Dear [First Name],
Do you ever beat yourself up? Not literally, but mentally? Ever chastise yourself for doing, saying or thinking stupid things? Repeating past mistakes or behaviours? Do you do this to yourself during meditation?

If you ever find meditation difficult or feel that you aren't getting the results you expect it's probably because you're judging your own experience - often in quite subtle and ingenious ways. This month I've included a tip on how to help identify and disarm this overly critical voice.

In This Issue...

• Meditation Tip
• 38 Stress Busters
• Course Schedule - Term 5 begins October 1
• Special Events - Jon Kabat-Zinn Visits Melbourne

Meditation Tip

W. Timothy Gallwey in his book The Inner Game of Tennis speaks of Self 1 and Self 2:

"A major breakthrough in my attempts to understand the art of relaxed concentration came when I began listening to the way players talked to themselves on court. Most players talk to themselves continuously: 'Get up for the ball', 'Keep it to his backhand', 'Keep your eyes on the ball'. The commands are endless. For some, it's like a recording. Then, after each shot, another thought flashes through the mind: 'You clumsy ox, your grandmother could play better!'

Who's talking to whom? Who is this 'I' and who the 'myself'? Obviously they're separate entities or there would be no conversation, so we can say that within each player there are two 'selves'. One, the 'I', seems to give instructions; the other, 'myself', seems to perform the action. Then 'I' returns with an evaluation of the action. For clarity, let's call the 'teller' Self 1 and the 'doer' Self 2.

Imagine that instead of being parts of the same person, Self 1 and Self 2 are two separate persons. How would you characterise their relationship after witnessing a typical conversation between them? It seems as though Self 1 thinks Self 2 doesn't hear well, or has a short memory, or is stupid. Of course, Self 2, which includes the unconscious mind and nervous system, hears everything, never forgets anything, and is anything but stupid.

The problem here is that Self 1, 'the teller', doesn't trust Self 2, 'the doer', despite the fact that Self 2 embodies all the potential you have developed up to this moment and is far more competent than Self 1 in almost every respect. Self 2 manages to keep your heart pumping and your lungs breathing, it wards of disease, learns things that you can now perform automatically (like walking and talking) and does all this quite effortlessly. Self 2 is a genius and miracle worker and yet Self 1 has the nerve to jump in and offer all sorts of advice and judgment on how Self 2 should go about its job.

And this is the problem. The compulsive thoughts of Self 1, the ego-mind, cause interference with the natural capabilities of Self 2. Harmony exists between the selves when the mind is relatively quiet and focused. Developing this harmony is one goal of meditation. It's a gradual process involving the learning of several inner skills. The first of these skills is letting go of our inclination to judge ourselves and our performance as either good or bad.

Judgment is the act of assigning a negative or positive value to an event. An initial judgment (such as it's bad to lose focus, or this feeling is awful) is what provokes a thinking process. First you think of a certain sensation as good or bad. If it's judged bad you then begin thinking about what's wrong with it. Then you tell yourself how to correct it. Then you might try to change the sensation, simultaneously commenting on the progress you're making (or the lack of it) as you continue meditating. A similar mental response occurs even when you judge things positively. Both mental processes results in further evaluation, which perpetuates the process of thinking and self-conscious performance.

Then, to make matters worse, after Self 1 has evaluated a number of experiences, it is likely to start generalising. Instead of judging a single event (e.g. I've lost focus), it starts thinking I can't focus. It's interesting to see how the judgmental mind extends itself further. Instead of thinking 'I was temporarily distracted' the mind might generalise and come up with 'I'm having a crap meditation', then, 'I'm a scatterbrain', 'I can't meditate' and finally, in order to regain a little respect for itself 'Meditation doesn't work!'

First the mind judges the event, then groups events, then identifies with the combined event and finally judges itself. As a result, these self-judgments become self-fulfilling prophecies.

Your job, when you meditate, is to notice when this process begins. Notice when you are chunking events together, generalising and then identifying yourself with these judgments. Recognise that you come equipped with an intelligence and ability that is infinitely superior to what you think. In other words, get out of your own way and let the body meditate you.

38 Stress Busters

I think it's tempting, as a human, to put all our eggs in one basket. In this age of information overload, it's natural to seek out quick, simple solutions. We want the answer to all our difficulties. Unfortunately, life is often a bit more complicated than that. Meditation can help to keep us more relaxed and calm, but a balanced life requires that we look at the sources of our stress and make the necessary changes. Our jobs, relationships, leisure activities and diet all play important roles. A question I like to ask myself periodically is: "What would the best use of my time at this moment be?" This tends to bring all these questions into immediate focus.

For 38 more tips on how to bring more balance into your life, check out these from the Mind Body Medical Institute.

Course Schedule

Let your friends (and enemies) know! The next term is about to begin.

Term 5 - October/November 2006

October 2: 6 Week Basic Course at Clifton Hill (Mondays 7.00 - 8.30pm)
October 4: 6 Week Basic Course at Elwood (Wednesdays 8.15 - 9.45pm)
October 5: 6 Week Course at Melbourne CBD (Thursdays 5.30 - 7.00pm)
October 5: 6 Week Course at Port Melbourne (Thursdays 8.00 - 9.30pm)

Teacher Training Course

Designed for yoga teachers, health professionals and others wishing to teach or guide meditation the Teacher Training Course takes a behind the scenes look at what's involved in meditation instruction and how best to integrate meditation with other modalities. The next course is scheduled for February 2007. Note that you'll need to have completed a basic course prior to the Teacher Training.

Special Events - Jon Kabat-Zinn: Healing Through Mindfulness

Emeritus Professor Jon Kabat-Zinn, PhD, a scientist, writer and meditation teacher engaged in bringing mindfulness into the mainstream of medicine and society will be giving a number of public talks and a workshop in Sydney and Melbourne on his first Australian visit.

Dr. Kabat-Zinn will discuss the practice of mindfulness and its far-reaching benefits to the mind, body, health and well-being. He will also demonstrate the relevance of mindfulness to the struggles we find ourselves in, and for the embodiment of balance, well-being and wisdom in our lives.

Dr. Kabat-Zinn is the founding director of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness, Health Care and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, USA. He is also the Vice-Chairman of the Board of the Mind and Life Institute, a group that organises dialogues between the Dalai Lama and Western scientists.

Since 1979, his research has focused on the clinical applications of mindfulness meditation training for people with chronic pain and stress-related disorders on the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) with cancer patients, the immune system and on stress in various corporate settings. Over 250 medical centres and clinics worldwide use the MBSR model.

He is the author of the best-selling books Full Catastrophe Living, Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life and Coming to Our Senses.

For more info visit: http://www.belindakhong.com/jonkabatzinn/session01.html

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