How to Make Space for Meditation
Making Space is a tiny little book, written by Thich Nhat Hanh.
It somehow manages to be both full-to-the-brim powerful and gently encouraging, all at the same time.
Its message is about creating a home meditation practice, and I'd like to share five highlights with you here today.
Look around your home and notice how each room, and each piece of furniture in each room, creates a certain feeling. Begin by noting the character the space already has.
Associate your space for meditation with the space where you stop. Stop the activities of your body, that is, and stop the activities of your mind.
Practice conscious breathing, and remember that our appointment with life is in the present moment.
Create a place to sit, so that your body and your mind can help each other relax. If we sit in the same place each day, it takes us less and less time to remember to stop and return to our breath.
"Invite the bell," say, once to begin meditation and once to end it. Buddhists say that the sound of the bell is the voice of the Buddha, calling us to touch the joy and peace inside us.
What do you think? Sound doable?
A final touch: When I worked in San Francisco I would stop at a flower vendor on the way to the office and buy a single stem of the prettiest flower they had that day. Just one. It "lived" on my desk and gave me, and anyone who passed by, a brief, lovely pause. I like to do the same for my meditation space at home.
I hope this helps.
Namaste,
Cathy
