The Meditation Project

Today in sunday school we practiced walking meditation outside on the church grounds. It must have looked quite odd to people in cars and the lone cyclist going by, not to mention the neighbors: approximately 25 people walking as slowly as possible, not looking at each other, and walking in circles!

Our task set before us from our guest teacher, Susan Marney, a local counselor, was to try “Sabbath in action”, movement as a way to rest in God. We were instructed to walk slowly in rhythm with our breathing (breathe in on one step and out on the next) OR to try seeing how long we could take with each step. Both of these practices offered a way to increased mindfulness, being more present in the moment and more open to God.

I tried the first option – rhythmic walking and breathing. Compared to sitting meditation, I found walking meditation to be immensely easier. The movement helped my attention to be more focused on the meditation and I had less intrusive thoughts. Susan suggested that we could add mantras to say to ourselves during the walk. I chose one of her suggestions: On my inhalations I thought about breathing in God’s love and on exhalations about breathing out judgment.

The comments from the group following the meditation were positive with people stating that they were more aware of their surroundings and appreciated them more. We were serenaded by birds and smelled lovely bushes around us. Many people, me included, were surprised at how the 10 minutes we walked seemed short. We were expecting this slow walking to feel laborious I think. I left the class feeling markedly calmer and could feel the calming effects throughout the day.

I will continue walking meditation this week although the walking route in my bedroom will be short! It will be interesting to see if the movement continues to help me focus and if the calm remains. We discussed in class today that if you are more present in the moment in your relationships, you are likely to be more authentic in your responses and a real connection is more likely to occur. My calm today did seem to make me more present in the moment with people. I enjoyed great interactions with my children today. It will be interesting to see if that continues too.