Walking Meditation

The first thing that happened when I learned about Walking Meditation is that my whole idea about what meditation is completely vanished, to be replaced by a much more clear and concise picture of what was going on. For me, meditation always meant “clearing the mind of everything,” leaving the space for “the emptiness” to appear, so that I could move in consciousness into “the nothingness that is The All…”, or something like that.

What I was supposed to be trying to do, I thought, was “empty my mind.” I was supposed to try to sit in one place, close my eyes, and “think of nothing.” This made me crazy because my mind never turns off! It is always thinking, thinking, thinking...

So when I started, I was never very good at sitting with my legs crossed, eyes closed, and concentrating on 'The Nothing'. Frustrated, I hardly ever meditated—and envied those who said they did although I secretly wondered whether they really did, or simply went through the motions, doing no better than I was able to do.

But, Meditation is not about emptiness, it is about focus. Instead of trying to sit still and think about nothing, I thought of doing a “walking meditation,” and move about, stopping to focus on specific things that my eyes would light upon.

It's very simple. Try it —

Consider a blade of grass. Consider it. Look at it closely. Regard it intently. Consider every aspect of it. What does it look like? What are its specific characteristics? What does it feel like? What is its fragrance? What is its size? Look at it closely. What does it tell you? Experience the grass in its Completeness. Take off your shoes and socks and walk on the grass bare feet. Think of nothing else but your feet. Focus your attention on the bottom of your feet and consider exactly what you are feeling there. Tell your mind to feel nothing else, just for that moment. Ignore all other thoughts except the ones coming from beneath your feet. Close your eyes, if this helps. Walk slowly and deliberately, allowing each slow and gentle step to tell you about the grass. Then open your eyes and look at all of the grass around you. Ignore everything about you except the grass and feel it from your nose, your eyes, and your feet. If you can focus your attention in this way, you will experience the grass in a way you have never experienced before.

Now do the same thing with a flower. Consider it. Look at it closely. Regard it intently. Consider every aspect of it. What does it look like? What are its specific characteristics? What does it feel like? What is its fragrance? What is its size, compared to you? Look at it closely. What does it tell you about Life? Experience the flower in its Completeness. Bring it to your nose and smell it once more. Think of nothing else but your nose. Focus your attention on your nose and consider exactly what you are experiencing there. Tell your mind to experience nothing else, just for that moment. Ignore all other thoughts except the ones coming from your nose. Close your eyes, if it helps. Now focus on your sense of touch, and touch the flower carefully. Touch the flower at the same time as you smell the flower. Ignore all other incoming thoughts except the thoughts about the flower coming from your fingertips and your nose. Now, open your eyes and look closely at the flower. See if you can still smell the flower when it is far away from you to look at or to touch.

Do the same thing with a tree. Walk over to a tree and consider it. Look at it closely. Regard it intently. Consider every aspect of it. What does it look like? What are its specific characteristics? What does it feel like? What is its fragrance? What is its size, compared to you? Look at it closely. What does it tell you about Life? Experience the tree in its Completeness. Place your hands upon it and feel it totally. Think of nothing else but your hands. Focus your attention on your hands and consider exactly what you are experiencing there. Still your mind just for that moment. Now focus on your sense of smell, and smell the tree. Continue touching the tree at the same time as you smell the tree. Ignore everything around you except the tree, your touch on it, the fragrance it is emanating. Now, open your eyes and look closely at the tree. Look up at it, and see if you can climb in consciousness to its top. See if you can still smell the tree, now that it is far enough away for you to look at it. Keep touching it.
See if you can focus your attention in this way. Now, step away from the tree and lose all physical contact with it. See if you can bring to your mind the experience of the tree as you stand and look at it from farther away. Experience it completely. Do not be surprised if you can smell the tree, even from a distance.
Do not be surprised if you can, in a sense, even ‘feel’ the tree from where you are. What has happened is that you have opened yourself to the vibration of the tree. You are ‘catching the vibe.’
See how far back you can step from the tree and still retain the ‘contact.’ When you lose touch with the experience of the tree, move closer in, move back to it. See if this helps you regain contact.
This exercise will help you develop your ability to focus your attention on whatever you want to experience at a heightened level.

Now walk. Walk wherever you live. In the country, in the city, it does not matter. Walk slowly, but deliberately. And look around you. Let your eyes fall where ever. As your eyes find something, focus the fullness of your attention upon it. It can be anything. A signboard. A crack in the sidewalk, a pebble by the road. Look at it closely, right from where you are. Regard it intently. Consider every aspect of it.
What does it look like? What are its specific characteristics? What does it feel like? What is its fragrance? Can you sense that from where you are? What is its size, compared to you? Look at it closely. What does it tell you about Life?

Continue your walk. Pick out three things on your walk to consider in this way. This walk would take you maybe an hour. You cannot consider three things fully in less time, at first. Later, you will be able to consider something fully in just a moment. But now, you are just practicing. This is Walking Meditation, and what you are doing is training your mind to stop ignoring your experiences. You are training your mind to focus on a particular aspect of your experience, so that you may experience it completely.

Practice Walking Meditation in this way for three weeks, and you will never look at life the same way again. Then, take the final step in Walking Meditation. Walk outside—or inside, for that matter. You can actually walk anywhere. Even from the bedroom to the kitchen would do. There is plenty to see, plenty to touch, plenty to experience. You can spend three hours with the carpet alone—and this time do not pick out any particular part of what you are seeing or encountering. Try to encounter all of it. Seek to embrace all of it. Attempt to focus on all of it at the same time. Take in the Big Picture. Close your eyes at first, if this helps. Smell what you are smelling, hear what you are hearing, feel whatever you are feeling of the space around you. Then open your eyes and add sight. See everything you are seeing, and nothing in particular. See All of It. Smell All of It. Feel All of It. If this begins to overwhelm you, refocus on a part of it, so that you do not lose your psychic balance. With enough practice, you will soon be able to walk into any space or place and begin to experience all of it. You would have heightened your awareness, raised your consciousness, expanded your ability to be present fully in the moment.

Now do this with your eyes closed while you are sitting down and you have Silent Mediation. Boom. It is as simple as that.