(This is one of a series of 6 posts, if you missed any, you
can start here)
Step #1 - Clearing the Mind
When I tell people the first step in meditation is clearing the mind, often their eyes glaze over and I lose them. They think that I’m going to suggest that they be one with the cosmos, hum in a monotone pitch or burn incense. No, that’s not what I mean. Clearing the mind makes room for God in the same way I clean and prepare our guest room for visitors. There’s no clutter, no distractions. They don’t have to walk over my seldom, alright, never used ab-sculpting machine. They don’t have to clear the bed of books, papers, or toys. They don’t have to wade through piles of dirty clothes, blankets and pillows on the floor. No, their room is ready to receive them and if I’m in the room with them, our focus is on each other not the junk and clutter.
So, how do you clear your mind? For me, it’s finding a quiet place. That could be a church, my office, a place in the park, or hiking on the trail. This quiet is the initial preparation but let me warn you, nature abhors a vacuum. There will be other things that try to get into this newly cleaned space: chores, grocery lists, emails and phone calls that need to be returned, good ideas that you need to follow through on, bad habits you are trying to break, and on and on. Usually, as soon as it’s quiet, and you settle down and try to pray, these things will come rushing in like a herd of bison.
I used to fight and struggle with this. I would work hard to push these thoughts out of my head. I’d struggle with temptations to just check the email and get it out of the way. Don’t do that unless you have superhuman strength. I’d struggle with temptations to just give up on the prayer and meditation time. Don’t do that either!
Spiritual Ju-jitsu
One technique I discovered is what I call Spiritual Ju-jitsu. Often these distractions are an attempt by Satan to distract you from conversing with God. Why else would they all come at once when you’ve set your mind to pray and meditate? Who else would want to distract you? Who would have anything to gain by you worrying about your fantasy football league rather than conversing with the creator of the universe? Could it be…..Satan? Don’t believe me? Try putting that grocery list together after your meditation time. I’m willing to bet money you have a difficult time remembering any of it! Of course, not all distractions are from the evil one but I do think he often has a hand in them.
So, what is Spiritual Ju-jitsu? Ju-jitsu is a type of martial arts where you use the force, weight, and momentum of the opponent against him. The forward thrust of a punch is used to flip the opponent on his back. The weight of the assailant trying to choke you from behind is used to escape the hold. Basically you are using their force and turning it to your advantage.
So, how does this apply to meditation? Use the distractions to your advantage. Here’s what I mean. Most often my routine is to get up at five o’clock, fix coffee and then sit down to pray and meditate. It is at that very moment that the coming day’s events rush to my mind. Rather than fret over the distraction or fight against it, I start taking notes. I use the distractions, from the devil or not, to my advantage. I know sure as heck that if I fight and struggle with the distractions I’ll end up wasting my time to meditate and end up frustrated and discouraged. Instead, I keep a small notebook on the desk. As soon as something distracting pops into my head I write it down. That way I no longer have to think about it and I have a record of it to remind me later just in case it’s actually important. So, the devil tries to distract me and I use his temptations to make my list for the day. Spiritual Ju-jitsu! The key is to not let the list be a distraction. If you think of it, write it, and move on. Don’t ponder what else you could write down. Just write it and go back to prayer or reading or whatever it is you were working on. Spiritual Ju-jitsu works great 99% of the time; it frustrates the plans of the evil one and makes me feel like a spiritual master, okay maybe not.
Now, what happens if the distractions continue? Maybe it is God giving you the challenge. Maybe He wants you to struggle and unite that struggle with the Cross of Christ. Maybe He is saying, “
I know you want to do this but I’m preparing something for you today and I need you in a fighting mood.” Many saints dealt with distractions during their time of prayer and realized that it was in their struggles that they found God’s will.
One final note about clearing your mind, remember, we’re clearing the mind not emptying it. We are cleaning out the clutter and distractions - not trying to sink into the ether and float in nothingness. Also, and this is a big temptation for me, if you read your readings or prayers on an electronic device, be ready for those temptations as well. Be ready to hear that little voice, “
well I’ll just check my email before I meditate so it’s not distracting” or “
I’ll just take a look at Facebook so I’m not wondering what everyone did last night.” If it’s too much of a temptation just get a good prayer book or print out the passage. Write email and Facebook at the top of your list and forget about it. It’s God’s time; you’ve made an appointment with Him so keep it.
Speaking of time, one other thing I like to do to help clear my mind is set a timer. My prayer and meditation time is early in the morning but our family has a pretty rigid routine. At 7:00AM I begin fixing breakfast. At 8:00 AM we read the Gospel and study some sort of virtue building activity like the
7 Habits of Holy Catholic Families. At 8:30 AM we start school work and office work. I don’t want to be distracted by checking the time to see how much time I have left. I want to focus on God and our conversation. Think of it like when you were sitting on the front porch with the girl or guy you liked. You didn’t worry about how much time you had left, constantly looking at your watch. You knew that either your parents or hers were going to flip on the light at the exact time the visit needed to end. The alarm on my phone is set for 5 am to wake up and 7 am to end the prayers and meditation. I’m very often surprised and not a little disappointed when the alarm goes off. Setting a timer frees you to concentrate on God.
Don’t freak out! I wasn’t suggesting that you must follow this method for 2 hours. In fact, you’ll see that I recommend starting with 20 minutes. At the end of the book you’ll find some practical ideas on how to start, how much time to spend, and how to increase that time as you go along.
Practical Steps for Step #1 - Clear the Mind
1. Find a quiet place.
2. Use Spiritual Ju-jitsu with distractions
3. Keep a notepad to write and forget distractions or use the space allotted on the worksheet.
4. Set a timer.
5. Remember that you’ll have good and bad days when it comes to distractions. Don’t give up and don’t get discouraged.
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