Calm Thyself!
The way "they" would like us to think (by they I guess I mean popular media and the definitions they pawn off as being important) is that we must constantly be busy, on the hampster wheel to make those dollars so that we can buy that Lexus, that house, and all those material things associated with the "good" life.
As long as happiness has a price tag just beyond our means, it keeps us from really ever realizing our full potential. By that I mean, quite simply, our natural birthright to be happy has no price tag, nor does it reside anywhere else but within.
Where to start calming a busy mind? Hmm. Some suggestions:
1. Wake up earlier than everyone else you live with. When you make the effort to get up early in a habitual way, you will be less distracted by all the usual routines of your daily life and so there is the right environment to start your calming process.
2. Next, go to a place that is calm and quiet. It could be indoors or outdoors . If you can sit cross legged on a mat comfortably, then sit down cross-legged. If you find it painful or distracting, then sit in a chair. When you sit, you sort of "perch", you rest your "sit bones" on the edge such that your spine is nice and staight, feet flat on the floor. Just find a comfortable position.
3. Then, just sit for a moment. Helpful things for your body are to place your tongue gently on the roof of your mouth--this prevents excessive saliva flow and so you won't have to swallow a lot. You can close your eyes (or leave them
open--but closing them stops one of the sense doors to make meditation easlier), and when your eyes are closed look up to the midpoint between your eyebrows. Just relax.
4. When you have adjusted yourself to a comfortable position, focus your attention on your breathing. Don't breath differently-- just bring your attention to your breath. Notice it. Notice the air going into your body. Where does it begin to go in? Can you notice the place near the nose the air "catches" and goes in? Notice the air going down into your lungs. Can you follow it? Try to imagine what it must lok like inside going into yhour body. And then, where does it end up? Where is the end point for your breath? Do you notice it?
5. Stay with your concentration on your breath while sitting still. You may find your mind gets distracted by a noise, a feeling, a smell, a thought. It's ok. Notice these things, allow them to come and go. What you want to be fully mindful of is your breath. When you find you get distracted by something, just gently nudge your mind back to your breath.
6. Stay with watching your breath for 5 minutes each morning to start. That' s enough.
Make it your own special time that you devout to yourself. If you don't like the mornings, then try at night... or any other time.
Like anything in life, it takes some time, dedication, and effort to develop a habit of mindful breathing.
Why focus on breathing? Because it is readily available to us. We can really notice our own breathing. We don't need any extra things to concentrate on. We can meditate using our breath anywhere really. In a car... onthe bus, at the office, preparing food. Just take a moment to notice your breath where ever you are.
The benefits of this form of meditation are so many, it's not worth going through all of them right now. For one thing, it perfectly safe. You will not go mad or anything by sitting still noticing your breath. Next, it only requires you to notice the breath, nothing more, nothing less. By doing so, in a few minutes your body will calm itself, as if by magic (you know this already--have you ever yawned and afterwards felt so relaxed? Same principle).
Once you develop your ability to concentrate on the breath (and only the breath, nothing else), it can lead to higher stages of insight.
Mindfulness with breathing is the method the Buddha himself used for his awakening. He recommended this method over all the other forms because it is so accessible to everyone.
So, in a nutshell, that is what we did when we meditated in the Thai forest. We breath. We practice "mindfulness with the breath" to calm ourselves, empty our minds, and just watch the way things really are. It is so wonderful to know this technique. There is no effort realy to "think" about anything. Believe me, thoughts will apppear on their own accord. So we acknowledge them as they pass by our consciousness, notice them, but don't attach. Just notice. We are perfectly ok to stay with the breath and watch.
A friend described this process through the analogy with one of those small, clear plastic balls filled with liquid and snowflakes depicting a city scene. In our daily life, it is as if our minds are swirling with thoughts and processes similar to when you shake up that toy--the snow swirls so you cannot really see what is in there clearly. When we sit in meditation, the idea is to stop the mind, to allow the "snow" to settle so we can see what is there in the
first place. This is the first step. One cannot go ahy further withou taking stock of what one has in there to begin with! So notice the scene inside the mind without the snow. The method: breath and notice. Simple huh!
As long as happiness has a price tag just beyond our means, it keeps us from really ever realizing our full potential. By that I mean, quite simply, our natural birthright to be happy has no price tag, nor does it reside anywhere else but within.
Where to start calming a busy mind? Hmm. Some suggestions:
1. Wake up earlier than everyone else you live with. When you make the effort to get up early in a habitual way, you will be less distracted by all the usual routines of your daily life and so there is the right environment to start your calming process.
2. Next, go to a place that is calm and quiet. It could be indoors or outdoors . If you can sit cross legged on a mat comfortably, then sit down cross-legged. If you find it painful or distracting, then sit in a chair. When you sit, you sort of "perch", you rest your "sit bones" on the edge such that your spine is nice and staight, feet flat on the floor. Just find a comfortable position.
3. Then, just sit for a moment. Helpful things for your body are to place your tongue gently on the roof of your mouth--this prevents excessive saliva flow and so you won't have to swallow a lot. You can close your eyes (or leave them
open--but closing them stops one of the sense doors to make meditation easlier), and when your eyes are closed look up to the midpoint between your eyebrows. Just relax.
4. When you have adjusted yourself to a comfortable position, focus your attention on your breathing. Don't breath differently-- just bring your attention to your breath. Notice it. Notice the air going into your body. Where does it begin to go in? Can you notice the place near the nose the air "catches" and goes in? Notice the air going down into your lungs. Can you follow it? Try to imagine what it must lok like inside going into yhour body. And then, where does it end up? Where is the end point for your breath? Do you notice it?
5. Stay with your concentration on your breath while sitting still. You may find your mind gets distracted by a noise, a feeling, a smell, a thought. It's ok. Notice these things, allow them to come and go. What you want to be fully mindful of is your breath. When you find you get distracted by something, just gently nudge your mind back to your breath.
6. Stay with watching your breath for 5 minutes each morning to start. That' s enough.
Make it your own special time that you devout to yourself. If you don't like the mornings, then try at night... or any other time.
Like anything in life, it takes some time, dedication, and effort to develop a habit of mindful breathing.
Why focus on breathing? Because it is readily available to us. We can really notice our own breathing. We don't need any extra things to concentrate on. We can meditate using our breath anywhere really. In a car... onthe bus, at the office, preparing food. Just take a moment to notice your breath where ever you are.
The benefits of this form of meditation are so many, it's not worth going through all of them right now. For one thing, it perfectly safe. You will not go mad or anything by sitting still noticing your breath. Next, it only requires you to notice the breath, nothing more, nothing less. By doing so, in a few minutes your body will calm itself, as if by magic (you know this already--have you ever yawned and afterwards felt so relaxed? Same principle).
Once you develop your ability to concentrate on the breath (and only the breath, nothing else), it can lead to higher stages of insight.
Mindfulness with breathing is the method the Buddha himself used for his awakening. He recommended this method over all the other forms because it is so accessible to everyone.
So, in a nutshell, that is what we did when we meditated in the Thai forest. We breath. We practice "mindfulness with the breath" to calm ourselves, empty our minds, and just watch the way things really are. It is so wonderful to know this technique. There is no effort realy to "think" about anything. Believe me, thoughts will apppear on their own accord. So we acknowledge them as they pass by our consciousness, notice them, but don't attach. Just notice. We are perfectly ok to stay with the breath and watch.
A friend described this process through the analogy with one of those small, clear plastic balls filled with liquid and snowflakes depicting a city scene. In our daily life, it is as if our minds are swirling with thoughts and processes similar to when you shake up that toy--the snow swirls so you cannot really see what is in there clearly. When we sit in meditation, the idea is to stop the mind, to allow the "snow" to settle so we can see what is there in the
first place. This is the first step. One cannot go ahy further withou taking stock of what one has in there to begin with! So notice the scene inside the mind without the snow. The method: breath and notice. Simple huh!
posted by Gaga | 11:17 AM
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