Meditations with the Bell

My student made a video explaining the meditations that I do in class.  See it here on YouTube or embedded below:

Here is a list of meditations using the bell:

Listen for the silence. 

Listen for the constant change. 

Listen for how far the noise travels.

Quiet the noise inside of you.

Where does the real you begin and the part of you influenced by society end?

Practice the pause.  When in doubt, pause.

Listen to how the bell resonates despite other noise. 

Enjoy the ringing while it lasts.

Here is another meditation that a student shared with me:

How to Meditate with An Orange

There are many ways to do this, but ultimately it comes down to preference, current location, and whether you have a knife or other utensil around.

Some oranges are easier to peel with your hands than others (clementines and mandarins are great choices for peeling with your hands), and you may want to make less of a mess if you’re trying this on your desk at work than if you’re trying it in your kitchen.

Regardless, here are instructions for two different methods:

Peel It with Your Hands

This is the most tactile experience. If you’re like me and more of a hands-on, mind-racing-when-sitting-still kind of person (ahem, ADHD), this might be a good choice for you. This experience focuses very heavily on feeling and using your hands.

You can peel the orange as you normally would, but instead of placing your effort on getting it peeled quickly and efficiently, simply focus on what your hands are doing, what the orange and the peel feel like beneath your fingers and nails, the aroma already wafting up to your nose from the peel, and the sound of the peel pulling apart from the fruit.

Once it’s peeled, take a moment to look at the orange. How much pith covers the wedges? You can peel some of the pith off of the fruit and focus on how it comes off. Does it rip apart into small pieces, or does it come off in long strands, like thread?

Next, start pulling the wedges apart. You can do this any way you wish. Again, you can pull the pith out of the center and focus on how it feels.

Cut It with A Knife

* Note: Please use a sharp, serrated knife, a chef’s knife, or similar. If you plan on trying this exercise with kids, please try the “Peel It with Your Hands” version above.

Use your knife to slice the ends of the orange off. With its now flat bottom solidly on the table, slice around the contour of the fruit, from top to bottom, until a curved slice of the peel is removed. Turn the orange slightly and continue cutting down the sides in curved strips. You should try to remove this pith during this process, so you should be slicing through the ends of the flesh.

Feel the knife glide down the sides of the orange, noting any changes in texture as you may hit the peel or the flesh. Feel the curvature of the fruit, and observe the thickness of the skin as it drops off.

Note its scent. Is it tangy, or sweet? Try to imagine how it tastes.

Once the orange has been peeled, give it a good look. Examine the juice sacs or vesicles (the small pockets of juice within the flesh). How big are they? Do they vary in size or shape? Next look at the membranes or walls separating the wedges. They’ll appear as white lines dividing each segment. Look at it from the top and from the sides. How big are the wedges? Are there any that are oddly sized or shaped?

Next, slice your orange into segments. You can do this by making a slice on the side of the separation wall, and then making a slice on the side of the other wall. These two slices should intersect at the middle and free the wedge. You may choose whether to cut off the membranes entirely or leave them attached to your orange slices.

Continue paying attention to the consistency of the orange flesh and the aroma escaping from the slices.

Eating the Orange (After Either Method)

Once you’ve successfully disassembled your orange, bring a wedge up to your face. Examine it with your eyes. Smell it. Pop it into your mouth and bite down. Focus on the flavor of the juice as it bursts from the skin. Is it sweet, tangy, or tart? All three? Does it taste good? Does it remind you of something?

Next focus on the texture of the wedge. Feel the texture of the skin, and the flesh of the orange inside. Listen to the sounds it makes while you chew and swallow.

Continue until you have finished the orange.

Here is a bell for meditation: