Ideas for your own meditative space

When i first began to feel led to share my garden with others, i wrote to a friend some ideas i had. I said:

The first premise is that visualization and metaphor are powerful methods of prayer/meditation. [ Since I began working on this I found that the process bears a striking similarity to the use of the mandala by Tibetan Buddhists.]

The second premise is that the discipline of repetition leads to a more rich experience of the meditation. To facilitate remembering details, correspondences between concepts -- parallelism -- can be developed.

If some one else wanted to develop similar meditative spaces, i would suggest exploring what aspects of the Divine they wished to contemplate and, separately, what spaces, what situations do they find comfortable to visualize. For me gardens were easy, but i think rooms in a family home might be powerful. I'd have people list sets as well -- of 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7. The sets could be the four points of the compass, one's five favorite colors, three types of movement, and so on.

I'd then suggest building correspondences, choosing a number to work around. I think i might want to challenge myself to build a trinity space or a penta-space. I'd encourage people not to feel compelled to use their entire set if it doesn't work out (one might ought to stick with 4 compass points and only use four of the five favorite colors).

Then, i'd suggest building a parallel experience in each space.

Sets

For me it is tempting to insist on complete sets. My logical mind insists on symmetry and balance. This is not science, however. If, to you, touch, sight, and taste are your strongest senses, do not feel compelled to include hearing and smell if you only want to work around three spaces.

Sets of Threes

  • red, yellow, blue
  • sweet, sour, savory
  • animal, vegetable, mineral
  • cat, dog, horse (my pets, growing up)
  • planting, nurturing, harvesting
  • purples, greens, and rosy pinks (my favorite colors)
  • above ground, ground, below ground
  • flying, walking, swimming
  • breakfast, lunch, dinner
  • new, full, waning moon
  • green, oolong, black (types of tea)
  • parsley, mint, rosemary
  • black, grey, white
  • faith, confusion, enlightenment
  • bones, flesh, skin

    Sets of Four

  • east, west, north, south
  • water, fire, air, earth
  • spring, summer, winter, fall
  • new, waxing, full, and waning
  • sprouting, growing, blossoming, fruition
  • kitchen, study, living room, bedroom (rooms in my apartment)
  • spiritual, professional, creative, private life
  • daffodils, day lilies, chrysanthemums, pansies (seasonal flowers)
  • crawling, walking, running, flying
  • romantic/Victorian, country, Scandinavian, library (decorating "styles" i like)
  • praise, petition, confession, thanks

    Sets of Five

  • east, west, north, south, center
  • water, wood, metal, fire, earth [Feng Shui]
  • love, wisdom, knowledge, law, power [Spiral Dance]
  • birth, initiation, consummation, repose, death [Spiral Dance]
  • fir, gorse, heather, aspen, yew [Goidelic Celts, per Spiral Dance]
  • top, bottom, left, right, center
  • flow, staccato, chaos, lyric, stillness [from Beverly's movement meditation]
  • the N.C. Outer Banks, the Blue Ridge, the Everglades, Rio Grande valley, Cape Canaveral (some of my favorite spaces)
  • woods, ocean, roses, cinnamon/ginger, lemon (my favorite smells)
  • joyous, reflective, intent, concerned, distraught

    Ordering

    While you are always free to visit a space in any order you wish, for the discipline of visiting the spaces a set pattern is useful.

    In my gardens, there is a progression both through the cycle of the day and the cycle of the year. This familiar cycle has informed the cycle of the aspects of the Divine i experience. Grace (or love) is for me fundamental, from which my relationship begins. I end with wisdom, which is what i envision as the fullest fruit of my relationship with the divine. It does not seem necessary that there be a familiar cycle or progression to underlie the progression you develop between your spaces, yet thinking about familiar cycles may enhance whatever progression you develop.

    Written for Sister Circle at the Christian Association, 11 Firstmonth 1996, © 1996 by PhoenixElaine

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