Starting to Meditate
Now that you have decided on a mantra to use, we will now begin our crash course in general meditation. I am in no way instructing you to use the Transcendental meditation form for I am not a qualified instructor and to do so would be against my better judgment. What I will share with you is a similar exercise which has been published in magazines and newspapers around the world. This is a very general yet effective exercise which can be used by anyone.
1. Sit comfortably in a chair which is for the time isolated from distractions, i.e. TV, radio, children, fireworks, gun ranges and earthquakes.
2. Slowly close your eyes and begin to think of your mantra; repeating it over and over slowly in your mind.
3. As thoughts come to you as you sit there, do not try to avoid them but gently return to your mantra again.
4. Each time thoughts come to you, return to thinking your mantra.
Continue this resting and returning to the thought of your mantra for twenty minutes. Some may ask, “When my eyes are shut, how do I know when the time is up”? That was my first question also and my teacher told me to peek. Who said meditation had to be boring?
Your meditation periods should be two twenty minute sessions every day. I have found that the best time for me would be one in the morning and one in the afternoon. It is not advisable to meditate before going to bed for you will eventually gain energy from the exercises and if done before going to bed, you might have a difficult time getting to sleep.
Things to remember when meditating
1. Your mantra
2. When thoughts come to mind, replace them with your mantra.
3. When you remember that you needed to do something, replace it with your mantra.
4. When you are upset about something or someone, replace it with your mantra.
5. Your meditation will only last twenty minutes at a time so whatever you are concerned about, it can wait for the twenty minutes.
Likely benefits of Meditation
1. Clarity of mind
2. Added energy
3. Improved calmness
4. Added focus to what you are doing
Disclaimer from your author:
Many people have not tried meditation for they believe that it is an Eastern religion and to those people I would like to say, “Meditation is a simple exercise in gaining relaxation and better concentration and is in no way connected to any religious belief. I have practiced it for half of my life and I still consider myself a devout Christian”.
I would like to say that just for the heck of it, I tried this in my last practice session, and I have to say that I found it incredibly useful – almost to a miraculous degree. Things I haven’t played in a while come out like I have been playing them consistently! Highly recommended. It increases your focus: I equate trumpet playing with Golf. In Golf you have to keep in mind where your shoulders are; are you leading with the foot you want?; are your hips turned?; are you snapping your wrists at the right time?; blah blah blah…and so on and so forth. With trumpet you have to be aware of so many physical neuroses in order to play properly and the way you want. This increases your attention and heightens your awareness of your playing.
Good Show Bruce!
Neil
(p.s. As a Christian I feel that it makes sense to use Jesus’ name as the mantra instead of random vowel spewing. If any Christian is struggling with that aspect of it, this fixes it and adds a nice prayerful dimension to your practicing.)
Glad to hear it helped you.
Your mantra substitute sounds very interesting due to the fact that we only have an artists rendition of what he actually looked like.
Thanks for stopping by and I wish the very best to you and yours from the Branson Trumpet Ensemble.
Bruce,
Thank you for sharing your thoughts on meditation! It’s great to see people connecting its benefits with particular activities, like playing trumpet. As a long time practitioner (and trumpet player), one might also try single-pointed meditation, which as a beginner, I found a bit easier to settle with prior to “om-ing” in my mind. My guru started me out with a lit candle and suggested that I look at every single aspect of the candle, to simply concentrate on this single object. After doing this a few times, we then went to thinking only about the candle, which helped to empty my mind of other extraneous noise. After thinking of the candle for awhile, I then moved onto concentrating on nothingness, which I struggled with prior to having the practice with a focal point.
Regarding a mantra, I’ve used a spoken mantra, an “audiated” mantra (in the mind only), and a mantra repeated on a recording to which I listened. New meditators might want to experiment with these three methods, especially if they are musicians. I’m also a singer and find that speaking or singing a mantra very distracting because I’m thinking about my voice and thinking the mantra leads me to other melodic lines in my head. The best method for me is to hear a repeated mantra or a repetitive sound, like ocean waves or birds chirping. You all might want to check out iPhone apps for meditating, which help with this and timing the meditation. There are tons of them out there! Thanks for sharing, Bruce.
Namaste,
Dawn
Thank you so much for your comments and you have made some very helpful suggestions.
While playing and teaching in Dallas I started studying the mental side of Yoga and one of the Yoga exercises was the candle exercise which improves ones concentration.
I was reading everything I could find on the Yoga teachings and started to experiment with mind/spirit projection. The first instruction was “DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS WITHOUT AN INSTRUCTOR”.
Of course, being the “man I was” I didn’t follow that suggestion and on I went. A few months later, after a hair raising experience, I decided I had better work with a teacher or better yet, stop the practice completely.
Thanks again for your insight in this issue and please comeback again.