Meditation

'To meditate' is defined as the practise of focusing ones mind for a period of time for spiritual purposes or as a method of relaxation (Oxford English dictionary). Our Lake Isle Retreats Meditation sessions are designed to satisfy  these two motivations. 

​As long ago as 1500 years before the present, early monks in Ireland established monasteries and silent retreats on several islands of Lough Erne. The feeling of meditation and calmness permeates the lakeland atmosphere, and we especially recommend you arise early and to experience this for yourself, even if the retreat you attend only begins at 8:30am. 
              Experience our Meditation and Mindfulness classes
  • The facilitator sings some slow deep mantra chants using the beautiful harmonium instrument. Everyone relaxes and centres themselves. We pause in silence. 

  • Our primary mindfulness practise involves staying in the moment by murmering sacred mantras. We connect with the Krishna maha-mantra of the Vedas and the Tibetan Buddhist mani-mantra. We repeat the mantras in japa, which is a soft murmering for oneself, and this repetition may also be done in silence in the mind. In many situations we use traditional wooden japa beads to assist the practise. 
 
  • Seated on chairs, or cross legged on the floor, everyone takes part in a silent meditation, attempting to expand his or her own consciousness through deep hearing. We focus on being mindful in the moment and listening to the sounds of the world, without our attention wandering - without day-dreaming. Simply hearing. Simultaneous to this, we silently repeat two simple mantras, representing the Divine masculine and the Divine feminine. The mantras help the mind to have a specific focus.
 
  • After our meditation, we discuss our experiences. The facilitator touches on some philosophy behind the practise of meditation. 
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  • Then we begin the relaxation sequence. Participants choose whether they want to remain seated on chairs, or switch to lying on yoga mats. Other options include sitting cross-legged or holding oneself in a yoga pose. Calming relaxation music is played out over the room, with flutes, oriental violins, and sounds of birds singing and water falling, etc. The participants are taken through a visualization sequence - a guided meditation where we travel to a distant beautiful land with the mind's eye. At the end, as we are all mentally returning to the room, the facilitator sings auspicious mantras along with the harmonium. Finally, participants open their eyes feeling very refreshed and enlivened. This visualization sequence takes 30-mins.

  •  Another practise we do is the reading and discussing of  meditation philosophy as based on the 6th chapter of the Bhagavad Gita (Dhyana-yoga)
  • Our mindfulness body scan practise is a 20-mins relaxation. Participants lie down, and we focus on different parts of our own body as a way of staying in the moment. 
​Meditation is a spiritual practice found in practically all religious and spiritual traditions, although the methods differ. Here we look at how many people connected with the Vedic texts of ancient India attempts meditation practises. 

Traditional yogic systems employ complex meditation techniques, often working with different postures to align our external and subtle selves and focus our minds towards self-realization. To quiet the mind and provide a point of focus, yogis are advised to concentrate on mantras including Sanskrit syllables, the impersonal Om mantra, names of God, or inspiritational verses of the Bhagavad Gita.

The Vaishnava tradition recommends that chanting Holy Mantras is a particularly effective method of spiritual awakening, simultaneously opening us to an incredibly empowering experience.

In this system, meditation has three distinct forms: japa, kirtan and sankirtan. In japa, the meditator individually and softly recites a mantra with the use of beads, similar to a rosary. Kirtan is a public meditation, in which one loudly sings the Nama, or Holy Names, accompanied by musical instruments. When performed in a group this is called sankirtan, or san-kirtan: the complete Kirtan.

This entire process is centred around the recitation of the names of Govinda, Krishna, Hari and Rama. The prayer or mantra that devotees repeat is called the Maha Mantra, or the “great mantra for deliverance.” It is made up of three words Hare, Krishna and Rama. Hare refers to God’s feminine energy. Krishna and Rama refer to the Supreme as the all-attractive and all-powerful one who is the source of all pleasure. Repetition of this mantra awakens the soul and brings strength, peace and happiness. It ultimately connects us with the source of the universe and reveals our original spiritual life of eternal bliss and knowledge.


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