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Inside Meditation - In Search of the Unchanging Nature Within
Who has the time to meditate? Across the globe our conventional boundaries are dissolving and economies are in flux. Virtual organisations and new technologies mean that our certainty about how everything in life works dissolves too. The world is no longer linear and predictable and this gives rise to ambiguity and anxiety.
There are at least two natural human reactions to such spectacular uncertainty. One is to seek absolute assurance. The other is to search for meaning in order to cope in a world of ever-increasing complexity. Alexander Filmer-Lorch’s book is a beautifully timed publication. He teaches us how to find that still point in the centre of ourselves so that we can deal with whatever life throws at us.
Alexander is a virtuoso of movement. A child born with physical abnormalities, he turned these to advantage, dancing with a major European ballet company by the time he was seventeen. He went on to develop innovative syntheses of schools of yoga, Pilates, cranio- sacral and somato-emotional release. In my first encounter with him I physically expanded – my body rediscovered movements on his Gyrotonic machine that I had not been able to do for some 20 years. I had had an amateur training in contemporary dance, Graham technique, and in minutes Alexander had me, effortlessly, back into a level of movement my body had long forgotten. I loathe gym machines but this was working dynamically in all three dimensions with a master practitioner who knew exactly how to unlock me. This was joyful flight!
Alexander is also a sage of the dynamic between body and mind. Now he has written a manual in which he shares his thirty years of deep study and practice of integrating ‘self’ on all planes. Reader beware – this book is not for complete beginners – there is much literature already available for the novice. However, if you are serious about deepening your awareness and all aspects of your life, then you will find an immensely practical resource for a lifelong journey. You will find many inter-linked lessons for finding ‘the unchanging nature within’.
All of Alexander’s learning has taken place, and continues to do so, in the crucible of his own heart, mind, body and spirit. Despite the many schools he has learnt from, he is no eclectic practitioner – Alexander integrates his learning. This means he does not just pull out one theorem, exercise or another as the mood or situation suits. He has a deep emotional, intellectual and physical understanding of the principles from many schools of thought and practice. By exquisite discernment, he brings together inter-relating aspects into powerful new forms. He has achieved this with his version of dynamic myo-fascial flow yoga, working with the body and mind in refined attunement, taking the benefits to new levels – using methods, which suit the western body. I have witnessed the tremendous regard that yoga teachers have for Alexander.
As a corporate psychologist, a key clinical interest of mine is: how do some people learn to thrive, not only survive, in extreme situations? I work with leaders who need to find ways of transforming organisations and people despite greatly reduced resources in ever more turbulent times. As a professional mediator, I observe that those people who are able to tolerate multiple realities are those who are more likely to find creative solutions. I cannot help but notice that those who have a strong, integrated sense of self have a great advantage. The big question is: how does that strength come about?
The research that has come out of the Mind and Life Institute1 arose from the combined efforts of an international community of neuroscientists together with advanced practitioners of Tibetan Buddhist meditation. Their findings reveal that the East has much to teach the West in advancing our knowledge of neuroplasticity and inner balance. It is crucial that we heed these ideas if we are serious about bringing about peace in turbulent times. So many people clamour for a more humane world2. A fundamental and recurring theme is that we need to let go of certitude, surrender to ambiguity and suspend our overly critical minds. Only then will we see the patterns emerge that will guide us to each next step.
Like those scientists from the Mind and Life Institute, and psychologists such as Professor Marvin Levine3, Alexander interprets ancient wisdom for contemporary Westerners facing new challenges. He has been putting this wisdom into practice in his daily life for thirty years. This cross-cultural integration benefits all groups. It is precisely the blend of modern science with foreign knowledge paradigms that creates the potential for new forms of knowledge. This is new knowledge that goes far beyond the sum of the parts of these unusual bedfellows. It takes the lifetime dedication of a practitioner like Alexander to gift us with practical, but deep, teachings.
The point of meditation is not to escape reality or become a superb meditator – but to lead a fully conscious and rich life - one lived with self-awareness, objectivity, equanimity and compassion. A life that offers something back to humanity. Alexander’s approach focuses on just that. He does this with unquenchable curiosity, lightness and infectious humour. My hope is that you become infected with the desire to live a more conscious, more kindly, more fully lived life.
Valerie James -
London, England 2012
London, England 2012
1 The Mind and Life Institute brings together many specialists across the globe including: psychiatrists, experimental psychologists, cognitive scientists, epistemologists, theologians, Buddhist monks, affective neuropsychologists, neurobiologists, etc. See for example, Destructive Emotions and how we can overcome them, A dialogue with the Dalai Lama narrated by Daniel Goleman. Bloomsbury, London, 2003 and Healing Emotions: conversations with the Dalai Lama on Mindfulness, Emotions, and Health (ed) Daniel Goleman, Shambala, Boston 1997
2 Dr Karen Armstrong was awarded the TED prize for her International Charter of Compassion. Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life, Bodley Head, London 2011
3 Professor Martin Levine, The Positive Psychology of Buddhism and Yoga: Paths to a Mature Happiness, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, London 2000
