Mindfulness Meditation by a Stream: Diary/21C Mystic #9

DIARY of a 21 CENTURY MYSTIC #9: The following video is a (10 minute) mindfulness meditation I filmed while I was meditating by a creek not far from where I live, in Greensborough, Melbourne, Australia (the video is right at the bottom of this page). You can watch the video and meditate along with it.

There is plenty of nature around Greensborough. There are many long and beautiful walks that one can take.

Along one of the walkways, not far from where I now live

If you have followed some of my previous Diary extracts, you may recall that I was – up until recently – living with my brother in a small town of Morwell, some two hours out of Melbourne. However, about three weeks ago I moved to Greensborough. Greensborough is a leafy suburb, about a 30 minute train ride from the centre of Melbourne. It is a fantastic place to live if you want to be close to nature. I will tell you a little more about how I came to move here soon, in another entry of Diary.

The walkway near the creek, perhaps 500 metres from where the video was shot. That’s an old bridge ahead (now fenced off), which used to go across the creek – just out of shot to the left.

The creek, just up from where the video was shot

Most notable of the wildlife around my area are the beautiful and very noisy white cockatoos that can be heard screeching loudly, especially in the late evening (you’ll see and hear them in the video). There are also kangaroos nearby. Although I didn’t realise it, when I got up after filming this mindfulness video and doing a long meditation (afterwards), a large kangaroo hopped away from the other side of the creek bank, just up to my left. So it was probably there during the entire filming! I suspect it was this same kangaroo which I filmed at a distance just a few days earlier, near the houses you can see about 300 metres away in the video. Though there are houses nearby, the meditation spot is secluded.

This snap video and camera shot were taken with my IPhone – the roo has a joey in its pouch

In the video I guide you to adopt certain perspectives on the things happening nearby. You can adopt similar mindfulness attitudes in any setting, natural or artificial. Nature is a great place to start, as a natural setting is free from human projections and judgments. The key to being present is just that: allowing the mind to be present (without judgment) with the sights, sounds feelings and thoughts that arise in the moment. Mindfulness helps us see how we tend to judge ourselves and the people and things around us. It helps us to realise that there is a beautiful and peaceful part of ourselves that lies beyond the thinking mind. When we are still, when we are present, we are not rejecting anything, not trying to change ourselves; and there is no need to resolve anything from our past or tend to anything to do with the future. We simply bring the mind to relaxed alertness, noting thoughts as they arise, and gently returning our attention to something we can see, hear, smell, or touch. It is very, very simple.

I realise that some of the camerawork is a little shaky, as I am holding the video camera by hand. If at times you find that distracting, just close your eyes and listen to the sounds.

Blessings,

Marcus

Mindfulness meditation video

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