Day 18 - Right concentration and Space - Upside down (2006)

hello dear friend,

today meditation is dedicated to my friend Lide who joined us in this blog and who has been present daily giving me encouragement and support during this healing journey.

Want to invite you to meditate and dance on right concentration and the concentration is on space. Dancers use space well as it is the matter where movements can be created as writing words in the sand. Space is music and movement, for the dancer, everything is space and space is everywhere, jumping up and down, turning upside down, and spinning, sppining around, changing all the time in infinite tides and pirouets.

Space is also where we live, our home, our work, the parks, the garages, the trains and the rain drop feeding rivers and oceans,
Space is the space between tides, the way going back in forth between two places, the sky and the earth, in and out our bodies, the space between two moments, all is space and this space is turning and spinning around the sun, dancing with stars and planets in an immense ocean of darkness and light we all are immersed in.

What is important when meditating on space, especially on the space between each breath is how our meditation helps us to feel protected in our inner and outter space, and how this whole space within and surrounding us helps us to create a peaceful place where a incredible force inside is born to deal with so many challenges in life, all the dangers on everyday meetings, and actions, everytime we have to share spaces with nature's elements and creatures, with our family members, co-workers and strangers.

This meditation on right concentration is also inspired by Thich Nhat Han's the Heart of Buddha's Teaching and on the setting up a sacred space for meditation, I got inspiration from  the publication called "The Preliminary Practices of Tibetan Buddhist Meditation", by Dr. Miles Neale from the Nalanda Institute for  Contemplative Science.   It is helping me to start to set my space, a sacred space around me and in me, up and down, especially when my world is turning upside down.


First step, when aiming good concentration during our meditation, we need to find a clean and tidy space in our home, as it helps put our mind at ease.  If we live with our relatives, we need to find a place where we feel at home with ourselves. When I used to live with my parents, my bed and bedroom was this sacred space.  When i closed the door, I was entering that space of contemplation.

As we tidy the surroundings, imagine we are cleansing our mind of negative imprints that obscure our natural clarity. Time is a manifestation of space, so think about ‘cleaning up’ our time as well.  One does this by clarifying our intention to practice now in the present moment, as opposed to doing things mindlessly and on automatic pilot.  Then commit to a meditation period with right concentration.  Our space and time are purified with our respect.

Let's make our space pleasing to the senses, meaningful or sacred by setting up, for example, an altar, arranging flowers, lighting candles and incense, setting up pictures or statues of inspiring people or places and making other gestures of gratitude. This helps to create a special environment and differentiate it from ‘ordinary’ space. 

Now mentally, let's transform the space, by returning to the active imagination of a child, relaxing beyond limits of what we think is real or possible.  Imagine that you are in a safe-healing environment
of your choosing. Rather than a bedroom or corner of your house, imagine you are in a
sanctuary, temple, palace or other inspirational place.

Then imagine that the space is well protected by a force-field of awareness created by all the
spiritual mentor-guides of your tradition or lineage.  They hold you in their tender embrace,
watching carefully over you.  They are delighted by your activities.  The force-filed acts as a filter
for any stresses and toxic elements, thereby sanctifying your surroundings.  Let our imagination
ease our brain and nervous system into feeling safe enough to disarm, and relaxed enough to
enjoy the moment and the space we are in.

To help our dance and meditation on right concentration and space, I found this joyful and hopeful Jack Johnson's Upside down song. As the song invites us to dance, we can't put limits on our imagination being a curious monkey trying to learn how to jump up and down in the junggle, but this monkey also needs to put some boundaries to safely call this place home. By understanding that things change everyday, while the world is spinning around,  the monkey inside us can turn her space upside down, further she finds what she was looking for, sharing love with everyone she meets along the way.

Aloha e


"Upside Down"

Who’s to say what’s impossible 

Well they forgot this world keeps spinning 

And with each new day

I can feel a change in everything 
 

And as the surface breaks reflections fade

But in some ways they remain the same

And as my mind begins to spread it’s wings 

There’s no stopping curiosity
 

I want to turn the whole thing upside down

I’ll find the things they say just can’t be found 

I’ll share this love I find with everyone 

We’ll sing and dance to mother nature’s songs

I don’t want this feeling to go away
 

Who’s to say I can’t do everything 

Well I can try, and as I roll along I begin to find 

Things aren’t always just what they seem 
 

I want to turn the whole thing upside down

I’ll find the things they say just can’t be found 

I’ll share this love I find with everyone 

We’ll sing and dance to mother nature’s songs
 

This world keeps spinning 

And there’s no time to waste

Well it all keeps spinning spinning 

Round and round and upside down
 

Who’s to say what’s impossible and can’t be found

I don’t want this feeling to go away
 

Please don’t go away

Please don’t go away

Please don’t go away
 

Is this how it’s supposed to be?

Is this how it’s supposed to be?