5 meditation methods

Technique: Centering prayer
Tradition: Christian
"Your intention is to let go of intruding thoughts," says Anne Henderson, past president of the Contemplative Society in Victoria, which offers retreats and workshops. "You sit in silence and surrender thoughts, to gently clear the mind."

In a comfortable position -- sitting or kneeling straight-backed -- quietly concentrate on a chosen meaningful word, such as love, peace or joy.

If a negative or unwanted idea emerges or you feel restless, repeat the word and gently let go of the thought. This can be a difficult method, but it's more important to feel peace rather than master the technique. Henderson illustrates the point with the story of a nun who once told Father Thomas Keating, one of three Trappist monks who cofounded centering prayer in the 1970s, that she had 10,000 intruding thoughts and found it hard to control them. "He said to her, 'Oh, how nice! You have 10,000 opportunities to return to God.'"For Henderson, the effects are tangible. "I don't get bothered in traffic, lineups or by unpleasantness. My blood pressure is lower, and I handle stress better. I feel more balanced and centred."

For more information:
Visit the Contemplative Society's websites at contemplative.org or centeringprayer.com. Or, read Centered Living: The Way of Centering Prayer (Liguori, 1999) by Dom M. Basil Pennington.

Technique: Sufi meditation
Tradition: Islam
For Sufis -- who follow esoteric traditions of Islam -- the goal of meditation is to "polish the heart, which is rusted," explains Maliha Chishti, who also does yoga. "The idea is that to achieve spiritual realization is an inward journey." As a result, she says, where you meditate (or reflect on the names and attributes of God) doesn't matter -- it could be on a bus or at your desk -- because the idea is "to live in a state of complete taqwa, which is an awareness of God in every aspect of your life."

During a session -- taught by a sheikh, or venerable leader -- practitioners ignore all distractions and focus on one or two divine qualities like beauty, mercy or compassion, or the phrase "No God but God." "It's the affirmation of the oneness of God, there's no reality but God's reality, and no other power, truth or beauty," says Chishti. "You repeat it with sincere reflection. In its recitation is an awareness that your reality is divine reality. It's very comforting."

For more information:
The Sufi Path of Love (State University of New York, 1984) by William C. Chittick or Living Sufism by Seyyed Hossein Nasr. The Jerrahi Sufi Order of Canada also has a website.

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