Tag: intermediate meditation

In my home state, there is a fascinating gubernatorial primary race featuring the former Chief of Police in Detroit, James Craig. When he was in that role, he struck me as an acceptable policeman, and in conversations with black folks in Detroit, most felt safe from police officers in our city. Now, he is running for governor, on a highly Republican platform, and in Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, he revived discussion over the phrase Defund the Police, to bipartisan applause.

What I find missing from conversations regarding defunding the police is what it actually entails and looks like in areas where crime is visible. I live in a city known as having high rates of crime, though I have found it quite safe, and we live in an era of relatively low crime. But, here, as elsewhere, people routinely break laws, and sometimes it leads to community consternation. And after George Floyd was murdered, many healthy conversations about whether to “defund the police” were had. I felt blessed to engage in these conversations having had meditated, and practiced suspending my judgement and thought.

I will never forget the morning my wife and I discussed the “Defund the Police” argument over breakfast, and I stupidly asked, “What, are you going to just let people speed down the road and not pull them over?”, to the gentle din of cars speeding down one of our cities main throughfares, past a police station. After this rhetorical blunder, I realized that we have cast so many of our collective social problems as issues which can be fixed by police, traffic being one.

My neighborhood had suffered from speeders careening down streets at shocking rates, leading to many residents losing vehicles to hit and runs, and one neighbor being struck by a car. For years, we requested the city install speed humps, but city officials routinely misled residents claiming they could damage snow plows and impede emergency vehicles. Often, in the summer months, they would “increase patrols” to address racing. In our neighborhood, this led to absolutely no change in observed behavior. Finally, after many resident complaints and requests, the city began installing speed humps, and this program has become one of the most popular programs in the city. We have them on our street, and they have definitely and thankfully reduced speeding in our neighborhood. And they require exactly zero police officers to maintain. The problem of speeding, which had been cast in the light of a criminal problem to be solved by police, has actually been fixed by the public works department.

We deal with another problem which would benefit from a re-examination outside of the context of policing. Near my neighborhood, prostitution is common, and very unfortunate. Several times I have seen women in extremely dire circumstances, dressed to various levels, clearly influenced by drugs and trauma. I view this situation as one of public safety, and would love to have my municipal government help keep those involved safe and offer a pathway out of this situation. But the only publicly funded phone number I have to call is the police, and I do not view the women involved as engaged in criminal behavior. So a reform of the notion of public safety would be helpful.

Many others much brighter than I have helped me understand the concepts and history of “defunding the police”, and what it really means. As a phrase it does not have a lot of support, and it is not right to cast all police officers as a problem. But what does this have to do with meditation? From meditating for over a decade, the greatest benefit I have discovered is a major reduction in the impulse to respond instinctively and aggressively to the suggestions of others. This manifests as an open-minded approach to life, and problem solving. It’s amazing how focusing on the need to refrain from thought in meditation translates to an ability to refrain from judgement of the words of others, to an ability to refrain from reacting to the political arguments of others. If we lived in a world where more people did this, we might get more effective solutions.

An essential feature of a meditative practice is coming together with a small group to meditate, and often converse. In Buddhism, this is referenced in the concept of Sangha, which I broadly understand as a collection of humans with greater wisdom than oneself (though I could be wrong). In Christianity, many strands advocate meditating in a small group on a regular basis, and Gospels are clear that Christ will show up when we gather in his name.

I am blessed to meditate with a group of wise men from my parish, and after meditating and checking in, we discuss a text in detail, bringing our experiences as gifts to one another, and seeking guidance on issues in our lives. I feel so lucky to be present, and provided by them.

In a recent meeting, while discussing Thomas Merton’s, New Seeds of Contemplation, a man brought up a statement that has been drilling through my brain since, “Contemplation does not simplify, or complicate, it integrates.” And this has been rocking my world ever since.

When we sit down to meditate, we flip off all worldly or created channels, be they trivial or important. And we try to open our minds and ears and be aware of what arises during that time. If what we understand to be God speaks to us, so be it.

It is interesting to me because while the directions are simple, the outcomes can be so complicating. And it can be so hard! But as my friend pointed out, proper analysis of meditative practice often follow non-dualistic pathways. Meditating does not simplify your life, or complicate your life, but it integrates your life. Your attention will be pulled towards issues you wanted to ignore, complicating matters. Previously perceived problems can be melted away, simplifying our perspective.

If you are wishing to see greater integration in your life, or if you do not feel like the effects of meditation are spilling into places you would like, consider two remedies. The first is to engage in Centering Prayer, but embrace it with a commitment to refrain from judging. Accept non-dualism as a Christian mindset. Secondly, attempt to have your meditative practice “spread like weeds”, in the words of a teacher of mine, Master Sang Kim. He reminds us that mint is a weed, raspberries are weeds, and many good things spread in this fashion. If we attempt to practice our meditation while doing the dishes, or going for a run, or brushing our teeth, this mindset can spread throughout the day and help us integrate our lives.

David Brooks, one of the more enigmatic and frustrating opinion columnists for the New York Times, recently penned a piece documenting America’s lack of civility, and begging the questions of what is causing us to treat each other so awfully, and what can heal our national ailment. Predictably, the comments section focused squarely on the former, with the internet, Republicans, and Donald Trump headlining the list of reasons.

James Martin, a Jesuit and prolific author of books on Catholicism, wrote another piece for the Times lamenting attempts to shame and embarrass the unvaccinated who have died from COVID, and schadenfreude more broadly. This article did not permit comments, but one can still easily find websites documenting the unnecessary deaths of anti-vaccine individuals.

Neither is getting what they wish, as moralism is a poor approach to modifying behavior. But the issue they are really leaning towards is that many people lack mellow hearts, but being a complete Christian demands that we cultivate and nurture a mellow heart.

Ronald Rolheiser alludes to this in his incredible text, The Holy Longing, which is as fine a place as one could start in a mission to be a better person or a more Christian person. While I believe he does a great job identifying what a mellow heart is, and why it is important to a Christian life, Christianity has largely failed to provide people training and practice to mellow their own, actual heart. In contrast, Buddhism has an amazing set of meditative practices designed to help us become more loving, compassionate, joyful, and even-keeled. All of these virtues are Christian, and will help us address both Brooks’ and Martin’s concerns.

The Four Immeasurables are part of Buddhist practice, and refer both to the virtues themselves and the meditations to develop them. My favorite book on the matter, and perhaps favorite book of all time, is Mind at Ease, by Traleg Kyagban Rinpoche. He walks the reader through many meditations, but the meat is really the four immeasurables, which are love, compassion, joy, and equilibrity. The meditations are of similar structure: one tries to cultivate the virtue in question by exercising it: build your joy by feeling joy.

As an example, here is a meditation in this tradition for building compassion, a virtue we can all agree is in sore need in your neighborhood, and worldwide:

Set aside 20 minutes.  Adopt a posture which is relaxed, but alert.  Take a few moments to breath deeply, and clear the mind, placing your attention in the space behind your forehead. 

Think of a person you are close to, and feel compassion for her or him.  Feel that person in need of consolation, and this consolation being delivered by God in the perfect way.  Imagine that person finding total peace and harmony from this compassion.  Relax with this person in his or her resolved state. After about 5 minutes, return the mind to equanimity.

Next, think of a person you have not seen in a long time, you recently met, or to whom you have neutral feelings.  Even if you do not know what troubles this person, imagine them receiving compassion from God.  Imagine all their sense of troubles evaporating and eliminated, and this person feeling loved and consoled despite these difficulties.  Again, peacefully sink into this compassion, and experience it.  After about 5 minutes, return the mind to equanimity.

Then, consider a person who has given you difficulty.  Imagine them receiving compassion from God.  Imagine all their difficulties being met by God, and melting away. See this person finding true and wholesome compassion.  Again, peacefully dwell in this compassion, and experience it.  After about 5 minutes, return the mind to equanimity.

Last, thank God for this opportunity.  Ask that God may spread compassion to all humans, and meet their emotional, physical, and spiritual needs.  Ask that God may provide you with peace and a compassionate heart for the remainder of the day. 

Some men I have conducted this meditation with have mentioned that after they think of a person, and imagine that person feeling compassion, their attention moves on to other people and they sense compassion there. That’s okay! Just try to return it to the person you initially considered.

I am not a perfect person, and I have done a lot of ill in my life. But engaging in this practice has helped me build a compassionate heart, and mellowed it. And it has helped me address the complaints of Brooks and Martin. May it offer you a solution!