Being Present

Any contemplative practice benefits our minds, bodies, and spirits in many ways.

What I mean by contemplative practice is any practice that is rooted in communion, connection, and awareness. These practices can take many forms. For instance the following areas are all considered contemplative practices:

~ Stillness: silence, centering, quieting the mind, meditation and prayer;

~ Movement: walking meditation, labyrinth walking, yoga, dance, Qigong, aikido, Tai Chi and others;

~ Creative: Music and singing, journaling, improvisation, contemplative arts;

~ Generative: loving-kindness meditation, compassion meditation, beholding, visualization, Lecto Divina (prayer practice of listening to scripture)

~ Ritual/Cyclical: establishing a sacred/personal space, retreats, ceremonies and rituals based in spiritual or cultural traditions;

~ Relational: storytelling, deep listening, dialog, council circle

~ Activist: bearing witness, vigils and marches, work and volunteering, pilgrimage to areas where social justice issues are highlighted.

One of the most talked about benefits of meditaiton and contemplation, whatever form it takes, is stress reduction. There is an immediate quieting of the arousal system that regulates energy levels and allows our system to quiet for a bit. Over time, the integration of contemplative practices such as meditaiton and movement practices has the benefit of raising the threshhold at which stress is activated. We stay quieter, more relaxed, and more able to cope with daily challenges the longer over time we practice.

When our nervous system is quieted, whether temporary or over the long haul, we also experience improved self regulation, moving from reactivity to more selective responding. When our internal reactivity is turned down to a simmer (preferrably pilot light level) we gain new and different perspectives on what is happening in the moment, opening our tool box for more skillful behaviors.

We reduce negative emotions and begin to experience (and even wish to cultivate) more kindness, compassion, generosity, and equanimity. Our patience and tolerance naturally increase. We lean more heavily on learning to focus on the present, not ruminate about the past or spin fears about the future. As a result of these types of changes, we find that, quite naturally, our self-image and self-worth improve, as does our self awareness around our habits and judments.

One of the lovely benefits of contemplative practices is that our creativity and imagination become more active and vivid. We discover a wish to engage in more creative and positive pursuits and find the energy and inner resources to do so.

Physcially, the benefits of contemplative practices, especially movement and mediation, are too numerous to mention here. Some include lower blood pressure, stronger immune system, resilience with pain, more flexibility and strength, improved balance, and greater overall health. There is even research to support that meditation slows the aging process through the lenghtening of our telomeres (the ends of our chromosome/dna strand).

Mentally, many people report improved mood including reduced anxiety and depression. Concentration and attention increase as does our memory.

The research that supports the benefits of contemplative practices is vast and growing everyday. Seems like we might want to jump on incorporating and integrating as many of the contemplative practices as possible in our lives!!

Feel free to comment on the ways meditation and contemplative practices may have helped you in your life.