[...]... developing the mind in meditation The Tibetan word for meditation is gom It essentially means “getting used to, familiarizing.” Meditation, then, is the act of familiarizing your mind with what you want it to do That process of familiarity is just taking qualities and abilities that the mind naturally has, focusing on them in a methodical way, and thus building your base The bones and tendons of the mind. .. overdoing it, to build the integrity of the bones and the strength of the tendons and muscles This would slowly power up my basic physiology so it could handle the running It was very similar to the first stages of meditation, in which we focus on building strength Curious about the process of building the base, I discussed it with my osteopath, Peter Goodman, whose understanding of the body is amazing... Miph_9780307888167_7p_all_r1.indd 24 2/29/12 11:39 AM RUNNING with the MIND of MEDITATION 25 all We should not be surprised when we can’t, for we have not built the base of the mind Because I was raised in a culture of meditation, meditating has always been natural and practical for me My father, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, was one of the greatest meditation masters that Tibet has ever produced My mother was known as a gifted... there I grew up with powerful, intelligent, and charismatic people who expounded the virtues of meditation and the need to take care of our mind For me, meditation became as natural as drinking water or going for a walk I grew up with proof that it works The West is not generally a culture of meditation, so of course many people here are unfamiliar with it To some, it is quite mysterious However, these... always joke with him that he could first break people and then fi x them Peter said that the theory of building a base made sense to him For one thing, the bones are not stagnant; they are constantly changing and developing Because they have blood vessels running throughout, through the pressure of running, they become harder and more resilient Likewise, the tendons become conditioned and tough, and the muscles... 2/29/12 11:39 AM RUNNING with the MIND of MEDITATION 23 runner, had been encouraging me in the same direction At that point, I was a little puzzled by this mantra All I knew was that, whatever it meant, it involved a lot of running After several months of building my base, I began to understand what Jon and Misty were talking about The base, as it turned out, was simply doing enough running, without overdoing... if I would be running by then But, in fact, it did take about two years During that time, my body was first getting used to running and then getting good at it Building a base was a process of taking what I already had—my own lungs, muscles, bones, and tendons—training them to run, and gradually increasing their ability This process of taking the inherent structure of the body and strengthening it through... build your base As I mentioned earlier, movement is good for the body, and stillness is good for the mind To lead a balanced life, we need to engage and be active, and to deepen and rest When we are on the go running, talking, working the mind is engaged in a sympathetic nervous system process If we don’t balance the sympathetic with the parasympathetic nervous system process, in which we deepen and rest,... and tendons of the mind are mindfulness and awareness Mindfulness is the mind s strength, and awareness is its flexibility Without these abilities, we cannot function When we drink a glass of water, drive a car, or have a conversation, we are using mindfulness and awareness Unless we train it, the mind does the minimum necessary to fulfill a function In that way, it is like the body For example, our muscles... conditioned them Without conditioning, even a sudden dash to keep our kids out of harm’s way—or to catch a plane or a bus—will tire us out Similarly, our mind has developed enough mindfulness and awareness to drive to work, but if we had to drive across the country, we might not have the stamina to stay on the road Someone who makes long drives all the time, like a trucker, can do it much more easily The difference . 11:39 AM RUNNING with the MIND of MEDITATION 21 with the discomfort of the body. If the body is relaxed and fl exible, that is one less thing for the mind to think about. The physical act of running. Delight: 108 Poems by Sakyong Mipham. Copyright © 2005 by Sakyong Mipham. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, 1962– Running with the mind of meditation : lessons. AM2/29/12 11:39 AM RUNNING with the MIND of MEDITATION 25 all. We should not be surprised when we can’t, for we have not built the base of the mind. Because I was raised in a culture of meditation,