SZURA: Sylvie

Sitting quietly, doing nothing
                                      spring comes
                                               and the grass grows by itself

Zen Buddhist proverb

I sometimes say ‘the grass grows green’ instead, because I like how it sounds; but this still works because I find the meaning of ‘by itself’ absolutely inherent in ‘the grass grows’. I do not think that the proverb is meant to recommend that we never do anything (as if that were possible - even to sit quietly is to do something). I believe that ‘doing nothing’ is a poetic way of saying ‘meditating’, where this involves, at least at the beginning of the meditation, and sometimes for the whole period of it, a complete giving up of any other action or thought and especially any anxieties and worries. I think that the proverb tells us about three essential things.

Firstly, the benefits of sitting (or lying down) and resting the analytical mind. This can be augmented with a conscious practice of letting go of our thoughts, and particularly our desires, concerning what we think we want and how we believe it is to be achieved. We may do this, for example, once we are sufficiently relaxed, by recognizing each thought as it arises, and repeating in our mind such words as ‘I bless you and release you’. We may perhaps imagine the thought flying away, and perhaps transforming into a bird or just into clear air.

Such a practice may simply be a way of resting. But there can be other benefits:
Meditation
i) Allows freedom from problems, beliefs and mind sets which may be preventing us from realising the truth, or realising it in a clearer way.
ii) Enables us to become more aware of intuitions/feelings/emotions/instincts, which are helpful to our well being. Centrally, or rather puveyingly, it generally increases and/or allows awareness of feelings of love.
iii) Provides us with information that we need to remember or with new information that we need, coming from the putting together, or recombination of what has been sensed, as happens in dreams.
iv) Enables awareness of feelings/instincts that are harmful to us. More self awareness is needed for better self control, so it may profit us to just acknowledge some emotion in ourselves; although meditation is also a very useful tool in finding out what is causing certain reactions, and in clearing them from the system.
v) Can be used to release ourselves from specific problems or harmful habits, to adjust ourselves to a more healthy way of being, or to gain specific guidance.

The risk of errors in understanding being perpetuated or formulated due to meditation is far outweighed by the benefit to our understanding, and the risk that we take by not allowing ourselves to access what our ‘deeper’* mind has to offer. We note again that the analytical mind can also make errors; and that we gain maximum benefit by using all our powers of sensing the truth. Besides, whatever new ideas and new attitudes may have formed in or following meditation, we can check them out/think them through afterwards – a process which usually if not always results in appreciation of their worth. This process is also a natural part of combining new ideas and attitudes into our life, and the continuing process of development of our thoughts, feelings and behaviour.

Secondly, the proverb reminds us to enjoy the good things in our life, especially the simple pleasures that we have in abundance.

And thirdly, I believe it promotes realization of how all these good things, including all the good work that is done by anyone, helps us in the work that is to be done for everyone. In other words, it is about not being too hard on ourselves – meaning everyone or anyone, which by definition is counterproductive. It is about ‘taking it easy’, or ‘taking the easy way’ in the sense where efficiency and grace mean the same and necessarily involve plenty of fun.

*Scanning of brain activity has shown that different parts of the brain and different types of brain activity generally come into play when we meditate. The heart rate and other bodily functions are also affected. There is plentiful evidence that meditation is good for the overall health.

The uses of meditation (further notes)

note one

We can consciously affirm our paradigm to be what is good for life; what is healthy for life.
We have to forgive ourselves for the ways in which we do not do what is good for life,
because we are still learning and developing
and because the present political system pressurises us to do otherwise.

But the more we do what is good for life
(including working to free ourselves from the present system),
the more we will clearly know the way and the more we will be fulfilled.

Truth is the touchstone and love is the grail.
We have to be honest, to be true, to find love;
and we have to love, to care, to find out the truth.

Meditation helps us to think clearly and to feel deeply.
It helps us to know the truth and to give and receive love.

note two

Meditation helps us to be aware of our thoughts and feelings and of our surroundings,
and to understand how they interrelate.

Lack of self awareness and situation awareness
prevents us from fully appreciating and efficiently using our conditions,
in which I include our personal abilities.

We may, for example, be unaware of how insecurities and anxieties in our system
are detrimentally interfering with our perceptions and behaviour.
– And thus we will generally be less able to eliminate or manage such problems.

And we may, for example, be unaware of certain features of things or people in our environment
that are or would be beneficial to us. - So we do not receive the full benefit, or any benefit at all.

As we become aware we more fully enjoy, enhance and enact our virtues, and thus
more fully enjoy, engage with and enhance all our conditions.

As we become aware, we learn how to eliminate or manage harmful modes of thought and feeling,
and how to eliminate or manage the harmful effects which cause them and which they perpetuate.
And we can prevent such things from building up. This is an ongoing task.

Clarity

When we say we ‘don’t care’, often what we really mean is, ‘It’s too much for me to care’;
‘it seems too confusing’, or ‘too hard to solve’, or ‘it feels too overwhelming.’
Or ‘I feel too afraid.’ Or ‘I feel too hurt and hopeless.’

We do not really mean that we do not care if people suffer, or that we are suffering.
Or if we do, this is, I believe, necessarily a temporary and unhealthy condition.

We have evolved to care and caring results from, and is a sign of healthy development.
I believe that there are two big reasons to live -
One is to enjoy life, and the other is to help to improve the common welfare.
I believe that to be successful these two have to go together.
One without the other produces diminishing returns.

We do not have to, nor can we understand all the complexities all at once.
We do not have to, nor can we solve all the problems immediately.

But we can, when we are ready, let go of our confusion and distress, anxiety and anger;
see this moment clearly, and do what is possible in this moment to help.
It may be to rest. It may be to play. It may be to work.
It will be simply in front of us
or it will simply come to mind.

We have to trust the process and we have to keep practicing.

This is what it is to love.
This is how we gradually and naturally come to understand the complexities,
this is how we find the easiest way,
this is how we are relieved of pain
and this is how we create health and happiness.

The sanity in everyone is grateful for that
and it helps everyone else to do the same.

Poieo [ Greek – ‘make’. Root of the word 'poetry'.]

We imagine gods and godesses, and other figures, such as devils, fairies, angels, heroes, anti-heroes and all the characters of fiction. These figures come from our experience of the world, including our experience of other people’s ideas. The many types express the many aspects of ourselves. The divinities and archetypes of a culture are in a creative interrelationship with the qualities of the culture, and the qualities of the culture are in a creative interrelationship with conditions, and just influenced by some conditions, such as the stars.

Divinities or ‘spiritual beings’ can portray, and be used to justify, the worst in us. They may be mixtures of good and bad much as we are. However, in the context of properly taught and practiced meditation, such imagined beings can personify only all our best features, and in the process can be gifted with virtues to which we aspire. This phenomenon is sometimes referred to as ‘the higher consciousness’. If we consult this, which may be symbolised in many different forms in our meditations, we find that the figures are sympathetic and forgiving, and that they advise us wisely and lovingly encourage us.

For imaginative beings this can be an efficient and effective technique for accessing our own best judgement and empathy, for affirming and sharing what is good about ourselves, and for creating ourselves as we wish to be; i.e. for developing our morality. We only have to remember that the gods and godesses and other figures are us and what we intend to become.

Areas of Research

Emotional physiology:
How do our emotions affect our physiology? In what ways do patterns of physiological activity change when we experience heartfelt positive emotions? Are there specific physiological patterns that are markers of different emotional states? Elucidating the physiological correlates of emotions, with particular emphasis on positive emotional states, is a major area of focus at the HeartMath Research Center. Studies have revealed clear changes in the patterns of activity of the autonomic nervous system, immune system, hormonal system, brain, and heart when we experience emotions such as appreciation, love, care, and compassion. Such physiological changes may help explain the observed connection between positive emotions, improved health, and increased longevity. Our research also provides evidence that the heart plays a particularly important role in the generation and perception of emotion, and has contributed to the development of a new, systems-oriented model of emotion that includes the heart, together with the brain, nervous, and hormonal systems, as fundamental components of a dynamic, interactive network from which emotional experience emerges.

Heart–brain interactions:
The heart and brain maintain a continuous two-way dialogue, with each influencing the other's functioning. It is now known that the signals the heart sends the brain can influence perception, emotional processing, and higher cognitive functions. Our research is exploring the influence of the heart's input on brain activity, emotional perception and experience, and cognitive performance. We have shown that emotion-related changes in the heart's rhythmic activity are correlated with distinct changes in these variables. Our findings also point to a link between positive emotions and improved cognitive functioning.

Development and testing of positive emotion-focused tools and techniques:
Our research in emotional physiology has identified a distinct and beneficial physiological mode of functioning, which we term physiological coherence, that is associated with the experience of genuine positive emotions. The physiological coherence mode is characterized by increased efficiency, order, and harmony in the functioning of the body's systems, and is also associated with improved emotional stability and cognitive performance. Our research has also guided the development of practical, heart-based tools, techniques, and technologies that enable people to sustain positive emotions and physiological coherence with greater consistency. These interventions have been tested for efficacy in laboratory studies as well as in intervention studies conducted in educational, organizational, and clinical settings (see corresponding research areas below).

Educational intervention studies: HeartMath's positive emotion-focused tools and techniques that foster physiological coherence have been shown to significantly improve key aspects of health, emotional well-being, and performance.

Music research:
The Institute of HeartMath's music research focuses primarily on exploring the physiological and psychological effects of facilitative music--music specifically created to reduce stress and promote emotional and physiological balance. Our research has shown that listening to facilitative music enhances mood and boosts immunity. The greatest effects are seen when such music is used to facilitate the practice of positive emotion-focused tools and techniques.

Heart rate variability and autonomic function:
Heart rate variability--a measure of the naturally occurring beat-to-beat changes in heart rate--is a powerful, noninvasive measure of autonomic nervous system function and an indicator of neurocardiac fitness. A portion of the Institute of HeartMath's research efforts is devoted to basic research on heart rate variability (HRV) and autonomic nervous system function. The HeartMath Research Center has established and maintains an extensive HRV normals database, which provides data on the variations in measures of HRV among normal, healthy individuals. We have published research demonstrating how HRV varies with age and gender, and using HRV analysis to assess alterations in autonomic function in conditions such as panic disorder and chronic fatigue. We also provide analysis services to other laboratories interested in using HRV in their research.

Emotional energetics, intuition, and epigenetics research:
The heart produces by far the most powerful rhythmic electromagnetic field in the body. The brain and all the cells in the body are continuously bathed in the heart's electromagnetic field, which can also be detected several feet away from the body by sensitive instruments. Our research on the heart as an energetic system examines the heart's field as a carrier of emotional information and a mediator of bioelectromagnetic communication both within and outside the body. This research has shown that our heart's field changes distinctly as we experience different emotions, and that this is registered by the brains of people around us. It also appears to be capable of affecting cells, water, and DNA studied in vitro. The implications of these findings are that people may be capable of affecting their environment in ways not previously understood, and that such "energetic" interactions may be prominently influenced by our emotions. Growing evidence also suggests that energetic interactions involving the heart may underlie intuition and important aspects of human consciousness [more].

http://www.heartmath.org/

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