Sunlight shimmering on the surface.
Trees reflected,
water like a mirror.

Ducks swimming, calm above, furiously paddling beneath
a fan of ripples.

Murky green water,
shadows
depth.

Mysterious koi carp lurking beneath
the surface.

A gentle breeze gathering ripples.
Water undulating,
swirling
bubbling.

A vessel.
Fluid.
Contained.
The lake.

There are many visualisations that can be used as a tool to enrich and deepen meditation practice.  A particularly powerful one is the lake.  You begin by simply imagining a lake.  It could be large or small, deep or shallow, green or blue, it doesn’t matter.  Maybe the sun is reflecting on the surface, or perhaps it is night time and the silvery light of the moon catches the water.  Wind creates ripples and waves.  Earth gets kicked up and muddies the water.  The lake is a container, held by the earth.  It is fluid and forever changing, whilst maintaining its form.  There is often a lot of activity on the surface, but beneath remains calm, gently undulating.  It can neither cling to nor push away experience, but accepts each moment with fluidity and strength.  When you have a clear image of the lake in mind, you bring the lake inside of you.  You watch as experiences come and go, rippling the surface of your awareness, whilst you remain grounded and centered.

I spent time last weekend sitting by this beautiful lake at Marks Hall in Essex.  Earlier that day, I’d practised the lake meditation using a guided audio by Jon Kabat-Zinn.  I sat reflecting on the meditation, observing the lake and contemplating how it paralleled my awareness.

Thoughts, feelings and physical sensations are like ripples in the lake or a leaf floating in the water.  The water becomes still.  The leaf floats away.  Experiences come and go.  Awareness gets distorted as particular thoughts, feelings and sensations dominate.  The lake becomes muddied and murky.  Just as the water clears, so does awareness.  Different thoughts, feelings and sensations come up to the surface, as a fish comes up for air.  They can be noticed; watched with curiousity, neither grasping them nor pushing them away.  Thoughts, feelings and sensations can be held in awareness without over-identification.  The lake reflects back what shines on its surface.  We are not our thoughts.  The lake doesn’t become the tree.

I find the lake can be a challenging meditation to practise, but each time I do, I discover hidden depths.  It’s normal for the surface of the lake to get rippled or the water to become muddy.  It’s a helpful reminder to accept the ripples of life whilst holding a kindly awareness.

You can read more about the lake meditation in Jon Kabat-Zinn’s book, ‘Wherever you go, there you are,’ and find the guided audio in series two of his CDs.