hers. I am a nut, I know.)

Our vehicle swung up over the crest of the bridge and there they were: the inspection gates strung across the multi-laned roadway.

Wow! Not another vehicle in sight. Not one! We had no choice to make. All of them shone green lights indicating they were open and ready.

Then the following dialogue:

Where do you live? Such and so.

Purpose of your trip? Personal

How long you going to be in Canada? Few days.

Bringing anything that will stay here? No.

Firearms in the vehicle? No

Have a nice trip: Bye.

Off we went into the vast hinterland of rural Ontario, “the true north strong and free,”  …. safe  … for now  …. from us.

But consider: it’s safety depended, at least in part, on the assumption that we are truthful. That we were speaking the truth when we stated that we had no firearms. Maybe we did. Maybe ….. (We did not in fact, I hasten to add.)

Another border story:

Two sixty plus year old grandmothers approached the US border at Ogdensburg, on a ” turkey run.” Turkeys, it seems are much cheaper in the States and so turkey runs are common. (Go figure. It’s not just excellent health care they come for!) This is a common type of shopping trip for many Canadians and these two grannies especially. The vehicle had crossed at that point hundreds of times. They knew the customs and immigration guys! Routine.

Not this time.

Pulled up at the gate. Then, immediately: pull your car over there. Out of “there” pop two “burly” armed guys in uniform.

Get out of the vehicle.

Into this room; you sit over there and you over there; no talking.

In comes another with some weird equipment. Starts to scan them. It’s a Geiger counter and it goes hysterical. Bleeping away like it was in the middle of Chernobyl!

Then: questions.

One of the grannies, it turns out, had had some medical procedure several days previously and radioactive isotopes were still in her system. Their radioactivity had set off an alarm inside the inspection gate and the officer had pushed a button and the whole station went on alert.

At the end after all was clarified: one of the burly guys explained; “We’re just trying to keep the country safe, ma’am.”

What makes a border “secure”?