Covid-19 has forced people to engage in activities at home. To refresh the human spirit under social restrictions, a movement has emerged to spread positive energy through group meditation in the virtual space.
By
MEDIANA
·4 minutes read
Kompas
Display of one of the stories uploaded by mindfullness practitioner Adjie Santosoputro some time ago. The upload came from one of the Concurrent Silent participants.
Covid-19 has forced people to engage in activities at home. To refresh the human spirit under social restrictions, a movement has emerged to spread positive energy through group meditation in the virtual space.
“At a time like this, accept all incoming feelings. Just be aware of sweet or bitter memories slipping into your mind. Return to breath. Rest as you breath.”
It was the voice of Adjie Santosoputro, who guided hundreds of people in an online meditation session through Instagram Live some time ago. Although the practitioner of mindfulness was not visible on the Instagram monitor, only a dark screen, his voice was clear. Calming instrumental music accompaniment could be heard.
The meditation lasted almost 30 minutes. Adjie ended the exercise. “Return to yourselves right now. The actual home is the present. Open both your arms, embrace yourselves and say thanks three times to yourselves.”
The Instagram Live screen turned bright and then Adjie appeared in white. On the lower left of the screen, meditation participants wrote their comments. The account @deaghassani said thank you, @maranataeka claims to have gotten sound sleep since joining hening serentak. Adjie randomly read out the response.
Hening Serentak (Instant Silence), as the meditation is called, is conducted live from 9 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Before starting, Adjie usually opens a discussion about mental health. In the first minutes there is a wawiwu chat —about various topics.
A woman demonstrates meditation in a tunnel entitled "Lawangkala" by the artist Sunaryo.
Adjie began Hening Serentak sessions at the end of March 2020. Almost 80 percent of the hundreds of participants are women. Psychological consulting is indeed accessed more by women than men. He feels grateful that the initiative has been beneficial.
Nchie Hanie, a blogger from Bandung, West Java, admitted her enthusiasm for participating in Hening Serentak. Through the training, she gained better self-awareness, become calm and capable of controlling anxiety. “I seem to have company. Being aware of oneself is important,” she said.
Dea, a media company employee in Jakarta, also claimed to enjoy the group meditation. If she fails to join the session live, she opens the content of her recording. She notes the topics of the wawiwu chat, discussion, or brief dialogue at the end of meditation.
The woman acknowledged that Hening Serentak had restored her spirit. When large-scale social restrictions were imposed, heaps of work had to be finished at home, from morning to night. “I was kind of losing myself,” she added.
Making oneself happy
Kompas
Gede Prama, writer and meditation teacher.
Through the page of Gede Prama’s Compassion on Facebook, writer and meditation instructor Gede Prama also conducts live meditation activities along with chats. Since April 2020, his topics have concerned making peace with the Covid-19 pandemic. His broadcast is aired at 12 p.m. Central Indonesia Time.
On 13 April 2020, for instance, Gede’s topic was “Growing from Solitude into Independence”. He began the chat by relating reports on dismissals and housewives selling food for survival amid the social restrictions due to Covid-19.
Rest is the deepest spirit of meditation. Rest from the feeling of guilt, rest from grave guilt.
He said some people had become lonely while staying at home. Loneliness is actually a condition without inner acceptance. The method of healing is learning to make oneself happy. Covid-19 essentially can be considered a moment that “forces” people to make themselves happy, learning to “be home” within themselves.
When meditating, Gede invited all live broadcast viewers to sit comfortably with their eyes slightly open. Accompanies by the sound of a flute, he guided. “Rest is the deepest spirit of meditation. Rest from the feeling of guilt, rest from grave guilt,” he said.
KOMPAS/YUNIADHI AGUNG (MYE) 06-02-2020
A group of people participated in a meditation activity organized by the Indonesian Tergar meditation community in Jakarta, Thursday (6/2/2020). Doing meditation is one way to maintain one\'s mental health.
The program is kept on the website of Gede Prama’s Compassion. Hundreds of accounts have commented. Gus Kopang’s account noted, “Since the pandemic storm, I have more intensely followed the guru’s enlightenment. Step by step, I’ m leading to spiritual growth. Praise the Lord I’ve been allowed this opportunity.”
Psychologist Samanta Ananta has also opened a Practice Mindfulness and Loving-Kindness Meditation class. The class was held on 25 April 2020 via the Zoom channel. Six people, all women, joined the session.
The class lasted for nearly three hours, starting with a subject presentation, discussion, followed by meditation. For loving-kindness meditation, Samanta taught four levels. They were forgiving oneself, loving oneself, loving other adored or hurting people, as well as blessings and hopes for other people. “Meditation trains people to be more aware than their present condition, at this moment,” said Samanta.
The new coronavirus spreads disease and death. However, by meditating together, a lot of people are capable of going through this condition in a spiritually sound and mentally positive manner.
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