Linden Ponds	UPDATED: Wednesday, April 30, 2008
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The way to mindfulness

Posted on Tuesday, April 01, 2008

By Setarreh Massihzadegan
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

Whether we are aware of it or not, most of us are dealing with a head full of monkeys. That is, “chattering monkeys,” as they are known in Buddhism, that cloud our minds as we go about our days, unable to control our thousands of thoughts.

But the Tuesday Morning Meditators at Linden Ponds have succeeded in taming those wild thoughts through mindfulness meditation. In weekly sessions, the ten or so regular meditators grapple with the stresses of their lives and emerge refreshed.

“Once you get rid of all the trash in your mind, you can go to wherever you want,” says Wayne Hastings, who began meditating more than a year and a half ago when he moved to Linden Ponds and joined the group.

Hastings is the fi rst to admit that the road to mindfulness isn’t easy. Though he had tried meditation with the help of a CD and books before moving to Linden Ponds, he says, “I didn’t understand what I was looking for.”

Focused energy
Today he has been able to get rid of his unwanted thoughts and go as near or far as he wants—in his mind. During one meditation session he went to a favorite walking space in his old neighborhood of Weymouth, Mass., where he met an old friend he hadn’t seen in years.

Hastings’ journey was made possible after months of practice with the three components of mindfulness meditation: posture, breath, and attention. Most of the group members at Linden Ponds sit in straight-backed chairs with their feet on the floor. They focus on their breathing by practicing “baby breathing,” which means feeling their breath flow from their abdomens.

Though unwanted thoughts inevitably make their way into each person’s mind, meditators keep them at bay by focusing on their breathing or repeating a word, or mantra, silently to themselves.

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Group connection
Tucked comfortably in the prayer room at Linden Ponds, the group meditates for 20 minutes before emerging to bell chimes played by Pastoral Ministries Manager and founder of the group, Chris Beukman. Though they also meditate by themselves, many find it easier to meditate as a group within the prayer room, sharing a sense of energy and community. “You feel a strong connection with these people,” says Marianne Bozzi, who had been meditating for many years before she moved to Linden Ponds.

“There’s that spiritual connection … [meditation is] bigger than religion.”

After sharing their energy during meditation, the group members discuss their personal experiences.

At a recent meeting, one meditator was brought to tears as she remembered what she had seen—a beautiful valley and sun, where a voice told her to behold the image of God.

“It’s just a simple technique … and these deep emotions come up,” explains Beukman, who taught a meditation class at Linden Ponds about a year and a half ago before starting the group.

Health benefits
In addition to an emotional release, meditation is purported to have physical health benefi ts. The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (1 of the 27 branches within the National Institutes of Health) has already acknowledged meditation for problems such as anxiety, pain, stress, and insomnia, and it is studying more of the effects.

Though there is plenty we don’t know about the brain and mind-body function, much of the research into meditation looks at its calming eff ect on the body’s autonomic nervous system, which is responsible for how we react to stressful situations.

Linden Ponds Medical Director Dr. Mark Samuelson does his own meditating and advises many of his patients to do so as well. “It’s a natural relaxant,” Dr. Samuelson says. “It’s an inexpensive modality that doesn’t have any side effects,” he adds.

Of course, like the Tuesday Morning Meditators, Samuelson knows it takes work and practice to silence the monkeys in our minds. He says: “It’s like exercising a muscle; it takes effort.”

Kirkwood has accepted the monkeys, which she admits still visit her regularly. “I’ve learned to be gentle with them,” she says.