Seize life through free repetition of the meditation sound

“Life is what happens to you, while you’re busy making other plans”
– John Lennon

The quote may inspire us to seize life, rather than letting it be something that merely happens.

Easier said than done

We live life as best we can, with ups and downs, joys and sorrows. One day slips easily into another, and time flies. We keep going and try to make the best of it in unsettled and unpredictable times.

Many people have more than enough on their hands, and it is not unusual to go around feeling that we are not managing to do what we think we should or must do. We may sense an undertone of not being fully present in our own lives, while the stream of news and updates on social media easily captures our attention. When meeting the challenges of everyday life, some like to plan, while others take things more as they come. Some push themselves; others withdraw when things are stormy around them and keep their distance. Some seem to retain a certain calm regardless.

We relate to friends, family and colleagues in different ways: closely, at some distance, or by holding on, perhaps too tightly. Friendships and contact with family may also be more fleeting or sporadic, or may easily slip away.

These are patterns that are characteristic of us and tend to repeat themselves, for better or worse. They are closely connected with our personality.

Repetition of the meditation sound and unconscious forces

If we practice Acem Meditation, we may ask whether there is a connection between the way we meet the challenges of everyday life and how we repeat the meditation sound. When meditation meets resistance, we often tend unconsciously to ally ourselves with forces that make us close off and hold back. We act accordingly, with tunnel vision and a narrowed range of action, in meditation as in life more generally. During periods of many or intense thoughts, restlessness, boredom or pain, we may lose some of this openness, often without noticing it.

When we meditate for one and a half hours or more, body and mind relax more profoundly and we immerse ourselves in deeper layers of the mind than in our everyday meditations. We open up more, let more in and process more, and at the same time may become more aware of how we repeat the meditation sound when encountering different kinds of spontaneous activity.

In guidance afterwards, the guide typically asks: “How do you repeat the meditation sound when you have many thoughts, are restless or have pain in your back?” ‘I repeat it as I usually do,’ we may answer, ‘or in the way I learned on the course.’

We do as before; it is what comes naturally to us. We see no other possibilities there and then, and we maintain a characteristic pattern. In long meditations and guidance, we can bring in a new, more open perspective, which enables us to notice nuances and gradually discover the possibility of repeating the sound in a slightly different way. Some of the routine quality falls away.

There are many ways in which we can repeat the meditation sound. Quickly, slowly, together with the breath, lightly, with the sound at the center of attention, or in the periphery. Firmly, indistinctly, with a certain pressure. We may say it, listen to it, think it.

When there is friction, forces are often at work that make us meditate with less openness. As we gradually discover this and adjust the repetition in the direction of greater acceptance and openness, the charge will diminish.

With increased inward contact, a form of inner security may grow: an existential standpoint from which we live, act and make choices. It may make it easier to distinguish what is important from what is unimportant, and may mean that time pressure no longer feels quite as constricting, while we also become more content. With regular meditation over time, and with some patience and trust in the process, we may give ourselves the possibility of being more present in our own lives.

Ellen Gravklev