Monday Meditations Part 5: Hindrance Meditation

May 25, 2009 by dr. lam

meditate1 Many of our meditative thoughts drift to our concerns and our fears. We cannot stay centered very well because we tend to start to let our worries consume us and we are propelled back to our daily anxieties. This exercise allows us to see what our hindrances are and confront them in a meditative and non-judgmental way. As we start this exercise like all meditations so far, we begin with a grounding in our breath. We focus on the nature and quality of our breathing before we proceed. As our mind naturally begins to drift toward a hindrance or an encumbrance in our life, we center that thought into our mind and allow it to float in front of us. We relinquish our judgment of that thought and let the fear and anxiety that typically surrounds it go and we replace those emotions with love, peace, and acceptance. As further hindrances enter our mind and our spirit we continue to allow those thoughts to mature and to float but we withhold negative ruminations and prejudices about our perceived hindrance. We allow us to see ourselves overcoming our hindrance and allowing us to go beyond the limitations of this hindrance. We allow ourselves to move forward without perturbation or restriction. We begin to see the hindrance no longer as a hindrance but just as, i.e., just let it be. When we have “overcome” or accepted these hindrances, we return back to our centered breathing and end with a focus on the breath. Here is a video guide to help you with this exercise. Wishing you and your family a blessed Memorial Day weekend. Namaste.