cloudy_one | Give a Little Whistle

I've heard a lot about the power of meditation. In the beginning I always thought about the monk crossing his legs and "ohm"ing. Of course that's not all that meditation has to offer or the only technique which can be used. Even after I knew that I didn't make much of a point to try it out. Something I've learned through all this counseling and time with Sam is that sometimes it really is as simple as "just doing it." It's a matter of wanting to, or sometimes of needing to. Recently people have been making a big deal about breathing exercises. I find that these do in fact work pretty well. Sam taught me that it can even help acid reflux and things like that because it helps balance pH. That's pretty amazing to me. So I've been experimenting a little bit.

I noticed a few days ago that when I whistle I sometimes create a focal point for myself. I pay attention to the way my tongue moves, and the way my lips move. People often say "just put your lips together and blow." There's a lot more to it than that I've noticed. In a lot of ways I think this is similar to the breathing (minus the purely physical benefits). In breathing I've been told that it helps to focus on the air coming in and out of the mouth and nose, the expanding and contracting of the chest and abdominal area. Well, with whistling when I pay attention to my tongue and lips I feel like it's the same sort of thing. It helps create mindfulness. It's pretty interesting I think. By the by, I think the farther back in your mouth your tongue is the lower note you sound as you whistle. And the air is filtered over the tongue before it comes out the lips.

In a Covenant Group (small group ministry type thing) there was a man who meditated with intensive dancing. This was interesting, especially at a church where everyone seems to be jumping on the yoga and silent meditation bandwagon (not that those things are bad, but they can be confining). It's things like that, alternative, personalized things, which I think make for the best meditation. Something I've noticed for myself is that earplugs really help. It helps focus on breathing and myself. It's a wonderful feeling to literally hear the world fade out (I have those squishy expanding ear plugs) as I start focusing. I've noticed this at work where there's a lot of loud machinery.

Another place this has come into effect is when I've been out shooting with Byron and Sam. I haven't been able to do that in a while now with the court case going on though. But with the earplugs it's the same thing. Being new to the firearm thing, my breath was out of control trying to aim at the cans we set up. Kneeling down, noticing my breathing, having to make a conscious effort to control it so that the firearm was more controlled, focusing on a specific target... that is something extremely meditative for me. It can happen in many other ways, but when people close their minds to alternatives and go only with preconceived notinos they miss out on possibly very healing and enlightening activities. How many people would think of shooting a weapon as being meditative without hearing an explanation? I know the folks at my Anger Management group didn't get it.

It's an area I'm really enjoying finally getting around to. I wish I had listened sooner when I was being given so many options, but I chose to be close-minded. That's something people can't afford to do if they plan on working on themselves.