Walking Meditation Part 2 (Picking a Word)

Did you try walking meditation?  Don't know what walking meditation is about?  Check out my last post for the detailed instructions.  If you got stuck on picking a word or phrase to meditate with, try one of these suggestions:

1.  Utilize a deck of angel or meditation cards with one word on them and randomly pick one of the cards (examples of words on these types of meditation cards:  insight, success, laughter, observation, etc.)

2.  Utilize the Bible:  the Psalms are particularly helpful for this practice because they have so many "living" words and phrases (dwelling place, praise, glory, creation, new life, etc.)

3.  Utilize a word or phrase that keeps “popping up” for you (maybe, for example, you've awakened with a lyric on the brain)

4.  Something else that is specific to your practice (you read a daily devotional, you look at words in advertisements, etc.)

Still not sure?  Here's a poem that has many words or phrases to choose from.  I wrote it in 2013 after reading Chapter 4, The Cup of Thanksgiving, from Joyce Rupp's A Cup for Our Life. 

Alive

Alive, aware, awake.

Beautiful, bountiful, bold.

Colorful, curious, creative.

Delicious, delightful -

I eat my breakfast, peering through

Vased flowers, out into the backyard.

Ever-changing, eternally evolving.

Fresh and fragrant.

Gorgeous, gleaming, great.

Heavenly, homey, humble -

Lord, please mold my soul

with the same loving care.

Intense and immediate,

Jonquils jumping joyfully,

Knowingly kept,

Light and lush. 

I wait for my daughter to wake,

Intent to tell her "I love you."

Much mulch mounded,

Nature's newness near, and

Opening,

Prettily packed.

I desire the same, 

A life of living.

Quaint and quiet inside,

Rejoicing, rolling robins outside.

Squirrelly sites and shadows,

Trees towering.

I hug my son as he rises, and

Listen as he lays his day.

Unassuming and
under-appreciated Visitors

are varied, including

Wispy winds and

EXuberantly youthful zinnias.

I put down my pen,

And go outside. 

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Now for the reflective questions which you can journal about or if you'd like to share your story, the community and I would love to hear from you!  Your comment could have a major impact on someone else.  Most likely it will be just the right thing at the right time for one of the readers. For me, God* wanted me to know that helping even just one person is wonderfully impactful.

Reflective questions:
1. Do you have time today for walking meditation?

2. What does God* want you to know about this (ask directly, God, what do you want me to know?)

* I use the term God as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, Sensibility, etc. better suits you today.  It is not for me to decide.

Photo by MH

Note:  These posts are part of a broader call to do spiritual journaling (read more at CardinalTouch.net)

Walking Meditation

I am now in the practice of meditating almost every day, the kind where you sit in a lotus position with eyes mostly closed.  It didn't start out that way.  As with so many things, it has been a progression.  I started with walking meditation.  Walking meditation is a wonderful, easy way to begin practicing meditation because it’s simple and most everyone already knows about walking for good health.  All you need are good shoes, a few quick stretches, and a safe place to walk. 

Walking meditation is simply adding a meditation practice to your walking.  We simply use the experience of walking as our focus.  We become mindful of our experience while walking, and work to stay focused on the walking.  Here’s one way to do it:

1. Before you set out on a healthy walk, pick a word or phrase to meditate with (if this seems daunting to you, stay tuned; my next post will have more on this). 
2. Once you are physically prepared for your walk, take a few minutes to mentally prepare.  Simply ask your mind to quiet so that you may have the space to meditate.  If you are spiritual, you may want to ask God* to dwell with you.
3. Now walk with the word for two to twenty minutes  
• Say the word with your interior voice as you walk.  If it’s a phrase, say one word per step that you take.  For example:  Your (step), will (step), be (step), done (step).  If it’s more than a one syllable word, try breaking each syllable out with each step such as with the word ‘joyfulness’:  joy (step), full (step), ness (step).  This will help keep the mind from wandering – trust me, I know!
• Repeat the word over and over and walk until you and the word are one and your mind is quiet.
4. When you’re finished walking, write down what you have learned and experienced in your journal.  Include what you thought about the word from the outset and what you think about the word at the completion of the walk.  I find this step to be so very important because you can go back through your journal and look for patterns, ideas, action items, etc. Listen to what God wants you to know and experience about this word (ask God directly:  God, what do you want me to know?)

Lastly, just take that first step.  I can almost guarantee you will be so glad you did!

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Now for the reflective questions which you can journal about or if you'd like to share your story, the community and I would love to hear from you!  Your comment could have a major impact on someone else.  Most likely it will be just the right thing at the right time for one of the readers. For me, God* wanted me to know that helping even just one person is wonderfully impactful.

Reflective questions:
1. What do you think about walking meditation?

2. What does God* want you to know about this (ask directly, God, what do you want me to know?)

* I use the term God as a universal term.  You may decide that Great Spirit, Allah, Higher Power, Sensibility, etc. better suits you today.  It is not for me to decide.

Photo by MH (walkers along the PERT trail)

Note:  These posts are part of a broader call to do spiritual journaling (read more at CardinalTouch.net)