A nineteenth century saint was asked, "How can one realize God?" He replied, "One must think of the Lord incessantly, like a lawyer does of his cases." Apparently, even the mystics understand how our minds become saturated with our legal work. Especially while litigating, I am amazed how my mind constantly percolates and churns the case facts, issues, witnesses, strategies, and so on.
Truly incessant, my mind will offer its suggestions while I'm sleeping, eating and, in my last case, showering. I laughed upon realizing that I couldn't even scrub without my mental voice presenting some new angle on a potential evidentiary dispute.
There's nothing wrong with being mentally consumed with our work. The problem is turning down the mental volume and slowing our mental speed when our work does not demand this involvement. Unfortunately, overuse of our mental faculty often makes it difficult to relax the mind. We suffer the fate of the sorcerer's apprentice. Remember the movie Fantasia? Mickey Mouse disobediently uses his master's magic to animate broomsticks to fill a vat with buckets of well water (the apprentice's task), but when the job is completed, he can't stop the magical workers from dumping more water and flooding the castle.
We have created these vast and useful intellects to do our bidding yet, without learning how to operate the shut-off switch, our willing servants can demonize us by preventing the relaxation, renewal and inner peace that are necessary for our well-being.
Meditation is mind-control: you learning how to control your own mind. Control does not mean subjugation. The mind is obviously an essential tool and appreciates kind treatment.
The process of meditation is simple. Sit comfortably in a quiet place with your spine erect, head straight and eyes closed. Observe carefully the procession of thoughts and sensations. Notice what is passing through your awareness, without any need to alter your experience or change your thoughts or sensations. Let your awareness be unconnected to the objects of its attention. Keep your attention clear, yet relaxed. If insufficient energy is given to your attention, you tend to daydream or doze off. If too much effort is used, the process becomes strained and the mind becomes fatigued or agitated. Find the balance between slothfulness and trying too hard. A good meditation posture helps to maintain this balance.
Most meditation systems use a 'focal point,' a place to return the attention to when you become caught in the mind's wanderings. The most common focal point is the sensation of the breath as it enters and exits the tip of the nostrils. As you are meditating, focus your attention on this sensation of the breath. If a thought arises, watch it pass by. Sometimes, though, one thought will trigger a chain of thoughts. You might think of a particular client and before you know it you're mentally reviewing the causes of action for the pleading you will be drafting later that week. Your focal point enables you to pull yourself out of that daydream. No matter how often your attention strays, gently but firmly bring your attention back to your focal point.
Different traditions use different focal points. Early Christian monks were fond of using the sensation of the abdomen rising and falling caused by diaphragmatic movement. Many Eastern traditions use mantras, which are repetitive sounds internally or externally chanted. Many Western monks intone the Jesus prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on my soul." All of these focal points share a common principle: give the attention a home base, a place to rest and return to during the meditation process. Pick a focal point that appeals to you and stick with it.
While the process of meditation is simple, it is far from easy. If your unruly mind has been your master for your entire life, it's not about to now compliantly surrender control. We lawyers think of ourselves as powerful and highly competent advocates, accomplishing remarkable things by the energy of our will and talent. If you hanker for a lesson in humility, try meditating and see how your power of attention holds up against the errant movements of your mind. See how long you can focus on the sensation of the breath before your attention is diverted.
The first principle of the mind is that, at any one moment, there is only one object of its attention. Because mental attention jumps so quickly from object to object (three or four times per second, according to scientists), many mistakenly believe that the conscious mind is simultaneously occupied with numerous objects of attention.
Meditation-the practice of awareness without judgment-slows down the mental procession allowing you to see each 'mind moment' as an individual entity. When this occurs, you may notice something else. Each thought or sensation has a beginning and an end and there is a space between. It's like being stopped at a railroad crossing and watching the passing freight train. When the train is whizzing by, the individual boxcars seem to blur together. Yet, if the train slows, you can begin to see each boxcar as a distinct object and, if the train is slowed sufficiently, you can see the space between each of the cars.
And what is there in the spaces between your thoughts and sensations? And for that matter, what are the benefits of meditation and who is it that is observing all that passes? That is for each of us to discover. Give it a try. Like any new endeavor, regular practice is essential. Select a quiet time and place where you won't be disturbed. Set aside fifteen or twenty minutes for meditation every day and do it for one month. The results may surprise you. Good Luck!
George J. Felos has practiced meditation for twenty-seven years and has given many meditation seminars and workshops. He practices law at Felos & Felos, P.A., from his new location in downtown Dunedin, FL.
I think I'll pass. FV