Weve just enjoyed a Silent Yoga Meditation retreat together, with the intention of using the teachings and the silence to get to know our inner worlds, help us heal from grief or physical challenges and to use this time to find peace in a very busy world.
We covered different yogic traditions and different types of meditation techniques. One of the traditions we explored was a Zen Buddhist Water Meditation. Like many practices that come from the East, these meditation techniques require discipline, purity of intention, single minded focus and there is a strong link to the elements of nature. Since our bodies are made up of two thirds water, in this Meditation we used the idea of water to open up the channels of the body allowing a free flow of energy through the energy centres and organs of the body. When the water element is lacking, we tend to get stuck in dogmatic thinking, repress emotions and procrastinate. Water flows easily and joyfully through life, wearing away the hardness of rock as it cascades down the valley, filling the space that it finds, then emptying immediately, so there is no grasping or holding.
One line in the meditation was particularly relevant to us:
See yourself as the Water element, not assertive but adjusting to the object or situation, finding a way around or through an obstacle. If nothing stays RIGID within you, outward things will disclose themselves.
Think of when a situation or person does not meet your premeditated expectations. But I was expecting this! I thought they would behave as that! I’m not talking about having standards, or a backbone. Sending a poorly cooked meal back to the kitchen for example, confronting poor service in a shop or sending back a faulty product. I’m talking about viewing life through your own narrow lens and holding onto that inner rigid belief that this should turn out SO. And when it doesn’t pan out as you wanted it to, you are outraged, offended and very unhappy. That’s your ego, that’s your rigidity. Particularly apparent if others are seemingly fine with the same situation. Why is it so uncomfortable for you? Are your needs more important than others? Try to emulate water. Could there be a way around this impasse? Could we navigate these negotiations so we both become winners? Could there be a solution, somewhere in the middle?
This type of meditation can be used in situations of conflict, wars, personal relationships, and workplace altercations. Imagine an enlightened world using these principles and philosophies to dismantle the totalitarian, fascist and dictatorial regimes still existing in the 21st Century. Acknowledging the centuries of conflict and human rights abuse and yet still trying to navigate a way through this history to find that solution, somewhere in the middle.
