Tuesday, 8 October 2013

The Miracle of Mindfulness - A discussion on mindfulness and Spirituality by Martina Breen H.Dip. M.A.


Mindfulness as an idea can be found in all the worlds spiritual traditions, but belongs to the dogma of none of them. It’s a simple idea. To be mindful is to be aware of the moment you are in, and through that awareness become able to make better, wiser decisions.The Miracle of Mindfulness (Thich Nhat Hanh, 1975) originates from a letter that was written by Thich Nhat Hanh in 1974 to Brother Quang of the school of Youth for Social Service in a war torn South Vietnam.    While the intention and content of this letter was direct and personally aimed at his community in Vietnam, encouraging them to continue their work in the spirit of love and compassion, it’s teaching has universal appeal.  The words were translated into English with the same steadfastness and mindful awareness in which they were originally written. This impacts on how the message holds the same personal and lively directness for any reader and demonstrates the short distance there is between eastern and western contemplative practices.
Thich Nhat Hanh's key teaching is that, through mindfulness, we can learn to live in the present moment instead of in the past and in the future. Dwelling in the present moment is, according to the author, the only way to truly develop peace, both in one's self and in the world.   
In looking at Contemporary Spiritual writers, many have written about mindfulness:   Henri Nouwen[1], Bill Johnson[2], Anthony de Mello[3], Eckhart Tolle[4] .  Each one of these, in their writings convey how the personal spiritual journey illustrates the common spiritual journey.   How we must let go of all we want to hold on to in order to receive all that we hope for.    Bill Johnson looks on the meditation teachings of the east as a gift, comparing it in the Judaeo-Christian tradition as an act of grace.  The Christian journey is to come to a place where “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me”  (Galatians 2:20).
Meister Eckhart gives the insight that I am not my mind.  If ever I am to find my real self, I must get beyond my mind, I must die to the self that is doing all this thinking.  The biggest mistake we can make in life is to believe that we are the thinker.  The Ego identifies with narrative sense of self but this is not who we really are.
It is the ego that stands in the way of us being present to our true selves, the part of us that is connected to spirit, to God.  Meister Eckhart suggests that the ego lives on ‘identification and separation’, for the ego to exist – it sets the “I” up against the “other”.[5]  The author agrees with Tolle, De Mello,  & Johnson in advocating  the same message – we need to wake up, we need to die to the egoic selves and discover our real selves.  At the core of prayer and of meditation is death to self, a total self-forgetting.  ‘Waking up’ is not a chronological experience, it is a psychological experience and part of this journey is to sit with ourselves long enough that we grow in compassion for ourself and for others.
In a family, if there is one person who practices mindfulness, the entire family will be more mindful.  If in one class, one student lives in mindfulness, the entire class is influenced.Thich Nhat Hanh speaks simply and metaphorically throughout the book and facilitates me, the reader to dialogue with the text, to see the thread of my own life in how I am present or not in my life.  He teaches the simplicity of being present in the world by being aware of our breath.   Taking hold of our breath is in itself mindfulness.    He gives many examples of techniques to develop this awareness.  The beginner can start with counting their in-breath and out-breath.    This can become a time of contemplative prayer by replacing the inhalation counting of 6 to the words of scripture or text such as “Our Father who art in Heaven”

He craftfully uses mundane life analogies to teach us the lessons of mindfulness like eating an orange:  A tangerine has sections, if I can eat a section, I can eat the whole tangerine, but if I am unable to eat a single section of the orange, I’ll be unable to eat the whole orange!
Currently there is a huge growth in contemplative psychology where we become liberated from unnecessary suffering through experiencing ourselves in the moment, exactly as we are.
In our search for meaning and for comprehending God,  how we ask questions about God, and experience God is through our brain.    Jill Bolte Taylor[6] speaks of the left and right brain functions and how they affect us in our lives.   It is interesting to view Meditation from this perspective.  Meditation is a right brain function.  It brings us into the here and now, the present moment – how we experience our world right now.  The right brain is experiential, energetic, pictorial and kinesthetic, whereas the left-brain is logical, language and detail orientated.   In deep meditation, we experience ourselves as ‘not separate’ – that we are all one, we are all part of a greater whole.   Through meditation we become more focused, clearer thinking and therefore in touch more with our ‘true selves’.

Andrew Newberg has done a lot of work in this field and demonstrates how Neurology meets theology in his book ‘God and the Brain’[7]   He speaks of the brain having two primary functions that can be considered from either a biological or evolutionary perspective.  These two functions are self-maintenance and self-transcendence. The brain performs both of these functions throughout our lives.   It turns out that religion also performs these two same functions.  So, from the brain's perspective, religion is and always will be important to us beings as part of our ever-striving evolution as it assists the brain perform its primary functions.
“Keep your attention focused on the work, be alert and ready to handle ably and intelligently any situation which may arise – this is mindfulness.”In the west, Christianity lost it’s contemplative side for a while in favour of doctrine and theology, we were mentally fragmented.    What was kept in the shadows during modernity is now trying to surface in post-modernity.  There is a de-structuring of self and of the world and we are nervous of this.  Like the Left-Brain, Right-Brain split…. We need to find the balance.  We need to be operating from both sides of our brain, we need a reclaiming of our contemplative tradition.   We lost our sense of Kairos and only had a sense of Kronos.  We are now in a time of returning to contemplative practice and prayer. 
In the 60’s there was a movement from those who where traditionally Spiritual Dwellers to being Spiritual Seekers.  Born into the tradition of western Christian, there was a movement outwards, a going ‘out from’, a ‘seeking’.  This could be analogized by looking at the seeking of balance with the Left Brain / Right Brain

 








Many contemporary spiritual writers speak about this shift to interiority… to going within, to contemplation and to living in the present moment, the blending of our own Yin and Yang to bring us to wholeness.  It is this shift in consciousness, which has led spiritual seekers like myself looking to the east for a sense of disciplined guidance into ‘the way’
Bernard Lonergan in his book ‘Method in Theology’[8] presents interiority as a science of consciousness.   The ground of interiority is simply self-awareness in the midst of the operations of our consciousness and is grasped only insofar as one discovers it in one’s own living.   Lonergan’s notion of interiority is important for the study of spirituality, as one of the key elements is a principle for the critique of spiritual phenomena.  Training in the practice of interiority has potential to assist individuals in discovering critical evaluative principles within their own experience.   One begins to develop practical, experience-based criteria for assessing the spiritualities one encounters. [9]
Henri Nouwen in his Return of the Prodigal Son says;  "Though I am both the younger son and the elder son, I am not to remain them, but called to become the Father."[10]
Evelyn Underhill, referring to the story in Luke 10: 38-42, she was fond of quoting St. Teresa's saying that "to give Our Lord a perfect service Martha and Mary must combine." [11]  She speaks of the necessary ‘defleshing of the heart’ for us to have my heart anchored in Christ.
Our experience in the west is that anytime we come in touch with the Holy Spirit, we try and pin it down with dogma, we cannot.  We cannot make sense out of the mystery.  Maybe this is something that mindfulness can teach us.





                                                       






























There is always a level of Yin kicking against Yang.  As a Christian, the question I must remember to hold myself in balance is:-
Where is my Anchor?  Is my heart anchored in Christ?
Etty Hillesum had little interest in any particular organised religion.  In a time when everything was being swept away in a Nazi war camp, when "the whole world is becoming a giant concentration camp[12] " , she felt one must hold fast to what endures - the encounter with God at the depths of one's own soul and in other people.   I do believe it is possible to create, even without ever writing a word or painting a picture, by simply molding one's inner life. And that too is a deed. Etty HillesumLike Thich Nhat Hanh, In the midst of suffering and injustice, she believed, the effort to preserve in one's heart, a spirit of love and forgiveness was the greatest task that any person could perform.    Both of them aligned themselves with those who suffer and this became their specific form of religious vocation. But it’s important to note that it was not a vocation to suffering as such. It was a vocation to redeem the suffering of humanity from within, by safeguarding "that little piece of You, God, in ourselves." [13]
He speaks of bringing this little piece, this God-part of us into all areas of our lives by developing mindfulness in our walking, eating, answering the phone, working ….. and expounds how developing this practice will bring us more into our bodies and therefore more into the present moment and hence, less fragmented.  Whenever our mind becomes scattered, we can use our breath as the means to take hold of our mind again.
One of the ‘promises’ of a regular meditation practice is that the ‘mind will begin to dwell in the mind.  Your mind will take hold of mind in a direct and wondrous way which no longer differentiates between subject and object’[14]   Mind is the ground of everything; and when our mind gets in touch with the collective mind, everything is possible.  Similarly, in Christianity, we see that God is Spirit -- the collective mind from which everything manifests --  through this lens, the distance separating Buddhism and Christianity is very short.
“Life and Death are but two faces of life and that without both, Life is not possible”.[15]  Like Jesus, who embraced death and so doing promised life, Thich Naht Hanh speaks of meditating on death.  Meditating until we are at peace with the decomposition of our bodies.  In doing this, by overcoming revulsion and fear, life will be seen as precious and not only our own lives, but the lives of every other person, being and reality.   We are offered the possibility of losing the delusion that our own survival is dependant on some other’s destruction.  We have the possibility to walk the path of Jesus and rise above the impermanence of life and death.
Spirituality is “the experience of conscious involvement in the project of life-integration through self-transcendence toward the ultimate value one perceives.”  Shortly before his death, Thomas Merton wrote:  “Our real journey is interior; it is a matter of growth, deepening, and ever greater surrender to the creative action of love and grace in our hearts.”[16]
Our Spritual path can lead us to transend the ego. Cynthia Burgeault talks about us ‘loving the ego to death’[17]   We need to develop physic mobility to become the observer of our experience and learn to dialogue with our expereince.  I had a first hand experience of this in 2010 when I walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain.  The rhythm of my sticks as they made contact with the path in unison with the rhythm of my step facilitated aesthetic absorbsion.  I was ‘taken out of myself’ and yet ‘deeper into myself’ – it became a walking meditation.  Different images, memories surfaced as I walked but I was the observer of these expereinces.  I re-evaluated my experiences during these times and I was changed.  I developed phsycic mobility by seeing things from a different point of view.    I also had this experience when I took a Vipassana – a 9-day silent mediation retreat.  As the days progressed, my egoic self ‘softened’, the observer within me became stronger and I had the opportunity to dialogue with many of my experiences, many I was remembering/observing for the first time consciously.    This gifted in-depth breakthrough experience to the mystery of God at work in my life taught me that attentive interior listening and observing and by implication, all forms of attentiveness, are spiritual practices and are all gateways to God. 
Meditation is not musing or daydreaming, but attuning our mental and physical bodies to their spiritual source.  It is prayer from within the inner self.  In prayer we speak to God, in meditation he speaks to us.
In “Search for God”, the question is asked: “Will prayer answer for meditation?”[18]  Will asking a question answer it?  No, but it shows that we desire information.  This is so when we pray.  We show God that we wish for his guidance and help for the manifestation of his work in our lives.  It then takes an attitude of waiting, of silence, of listening to be able to hear the still small voice within and to know that all is well.  Prayer is therefore the basis of meditation.  This to me is the true meaning of East meeting West in our dogma teachings.
Bourgeault presents God as a ‘Master’ in wisdom spiritual tradition.  Thich Nhat Hanh, in my opinion walks the true path of Jesus in the fact that he through example and teachings, is a ‘wisdom teacher’, ‘concerned with the transformation of the whole human being’. 
Thich Nhat Hanh will be 86 years old this year.  He has emerged as one of the great teachers of our time. In the midst of our world’s emphasis on speed, efficiency, and material success, Thich Nhat Hanh's ability to walk calmly with peace and awareness and to teach us to do the same has led to his enthusiastic reception in the West.   Although his mode of expression is simple, his message reveals the quintessence of the deep understanding of reality that comes from his meditations, his Buddhist training, and his work in the world.  When Thomas Merton met Thich Nhat Hanh at his monastery at Gethsemani,  he told his students, "Just the way he opens the door and enters a room demonstrates his understanding. He is a true monk."[19]

Only when we are still, may we know God, and when we know Him we are willing to say and mean, “Thy will be done”.  It is then that He sups with us[20].

Martina Breen
January 2011                       Words: 2667  (including footnotes &  bibliography)


Bibliograpy
Hanh, Thict Nhat. “The Miracle of Mindfulness”, Boston Beacon Press, 1975

Nouwen, Henri J.M.. “The Return of the Prodigal Son, a Story of Homecoming” London: Darton Longman Todd, 1994
 Johnson, William. “Silent Music, the Science of Meditation” New York: Harper Collins 1979
De Mello, Anthony. “Awareness”. New York: Doubleday 1992
Tolle, Eckhart. “The Power of Now”  New York: New World Library 1999
Bolte Taylor., Jill. “I Jill Bolte Taylor (2006)
Nouwen, Henri J.M.  “The Return of the Prodigal Son, a Story of Homecoming” New York: Doubleday 1996
Underhill, Evelyn.  The letters of Evelyn Underhill, Longmans Green & Co. (London 1943)
Hillesum, Etty. “An Interrupted Life: The Diaries of Etty Hillesum 1941-1943 “(New York:  1983)
Cousins, Ewart. ed., World Spirituality: An Enclycopedic History of the Religious Quest
Burgeualt, Cynthia. “ The Wisdom Jesus, Transforming Heart and Mind--A New Perspective on Christ and His Message” Shambala Publications (2008)
Edgar Cayce Foundation . “A Search for God, book 1”.  Edgar Cayce Readings 1945, 1971. (33rd print. 1988)

Audio
Newberg, Andrew. “God and the Brain   Audio. Sounds True

Reference



[1] Henri J.M. Nouwen. “The Return of the Prodigal Son, a Story of Homecoming” Doubleday (NY 1996)
[2] William Johnson, “Silent Music, the Science of Meditation” New York; Harper Collins 1979
[3] De Mello, Anthony. “Awareness”. Doubleday (NY 1992)
[4] Tolle, Eckhart. “The Power of Now” New World Library (NY 1999)
[5] Eckhart Tolle, “A New Earth”, page 59
[6] Jill Bolte Taylor. “I Jill Bolte Taylor (2006)
[7] Andrew Newberg. “God and the Brain   Audio. Sounds True
[8] Bernard Lonergan,  “Method in Theology”,
[9] Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality, Volume 7, Number 1, Spring 2007, pp. 77-81 (Article)
[10] Henri J.M. Nouwen. “The Return of the Prodigal Son, a Story of Homecoming” London: Darton Longman Todd 1994
[11] Evelyn Underhill. The letters of Evelyn Underhill, Longmans Green & Co. (London 1943)
[12] Etty Hillesum. “An Interrupted Life: The Diaries of Etty Hillesum 1941-1943 “(New York:  1983)
[13] abid
[14]  The Miracle of Mindfulness”, page 42
[15]The Miracle of Mindfulness”, Page 51
[16] Ewart Cousins, ed., World Spirituality: An Enclycopedic History of the Religious Quest
[17] Cynthia Burgeualt. “ The Wisdom Jesus, Transforming Heart and Mind--A New Perspective on Christ and His Message” Shambala Publications (2008)
[18] Edgar Cayce Foundation “A Search for God, book 1”.  Edgar Cayce Readings 1945, 1971. (33rd print. 1988) page 7
[19] http://deerparkmonastery.org
[20] Abid. Page 7