Inspirations....
by Mark Salcedo

Mountaineering dwells in nature santuaries where peace, beauty, and simplicity abound. In many occassions, mountaineers fall into a pleasant silence of body and mind without intentionally triggering it. The mountains, streams, and meadows have their common effect of calming our spirits and renewing our mind and body. Without even knowing it, mountaineers succumb to meditation every now and then. Personally, I always experience meditation in my lonesome trek, in the cold mist of the clouds against my skin, in its cool air in my lungs, in the water trikling into rivulets downstream, in the infinity of the sky gently sliced by a horizon at dusk, and in the peacefulness of dawn. According to Howard Clinebell, Ph.D., meditation is any method that enables you to focus your attention and thus quiet your consciousness and your body systems and increase your awareness. In our adopted ecosystem, there are no smog, noise, traffic, and a host of other things that city dwellers are accustomed to. Our surroundings in the bundocks is very conducive to quieting the mind, body, and spirit. The following is an excerpt lifted from the book entitled "Well-Being", authored by Howard Clinebell, Ph.D. Meditation Exercise Locate a quiet place where you can be alone and uninterrupted for the next fifteen to twenty minutes. (Once you've learned to meditate, you'll probably discover you can use it effectively in unquiet settings, such as buses or planes.) While standing, stretch and yawn and tighten, hold, then release all your muscles several times. Wiggle parts of your body that feel stressed, letting the tension flow out as you wiggle. Sit in a comfortable straight-back chair with your spine vertical and both feet on the floor. With your eyes closed, focus your full attention only on your breathing for the next few minutes, concentrating on the inflowing and outflowing of air, in and out of your nostrils. Don't try to make something happen. Whatever happens will be OK. Just keep concentrating fully on your breathing -- in and out, in and out, in and out. If stray thoughts, sounds, images, feelings, worries, or itches interrupt your one-point focusing, don't try to get rid of them. Instead just be a passive observer of them as they pass though your awareness and disappear, while you continue to focus on your breathing. If a bright insight comes, you won't need to interrupt your focused attention to jot it down. In all likelihood you'll remember it after meditating. Gradually your breathing will slow and you will begin to feel increasingly clear and at peace with yourself and life. As this happens let yourself enjoy being in this peaceful place for about ten minutes or so. You may want to try this: Choose a religious symbol or other image that is very much alive for you -- light, bush, Jesus Christ, the star of David, Mother Earth, for instance. Focus your attention on this image for a while. Experience a warm, healing light flowing from it onto your body-mind-spirit, energizing and awakening your whole being. When you're ready, conclude the meditation in your own way to give it a sense of completion. Sit quietly for a few minutes and let yourself enjoy the inner serenity and aliveness. If it feels helpful, jot down the things you found important to you in this experience.