Spiritual Studies Group with Master Chuck Blackburn
26 MAR 06
"Meditation"
Two commonly referred to types of meditation are Zen and Yogic. Often times people have a preconception that Meditation means tuning "out" everything, other people think it means tuning "in" everything. This last point often gets Christians upset because one may become open to manipulative forces in the spirit world. Well, since I, Mr. B., am a Christian I can shed some light on the subject a little. Yes, I think playing around with spiritual things without any knowledge of what it is isn't wise. The Bible warns us against spiritism and magic and we should explore what these things are - however, meditation is a wonderful and beautiful part of any spiritual path even if, no, especially if you are Christian. It's how and why that matters.
Yogic medtitation is one type that Master B discussed the other night. It is an isolated perspective, a controlling of the senses, a focusing inward. Zen is another type (also called Chan in Chinese); it is more of a total awareness. I often help students with something like this when we are in the woods. By expanding our awareness in the forest we can begin to 'tune in' to the language of the forest - the animals, the birds, etc. After a while we begin hearing sounds and communications we have never heard before. And not long after these animals become extensions of our own limited senses. We begin to 'see' with the birds' eyes. We begin to hear with the sharp ears of the four leggeds.
Consciousness is another topic we discussed. Within this word are two distinct variations; realms and states. Realms we might think of as width and states as depth or levels upward. I like the way he described it;
ffffffffffffffffffffff fffffffffff"Imagine being in a big cave - say, Mammoth Cave. If you have only used a small light during your foray you only see this little area of lighted rock and stone with limited colors. You might think, or even KNOW there's more out there but you have to shut out one area to see the others. The two types of meditations are like two types of lights. One light is a strong beam; we can see much farther and up into the ceiling of the cave. Now we know how far it is to the edge. We can see the walls, or right in front of us brightly. The other light is broad and wide - it lights up a whole area and the spectacle takes our breath away. The colors, the water, the clear fish, the walls - all of it is now within reach. So we begin to see there is so much more than we ever imagined."
"Ultimate movement is in ultimate stillness" - Chuck Blackburn
"Monkey Mind"
The Monkey Mind is the ever thirsting ever restless mind of the average person. Always bouncing from one thing to the next, unable to sit still or reside in tranquility for even a moment. It is this Monkey that we attempt to tame with seated meditation. If we are unable to have him sit and be still on his own, then we give him something to do. One idea is to focus on the breath. In and out in and out. When we lose the thought of the breath we simply come back to it. Another good method is to count backwards, slowly, from 50 to 1. This ties up the monkey and gives him something to work on. The overall affect of this type of meditation is greater focus, calmness, and grounding in daily life.
Someone once asked a great master, "what is meditation?". The master said, "Sit".
There is a story about a Genie who could become a demon if he didn't have enough to do. I will add this story at a later time.
Master B mentioned how often times we make appointments to see important people. We mark them on our calander, we write out times, we cancel other things, we work hard to be on time. And, yet, how can we be of use to anyone else if we ourselves are not taken care of. So then, make an appointment with someone who is also very important. Mark your calander, cancel other things, be on time, and meet . . . you.
Another statement he made that I enjoyed hearing was, "Be careful, or you might end up where you are headed."
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A book recommendation he made was for the Three Pillars of Zen by Kapleau, I can link to it HERE.
Hope you enjoyed reading over our meeting notes. See you in class.
Mr. Bolejack
Land of the Sky Martial Arts