Last time I shared with you some reasons why taking some “me time” a.k.a. meditation is important. This week I’d like to further elaborate on “why” it is important. A teacher of mine once said that all progress in life happens through the interplay between rest and activity. Ok, well let’s take a closer look at this statement together with the help of the bow and arrow analogy.
Let’s pretend a bow and arrow is something new to us, something we’ve never seen before. We might think it slightly absurd that in order to hit the target in front of us that we must first pull the arrow back in the opposite direction, but the mechanics of the bow say that we should pull back the arrow. So we do as we’re instructed, we pull back the arrow, line up the target in our sights then we let go and BAM! The arrow goes flying toward the target with great speed, covering many yards when we only pulled the arrow back a few inches.
By the simple act of pulling the arrow back a little ways on the bow we create potential energy for the arrow to soar through the air. The act of meditation has the same potential in our daily lives. When we are confronted with a whole days worth of activities, it might seem counter-productive to take a few minutes to sit quietly, but like the arrow in the analogy you will go further and be more productive if you have taken some time to “pull back” and recharge yourself.
One of the benefits of meditating is that we achieve a deep state of rest while remaining completely awake. While meditating the body is inactive but not asleep, and the mind remains awake. We’ll call this a state of wakeful-resting. This is contrary to the state of deep sleep when the body and mind are in a state of rest and are not awake. It is also contrary to the waking state when both body and mind are awake and active. Studies have shown that by accessing this state of wakeful-resting the person gains a deep sense of relaxation, relief from stress and it also provides insight into our life.
So let’s all do ourselves a favor this week and find some time to “pull the arrow back” so to speak. Close your eyes, rest in the silence, in the wakefully-rested state. Know that you are gaining potential momentum for the rest of your day. When you are ready to come out of meditation don’t forget to take a few minutes to allow the mind to transition from the deep state of rest to the state of activity. This is an important step. Allow the mind to wander for a few minutes. When you are ready to take on the day know that you have pulled back your arrow and set your sights. Now it’s time for action!
Have fun and make it a great day!
Stephen Cardinal
