Today is world mental health day
Mental health, what a slippery fish
One of those fish who just look bizarre...but still loveable
As an action, I’m meditating, come join if you like
Meditation for me is seeing the mind as it is and exploring different questions.
Questions like: Where is the mind? Am ‘I’ the mind?
With meditation, it can be a thought stream exploring the question, but try and look in your body and mind without words. Look with direct experience. Watch the body and mind and though they/their processes are action on a football pitch. You, the observer/the meditator are in the seats; watching the action
If all that sounds complicated, don’t worry, maybe just explore the breath
When we explore the breath we might look at the sensations of the air passing through our nostrils
We might look at the feeling of the air filling your body
We might watch the natural breath as it is, seeing is each in breath and out breath the same
When you walk away from here, you can walk meditation by looking at your steps, look at them and ask yourself is each right step or left the same?
If you can’t sit, or are suspicious of me, that’s fine
Sitting here for me is just being a stillpoint in a turning world, reminding myself firstly and others that there is stillness at the heart of every present moment, and this stillness is a real refuge. Returning to it is how I maintain my mental health
Who am ‘I’?
Hard question to answer, but also easy
My name is Francesca
Sometimes I get sucked into the internet abyss
Sometimes I feel really happy for no reason
Sometimes I feel really sad and it feels like it will last forever
I used to be a Buddhist Nun [in the Thai forest tradtion, these are the clothes I wear right now
I went for many reasons, but mostly thought that Buddhist monks seem to know what’s up in terms of reality, so to learn from them
What a great bunch they are!
This little sheet on meditation I’ve written is from a myriad of experience and teachings
It’s good stuff, for me anyways
Try it out if you like and see how you do with it
The best advice I got out there, which was also the most common advice, is to be kind to yourself.
That means patience.
That means not taking it so seriously
That means a big hug around yourself when you try and sit quietly and the mind is a scatter bomb...also all sorts of wordless things.
Enjoy your day.