Religion, maps & meditation

I recently watched ‘Mary Queen of Scots’. Written by Beau Willimon and directed by Josie Rourke, the film stars Irish American Saoirse Ronan as Mary Stuart, and Australian Margot Robbie as Queen Elizabeth I. It tells the story of the legendary Scottish queen whilst portraying the role that gender, politics, and religion played in British history.

Religion

I was born and raised in Greece, a country where religion still plays an important role in most people’s lives and is also closely intertwined with the State. This should come as no surprise: religion and politics have been entwined in the country’s history for millenia. According to the latest statistics, 90% of the Greek population identify themselves as Christian Orthodox. Even though I was baptized as a toddler, I do not subscribe to the prevailing religion of my home country or any other religion for that matter. In other words, I am an atheist, and I have been for most of my life.

A few weeks ago, I attended the Open Day at the London Buddhist Centre (LBC). Let me be clear: I have no second thoughts about the role of/lack of religion in my life. As a Psychiatrist, however, I have recently become very interested in meditation and mindfulness, both linked to Eastern traditions and religions, such as Buddhism. For this reason, I decided to go to Bethnal Green in East London, where the LBC is located.

Maps

The day was fully packed with talks, workshops, meditation, and yoga. I attended a mindfulness meditation session followed by the very inspiring talk ‘How to live a more human life’. Amongst other things, Maitrivajri talked about the maps in our lives, maps that are often somebody else’s, not our own. They can be the maps thrown to us by our culture, the government of our country, the media (overconsumption being a prime example of how media and the advertising industry can lead us astray), the society, our family, our educators, or even our super-ego. Having always been fascinated by maps, geography and traveling, I found this concept of maps very interesting. I soon found myself reflecting on a particular map in my own life: religion.

I was eight years old when I first visited Thailand, where Buddhism is the most common religion with approximately 95% of the population following this religion. This was the first time in my life that I visited non-Orthodox places of worship and came in direct contact with a different religion. Amongst those places of worship, was the temple of Wat Traimit in Bangkok, famous for the Golden Buddha weighing 5.5 tons. During our visit there, we incidentally witnessed a cremation ceremony. I was taken aback by the absence of tears, or any other obvious signs of grief, as we experience it in the West. Instead, everyone appeared stoic about their beloved’s departure; I later learned of the Buddhists’ belief about the reincarnation of the soul.

My ‘enlightenment’

I cannot remember if it was that year, or the following (when I visited Thailand again) when I renounced Christianity and declared myself a Buddhist. Now, this may have been one of those things that enthusiastic children do when they come across a new toy, game, or piece of knowledge: obsessively embracing it until the novelty and the enthusiasm of the discovery wear off and then moving on to the next new thing. In my case, however, my ‘enlightenment’ went a bit deeper than this.

First, I realized that my parents were not religious, and didn’t raise a single brow to my declaration. I had taken for granted the religious beliefs of the society where I lived (subtly but sadly reinforced by school) that I had failed to see that my own family did not subscribe to these very beliefs. We were not churchgoers; then again most of my compatriots do not regularly go to church, despite strongly identifying as Christian Orthodox.

Second, I started enquiring, discussing, reading and learning about not only Buddhism but also the other major religions of the world: Christianity (with its different branches), Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism. It was then that I realized (even though proud as I am I did not openly admit it at the time) that in fact, I was an atheist. I was not older than ten.

So, what started as a childhood enthusiasm (triggered by my trip to Thailand, for which I’m always going to be grateful to my family) soon led me to a journey of inquiry, exploration and (self) discovery. And for the first time in my life, I started using my very own map.

Meditation

I have previously written about meditation and mindfulness, which, as a Psychiatrist, I consider essential ingredients to one’s wellbeing.

Mindfulness and meditation can help us:

• become more self-aware
• feel calmer and less stressed
• feel more able to choose how to respond to our thoughts and feelings
• cope with difficult or unhelpful thoughts
• be kinder towards ourselves

The benefits are not only psychological. These practises can also help with chronic physical health problems, such as chronic pain.

I have since heard from many people that they tried meditation but did not find it helpful. The truth is that meditation is a skill that requires practice. In Buddhism: A Very Short Introduction I read that learning meditation is like learning a musical instrument: it requires determination, commitment, and daily practice.

You can easily practise meditation at home; there are plenty of guided meditations on YouTube. There are also apps and websites that offer guided meditations for free (i.e. Headspace) or for a subscription (i.e. 10% Happier). For more clinically-orientated meditations, you can download audio files from here and here. 

If you live in London and prefer to join a meditation class, there are regular classes at the London Buddhist Centre and at the Buddhist Society.

For meditation retreats in the UK or abroad, check out this recent article published in the Guardian.

Further reading

To learn more about the different types of meditation, check out this article.

To find out more about the benefits of meditation (and yoga), read this article.

I have just started reading Buddha’s Brain: The Practical Neuroscience of Happiness, Love, and Wisdom

In the Preface, Jack Cornfield writes: “In ‘Buddha’s Brain’, Drs. Rick Hanson and Richard Mendius offer you a beautifully clear and practical connection to the essential wisdom teachings of the Buddha. Using the contemporary language of scientific research, they invite the reader to open to the mysteries of the mind, bringing a modern understanding to the ancient and profound teachings of inner meditation practice.”

If you’ve read it already, let me know your thoughts.

Meanwhile, subscribe to the Traveling Psychiatrist (just click on the menu on the left hand side) and follow my travels around the world.

Alex

(the Traveling Psychiatrist)