Stacking Stones; A meditative practice

Do you have difficulty with sitting meditation? The benefits of meditation are touted far and wide, but many people find it difficult to sit and clear their minds. There are alternate sitting meditations, which I will cover further in later posts, but contrary to popular belief traditional seated meditation may not be the most beneficial. In others posts, I will cover not only different forms of meditations but will explain the four dignities. Nontraditional sitting meditations can be beneficial for those that find their mind wandering too far during silent meditation. Some of the less traditional forms of still meditation include miksang, calligraphy, and stacking stones. I took up stacking stones because I find it a much easier to clear my head when I'm not specifically attempting to clear my head. Rock stacking can be done with minimal monetary investment... all you need to do is find some rocks. Many people stack river rocks, because they are both visually appealing and more difficult to stack, being round. The water flowing over the stones causes them to wear smooth; an interesting visual metaphor. Other popular places to stack are on rocky beachesand in the garden. If you live, as I did until recently, in an urban or apartment environment... you can still engage in this activity. For many years, I kept an empty planting pot in my room ant later on my porch, filled with rocks for stacking. It allowed me to keep my rocks in a living area so that I did not forget to use them, and kept them neat. Since it would have been almost impossible to obtain stones when I first began, I purchased some medium-sized ornamental stones of the type used in flower arrangements and empty jars. These can be found at any craft store. How to go about this? locate a flat surface. Slowly balance one stone upon another until you have an artfully structured arrangement. It's simple, but challenging.