I thought it might be helpful to suggest some practices that could be useful during these days of upheaval. Like many people, I find myself experiencing waves of fear, and, to a lesser extent, waves of anger and sadness. Fortunately, I have accumulated 30 years of tools in wellness work and the practice of dharma (Buddhist teachings) to help settle my mind during these unsettled times. My hope is that some of what I practice might be of use to you. Even in times of great uncertainty we can ground ourselves in these verities.
If you haven’t yet undertaken learning meditation now is the time! The beauty of meditation is that it helps train the mind to do what we want it to do, not what it wants to do. It’s best to treat it like a feral dog. Stay away unless safe! Once we’ve trained our minds they can support us in staying absolutely present in each and every moment, making it less likely for them to spin out into dystopian scenarios of isolation, destruction, loss, and death. Take it from me! Whatever the present moment presents is almost invariably more peaceful and ordered than whatever’s going on in my mind! This is the perfect time for practice.
My favorite word of late to describe meditation practice is concentration. It takes real concentration on the here and now to stem the tide of doomsday thought. It takes real concentration to remember to wash hands regularly and to not touch my face. Most rewardingly, staying focused in the present reminds me to appreciate the many, many moments of health and calm that I actually have.
Have you ever wondered how some men and women who have committed crimes can return from prison, often many years later, with the calm and equanimity of Buddhas? It can point to how they’ve transmuted their time behind bars into a form of meditation retreat. Our minds can imprison us whether in jail or not. They can also free us if we can discipline them, even when behind bars. So when we’re confronted with limitations for going out into the world, with social distancing, it’s the perfect time to go inward – to sit, meditate, and train the mind. A wonderful documentary that takes place inside a prison in India illustrates the power of this practice: “Doing Time, Doing Vipassanna.”
This could be the perfect time to undertake a meditation retreat in your own home. Here is a template I like for half-day and full-day retreats at home. You can certainly search the internet for other models and design a program that best suits you and your circumstances. Social distancing doesn’t have to mean imprisonment; it can mean opportunity.
COVID-19 reminds us of many similar fundamental truths of human life. If there remain any doubters out there about how we are all interconnected please stand up! 🙂 Four months ago, no one on the planet would have imagined – as the most accepted theory goes (though still far from confirmed!) – that a virus which originated in the Wuhan Seafood Market would in some way affect every single person on the planet, either directly through infection or indirectly through economic and social repercussions. Yet that’s exactly what seems to be happening. If ever there were a literal illustration of the old chaos theory aphorism this is it, only in this instance the butterfly flapped its wings in China and sent the hurricane throughout the world. Dramatic proof that the actions of one of us affect the lives of us all. We further underscore that lesson when we now seek to minimize our adverse impacts on others by taking preventive health measures and self-quarantining when necessary.
It’s good to remember that what will be only becomes truth once it is known. That’s a fancy way of saying no amount of speculation and worrying will make anything any more or less likely to occur. We’ll know what happens when it happens. Not before. Every day during my morning prayers I recite this from the Boddhisattva Vow: “When I, a Boddhisattva of no rank, look through awakened eyes at the real form of this universe, all that appears is the never-ending, never-failing manifestation of the mysterious unfolding of truth. In any event, in any moment, and in any place, none can be other than the marvelous revelation of the interplay of this glorious Light…”
Life is truth playing itself out over and over again. That’s how we maintain a settled mind in unsettled times. 1) Don’t get lost in speculation about the future. 2) Accept all things as they occur. “This too is true; this too is true; this too is true…”
I recommend getting out in nature. It’s probably one of the safest places you can be right now. Take walks in parks, swim in lakes or the ocean, go on long bike rides. This is a perfect time to walk the Pacific Crest Trail. Not only is exercise good for clearing clouded heads, nature bring us back to something fundamental in ourselves through its beauty and it reminds us of the power of all living things to adapt to changing circumstances. (And anything that gets us away from news and the Internet is a good thing. If you’re not already limiting your intake, I recommend an hour a day at most.)
Life is change. Change is life. It’s easy for us to accept changes when they please us – we inherit some money, we fall in love, we get public recognition for our work… But it’s less easy to accept when changes don’t please us – we get fired, a lover leaves, we lose money, or we face illness, even death. The challenge before us is really quite simple. It’s the same challenge that faces us each and every day, only now the circumstances make it more dramatic and indispensable. Can we maintain the same level of equanimity and acceptance in the face of previously unimaginable loss and destruction?
I say we can. I aim to prove it with my own life. You can too.