New Gaze - New World

Meditation

Day 5

Tool 6

Saida asked the group."Do you know how far we are from our last camp? Everyone remembered that the walk had started about two hours after sunrise and ended as the sun began to decline in the sky. It must have been a six-hour walk. With the dunes and the sand, one could not walk very fast. Some ventured to announce figures of between fifteen and twenty kilometres. The debate lasted several minutes, punctuated by Saida's "Who says better? When the group seemed to agree on its conclusion, Saida continued: "Does anyone remember the question?" The trainees began to look at each other, they were no longer sure. The good mood of the auctions at a distance had embroiled them in euphoria, until they finally forgot the question. It was Louis who intervened, "I believe you asked how far we are from the camp this morning. "That's right, Louis," replied Saida. Then, with one voice, most of the trainees confirmed once again "between fifteen and twenty kilometres. However, at Saida's insistence on an innocuous question, some of them were thinking of the cognitive biases and antidotes they had been taught. They suspected that the question might not be trivial. It was Louis who addressed the group. "I have spent the day trapped in my thoughts and in this exercise that has been given to me. I trusted Aziz completely to guide me to our destination. At no time did I take the time to look at the direction I was walking in, or even observe the position of the sun or question Aziz. Like you, I think I walked about twenty kilometres, but to tell the truth, I feel unable to say how far I am from this morning's camp. Nothing tells me that I haven't been walking in circles all day. Saida was proud to see Louis use his combination of intuition, presence, the tenth man and "I don't know" to come to a conclusion that most of the group had not even considered. Saida confirmed, "If you walk 300m in this direction, you'll find traces of our camp from this morning. We walked a loop of almost twenty kilometres, back to the starting point. In the desert, as in life, you must never lose the perception of the present. Because it is always in the present that your understanding is useful and your action takes place. In truth, the real exercise of this day was for us to walk you through a day to bring you back to your starting point without you realising it. To do this, we conditioned you.First of all Aziz secured your trust during the previous days. Then we occupied your mind with a goal to achieve during that day, and not just any goal, a goal that touches your personal beliefs and therefore your Ego. Realise how, by occupying your mental activity with a subject of interest, we were able to make you sheep and make you miss reality. Don't you have a sense of déjà vu? Is your daily life not filled with these lures that occupy your days? Can you say that you are free and do not exactly carry out the designs that others have decided for you? The trainees were sheepish, seeing themselves 10 minutes earlier, bidding on the miles they had covered during the day. They thought they were ridiculous. Saida continued, "Observe that a journey in your thoughts, in your reasoning, is always a journey into the past, don't spend more time than necessary. "Synchronicity, Intuition, Presence are tools of the present time.The "tenth man" who calls upon questioning, memory and reasoning presents the risk of getting lost in the past. So the tool we are going to study today is a tool that allows us to return to the present at any time. The sixth tool is called "Meditation". Sophie is going to teach it to you."In the collective unconscious, the term meditation is still often associated with religion, body postures and even rituals and gurus. However, countless scientific studies show that the regular practice of meditation significantly modifies brain activity: it develops neural plasticity while increasing the thickness of the left prefrontal cortex involved in cognitive and emotional processes as well as the feeling of well-being (Lazar & Al - Neuroreport, 2005.5). This practice also slows down the decrease - inevitable with age - of the space occupied by the cell body of neurons also called grey matter (Luders & Al, frontiers in psychology, 2105). Isn't it time to free ourselves from preconceived ideas about meditation? Why not have a first experience now? In "presence" we turned our gaze outwards, and we fed on the other person, not only on their words, but on their whole dimension, on what they were, on what they emanated, and we realised that we were receiving infinitely more than words, and that we were communicating at a different level and with a different intensity. Meditation is a bit like "Self-Presence", the process is a bit similar, but instead of looking outwards, we look inwards. Usually we begin by encountering endless agitation about an infinite number of subjects. We need an anchor to keep us from drifting like a drunken boat. This anchor will firmly attach our attention to a single subject, so it is advisable to choose a subject of no importance. Very often we choose the breath because wherever we are, the breath always accompanies us, but the sound of flowing water or the ticking of an alarm clock will have the same effect. In this exercise we will choose our breath. If you don't mind, let's do this exercise together now. Take a comfortable position, avoid lying down as you may fall asleep.Now close your eyes and concentrate on my voice.Sophie's voice was now slower."Concentrate all your attention on your breathing, Watch and feel your breath carefully. Notice the air entering your lungs.Feel the swelling of your abdomen.See how gradually the initial agitation disappears. Now observe what happens on the exhale, your belly contracting, the air escaping from your nostrils or your mouth.The rhythm of Sophie's voice slowed again.Notice the inner calm that takes place. Sophie's voice naturally became softer, the rhythm slower. "Little by little you may feel your heartbeat. Observe that they slow down.Notice all the movements that the breath causes in your body, perhaps even feel the circulation of blood in your veins. Realise that all this is happening naturally without your participation.You are now contacting the first stage of your natural state, the one for which you can do nothing, and yet the one without which nothing is possible.If a thought arises, it is normal, do not cling to it, let it pass and bring your attention back to the breath.Realise that from this natural state, this state where you feel life flowing through your body is always present.It is from this state that thoughts and agitation are superimposed.

Observe how your attention, in search of agitation, will tend to forget to observe your breath and return to the heart of chaos and problems.

It is a natural reflex, don't fight it, just bring your attention back to your breath as often as necessary. Like this moment, realize that this state is always present. Even in the midst of the worst experiences, in the midst of anger, or in the midst of despair. You always have the opportunity to find it again. It is your choice.Realise that you are even able to observe the attention trying to escape into agitation and also the concentration bringing it back to the breath. If you perceive attention and concentration, then you are neither, you are not involved.You are a detached observer. Realise the peaceful state of this observer.You are at the source of yourself, you are feeling the essence of presence to yourself.Sophie allowed the silence to settle, everyone experiencing their inner peace. From time to time she encouraged people to refocus their attention on their breathing.After about twenty minutes she slowly resumed speaking. She slowly spoke again."We are now slowly coming back to ourselves. When you feel it is right for you, you will open your eyes. Note that having your eyes open or closed does not change the state you are experiencing, this state always accompanies you. The practice of this state is called "meditation".Gradually, each at his own pace, one after the other, the eyes slowly opened."How do you feel," said Sophie.No answer came, each one preferred to remain in this state. They felt that the words they spoke would only accelerate their fall into identification with a character they had taken leave of for a moment."By practising this presence to yourself every day for a few minutes, you will measure the good it does, and you will also perceive that it allows a detachment and a relativisation of the problems. It often clears your mind and brings you solutions. You can practice meditation, or presence to yourself, anywhere and at any time. Meditation is your anchor, your only guarantee of being in the present moment. Meditation is also the state from which all other states are built, it is their foundation.

That's why we recommend that you practice it as often as possible, even for very short periods, so that you don't get lost for days on end in the endless labyrinth of thoughts.