Everyday Meditation #2 - Merging With Your Surroundings

September 12th, 2007

This is a very simple meditation technique you can perform in any location that has enough room for you to walk around — a park, your neighborhood, a shopping mall, etc. I recommend trying it outdoors first, preferably in a place that isn't too crowded, but with a bit of practice you can use this technique even in a crowded place (sometimes with unusual results, which I'll explain later in this article).

This technique might sound a bit too "new agey" at first but give it a try anyway. It's simply a different way of interpreting sensory input, so there is really nothing new agey about it.

If you're practicing lucid dreaming, you can also try this technique while in a lucid dream.

Step 1: To begin, just walk for a few minutes at a comfortable pace. Look around and get a feel for your surroundings.

Step 2: Continue walking and begin to imagine that everything around you — trees, cars, animals, people, buildings — is made up of the same thing. Some people like to imagine that everything is made of the same energy, others like to imagine that everything is made of the same light, and some people have more success with Step 3 of this practice if they imagine everything is made of water or some other liquid.

Regardless of whether you choose light, energy, water, or something else, look around and see everything around you as made up completely and totally of that substance. Watch individual features melt away as everything becomes the same color, the same texture, and the same density, flowing together as one.

Step 3: As you walk through this sea of light or energy, imagine your body is made up of this same stuff, this same energy or light that makes up everything around you. Feel your body flowing into the sea of energy around you. Feel yourself merging with your surroundings.

Feel your consciousness gliding through your surroundings. Notice how your body is no longer disturbing the air or the ground because it has become one with everything around it, made up of the same light or energy that makes up everything else. You're not moving through it, you're moving in it. You're not disturbing or displacing anything as you move because you are part of whatever you're moving within. There is no distinction between your body and everything else around you, no boundary where your body ends and everything else begins.

Step 4: Continuing to walk, holding on to that feeling, gently pull your vision back until you once again see the distinctions between trees, ground, air, and other features around you. Don't let go of the sensation that everything around you is made up of the same stuff, and don't let go of the feeling that your own body is also made up of that same stuff. Simply allow your consciousness to guide your body along the path while you observe. Walk for as long as you want, a few minutes or an hour.

Things you might notice

These are a few of the things I notice whenever I practice this form of meditation:

1. My feet seem to naturally avoid obstacles even though I'm not watching my step or paying attention to my feet as I walk. I just seem to flow along the path without ever tripping over anything. (In my neighborhood, with its cracked sidewalks and residents who leave piles of trimmed tree branches in the way, walking without paying attention is usually a recipe for disaster.)

2. If I practice this technique while walking at the park, I encounter many more animals than usual. On a typical morning walk without meditating, I'll see at least a few rabbits along the path. Sometimes they bolt into the bushes, other times they just freeze and look ready to bolt if they decide I'm a threat. When I practice this meditation, I see three or four times as many rabbits, and they seem less nervous as I walk by. Most of them just continue to munch on the wet grass and give me a passing glance. I've also noticed more hawks, turtles, and occasionally snakes.

I considered the possibility that the animals are always right there in front of my face and I simply notice more of them because I'm deliberately changing my awareness, but I don't believe that's the case. Whether I'm meditating or not, I always pay attention for animals at the park because there are some truly beautiful hawks and I don't want to miss seeing them if I have the chance. I see them on occasion if I'm just there walking for exercise, but if I'm practicing this form of walking meditation I inevitably see many more animals than usual.

3. People act friendlier. I usually go for a walk at the park around the same time of day and I encounter the same people there on a regular basis. Some of them are at the park for exercise, others are there to bird-watch, and some are there just to soak up a bit of nature. I'm not really sure why, but when I try this technique more people say hello, more people smile, and people just seem to act happier and more upbeat. Granted, they may be acting the same way they always do and only seem friendlier because I'm more meditative.

It's more difficult to practice this in a shopping mall or other crowded place, but if you do, you might notice people acting friendlier and more courteous. Whether they're really acting friendlier or you're just perceiving them that way is something we'll probably never know, but either way it's an interesting side-effect of this technique.

4. Regardless of whether I walk at the park or just around my neighborhood, I feel more energized instead of more tired, even after walking three or four miles.

If you try this technique, you may notice similar things and I'm certain you'll notice many other things as well. I encourage you to post comments about your own observations.