2022/02/18

Centering prayer - Wikipedia

Centering prayer - Wikipedia

Centering prayer

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Centering Prayer is a method of meditation used by Christians placing a strong emphasis on interior silence. The modern movement in Christianity can be traced to three Trappist monks of St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts in the 1970s: Fr. William Meninger, Fr. M. Basil Pennington and Abbot Thomas Keating.[1]

Name[edit]

The name was taken from Thomas Merton's description of contemplative prayer (a much older and more traditional practice) as prayer that is "centered entirely on the presence of God".[2] In his book Contemplative Prayer, Merton writes "Monastic prayer begins not so much with 'considerations' as with a 'return to the heart,' finding one's deepest center, awakening the profound depths of our being in the presence of God".[3]

Description[edit]

The creators of the Centering Prayer movement claim to trace their roots to the contemplative prayer of the Desert Fathers of early Christian monasticism, to the Lectio Divina tradition of Benedictine monasticism, and to works like The Cloud of Unknowing and the writings of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross. Advocates of Centering Prayer say it does not replace other prayer but encourages silence and deeper connection to God.[4] Also advocates of Centering Prayer say it helps people be more present and open to God.[5] Father Thomas Keating has promoted both Lectio Divina and Centering Prayer.[6]

However, some people consider Centering Prayer controversial. Some authors argue that Centering Prayer contradicts the teachings of the Carmelite saints.[7] Others also argue that Centering Prayer is a distortion of the teachings of the Desert Fathers and The Cloud of Unknowing, and is in contradiction to Lectio Divina.[8][9] Some consider it to fall afoul of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith's caution against similar prayer forms in their Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation.[10]

History[edit]

Claimed origins[edit]

Seeds of what would become known as contemplation, for which the Greek term θεωρία theoria is also used,[11] were sown early in the Christian era.

The earliest Christian writings that clearly speak of contemplative prayer come from the 4th-century monk St. John Cassian, who wrote of a practice he learned from the Desert Fathers (specifically from Isaac[citation needed]). Cassian's writings remained influential until the medieval era when monastic practice shifted from a mystical orientation to Scholasticism. During the 16th century, Carmelite saints Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross wrote and taught about advanced Christian prayer, which was given the name infused contemplation.

The 20th century Trappist monk and writer Thomas Merton was influenced by Buddhist meditation, particularly as found in Zen. He was a lifetime friend of Buddhist Thich Nhat Hanh, praised Chogyam Trungpa who founded Shambhala Buddhism in the United States and was also an acquaintance of the current Dalai Lama. His theology attempted to unify existentialism with the tenets of the Roman Catholic faith.[12] As such he was also an advocate of the non-rational meditation of contemplative prayer, which he saw as a direct confrontation of finite and irrational man with his ground of being.

Development[edit]

Cistercian monk Father Thomas Keating, a founder of Centering Prayer, was abbot all through the 1960s and 1970s at St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts. This area is thick with religious retreat centres, including the well-known Theravada Buddhist centre, Insight Meditation Society. Fr. Keating tells of meeting many young people, some who stumbled on St. Joseph's by accident, many of them born Catholic, who had turned to Eastern practices for contemplative work. He found many of them had no knowledge of the contemplative traditions within Christianity and set out to present those practices in a more accessible way. The result was the practice now called Centering Prayer.[13]

Practice[edit]

Fr. M. Basil Pennington suggests these steps for practicing Centering Prayer:[14]

  1. Sit comfortably with your eyes closed, relax, and quiet yourself. Be in love and faith to God.
  2. Choose a sacred word that best supports your sincere intention to be in the Lord's presence and open to His divine action within you.
  3. Let that word be gently present as your symbol of your sincere intention to be in the Lord's presence and open to His divine action within you.
  4. Whenever you become aware of anything (thoughts, feelings, perceptions, images, associations, etc.), simply return to your sacred word, your anchor.

In addition, Fr. Keating writes, "The method consists in letting go of every kind of thought during prayer, even the most devout thoughts".[15]

In Centering Prayer, the participant seeks the presence of God directly (aided by the Jesus Prayer, perhaps) and explicitly rejects discursive thoughts and imagined scenes. The participant's aim is to be present to the Lord, to "consent to God's presence and action during the time of prayer."[16] Centering Prayer advocates link the practice to traditional forms of Christian meditation, such as on the Rosary, or Lectio Divina.

Although the practice makes use of a "sacred word," Thomas Keating emphasizes that Centering Prayer is not an exercise in concentrating, or focusing one's attention on something (such as a mantra), but rather is concerned with intention and consent.[17]

In practice, the "sacred word" can integrate with breathing in and out. Thus, rather than being a tool to quiet the mind, consent to the presence and action of God within and "just be" with God, it can become too prevalent during the practice of Centering Prayer.

Reception[edit]

From other Catholics[edit]

Critics note that traditional prayers such as the Holy Rosary and Lectio Divina engage the heart and mind with Sacred Scripture, while Centering Prayer is "devoid of content".[18] The Holy Rosary and Lectio Divina, in contrast, have some contemplative goal in mind: with the Rosary, the Mysteries of the Rosary are contemplated; with Lectio Divina, the practitioner thinks about the Scripture reading, sometimes even visualizing it.

Critics also dispute the claim that Centering Prayer is in the tradition of the Desert Fathers and Carmelite saints, saying that traditional Catholic contemplative prayer is not so much a method of prayer as a stage of prayer in which God's action predominates.[18] They cite the Catechism of the Catholic Church as evidence that meditation and contemplation are two different expressions of prayer.[19]

From the Holy See[edit]

In 1989, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, led by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) issued Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation.[20] The letter addresses problematic elements found in some modern prayer methods, many of which have been influenced by Eastern religions and the New Age movement. Contemplative Outreach, which was founded by Fr. Keating and others to promote Centering Prayer, denies that this letter applies to Centering Prayer and states that Centering Prayer is connected to the Holy Spirit.[21] Opponents of the method, however, point to similarities between the teaching of Fr. Keating and his colleagues and specific criticisms made by the CDF.[22][23]

In 2003, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue and the Pontifical Council for Culture published Jesus Christ, The Bearer of the Water of Life: A Christian Reflection on the "New Age".[24] Critics of Centering Prayer once again say their concerns were addressed in this document.[25] Centering Prayer practitioners respond that Bearer of the Water of Life does not have doctrinal authority, and neither Vatican document mentions Centering Prayer, Contemplative Outreach, or Fr. Keating by name.

Pope Francis has not commented on Centering Prayer directly but has spoken very highly of Thomas Merton. Thomas Merton described contemplative prayer as prayer "centered entirely on the presence of God."[2] Pope Francis listed Thomas Merton as one of four great Americans in a speech before the U.S. Congress in September 2015 and encouraged sowing dialogue and peace in "the contemplative style of Thomas Merton."[26]

Research[edit]

Research has been conducted on the Centering Prayer program, indicating that it may be helpful for women receiving chemotherapy,[27] and that it may help congregants experience a more collaborative relationship with God, as well as reduced stress.[28]

Andrew B. Newberg explained one study that examined the brains of nuns who engaged in Centering Prayer, which is meant to create a feeling of oneness with God. The nuns' brain scans showed similarities to people who use drugs like psilocybin mushrooms, Newberg said, and both experiences "tend to result in very permanent changes in the way in which the brain works."[29][unreliable medical source?]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Centering Prayer Overview". Contemplative Outreach Ltd. Archived from the original on 2006-11-04. Retrieved 16 November 2006.
  2. ^ Jump up to:a b "History of Centering Prayer". Contemplative Outreach Ltd. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  3. ^ Merton, Thomas (2009). Contemplative Prayer (First paperback ed.). New York: Crown Publishing Group. pp. 5–6. ISBN 978-0-307-58953-8.
  4. ^ "Centering Prayer: Contemplative practice for the 21st century". America Magazine. 2014-12-03. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  5. ^ "Godtalk: Centering Prayer". www.jesuit.org.uk. Jesuits in Britain. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  6. ^ "Lectio Divina". Contemplative Outreach Ltd. Retrieved 2016-12-13.
  7. ^ Rossini, Connie (17 October 2015). "Why Centering Prayer Falls Short of True Intimacy With Christ". National Catholic Register. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
  8. ^ "The Danger of Centering Prayer". www.catholicculture.org. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
  9. ^ "Quick Questions". 2016-05-26. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
  10. ^ "Centering Prayer Meets the Vatican". www.catholicculture.org. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
  11. ^ Johnston, William (2004). The Inner Eye of Love: Mysticism and Religion. Harper Collins. p. 24. ISBN 978-0-8232-1777-9.
  12. ^ "Christian Existentialism".
  13. ^ Rose, Phil Fox. "Meditation for Christians". Patheos. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  14. ^ Pennington, Fr. M. Basil. "Centering prayer: Refining the Rules". Review for Religious. 45 (3): 386–393.
  15. ^ Keating, Fr. Thomas (2006). Open Mind, Open Heart, 20th Anniversary Edition. London: Bloomsbury. p. 21.
  16. ^ Thomas Keating (2009), "Intimacy with God: an Introduction to Centering Prayer," 23.
  17. ^ Thomas Keating (2009), "Intimacy with God: an Introduction to Centering Prayer," 15-28.
  18. ^ Jump up to:a b Rossini, Connie (17 November 2015). "Why Centering Prayer Is Not Christian Prayer". National Catholic Register. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  19. ^ "Catechism of the Catholic Church - Expressions of prayer". www.vatican.va. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  20. ^ "Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on Some Aspects of Christian Meditation".
  21. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Contemplative Outreach Ltd. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
  22. ^ Rossini, Connie (2015). Is Centering Prayer Catholic? Fr. Thomas Keating Meets Teresa of Avil and the CDF. New Ulm, Minnesota: Four Waters Press. p. 120. ISBN 978-0692518489.
  23. ^ "What does the Vatican say about Centering Prayer". SpiritualDirection.com / Catholic Spiritual Direction. 2010-10-18. Retrieved 2016-07-26.
  24. ^ "Jesus Christ, The Bearer of the Water of Life: A Christian Reflection on the "New Age"".
  25. ^ "Priest and Former New Age Enthusiast Warns Catholics Away from Eastern Meditation". Women of Grace. Retrieved 2016-07-27.
  26. ^ "Visit to the Congress of the United States of America". Washington, D.C. 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2018-12-27.
  27. ^ Mary E. Johnson; Ann M. Dose; Teri Britt Pipe; Wesley O. Petersen; Mashele Huschka; Mary M. Gallenberg; Prema Peethambaram; Jeff Sloan; Marlene H. Frost (2009). "Centering prayer for women receiving chemotherapy for recurrent ovarian cancer: A pilot study". Oncology Nursing Forum. 36 (4): 421–428. doi:10.1188/09.ONF.421-428. ISSN 0190-535X. PMID 19581232.
  28. ^ Jane K. Ferguson; Eleanor W. Willemsen; MayLynn V. Castañeto (2010). "Centering Prayer as a healing response to everyday stress: A psychological and spiritual process". Pastoral Psychology. 59 (3): 305–329. doi:10.1007/s11089-009-0225-7. ISSN 0031-2789.
  29. ^ Buxton, Ryan (2015-05-28). "Neuroscientist Explains the Similarities Between the Brains of Praying Nuns and Psychedelic Drug Users". Huffington Post.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

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2022/02/16

Russell Brand | Negative Thoughts | Relationships | Spirituality

Russell Brand | Negative Thoughts | Relationships | Spirituality




Russell Brand

THE POWER OF FAME, FIGHTING ADDICTION, & SPIRITUAL FREEDOM IN YOUR LIFE


DO YOU STRUGGLE WITH ADDICTION?



What is it about celebrities that makes them so appealing? Is it their larger-than-life personas? Their access to money, fame, opportunities that most people only dream of? Of course, we know the reality is that celebrities often lead very tumultuous lives. The attainment of external markers of success doesn’t necessarily make you happy.

In some ways, the rise of the celebrity teaches us so much about our longing for greatness, and about the pitfalls of focusing on external validation versus self-cultivated confidence and inner peace. Consider that celebrities represent an extension of our culture’s emphasis on gaining status and success through things like wealth, glamour, romantic attention, or other external symbols, like a new car.

In other ways, I think people are attracted to celebrities because they represent the attainment of genuine emotional and spiritual yearnings. How many of us wish to be seen and heard? How many of us wish to transcend the ordinary, mundane existence of every day?

I had the pleasure of speaking to the hilarious, talented, and insightful Russell Brand on this episode. I admire how Russell transformed his life from one where he was struggling with an addiction to substances and fame, into the life he has now, where he is walking a spiritual path.

“The material world is an illusion…the kingdom of heaven is spread upon the earth…no material thing can ever make you happy. This idea is culturally reiterated everywhere and insidiously ignored everywhere” – Russell Brand

Russell and I discussed how achievement satisfies a need for greatness, and also how it falls short of providing true spiritual sustenance. He also shared the advice he’d give to those seeking a truly fulfilling life. Let’s get started!
Who is Russell Brand?

Comedian, actor, author, and activist, Russell has famously evolved from wild child movie star to spiritual luminary. He is the author of several best-selling books including Recovery and Revolution. He is also a podcaster and influencer who freely shares spiritual guidance, meditation techniques, and cutting-edge yoga practices. Above all, Russell has committed to upturning the status quo, to pioneering new ways of thinking and being in the world.

Having risen from a hellish addiction to crack cocaine and heroin, Russell has experienced plenty of highs and lows. After his recovery, he committed to helping people release addictions of all kinds. His refreshing course, Recovery, takes students through Russell’s unique take on the 12-step system.

Being a gifted comedian, Russell is as funny as he is wise. Given the subject matter, the conversation sometimes took a heavy turn, but his self-deprecating humor and laser-sharp insights had me laughing as much as I was thinking.

I’m so grateful Russell joined me for this enlightening and delightful conversation.
How Stardom Fulfills a Need for Greatness

When I asked Russell to describe the truth about fame and what it really means to him, he said:

“Fame kind of mimics a deeper greatness.” – Russell Brand

But while he acknowledges that celebrities can be extraordinary humans, it’s not a guarantee.

According to Russell, celebrities of the past (he referenced the poet Lord Byron and the playwright Oscar Wilde) had a magnetism that was often based on spiritual impulses or cultural critique. Byron wrote about the sublime aspects of life and nature. Wilde was commenting on his materialistic culture. But in many ways, today’s celebrities are an “extension of commerce.”

“Greatness can be an inadvertent factor within fame, but it is not a defining one any longer because greatness so frequently comes at a price.” – Russell Brand

What is this price? In many cases, extraordinary people have to go against the grain to live their purpose. They have to listen to their inner vision. While past luminaries may have been socially chastised for this, today it might mean you give up some distractions, negative thought patterns, or beliefs you inherited from your parents in order to live your life’s purpose.

Russell went on to describe what led him to pursue fame. It’s no surprise that the pursuit came from very human needs, rooted in childhood:

“I wanted to be famous because I felt insufficient and inadequate as I was…Who knows what choices I would have made if I’d have had access to spiritual principles as a child. And as a young man, if people said, look, there’s something in you, that you’ve got gifts and stuff. Why don’t you explore those gifts in this direction[?]…In the absence of that, I took the gifts in that the dominant direction of our culture and the magnetism of our culture” – Russell Brand

He shared that growing up in England, it was important for boys to be good at two things: fighting and football. Russell wasn’t good at either. So he pursued attention, fame, and celebrity as a way to compensate for these feelings. But as with all bandaids, the fame only worked for so long. Russell described how it was never enough, how he always wanted more, and how this also fueled his addictions.

Do you see how no matter how many external markers of success you have, you’re still you? You still have to deal with your emotions, you still have to make peace with your past. Greatness is an inside job. The rest is secondary. So you can be great and be a celebrity. Great and talented. But you have to do the work first.
On Addiction as Transcendence

I really appreciated Russell’s insights into addiction. I found it very humane and real, taking me beyond judgment and into awareness of how humans do strive to connect to something bigger than themselves. They just don’t always know how to do it in a healthy way.

“Look at the idioms around it: get off your face, get smashed, destroy yourself. But that is on some level…using inappropriate means to transcend and become free of the self. It’s a spiritual impulse…when you think that spirituality is simply the valorizing of the inner life over the outer life, the need to connect, the need to feel something truthful and real, then anyone that picks up a drink ever or smoked a joint is after a spiritual experience, they’re trying to feel better.”

– Russell Brand

Much like stardom itself, substances are an escape hatch to feel something that we all want to feel. We want to get out of our heads and break free from limiting beliefs—away from our unworthiness, our inadequacies, our fear of failure and disappointment.

It doesn’t take a needle to be an addict. You can be addicted to anything. Your phone. Attention. Work and perfectionism. Relationships and sex. You can even be addicted to worry and fear itself.

There are many reasons for this, but I think it’s clear that these are all temporary coping mechanisms. There will always be another fix to get. The monkey mind will always create conflict and desire, and it’s no wonder we’re searching for ways to escape this endless cycle. Russell shared that, in some ways, he’s happy that he went down the path of addiction:

“It takes you to [the] extreme. So you’re confronted with the fallibility of the choices you’re making. These choices won’t work for you. I think a lot of people…are able to struggle along with moderate addictions to food or sex or success or whatever, never, ever reaching the point of crisis that would facilitate transformation. Metamorphosis. Real change.” – Russell Brand

Can you think of any band-aids or escape hatches you’re using to avoid your experience? What if the next time you reach for a cookie to distract you, or check how many likes your post got, you paused. Ask yourself: What do I really want at this moment? What do I really need? Is there another healthier way I can give that to myself?


“Make helping other people something that is integral to your life.” @rustyrockets


Maybe you’re feeling lonely so you open up your Facebook account, even though you always feel worse after scrolling through everyone’s posts. Take a step back. Reflect, breathe and get out your journal. Could you give yourself some of the attention and positivity that you’re craving from outside sources? If not, is there a mentor or teacher who can show you how to do that?

I agree with Russell that people can easily exist in states where they’re not really living. The years go by as they’re numbing, avoiding, and escaping, all in very ordinary, culturally accepted ways. So what’s going to be your wake-up call? Should you wait until there’s a crisis? Maybe you do, or maybe you want to start changing your patterns now because it’s ultimately better for you.
Live in Service of the Things You Love

I asked Russell what he wished he would have known when he was young and pursuing fame. He gave the example of a young actor pursuing a career in the movies.

“Live in service of the thing you claim to love. If [you’re] saying that you want to be an actor, make sure that what you don’t secretly want is actually just loads of attention and power and glory and glamour. Make sure that you are in service of acting or music or whatever it is…All of us have gifts and we often use these gifts. We put the gift to work like …get out there and make me some money…Imagine if it was like a little bird or a child or something. I would have to look after it and take care of it.” – Russell Brand

You can look at any pursuit like this. Let’s say you’re pursuing a love interest. Do you really love that person the way you claim to? Are you looking for validation and admiration? Or are you genuinely in love with that person?

Now you might be wondering if you should pursue something if some of your motivation is about what you can get out of it. You might wonder if you should abandon your plans to be a CEO because you’re hoping, on some level, that it will fulfill your need for social status.

Well, unless that’s the only reason you’re pursuing it, then no. Russell shared that, when pursuing comedy, he was truly wanting to be of service to the craft of comedy more than anything else. But, he also wanted fame, followers, and attention. So just check in to see whether you’re pursuing something only because of these factors.

In all cases, try shifting into this service mindset. It’s a great, healthy way to get outside of your ego-mind, connect to something bigger than you, and access that connection we crave.
12 Steps and Community

I asked Russell what skills he wished he’d had earlier in life. He had a lot to say about the lessons learned in 12-step recovery programs. I was struck by one of his descriptions:

“As they say in some of the great [12-step] literature, [you don’t need to always be] scrambling to be on the top of the pile or hiding underneath it. [Be] happy to just be a person among people, not always seeking to either isolate or separate [yourself]…being happy to be part of a community or part of a group or part of a family.” – Russell Brand

His description of being at the top or bottom of the pile really hit home for me. So often, I see people who want to either stand out as superhuman, or they see themselves as lacking worth and less than other people. Oftentimes, this alternates…sometimes in the span of a few hours!

Do you see how the mind can catapult us from high to low? How can we go from feeling unworthy to grandiose? When we view ourselves in others’ eyes, we have a fickle and unstable sense of self. It crumbles so easily.

It seems that we can attain deeper peace when we move beyond both the self-deprecating thoughts and the self-important thoughts. We cease to be the center of the universe, believing ourselves to be either the victim or hero. We’re grateful just to be humans, having a human experience with other humans. To be okay with that, to be happy with that, is the blessing Russell shares.
On Managing Negative Thoughts

Given all the transformational work Russell has done, I wanted to hear from him how he manages negative thoughts. He spoke of drug addiction, but he also shared that he was dismantling other harmful patterns, such as monitoring his social media page. He shared with a friend how social media comments were negatively impacting his emotional state. Then, when he felt the need to check his account, he would wait and call his friend.

“We talk about the feelings we have and what it elicits in us when we want to do it and what it feels like not to do it.”– Russell Brand

An important takeaway? We don’t have to do everything alone! If you have a close friend who can hold you accountable, ask them to. Or make a pact together. Or hire a mentor, coach, or therapist. Russell shared what he tells his spiritual mentors:

“[I’ll tell them] this is how I’m feeling about my family. This is how I’m feeling about being a man. This is how I feel about fatherhood, work, whatever it is” -Russell Brand
Life’s Deeper Meaning

I found Russell’s comparison of fame and greatness to be powerful. In a way, you can see that the trajectory of his life was always a spiritual quest. He just didn’t know it at the time. And I think this can go for everyone, however they define that quest.

“Fame is bolted on to greatness. A friend of mine said, oh, even in your pursuit of fame, it was obvious that what you were after was God… but the culture doesn’t know how to give you God.” – Russell Brand

I’m so happy Russell found new, more satisfying ways to connect to this purpose.
Why You Should Listen to this Russell Brand Podcast Episode Right Now…

Please do yourself a favor and listen to the episode. Russell is just a pleasure and a delight to listen to and he had so much wisdom to share. Anyone who is put off by the usual moralizing about addiction will find his approach really refreshing. Don’t forget to share the episode with someone who needs to hear it: You could change someone’s life.

Follow Russell on social media (listed in the show notes below), listen to his book Revelation on Audible, and check out his podcast Under the Skin.

I want to acknowledge Russell for being an incredible human, agent of transformation, and spiritual rock star. Many thanks to him also for bringing his compassionate perspective of addiction to the public.

“We have to be a channel of the peace and of the light. We have to be of service. We [have to] accept our flaws and fallibility. If the entrance price [to heaven] is perfection, then none of us can pay it. But greatness truly understood and truly achieved is to actualize what it is that you were supposed to be…that there is a purpose to being here” – Russell Brand

Friends, join me on Episode 1109 to learn about fame, fighting addiction, and spiritual freedom with Russell Brand. It’ll change your life!

To Greatness,



“Become you. Don’t become the obstacles. Don’t let the obstacles define you." @rustyrockets

SOME QUESTIONS I ASK:

What does fame actually mean?
What does fame do to people if they don’t know how to manage it?
When did Russell feel the most insecure and when did he learn to overcome that?
When does Russell feel the most loved?
What does he love about his wife the most?
What should people prioritize in their lives so they don’t waste their life away?
How can we overcome self-doubt to gain real confidence?

IN THIS EPISODE, YOU WILL LEARN:

Why practicing your values can help you be part of something bigger than yourself.
The three skills Russell wishes he knew earlier in his life.
How to be the father to yourself when learning new things.
What happens when you don’t commit yourself to achieve your dreams.
Why self-doubt can be critical to your awareness.
The reality of freedom.
How Russell manages negative thoughts.
Plus much more…

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Russell Brand Meditated Every Day And This Is What Happened To Him — Transcendental Meditation: LATEST NEWS & OPINIONS

Russell Brand Meditated Every Day And This Is What Happened To Him — Transcendental Meditation: LATEST NEWS & OPINIONS



Russell Brand Meditated Every Day And This Is What Happened To Him

October 7, 2019

Russell Brand is a big advocate for wellbeing and mental health practices. He has a podcast named ‘Under The Skin’ which he uses as a platform to interview various types of people with different ideas on how to live life with purpose, embodying happiness and wellness. As well as bringing attention to healthy practices via podcast, Russell has his own YouTube channel with a playlist of advice on topics such as; how to stay happy, how to deal with rejection, stress, loneliness and grief to name a few.

In this post we will be talking about his recent video named ‘I Meditated Every Day & This Is What Happened To Me.’


“I’m quite a neurotic thinker, quite an adrenalised person. But after meditation, I felt this beautiful serenity and selfless connection” – Russell Brand

Russell practices Transcendental Meditation twice a day, and has done so for the last eight years.

He explains the profound changes daily meditation has had on his life. “My assumption of who I am has been challenged because I have a daily experience of consciousness that is distinct from my individual sense of myself.”

While explaining that he practices Transcendental Meditation, he describes the method, “You think a word given to you by your teacher and whenever you notice you are not thinking that word, you return to it. Eventually, through the repetition of this word, the mind kind of syncs into a state of deep awareness where you are not continually involved in the structure of inner narrative.

Russell talks about what he’s learnt from his practice, “I noticed that part of the point of meditation is to return myself continually to the present moment. To watch how I have a tendency mentally to be thinking about something from the past, or projecting to something in the future. This kind of inability to just be present in the moment.”

Comparing the mind to a child, he explains how the mantra gives your brain something to do. Through this, a realisation is made, “It’s as if the thinking mind is not the ultimate self, almost as if there are many selves.”

Russell explains how this realisation has helped him out with his decisions in daily life. “Sometimes I am governed by different humours where my blood is up, I’m a different person. There are decisions I’ll make when I’m angry, or fearful, that I would never consider making otherwise.

Meditation means I am aware that I am the continuum, or in the words of Rumi, I am a guesthouse and there are many visitors – jealously, sadness, rage, anger, or love. I’m less likely to get involved in altercations, conflicts or problems that are a result of my thoughts and feelings. They still happen, but my relationship with them is changing – it’s getting easier.”

He expands on the extra benefits he has experienced from regular meditation, “… I’m more relaxed, more calm, less concerned about external things. I still care what other people think about me, want people to respect me and be attracted to me, but by having access to these ancient principles of meditation my perspective on myself and my life changes.”

“Meditation helped me to understand that I am not what I think and feel. I am witnessing what I think and feel.,”


NEW YORK, NY – DECEMBER 13: Director/philanthropist David Lynch and actor/comedian Russell Brand meditate together.

Russell talks about his aspirations in his life and through meditation, “The true goal for me of the spiritual experience is to be free of caring about my professional duties, except as they bear on helping others. I have to be a comedian that’s useful to other people. I have to be loving in my personal relationships. The aim becomes a kind of service of a higher or different good, not just contained within my materialistic or my individualistic, rationalistic needs. How can I relate to people differently? Is it possible that every interaction I have ends with that person feeling a little better?”

“My journey, my intention, the map that I follow is one of transcendence.”

He believes the way forward for all of us is to “transcend the beliefs of who we are, then perhaps together we can transcend what our belief of a society is.”

“We are all heading in the direction of oneness, we are all heading in the direction of love. And meditation is an invaluable tool for facilitating that journey.”

Russell Brand is a big advocate for Transcendental Meditation and regularly posts on his social media pages about it.

As well as performing as a stand-up comedian, Brand has worked as a presenter (MTV, Big Brothers Big Mouth, The Russell Brand Show), an actor, (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, St. Trinian’s), and a voiceover artist (Despicable Me 2, Arthur).

Russell is now known as a public activist and campaigner, and has spoken on a wide range of political and cultural issues, including wealth inequality, addiction, corporate capitalism, climate change, and media bias. He has written books on a few of these subjects (Recovery: Freedom From Our Addictions, Mentors: How To Help And Be Helped, Reloveution), and he runs a political-comedy web series called The Trews. A biographical documentary called Brand: A Second Coming was released in 2015 and is available to watch online.




interviews
benefits of TM
overcoming addiction
David Lynch
improved intelligence
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