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There
is a form of meditation in Buddhism called "walking meditation." As Thich
Nhat Hanh explains, "In Buddhism, there is a word which means wishlessness
or aimlessness. The idea is that we do not put anything ahead of ourselves
and run after it. When we practice walking meditation, we walk in this
spirit. We just enjoy the walking, with no particular aim or destination.
Our walking is not a means to an end. We walk just for the sake of
walking." One of the goals of walking meditation is to cultivate awareness
of the body, leading to an experience of peace. Hanh explains, "Breathing
in, one step, breathing out, the other step--keeping awareness of our
breathing and the movement of our feet. When we practice this way, we feel
deeply at ease, and our problems and anxieties drop away, and peace and
joy fill our hearts." A second goal is to cultivate awareness of the body
of the Earth, which Hanh also says can lead to an experience of peace.
"Walking mindfully on the Earth can restore our peace and harmony, and it
can restore the Earth's peace and harmony as well . . . When we practice
walking meditation, we massage the Earth with our feet and plant seeds of
joy and happiness with each step."
I like imagining walking in that way, as not only good for my body and
mind, but good for the Earth itself--now there's one woman who deserves a
good massage! Aldous Huxley said, "My father considered a walk among the
mountain as the equivalent of churchgoing." For those of us thinking
outside the church in seeking the spiritual, all we need to do is step
outside and go for a walk. |
ewf
It is not talking but walking that will bring us to heaven.
--Matthew Henry
When you walk across the fields with your mind pure and holy, then from
all the stones, and all growing things, and all animals, the sparks of
their soul come out and cling to you, and then they are purified and
become a holy fire in you.
--Hasidic saying
Reading about nature is fine, but if a person walks in the woods and
listens carefully, he can learn more than what is in books, for they speak
with the voice of God.
--George Washington Carver
When I take a walk on a crisp autumn day and see scarlet leaves against a
brilliant azure sky, my soul is nurtured as I see God incarnate in the
vivid colors of nature.
--Marion Woodman
To go for a walk in the fields with the cattle and the young lambs, and in
the woods with the song of birds, without a single thought in your mind,
only watching the earth, the trees, the sheep and hearing the cuckoo
calling and wood-pigeons; to walk without any emotion, any sentiment, to
watch the trees and all the earth; when you so watch, you learn your own
thinking, are aware of your own reactions and do not allow a single
thought to escape you without understanding why it came, what was the
cause of it. If you are watchful, never letting a thought go by, then the
brain becomes very quiet. Then you watch in great silence. And that
silence has immense depth, a lasting incorruptible beauty.
--Jiddu Krishnamurti
If you are seeking creative ideas, go out walking. Angels whisper to a man
when he goes for a walk.
--Raymond Inmon
In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.
--John Muir
All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.
--Friedrich Nietzsche
In beauty may I walk.
All day long may I walk.
Through the returning seasons may I walk.
On the trailed marked with pollen may I walk.
With grasshoppers about my feet may I walk.
With dew about my feet may I walk.
With beauty may I walk.
With beauty before me, may I walk.
With beauty behind me, may I walk.
With beauty above me, may I walk.
With beauty below me, may I walk.
With beauty all around me, may I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, lively, may I walk.
In old age wandering on a trail of beauty, living again, may I walk.
It is finished in beauty.
It is finished in beauty.
--A Navajo Indian Prayer
Walking is the great adventure, the first meditation, a practice of
heartiness and soul primary to humankind. Walking is the exact balance
between spirit and humility.
--Gary Snyder
Walking uplifts the spirit. Breathe out the poisons of tension, stress,
and worry; breathe in the power of God. Send forth little silent prayers
of goodwill toward those you meet. Walk with a sense of being a part of a
vast universe. Consider the thousands of miles of earth beneath your feet;
think of the limitless expanse of space above your head. Walk in awe,
wonder, and humility. Walk at all times of day. In the early morning when
the world is just waking up. Late at night under the stars. Along a busy
city street at noontime.
--Wilferd A. Peterson
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