WHAT GOING ON IN THERE?????

WORKING MINDFULLY WITH INNER REALITY

INNER REALITY

When we practice Formal Mindfulness Practices like the Body Scan, Mindful Walking and Sitting Meditation, we become aware of how the brain (unfocused attention) likes to wander. The brain likes to go down certain highways that it learned in its early environment. Some of these are the “What Was” highway of the past, the “What If “ highway of the future, and the “Worry” Highway. Other brain highways we might notice are: “Self- Critical” highway, “Frustration” Highway, “Crave “ Highway and “Fear” Highway. There are many others. Often we are not aware on which highway we might be traveling. When we take time to practice meditation, we can begin to notice where the brain is going by using our mind (focused attention).

When we begin to travel one of the brain highways, we might use our mind to notice thoughts, feelings or BODY sensations as the primary focus. For example, the Worry Highway may be worrisome thoughts or feelings of anxiety or tightness in the lower abdomen. The self-critical highway might have self-judgmental thoughts, feelings of paralysis or low self-esteem and may evidence itself in body sensations of headaches or neck pain.

When we practice mindful breathing and include a sense of the body, we begin to create a safe place from which we can observe where the brain is going. When we have a sense of the breath-body, we can feel grounded and safe as we begin our work. It is sort of like going to the movies. Taking time to connect to each in breath and each out breath in the body is the admission price to the inner theatre. The breath anchors us in the present so we can observe the movie of the moment rather than getting caught up in it. Just as our in - breath rises and our out - breath passes away, so thoughts, feelings and body sensations arise and pass away during meditation. It is like a movie; the brainscape scene is always changing.

Sometimes we get caught up in the inner drama without knowing it. When we catch ourselves, we can observe the scene and perhaps NAME what is happening. For example, once I was meditating and became aware of a heavy sensation in the lower body. As I observed it, I became CURIOUS. Hmmm, what is this? I sat observing and wondering. Then I realized, it was sadness and I was missing my daughter who was away in Australia. Once I could Name it as missing her, the body sensation moved on. I let the deep feeling be there, and returned my attention to the breath. I did not try to hold onto or avoid the feeling. I let it have its space. Another time my brain wandered, I felt anxiety. I did not know about what, but just being able to Name it as anxiety helped return my attention back to the present moment. I let the anxiety have its place. I did not try to get rid of it or let it take over. I sort of said, “Hello anxiety, I guess you are going to be with me until you leave.” After you NAME a thought, feeling or body sensation, you can return your attention to your next breath until the next time the brain wanders.

RUMPLESTILTSKIN

Once, a poor miller had a clever, beautiful daughter. One day he boasted to the King that his daughter could spin straw into gold. Of course this wasn’t true, but the King believed him. So he locked the miller’s daughter in a room full of straw and said that if she did not spin it all into gold by next morning, he would chop off her head.

The girl was sitting there weeping, not even trying to spin, when a little voice said, “What will you give me if I do your job?” A strange little man was in the room.

“My necklace,” said the girl. And the little man spun the straw into gold.

Next day the King locked the girl into an even bigger room. Again the little man appeared. This time the girl gave him a ring in return for his work.

The third day, the King promised to marry the girl if she did the trick one last time. He locked her into a room as big as a barn. When the little man appeared, the girl had nothing to give.

“In that case,” he said, “when you are Queen your firstborn will be mine.” Secretly the girl thought “Never!” but she said, “YES”. All the same, she let the little man do his spinning.

The King was as good as his word and they were married. In a year’s time, the new Queen had her first baby. How horrified she was when the little man appeared. She offered him gold but no, he would only have the baby. The Queen wept so hard that he took pity on her. He said that if she could guess his name in three nights, she could keep her baby.

The first night she went through the entire alphabet: Aaron, Bartholomew, Christian … None of her guesses were right.

The second night she tried funny-sounding names: Artitickle, Danielslovel, Gumdroopy … But again she was wrong each time.

Then the Queen overheard a servant laughing about a strange little man he’d seen in the forest dancing and chanting to himself.

“My name’s not Elgin, Merlin, Finn or Larkin!

My secret name is Rumplestiltskin!”

When the little man appeared on the third day, the Queen asked, “Is your name Rumplestilskin? The little man became quite upset and sad, but because the Queen could NAME him, he had to go away and leave her alone. The child remained with the Queen during all his childhood years.