Drug Addiction
The Transcendental Meditation technique has proven to be a successful coping strategy in helping to deal with drug addiction," a useful tool in psycho-neuro-immunology (PNI) by helping to control the immune system, and an effective manager of stress and pain.
Prolonging Life Expectancy
A strong link has also been established between the practice of TM and longevity. Only two factors have been scientifically determined to actually extend life: caloric restriction and lowering of the body's core temperature. Meditation has been shown to lower core body temperature.
Stress Control
Most of the people who get on meditation do so because of its beneficial effects on stress. Stress refers to any or all the various pressures experienced in life. These can stem from work, family, illness, or environment and can contribute to such conditions as anxiety, hypertension, and heart disease. How an individual sees things and how he or she handles them makes a big difference in terms of how much stress he or she experiences.
Research has shown that hormones and other biochemical compounds in the blood indicative of stress tend to decrease during TM practice. These changes also stabilize over time, so that a person is actually less stressed biochemically during daily activity.
This reduction of stress translates directly into a reduction of anxiety and tension. Literally dozens of studies have shown this.
Pain Management:
Chronic pain can systematically erode the quality of life. Although great strides are being made in traditional medicine to treat recurring pain, treatment is rarely as simple as prescribing medication or surgery.
Anxiety decreases the threshold for pain and pain causes anxiety. The result is a vicious cycle. Compared with people who feel relaxed, those under stress experience pain more intensely and become even more stressed, which aggravates their pain. Meditation breaks this cycle.
Childbirth preparation classes routinely teach pregnant women deep breathing exercises to minimize the pain and anxiety of labor. Few call it breath meditation, but that's what it is.
Meditative techniques are also a key element in the Arthritis self-help Course at Stanford University. More than 100,000 people with arthritis have taken the 12-hour course and learned meditation-style relaxation exercises as part of a comprehensive self-care program. Graduates report a 15 to 20 percent reduction in pain.
In one study overseen by Dr. Kabat-Zinn, 72 percent of the patients with chronic pain conditions achieved at least a 33 percent reduction after participating in an eight-week period of mindful meditation, while 61 -percent of the pain patients achieved at least a 50 percent reduction. Additionally, these people perceived their bodies as being 30 percent less problematic, suggesting an overall improvement in self-esteem and positive views regarding their bodies.
Meditation may not eliminate pain, but it helps people cope more effectively.
Cancer and Other Chronic Illness
Meditation and other approaches to deep relaxation help center people so they can figure out how they'd like to handle the illness and proceed with life. Dr. Ainslie Meares, an Australian psychiatrist who uses meditation with cancer patients, studied seventy-three patients who had attended at least twenty -sessions of intensive meditation, and wrote: "Nearly all such patients can expect significant reduction of anxiety and depression, together with much less discomfort and pain. There is reason to expect a 10 percent chance of quite remarkable slowing of the rate of growth of the tumor, and a 50 percent chance of greatly improved quality of life."
Heart disease.
Meditation is a key component of Ornish therapy, the only treatment scientifically proven to reverse heart disease.
High blood pressure.
As soon as Dr. Benson learned that TM reliably reduced blood pressure in meditators, he taught the relaxation response to 36 people with moderately elevated blood pressure. After several weeks of practice, their average blood pressure declined significantly, reducing their risk of stroke and heart attack.
Infertility
Couples dealing with infertility may become depressed, anxious and angry. To help them cope, Alice D. Domar, Ph.D., a psychologist at the Mind/Body Medical Institute, taught the relaxation response to one group of infertile couples. Compared with a similar group of infertile couples who did not learn deep relaxation, the meditators experienced less distress-and were more likely to get pregnant.
Psoriasis:
This disease causes scaly red patches on the skin. A pilot study at Dr. Kabat-Zinn's clinic suggests that compared with the skin patches of people with psoriasis who receive only standard medical therapy, the skin patches of those who also meditate clear up more quickly.
Respiratory crises
Asthma, emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) all restrict breathing and raise fears of suffocation, which in turn makes breathing even more difficult. Studies at Dr. Kabat-Zinn's clinic show that when people with these respiratory conditions learn breath meditation, they have fewer respiratory crises.
Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS), Tension Headaches
Meditation can ease physical complaints such as premenstrual syndrome (PMS), tension headaches and other common health problems.
Meditation gives people a psychological buffer so that life's hectic pace doesn't knock them out. Practicing meditation is like taking a vacation once or twice a day. When you nurture yourself, you accrue tremendous spin-off benefits.
For example, when you are under high stress, it can worsen symptoms of PMS because stress can cause the muscle tension associated with PMS complaints such as fatigue, soreness and aching. On the other hand, when you meditate regularly, you dramatically reduce your body's response to stress, and that can ease the discomfort associated with PMS. The results may not be apparent for several months. You will probably need to meditate regularly for several months before your body responds positively.
Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Ulcers, and Insomnia
Meditation can also improve irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers, and insomnia, among other stress-related conditions. Eighty percent of the people who use meditation to relieve insomnia are successful.
Meditation can help prevent or treat stress-related complaints such as anxiety, headaches and bone, muscle and joint problems. Meditation also provides an inner sense of clarity and calm, and that, in itself, may help ward off certain illnesses.
Fibromyalgia
According to one study, meditation may relieve the discomfort of fibromyalgia, a condition that causes fatigue and intensely painful "trigger points." When 77 men and women with fibromyalgia followed a ten-week stress-reduction program using meditation, all reported that their symptoms improved. And half described their improvements as "moderate to marked."
MINDFULNESS (VIPASSANA)
In mantra and breath meditation, you focus on a word or your breath and try to empty your mind of everything else. This mental clearing is what most people mean when they refer to meditation.
But there's another kind of meditation, a practice Buddhists call vipassana or sometimes called mindfulness, or insight meditation. It is the art of becoming deeply aware of the present instant. Mindfulness means fully experiencing what happens in the here and now. It is the art of focusing our minds on what's happening in and around us at this very moment. Mindfulness helps you turn down all the noise in your head- the guilt, anger, doubts, and uncertainties that upset us moment to moment. It is a technique that encourages you to stop and smell the roses.
The key is not so much what you focus on but how you do it. What is more important is the quality of the awareness you bring to each moment. That awareness should be meditative in the sense of being a silent witness, accepting and nonjudgmental. It, however, does not imply resignation to abuse or injustice. It teaches acknowledgment of the moment-to-moment reality and prepares those who use the technique to respond to that reality less impulsively and more effectively.
There are two kinds of mindful meditation - formal and informal. Yoga is a good example of the formal type. In a yoga class, participants focus intently on their breathing and the postures, moving slowly from one position to the next, exquisitely aware of their feelings during the process. Practitioners are taught to concentrate on their breathing and its passage through the body as they dismiss any distracting thoughts. Though it sounds simple, mindfulness takes practice, and the longer you practice, the easier the process becomes. Breathing is the vehicle of transition from our conventional, anxiety-ridden, goal-oriented experience of stressful living into a natural state of functional calm and tranquility. Tai chi offers a similar dimension of mindfulness. Informal mindfulness involves turning the headlong rush of daily living into a collection of discrete moments of experience, each savored fully. For example, Dr. Kabat-Zinn hands each of his students a single raisin and asks them to eat it. Ordinarily people would simply pop the raisin in their mouths, chew a few times and swallow, largely unconsciously. But mindful, meditative raisin eating is much different. It begins with looking intently at the raisin, considering its shape, weight, color and texture. Next comes placing the raisin in the mouth, focusing on how it feels on the tongue as the mouth welcomes it with salivation. Then the mindful raisin-eater chews the raisin slowly and thoroughly, focusing on its taste and texture. Finally, swallowing the raisin involves following it all the way down to the stomach.
Once you commit to a mindfulness trigger-such as hanging up the phone, sipping a cup of tea or eating fruit snacks, starting the car or petting your dog-it's not difficult to work a dozen mindful moments into each day.
But there's another kind of meditation, a practice Buddhists call vipassana or sometimes called mindfulness, or insight meditation. It is the art of becoming deeply aware of the present instant. Mindfulness means fully experiencing what happens in the here and now. It is the art of focusing our minds on what's happening in and around us at this very moment. Mindfulness helps you turn down all the noise in your head- the guilt, anger, doubts, and uncertainties that upset us moment to moment. It is a technique that encourages you to stop and smell the roses.
The key is not so much what you focus on but how you do it. What is more important is the quality of the awareness you bring to each moment. That awareness should be meditative in the sense of being a silent witness, accepting and nonjudgmental. It, however, does not imply resignation to abuse or injustice. It teaches acknowledgment of the moment-to-moment reality and prepares those who use the technique to respond to that reality less impulsively and more effectively.
There are two kinds of mindful meditation - formal and informal. Yoga is a good example of the formal type. In a yoga class, participants focus intently on their breathing and the postures, moving slowly from one position to the next, exquisitely aware of their feelings during the process. Practitioners are taught to concentrate on their breathing and its passage through the body as they dismiss any distracting thoughts. Though it sounds simple, mindfulness takes practice, and the longer you practice, the easier the process becomes. Breathing is the vehicle of transition from our conventional, anxiety-ridden, goal-oriented experience of stressful living into a natural state of functional calm and tranquility. Tai chi offers a similar dimension of mindfulness. Informal mindfulness involves turning the headlong rush of daily living into a collection of discrete moments of experience, each savored fully. For example, Dr. Kabat-Zinn hands each of his students a single raisin and asks them to eat it. Ordinarily people would simply pop the raisin in their mouths, chew a few times and swallow, largely unconsciously. But mindful, meditative raisin eating is much different. It begins with looking intently at the raisin, considering its shape, weight, color and texture. Next comes placing the raisin in the mouth, focusing on how it feels on the tongue as the mouth welcomes it with salivation. Then the mindful raisin-eater chews the raisin slowly and thoroughly, focusing on its taste and texture. Finally, swallowing the raisin involves following it all the way down to the stomach.
Once you commit to a mindfulness trigger-such as hanging up the phone, sipping a cup of tea or eating fruit snacks, starting the car or petting your dog-it's not difficult to work a dozen mindful moments into each day.
TAOIST MEDITATION: MICROCOSMIC ORBIT MEDITATION
This is the classic Taoist meditation method for refining, raising, and circulating internal energy via the 'orbit' formed by the 'Governing Channel' from perineum up to head and the Conception Channel from head back down to perineum. Activating the Microcosmic Orbit is a key step that leads to more advanced practices. Taoists believe that microcosmic orbit meditation fills the reservoirs of the Governing and Conception channels with energy, which is then distributed to all the major organ-energy meridians, thereby energizing the internal organs. It draws abundant energy up from the sacrum into the brain, thereby enhancing cerebral circulation of blood and stimulating secretions of vital neurochemicals. It is also the first stage for cultivating the 'spiritual embryo' or 'golden elixir' of immortality, a process that begins in the lower abdomen and culminates in the mid-brain. This is probably the best of all Taoist methods for cultivating health and longevity while also 'opening the three passes' to higher spiritual awareness.
Taoists often refer things in symbolic languages. (See the section on Human anatomy from the Taoist perspective for a description of the symbolism used in referring to the human anatomy.) 'Opening the Three Passes' is another name for this meditation method and refers to the three critical junctions which pave the way for energy to travel up from the sacrum through the Governing Channel along the spine into the head.
Method:
The first step is to still the body, calm the mind, and regulate the breath. With this settled mind, sit alone in a quiet room, senses shut and eyelids lowered. Turn your attention within, and inwardly visualize a pocket of energy in the umbilical region; within it is a point of golden light, clear and bright, immaculately pure. Focus attention on the navel until you feel the 'pocket of energy' glowing in the umbilical region. The breath through your nose will naturally become light and subtle, going out and in evenly and finely, continuously and quietly, gradually becoming slighter and subtler. When the feeling is stable and the energy there is full, use your mind to guide energy down to the perineum and back up through the aperture in the coccyx.
Steadily visualize this true energy as being like a small snake gradually passing through the nine apertures of the coccyx. When you feel the energy has gone through this pass, visualize this true energy rising up to where the ribs meet the spine, then going through this pass and right on up to the Jade Pillow, the back of the brain.
Then imagine your true spirit in the Nirvana Chamber in the center of the brain, taking in the energy. When this true energy goes through the Jade Pillow, press the tongue against the palate. The head should move forward and tilt slightly upwards to help it. When you feel this true energy penetrating the Nirvana Chamber, this may feel hot or swollen. This means the pass has been cleared and the energy has reached the Nirvana Center.
Next, focus attention on the Celestial Eye between the eyebrows and draw energy forwards from the midbrain and out through the point between the brows. This may cause a tingling or throbbing sensation there. Then the center of the brows will throb - this means the Celestial Eye is about to open. Then move the spirit into the center of the brows and draw the true energy through the Celestial Eye. If you see the eighteen thousand pores and three hundred and sixty joints of the whole body explode open all at once, each joint parting three-tenths of an inch, this is evidence of the opening of the Celestial Eye.
This is what is meant when it is said that when one pass opens all the passes open, and when one opening is cleared all the openings are cleared.
You may wish to stay and work with this point for a few minutes, before letting energy sink down through the palate and tongue into the throat to the heart. This may feel as though there is cool water going down the Multistoried Tower of the windpipe. Do not swallow; let it go down by itself, bathing the bronchial tubes.
Then the vital energy will bathe the internal organs and then return to the genitals. This is what is called return to the root.
From the heart, draw it down through the Middle Elixir Field in the solar plexus, past the navel, and down into the Ocean of Energy reservoir in the Lower Elixir Field, where energy gathers, mixes, and is reserved for internal circulation. Then begin another cycle up through the coccyx to the mid-spine behind the heart and up past the Jade Pillow into the brain.
Breathe naturally with your abdomen, and don't worry whether energy moves up or down on inhalation or exhalation; coordinate the flow of breath and energy in whatever manner suits you best. However, if you reach the stage where you can complete a full Microcosmic Orbit in a single breath, it's best to raise energy up from coccyx to head on exhalation and draw it down from Upper to Lower Elixir Field on inhalation.
If you practice this way for a long time, eventually you can complete a whole cycle of ascent and descent in one visualization. If you can quietly practice this inner work continuously, whether walking, standing still, sitting, or lying down, then the vital energy will circulate within, and there will naturally be no problem of leakage. Chronic physical ailments, Taoists believe, will naturally disappear.
Also, once the inner energy is circulating, the breath will naturally become fine, and the true positive energy of heaven and earth will be inhaled by way of the breath and go down to join your own generative energy. The two energies will mix together, both to be circulated by you together, descending and ascending over and over, circulating up and down to replenish the depleted true energy in your body.
This true energy harmonizes and reforms, so that the vital fluids produced by the energy of daily life again produce true vitality. When true vitality is fully developed, it naturally produces true energy, and when true energy is fully developed it naturally produces our true spirit.
If you have any physical problems or discomforts in a particular section of your body, focus your energy at the pass closest to the discomfort and let it throb there for a while. This will help heal and rejuvenate the injured tissues. For example, if you have pelvic problems, focus energy on the coccyx pass; for lower-back pain focus on the lowest lumbar vertebra just above the sacrum; for upper-back and shoulder pain focus on the fifth thoracic vertebra, and so forth.
This meditation may also cause the head to rock or the body to tremble, which, Taoists believe, are signs of progress.
Time: Thirty to forty-five minutes, once or twice a day.
Taoists often refer things in symbolic languages. (See the section on Human anatomy from the Taoist perspective for a description of the symbolism used in referring to the human anatomy.) 'Opening the Three Passes' is another name for this meditation method and refers to the three critical junctions which pave the way for energy to travel up from the sacrum through the Governing Channel along the spine into the head.
Method:
The first step is to still the body, calm the mind, and regulate the breath. With this settled mind, sit alone in a quiet room, senses shut and eyelids lowered. Turn your attention within, and inwardly visualize a pocket of energy in the umbilical region; within it is a point of golden light, clear and bright, immaculately pure. Focus attention on the navel until you feel the 'pocket of energy' glowing in the umbilical region. The breath through your nose will naturally become light and subtle, going out and in evenly and finely, continuously and quietly, gradually becoming slighter and subtler. When the feeling is stable and the energy there is full, use your mind to guide energy down to the perineum and back up through the aperture in the coccyx.
Steadily visualize this true energy as being like a small snake gradually passing through the nine apertures of the coccyx. When you feel the energy has gone through this pass, visualize this true energy rising up to where the ribs meet the spine, then going through this pass and right on up to the Jade Pillow, the back of the brain.
Then imagine your true spirit in the Nirvana Chamber in the center of the brain, taking in the energy. When this true energy goes through the Jade Pillow, press the tongue against the palate. The head should move forward and tilt slightly upwards to help it. When you feel this true energy penetrating the Nirvana Chamber, this may feel hot or swollen. This means the pass has been cleared and the energy has reached the Nirvana Center.
Next, focus attention on the Celestial Eye between the eyebrows and draw energy forwards from the midbrain and out through the point between the brows. This may cause a tingling or throbbing sensation there. Then the center of the brows will throb - this means the Celestial Eye is about to open. Then move the spirit into the center of the brows and draw the true energy through the Celestial Eye. If you see the eighteen thousand pores and three hundred and sixty joints of the whole body explode open all at once, each joint parting three-tenths of an inch, this is evidence of the opening of the Celestial Eye.
This is what is meant when it is said that when one pass opens all the passes open, and when one opening is cleared all the openings are cleared.
You may wish to stay and work with this point for a few minutes, before letting energy sink down through the palate and tongue into the throat to the heart. This may feel as though there is cool water going down the Multistoried Tower of the windpipe. Do not swallow; let it go down by itself, bathing the bronchial tubes.
Then the vital energy will bathe the internal organs and then return to the genitals. This is what is called return to the root.
From the heart, draw it down through the Middle Elixir Field in the solar plexus, past the navel, and down into the Ocean of Energy reservoir in the Lower Elixir Field, where energy gathers, mixes, and is reserved for internal circulation. Then begin another cycle up through the coccyx to the mid-spine behind the heart and up past the Jade Pillow into the brain.
Breathe naturally with your abdomen, and don't worry whether energy moves up or down on inhalation or exhalation; coordinate the flow of breath and energy in whatever manner suits you best. However, if you reach the stage where you can complete a full Microcosmic Orbit in a single breath, it's best to raise energy up from coccyx to head on exhalation and draw it down from Upper to Lower Elixir Field on inhalation.
If you practice this way for a long time, eventually you can complete a whole cycle of ascent and descent in one visualization. If you can quietly practice this inner work continuously, whether walking, standing still, sitting, or lying down, then the vital energy will circulate within, and there will naturally be no problem of leakage. Chronic physical ailments, Taoists believe, will naturally disappear.
Also, once the inner energy is circulating, the breath will naturally become fine, and the true positive energy of heaven and earth will be inhaled by way of the breath and go down to join your own generative energy. The two energies will mix together, both to be circulated by you together, descending and ascending over and over, circulating up and down to replenish the depleted true energy in your body.
This true energy harmonizes and reforms, so that the vital fluids produced by the energy of daily life again produce true vitality. When true vitality is fully developed, it naturally produces true energy, and when true energy is fully developed it naturally produces our true spirit.
If you have any physical problems or discomforts in a particular section of your body, focus your energy at the pass closest to the discomfort and let it throb there for a while. This will help heal and rejuvenate the injured tissues. For example, if you have pelvic problems, focus energy on the coccyx pass; for lower-back pain focus on the lowest lumbar vertebra just above the sacrum; for upper-back and shoulder pain focus on the fifth thoracic vertebra, and so forth.
This meditation may also cause the head to rock or the body to tremble, which, Taoists believe, are signs of progress.
Time: Thirty to forty-five minutes, once or twice a day.
Lovingkindness meditation
by Bodhipaksa
Although the concept of emotional intelligence is relatively new in the west, Buddhist practitioners have been in the know for over 2,500 years. > This simple meditation practice – the Development of Lovingkindness – helps us to develop a healthier relationship with ourselves and with other people.
1· Sit comfortably and with your back relatively upright, so that you have a sense of poise and dignity.
2· Notice the physical sensations in the body, starting from the feet and working up to the head, and relaxing each muscle as best you can. When the mind wanders (which it will do), gently bring it back to the sensations in the body. Some distraction is normal and it's best to accept it patiently.
3· Then become aware of how you are feeling. What emotions are present? You don't necessarily have to label them, just be aware they are present. Keep your awareness centered on the heart. These emotions will be your focus during the rest of the practice. If you realize you've been distracted, come back to your body, and then to your emotions.
4. Then on each out breath begin repeating a phrase, such as:
"May I be well,"
"May I be at peace," or
"May I feel confidence."
You can think of your heart being like a still forest pool, and the phrase being like a flower that you gently drop into the water. Let go of any sense of expectation you may have. Simply stay present with your emotions, and be open to the influence of the phrase.
5· Then call to mind a friend, and use a phrase (the same one you used for yourself or one that is more suitable for them) to wish your friend well. Note that you're not thinking about your friend here, but simply bearing the thought of them in mind, as a sense of presence or even a mental image.
6· Letting the thought of your friend fade away, call to mind someone you don't know well and don't have any strong feelings towards, and wish them well, using a phrase. It's normal to experience a little boredom while doing this, but just keep coming back to your body, to your feelings, and to wishing this person well.
7· Letting the thought of this "neutral person" fade away, call to mind someone you know personally and have conflicts with – perhaps a family member – and wish him or her well using a lovingkindness phrase.
8· Next, call to mind yourself, your friend, the neutral person and the person with whom you have difficulties, and wish all four of you well, using a suitable phrase such as:
"May we be well," or
"May we be in harmony."
Look for a sense of expansiveness as you take your well-wishing to all four people at once, and then expand your well-wishing yet further, to everyone around you. You can continue expanding the range of your well-wishing as far as you wish, including not just people but animals, until you are embracing all life in your heart.
9· When you feel it's time to end, let go of any phrases or images you've been using and just sit quietly for a few minutes, enjoying the fruits of the practice and letting yourself become more aware of the world around you.
Although the concept of emotional intelligence is relatively new in the west, Buddhist practitioners have been in the know for over 2,500 years. > This simple meditation practice – the Development of Lovingkindness – helps us to develop a healthier relationship with ourselves and with other people.
1· Sit comfortably and with your back relatively upright, so that you have a sense of poise and dignity.
2· Notice the physical sensations in the body, starting from the feet and working up to the head, and relaxing each muscle as best you can. When the mind wanders (which it will do), gently bring it back to the sensations in the body. Some distraction is normal and it's best to accept it patiently.
3· Then become aware of how you are feeling. What emotions are present? You don't necessarily have to label them, just be aware they are present. Keep your awareness centered on the heart. These emotions will be your focus during the rest of the practice. If you realize you've been distracted, come back to your body, and then to your emotions.
4. Then on each out breath begin repeating a phrase, such as:
"May I be well,"
"May I be at peace," or
"May I feel confidence."
You can think of your heart being like a still forest pool, and the phrase being like a flower that you gently drop into the water. Let go of any sense of expectation you may have. Simply stay present with your emotions, and be open to the influence of the phrase.
5· Then call to mind a friend, and use a phrase (the same one you used for yourself or one that is more suitable for them) to wish your friend well. Note that you're not thinking about your friend here, but simply bearing the thought of them in mind, as a sense of presence or even a mental image.
6· Letting the thought of your friend fade away, call to mind someone you don't know well and don't have any strong feelings towards, and wish them well, using a phrase. It's normal to experience a little boredom while doing this, but just keep coming back to your body, to your feelings, and to wishing this person well.
7· Letting the thought of this "neutral person" fade away, call to mind someone you know personally and have conflicts with – perhaps a family member – and wish him or her well using a lovingkindness phrase.
8· Next, call to mind yourself, your friend, the neutral person and the person with whom you have difficulties, and wish all four of you well, using a suitable phrase such as:
"May we be well," or
"May we be in harmony."
Look for a sense of expansiveness as you take your well-wishing to all four people at once, and then expand your well-wishing yet further, to everyone around you. You can continue expanding the range of your well-wishing as far as you wish, including not just people but animals, until you are embracing all life in your heart.
9· When you feel it's time to end, let go of any phrases or images you've been using and just sit quietly for a few minutes, enjoying the fruits of the practice and letting yourself become more aware of the world around you.
A Nature Meditation
By Robert Elias Najemy
You are sitting by a quietly flowing stream in the countryside. It is spring and life is green and moist? Sitting on a rock, the sights and sounds of the flowing water begin to work their mysterious way into your nervous system.
Gradually, with the simple repetition of the water's song and the harmonious beauty of the natural surroundings, the thousands of electronic impulses of your brain begin to discharge into the tension-absorbing air.
All of the concerns, problems and projects, which had filled your mind to bursting capacity begin to disappear.
There is nothing to try to figure out now, nothing to decide.
The flowers silently console you with their perfect peace and harmony.
The fresh air tingles in your lungs and your head becomes clear.
You feel somehow sedated, as if the forces of nature have conspired to put you to sleep - to put you at ease.
The wind massages your body with caresses of coolness as the sun unties your muscles with penetrating warmth.
There is nothing to do, nowhere to go and nothing to think of. Just lie back and absorb the peaceful vibrations which flow into every part of your being, whispering, «be at peace, relax my friend, all is well now».
A delicious sleep falls upon you; not really sleep but a half-conscious-half-sleep state, in which the trees, sounds and breeze begin to come inside and mix with all of the thoughts and feelings. It is as if the door of your mind has been opened and all of those conversations, actions and perceptions lying unresolved, floating at various depths in the sea of the mind begin to float upwards and outwards.
Reality now is a mixture of the inner and outer.
The peace and security of being in the womb of nature allows us to surrender to the sun, water and wind, while the earth-draws out our stresses and frustrations.
We swim semiconsciously at the level where the conscious blends into the unconscious.
We dance in our sea of consciousness, sometimes floating up to the surface catching the sensation of the breeze, or the warmth of the sun. Then we dive downward into a stream of upward floating thoughts, images, sounds - all the dislodged refuse from nervous stresses and unresolved problems.
We watch them as they float by and then dive deeper sensing by now there is something at the bottom of the sea, which is attractive to us.
Occasionally we get caught by an upward floating sensation of worry, resentment, an image or an attachment, and before we know it, we are at the surface again thinking, wondering, worrying, being rocked by the waves of attachment.
But the dance goes on, we begin to sink again, for by now we see that we cannot really dive because diving is too intense - there is too much effort - we get hooked too easily on upward floating garbage.
We instinctively learn the dance of the water, sinking, watching, letting go, being carried on the vertical currents of fresh water from the depths of our consciousness, like a seagull with wings spread gliding the air currents flowing against it without a movement, without an effort, letting the air do all the work.
By this time, we are no longer concerned about where we are going. The water becomes clearer, free of debris. We have gone beyond the levels of stress release, past wreckage of old memories, relationships, failures and traumas. We have danced through the caverns of resentment and worry.
The water becomes very clean, very still, very peaceful.
We are coming to the source of our life current, the spring of pure consciousness. Here we may encounter pure light or energy. Only subtle vibrations exist here. Our bodies become recharged with life. Our consciousness is renewed as we have cleared the way for a burst of fresh energy to flow up purifying the sea of consciousness, regenerating the mind, giving new life to every cell of our brain.
If we do not become enamored by the sensation of light, by the bliss of this energy which charges through our system, then we may sink a little deeper into the vast nothingness from which the spring of life flows.
Here there is not even energy; no body, no mind, no light, no sound - absolute nothingness - total vacuum - only tremendous potential unmanifest Divine Consciousness, from which all life and material creation flows.
COMING BACK TO THE SURFACE
The sound of chirping birds greets you as you slowly float to the surface. The branches dancing in the wind wave «hello». The sounds of insects buzzing and water splashing salute you with a «welcome back friend, you are part of us now».
It takes a while to remember where you are. You were only gone 20 minutes, but it seems you have been in this spot all your life. The mind is clear, refreshed and in the present.
There is nothing to do but take off your clothes and go swimming.
Have you ever been to this quiet stream in the countryside?
Most everyone has - either to a stream, river, mountain, sea, or forest. And how well and rejuvenated we feel when we return. Somehow everything is more alive, more harmonious.
It may not take long, however, to discharge all that energy and clarity. Once again we become upset, nervous and bored.
Can we go to the stream every day? It certainly would be nice, and life would be much less complicated. Of course for most of us it is completely impractical in terms of time, money and availability of such places - especially to those of us who live in the city.
Well, Mother Nature has a secret for us. We don't have to go anywhere at all. The stream of life, that place of peace and source of strength, knowledge and harmony - lies right inside every one of us.
What is meditation? It is nothing more than visiting this stream on a daily basis. Simply it is the sinking dance into our sea of consciousness, releasing the submerged stresses and coming to the point of inner stillness where there is no object of consciousness - but consciousness itself.
Done regularly, this inward dance leaves us fresh, more alert, relaxed, creative, healthy, and more in tune with ourselves and our environment.
The truth of these statements has been proved both subjectively and objectively through experimentation. Studies have been made on meditators and non-meditators over the years with respect to blood pressure, pulse and reaction time as well as with states of fulfillment and creativity expressed subjectively by the participants.
Hundreds of thousands of people today in all walks of life are finding that no matter what their goals, motivations, responsibilities or problems may be, they are able to act more clearly, more efficiently and more successfully with the aid of regular meditation.
Ultimately, the only way to know if meditation will be useful for you is to give it a try. To spend some time each day in the «dance of the soul».
For more information on meditation visit Holisticonline meditation infocenter.
You are sitting by a quietly flowing stream in the countryside. It is spring and life is green and moist? Sitting on a rock, the sights and sounds of the flowing water begin to work their mysterious way into your nervous system.
Gradually, with the simple repetition of the water's song and the harmonious beauty of the natural surroundings, the thousands of electronic impulses of your brain begin to discharge into the tension-absorbing air.
All of the concerns, problems and projects, which had filled your mind to bursting capacity begin to disappear.
There is nothing to try to figure out now, nothing to decide.
The flowers silently console you with their perfect peace and harmony.
The fresh air tingles in your lungs and your head becomes clear.
You feel somehow sedated, as if the forces of nature have conspired to put you to sleep - to put you at ease.
The wind massages your body with caresses of coolness as the sun unties your muscles with penetrating warmth.
There is nothing to do, nowhere to go and nothing to think of. Just lie back and absorb the peaceful vibrations which flow into every part of your being, whispering, «be at peace, relax my friend, all is well now».
A delicious sleep falls upon you; not really sleep but a half-conscious-half-sleep state, in which the trees, sounds and breeze begin to come inside and mix with all of the thoughts and feelings. It is as if the door of your mind has been opened and all of those conversations, actions and perceptions lying unresolved, floating at various depths in the sea of the mind begin to float upwards and outwards.
Reality now is a mixture of the inner and outer.
The peace and security of being in the womb of nature allows us to surrender to the sun, water and wind, while the earth-draws out our stresses and frustrations.
We swim semiconsciously at the level where the conscious blends into the unconscious.
We dance in our sea of consciousness, sometimes floating up to the surface catching the sensation of the breeze, or the warmth of the sun. Then we dive downward into a stream of upward floating thoughts, images, sounds - all the dislodged refuse from nervous stresses and unresolved problems.
We watch them as they float by and then dive deeper sensing by now there is something at the bottom of the sea, which is attractive to us.
Occasionally we get caught by an upward floating sensation of worry, resentment, an image or an attachment, and before we know it, we are at the surface again thinking, wondering, worrying, being rocked by the waves of attachment.
But the dance goes on, we begin to sink again, for by now we see that we cannot really dive because diving is too intense - there is too much effort - we get hooked too easily on upward floating garbage.
We instinctively learn the dance of the water, sinking, watching, letting go, being carried on the vertical currents of fresh water from the depths of our consciousness, like a seagull with wings spread gliding the air currents flowing against it without a movement, without an effort, letting the air do all the work.
By this time, we are no longer concerned about where we are going. The water becomes clearer, free of debris. We have gone beyond the levels of stress release, past wreckage of old memories, relationships, failures and traumas. We have danced through the caverns of resentment and worry.
The water becomes very clean, very still, very peaceful.
We are coming to the source of our life current, the spring of pure consciousness. Here we may encounter pure light or energy. Only subtle vibrations exist here. Our bodies become recharged with life. Our consciousness is renewed as we have cleared the way for a burst of fresh energy to flow up purifying the sea of consciousness, regenerating the mind, giving new life to every cell of our brain.
If we do not become enamored by the sensation of light, by the bliss of this energy which charges through our system, then we may sink a little deeper into the vast nothingness from which the spring of life flows.
Here there is not even energy; no body, no mind, no light, no sound - absolute nothingness - total vacuum - only tremendous potential unmanifest Divine Consciousness, from which all life and material creation flows.
COMING BACK TO THE SURFACE
The sound of chirping birds greets you as you slowly float to the surface. The branches dancing in the wind wave «hello». The sounds of insects buzzing and water splashing salute you with a «welcome back friend, you are part of us now».
It takes a while to remember where you are. You were only gone 20 minutes, but it seems you have been in this spot all your life. The mind is clear, refreshed and in the present.
There is nothing to do but take off your clothes and go swimming.
Have you ever been to this quiet stream in the countryside?
Most everyone has - either to a stream, river, mountain, sea, or forest. And how well and rejuvenated we feel when we return. Somehow everything is more alive, more harmonious.
It may not take long, however, to discharge all that energy and clarity. Once again we become upset, nervous and bored.
Can we go to the stream every day? It certainly would be nice, and life would be much less complicated. Of course for most of us it is completely impractical in terms of time, money and availability of such places - especially to those of us who live in the city.
Well, Mother Nature has a secret for us. We don't have to go anywhere at all. The stream of life, that place of peace and source of strength, knowledge and harmony - lies right inside every one of us.
What is meditation? It is nothing more than visiting this stream on a daily basis. Simply it is the sinking dance into our sea of consciousness, releasing the submerged stresses and coming to the point of inner stillness where there is no object of consciousness - but consciousness itself.
Done regularly, this inward dance leaves us fresh, more alert, relaxed, creative, healthy, and more in tune with ourselves and our environment.
The truth of these statements has been proved both subjectively and objectively through experimentation. Studies have been made on meditators and non-meditators over the years with respect to blood pressure, pulse and reaction time as well as with states of fulfillment and creativity expressed subjectively by the participants.
Hundreds of thousands of people today in all walks of life are finding that no matter what their goals, motivations, responsibilities or problems may be, they are able to act more clearly, more efficiently and more successfully with the aid of regular meditation.
Ultimately, the only way to know if meditation will be useful for you is to give it a try. To spend some time each day in the «dance of the soul».
For more information on meditation visit Holisticonline meditation infocenter.
The Tao of Breathing
by: Tom Takihi
One of the impressions I have gained recently in speaking to Zen friends about practice is a certain attitude towards breathing in zazen. For the sake of brevity, and just for fun, I wish to refer to it as "samurai breathing". I think it has its origins in the martial arts.
The "samurai breath' goes like this: one must push down hard on the outgoing breath, concentrating on the hara (solar plexus) and in doing so, push aside any thoughts, feelings, sensations, that get in the way, smashing through them like a karate expert would smash their hand through a brick.
If you practice like this, it will give you a considerable feeling of power, like winning a contest (with yourself), and also give you a sense of purpose in a goal-seeking way (like paying off the mortgage). This type of straining zazen creates a heroic struggle out of zazen and a sense that you are trying very hard, but it is ultimately self-defeating. Perhaps it is part of the process of learning that we have to go through this struggle before we realize it is not productive.
When I see people practicing like this, I have a mental picture of someone on an exercise bike peddling furiously, somehow believing that they are going to get somewhere if only they try hard enough. I then imagine someone coming up to them and whispering in their ear, "Excuse me, it doesn't matter how fast you peddle, you won't get anywhere on that bike. " This is like the story of polishing a tile, believing if only it is done hard enough, it will become a mirror, or believing that one will become a Buddha after years and years of zazen, rather than realizing that we are Buddha right from the very beginning.
When I began my zen practice many ago in Japan with Kabori Roshi, I was like the person on the bike furiously peddling to get somewhere. I listened with keen interest to other students talking about various breathing techniques, which I believed, if only I could get them right, would propel me towards realization in no time. Needless to say, I tied myself up in knots trying to breathe the "right" way, even making myself sick in the process. After several months of this, I went to Kabori Roshi and told him about it in sanzen (Rinzai for dokusan). All he said was "Just breathe naturally". I remember feeling a mixture of relief, confusion and disappointment at his comment. How could it be that simple?
Kabori Roshi was like the kindly person whispering in the ear of the stationary cyclist, "Excuse me, no matter how hard you try, you won't get anywhere on that bike." The message got through a little but, looking back, I wasn't quite prepared to really give up my belief, that if only I pushed harder, I would get somewhere.
This happens all the way along in zen practice. Teachers keep telling us there is nothing to attain, but we don't quite believe them, even though we may mouth the words to others. In everyday life we see people all around struggling to find happiness and peace, believing it will come when they finally get what they want, without seeing that this very moment holds all that one could desire. It is easy to see this delusion in others, but can you see it in yourself?
Coming back to the analogy of the exercise bike, it is not the practice of peddling we have to give up but the belief we are going to get somewhere if we do fit. As we give up this belief, (which is underpinned with the fear of failure) we can enjoy just peddling, and in zazen if we give up this belief, we can just breath naturally and our breathing includes the breathing of the currawong warbling in the crisp morning air.
The "samurai breath" after all turns out to be conceptual breathing, a fixed notion of what breathing ought to be, unlike the breath of the Tao which is open and just comes and goes of its own accord. When our breathing attempts to fit some conceptual pattern of how we ought to breath, we interfere with it, and are out of touch with ourselves. The mind/will should take its lead from the breath, rather than the breath taking its lead from the mind/will. When the mind/will takes its lead from the breath, then the mind/will and the breath are in harmony. When sailing, you trim the sails according to the strength and direction of the wind, not the other way round.
Aitken Roshi, when he was a student of Soen Roshi, asked him "When I do zazen should I use effort or not?" Soen Roshi replied, "The question reminds of Joshu's question to Nansen in Case l9 of the Mumonkan - 'ordinary mind is the Tao'".
Joshu asked Nansen, "What is Tao?" Nansen answered, "Ordinary mind is the Tao." "Then should we direct ourselves towards it or not?" asked Joshu. "If you try to direct yourself towards it, you go away from it", answered Nansen. Joshu continued, "If we do not try, how can we know it is the Tao?" Nansen replied, "Tao does not belong to knowing or not knowing. Knowing is illusion, not knowing is blankness. If you really attain the Tao of no doubt, it is like the great void, so vast and boundless. How then, can there be right and wrong in the Tao?" At these words, Joshu was suddenly enlightened. Mumon, commenting on this said, "Even though Joshu may be enlightened, he can truly get it only after studying for thirty more years."
Should we direct ourselves towards it or not? Should we use effort or not? Does Nansen mean just "go with the flow of the Tao" as this cliche has become known, as on some personal growth weekend where everyone lies around drinking herbal tea, looking dreamy-eyed and talking about the oneness of the universe? I remember Aitken Roshi once saying to a student, "When are you going to stop going with the flow and get into action?"
"Going with the flow" is just the conceptual opposite of "samurai breathing". Dull and complacent zazen with no vitality or resolve, which is more accurately going with the flow of Taoist fantasy and natural therapy mysticism.
What is the right attitude then with which to breath? The right attitude is to have no fixed attitude. However from a practical point of view it can follow certain guidelines. I think of right zazen as like holding a baby in one's arms. You hold a baby gently otherwise you will hurt it. You also hold it firmly otherwise you will drop it. Light but steady. Should you use effort or not? Try holding a baby.
One of the impressions I have gained recently in speaking to Zen friends about practice is a certain attitude towards breathing in zazen. For the sake of brevity, and just for fun, I wish to refer to it as "samurai breathing". I think it has its origins in the martial arts.
The "samurai breath' goes like this: one must push down hard on the outgoing breath, concentrating on the hara (solar plexus) and in doing so, push aside any thoughts, feelings, sensations, that get in the way, smashing through them like a karate expert would smash their hand through a brick.
If you practice like this, it will give you a considerable feeling of power, like winning a contest (with yourself), and also give you a sense of purpose in a goal-seeking way (like paying off the mortgage). This type of straining zazen creates a heroic struggle out of zazen and a sense that you are trying very hard, but it is ultimately self-defeating. Perhaps it is part of the process of learning that we have to go through this struggle before we realize it is not productive.
When I see people practicing like this, I have a mental picture of someone on an exercise bike peddling furiously, somehow believing that they are going to get somewhere if only they try hard enough. I then imagine someone coming up to them and whispering in their ear, "Excuse me, it doesn't matter how fast you peddle, you won't get anywhere on that bike. " This is like the story of polishing a tile, believing if only it is done hard enough, it will become a mirror, or believing that one will become a Buddha after years and years of zazen, rather than realizing that we are Buddha right from the very beginning.
When I began my zen practice many ago in Japan with Kabori Roshi, I was like the person on the bike furiously peddling to get somewhere. I listened with keen interest to other students talking about various breathing techniques, which I believed, if only I could get them right, would propel me towards realization in no time. Needless to say, I tied myself up in knots trying to breathe the "right" way, even making myself sick in the process. After several months of this, I went to Kabori Roshi and told him about it in sanzen (Rinzai for dokusan). All he said was "Just breathe naturally". I remember feeling a mixture of relief, confusion and disappointment at his comment. How could it be that simple?
Kabori Roshi was like the kindly person whispering in the ear of the stationary cyclist, "Excuse me, no matter how hard you try, you won't get anywhere on that bike." The message got through a little but, looking back, I wasn't quite prepared to really give up my belief, that if only I pushed harder, I would get somewhere.
This happens all the way along in zen practice. Teachers keep telling us there is nothing to attain, but we don't quite believe them, even though we may mouth the words to others. In everyday life we see people all around struggling to find happiness and peace, believing it will come when they finally get what they want, without seeing that this very moment holds all that one could desire. It is easy to see this delusion in others, but can you see it in yourself?
Coming back to the analogy of the exercise bike, it is not the practice of peddling we have to give up but the belief we are going to get somewhere if we do fit. As we give up this belief, (which is underpinned with the fear of failure) we can enjoy just peddling, and in zazen if we give up this belief, we can just breath naturally and our breathing includes the breathing of the currawong warbling in the crisp morning air.
The "samurai breath" after all turns out to be conceptual breathing, a fixed notion of what breathing ought to be, unlike the breath of the Tao which is open and just comes and goes of its own accord. When our breathing attempts to fit some conceptual pattern of how we ought to breath, we interfere with it, and are out of touch with ourselves. The mind/will should take its lead from the breath, rather than the breath taking its lead from the mind/will. When the mind/will takes its lead from the breath, then the mind/will and the breath are in harmony. When sailing, you trim the sails according to the strength and direction of the wind, not the other way round.
Aitken Roshi, when he was a student of Soen Roshi, asked him "When I do zazen should I use effort or not?" Soen Roshi replied, "The question reminds of Joshu's question to Nansen in Case l9 of the Mumonkan - 'ordinary mind is the Tao'".
Joshu asked Nansen, "What is Tao?" Nansen answered, "Ordinary mind is the Tao." "Then should we direct ourselves towards it or not?" asked Joshu. "If you try to direct yourself towards it, you go away from it", answered Nansen. Joshu continued, "If we do not try, how can we know it is the Tao?" Nansen replied, "Tao does not belong to knowing or not knowing. Knowing is illusion, not knowing is blankness. If you really attain the Tao of no doubt, it is like the great void, so vast and boundless. How then, can there be right and wrong in the Tao?" At these words, Joshu was suddenly enlightened. Mumon, commenting on this said, "Even though Joshu may be enlightened, he can truly get it only after studying for thirty more years."
Should we direct ourselves towards it or not? Should we use effort or not? Does Nansen mean just "go with the flow of the Tao" as this cliche has become known, as on some personal growth weekend where everyone lies around drinking herbal tea, looking dreamy-eyed and talking about the oneness of the universe? I remember Aitken Roshi once saying to a student, "When are you going to stop going with the flow and get into action?"
"Going with the flow" is just the conceptual opposite of "samurai breathing". Dull and complacent zazen with no vitality or resolve, which is more accurately going with the flow of Taoist fantasy and natural therapy mysticism.
What is the right attitude then with which to breath? The right attitude is to have no fixed attitude. However from a practical point of view it can follow certain guidelines. I think of right zazen as like holding a baby in one's arms. You hold a baby gently otherwise you will hurt it. You also hold it firmly otherwise you will drop it. Light but steady. Should you use effort or not? Try holding a baby.
One Minute Meditations for a Happier Life
by Shirley Ryan
Meditation has been used for centuries to train the mind, and the list for its uses are extensive. Not only does meditation increase wellness in general, it reduces stress, anxieties and cultivates positive emotions. In addition, with consistent use, it reshapes the cortex of the brain resulting in an increase in attention span, sharpening of focus and improved memory.
Sounds like just what the doctor ordered you say? But practically, how does one fit this into a busy schedule? Meditation using mindfulness is the most practical way to meditate. In the simple act of training ourselves to become more aware by slowing down our sense of time passing, we can learn to monitor our moods and thoughts before they spiral downward. We can, in other words, make ourselves happier. Simply being mindful (paying attention) during your daily activities is a kind of mediation.
This kind of meditation is being in the moment, exercising a set of mental activities that sees things with impartial watchfulness. It does not take sides. A mindful meditator is both participant and observer. It is observing all phenomena - physical, mental or emotional - whatever is presently taking place in the mind. Ever eat an orange and really savor the process from peeling through tasting it? Let's see how mindfulness works.
Behold (without judgment) the beauty of the orange as you hold it up to the light and witness the color, moving it to your nose to breathe in the sent of the rind itself. Perfect roundness rolls over your fingertips as the sphere moves from your left to your right hand. Feel the dibbled texture as it slides over your fingertips. All of your senses are alive as you hear the peel pull away from the skin. A cool spray of juice prickles your skin as the sent of the orange creates an aroma that makes your mouth water. Pull the segments apart and bite into it letting the juice run into your mouth. Savor the sweet liquid as it becomes a part of your awareness. This is mindfully eating an orange with full awareness of its presence in your life. The process of mindfulness is simply short bursts of attention to one thing. We do this normally in our everyday life. As you begin to assimilate the process, and become more proficient the attention moves to all things.
Some tips for meditation using mindfulness:
1. Choose one simple thing a day that you can spend time with to give your full attention. (Start with something easy like: washing dishes or the car, deadheading plants, folding towels, brushing the dog, running, making a sandwich, eating anything, brushing teeth, etc.)
2. Make an appointment with yourself for this practice. (Later you can just spontaneously choose, but for now set a time in your calendar or it will not happen.)
3. Tell someone that you are practicing meditation in short spurts once a day. (This commits you to the process and sets the stage for you to change your behavior and view of yourself.)
4. While you wait for this time, practice breathing into the diaphragm in one minute intervals. Cleansing breathwork is an anchor to the present moment and an important part of being healthy. Breathe into the place between your ribs and navel. (Stop lights are a great place to practice this.)
5. Stretch regularly while sitting (Turn your neck as far as possible from side to side and up and down.), and standing (Reach to the ceiling.).
6. When the time comes, use all of your senses: sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste (if appropriate), and intuition. Experience the object without judgment--just observe. (Soapy hand, slippery, wet, silky, warm water, etc.) Detach from whatever you are seeing or hearing--it just is and nothing more.
Nothing is excluded, thoughts, distractions, sounds, images, ideas, or feelings that arise, everything is welcomed. We simply allow whatever is there to be.
Consistently observe with bare attention both the breath and every mental phenomenon. Time is different now as it slows down our sense of its passing. This gives a rare opportunity to see the world and ourselves differently and to choose how we feel and act.
Mindful meditation is a good choice to develop a greater sense of self awareness and of how we fit within the universe. The universe responds favorably to the attention to your life, and the attention to all of its gifts to you.
Meditation has been used for centuries to train the mind, and the list for its uses are extensive. Not only does meditation increase wellness in general, it reduces stress, anxieties and cultivates positive emotions. In addition, with consistent use, it reshapes the cortex of the brain resulting in an increase in attention span, sharpening of focus and improved memory.
Sounds like just what the doctor ordered you say? But practically, how does one fit this into a busy schedule? Meditation using mindfulness is the most practical way to meditate. In the simple act of training ourselves to become more aware by slowing down our sense of time passing, we can learn to monitor our moods and thoughts before they spiral downward. We can, in other words, make ourselves happier. Simply being mindful (paying attention) during your daily activities is a kind of mediation.
This kind of meditation is being in the moment, exercising a set of mental activities that sees things with impartial watchfulness. It does not take sides. A mindful meditator is both participant and observer. It is observing all phenomena - physical, mental or emotional - whatever is presently taking place in the mind. Ever eat an orange and really savor the process from peeling through tasting it? Let's see how mindfulness works.
Behold (without judgment) the beauty of the orange as you hold it up to the light and witness the color, moving it to your nose to breathe in the sent of the rind itself. Perfect roundness rolls over your fingertips as the sphere moves from your left to your right hand. Feel the dibbled texture as it slides over your fingertips. All of your senses are alive as you hear the peel pull away from the skin. A cool spray of juice prickles your skin as the sent of the orange creates an aroma that makes your mouth water. Pull the segments apart and bite into it letting the juice run into your mouth. Savor the sweet liquid as it becomes a part of your awareness. This is mindfully eating an orange with full awareness of its presence in your life. The process of mindfulness is simply short bursts of attention to one thing. We do this normally in our everyday life. As you begin to assimilate the process, and become more proficient the attention moves to all things.
Some tips for meditation using mindfulness:
1. Choose one simple thing a day that you can spend time with to give your full attention. (Start with something easy like: washing dishes or the car, deadheading plants, folding towels, brushing the dog, running, making a sandwich, eating anything, brushing teeth, etc.)
2. Make an appointment with yourself for this practice. (Later you can just spontaneously choose, but for now set a time in your calendar or it will not happen.)
3. Tell someone that you are practicing meditation in short spurts once a day. (This commits you to the process and sets the stage for you to change your behavior and view of yourself.)
4. While you wait for this time, practice breathing into the diaphragm in one minute intervals. Cleansing breathwork is an anchor to the present moment and an important part of being healthy. Breathe into the place between your ribs and navel. (Stop lights are a great place to practice this.)
5. Stretch regularly while sitting (Turn your neck as far as possible from side to side and up and down.), and standing (Reach to the ceiling.).
6. When the time comes, use all of your senses: sight, smell, hearing, touch, taste (if appropriate), and intuition. Experience the object without judgment--just observe. (Soapy hand, slippery, wet, silky, warm water, etc.) Detach from whatever you are seeing or hearing--it just is and nothing more.
Nothing is excluded, thoughts, distractions, sounds, images, ideas, or feelings that arise, everything is welcomed. We simply allow whatever is there to be.
Consistently observe with bare attention both the breath and every mental phenomenon. Time is different now as it slows down our sense of its passing. This gives a rare opportunity to see the world and ourselves differently and to choose how we feel and act.
Mindful meditation is a good choice to develop a greater sense of self awareness and of how we fit within the universe. The universe responds favorably to the attention to your life, and the attention to all of its gifts to you.
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