Meditation

[kayc]

I think it helps to start with shorter ones that are soothing to you. I wouldn't start with an hour long meditation...the duration grows with practice. We have to train ourselves to hold our thoughts captive.

[MartyT]

The Huffington Post is pleased to announce a special live event with Eckhart Tolle, one of the world’s leading and most beloved spiritual teachers of our time.

Discover how Eckhart Tolle’s teachings have helped countless people throughout the world find inner peace and experience a greater sense of well being in their lives.

Join Eckhart Tolle and The Huffington Post on January 25th at 4:00pm ET for this special live online event. The Time is Now. Reserve your spot here.

In our modern fast-paced world of rushing from one thing to the next, and living in the perpetual state of “not enough”, we often end up feeling exhausted, stressed out and dissatisfied. Eckhart Tolle’s teachings offer a road map to an alternative way of being in the world through inner alignment with the present moment. Tolle says, “This one moment - Now - is the only thing you can never escape from, the one constant factor in your life. No matter what happens, no matter how much your life changes, one thing is certain: it’s always Now.”

[enna]

I have signed up. I really like Eckhart Tolle. "It is always NOW."

This is a good meditation from Tara Brach. It is long but worth it. It is important to take care of our hearts.

.

[feralfae]

Thank you Marty. I have signed up as well. A good lesson for me for these days.

fae

[enna]

[LadyCarrie]

I am learning to include meditation as well as pray. If I need to do anything with the word "lotus" in it, that simply can't happen.

Carrie

[enna]

I have had this link on my desktop for months and use it almost every day. You can choose the length of time, the nature scene and the music for a peaceful time out to hectic days.

http://www.calm.com/

[LadyCarrie]

Anne,

I was happy to learn from Amberly that after their morning huddle at the clinic, she gives her staff five minutes to meditate before beginning their patient care, and tells them to take two-minute breaks for this purpose throughout the day should they begin to feel overwhelmed (or provoked with a coworker). She gave credit for this idea to a nurse friend of hers, and said the idea is helpful. The kid is ahead of me ---again! .

Carrie

[LadyCarrie]

Anne,

I downloaded "Calm," and love it. Thank you very much.

Carrie

[enna]

"You can meditate anywhere. Just close your eyes, take a deep breath and surrender to the moment." - davidji

 

 

[enna]

Article from mindful.org Feb. 18, 2015

 

One Mindfulness Practice You Can Try Today: Let It Go!

Past hurts and emotional triggers have a way of keeping us stuck in our tracks. Practicing letting it all go helps us move forward. Here's how.

The observation that we aren’t the selves we think we are has been at the heart of mindfulness teaching for thousands of years. Whereas we tend to view ourselves as solid, fixed entities, under our central control, close investigation reveals no such thing that we can categorically call a self, at least in terms of an independent, unchanging identity. It’s not that we don’t exist, it’s that we don’t exist in the way we habitually imagine ourselves.

People often discover this on a mindfulness course when they realize that "thoughts aren’t facts." Seeing that automatic (often negatively biased) thoughts arise in our minds all the time, without our conscious say-so, we start to see how what we call "me"/"I" is more a bundle of tendencies, some more and some less under our direction. All these tendencies are continually in process, subtly shifting form all the time.

If we can accept that we’re not single, independent, fixed selves, what are the implications? First of all, it means that we aren’t in complete control—no matter how hard we try, we can’t command our bodies not to age or get sick, and we can’t just decide to be happy in any circumstances, or prevent unbidden thoughts or sensations. We’re not in charge of our environment either: From unpleasant weather to people we find difficult, there are aspects of our world, internal and external, that we’re not empowered to alter. By accepting this, we can stop some of our struggle with the inevitable parts of life that we don’t much like. We can stop taking them so personally.

It’s also an opportunity for compassion: We can recognize that we aren’t solely responsible for our thoughts, feelings, and behavior, which are each the result of many and myriad causes and conditions in our bodies, brains, minds, and environment. We can let ourselves off the hook, recognizing that the situations in our life haven't always been freely and fully chosen. We can soften to ourselves, and, seeing that the same is true for others, we can soften to them too, even when they do things we don’t like or agree with.

At the same time, we can recognize that we’re not completely stuck. If we’re a range of changing processes rather than a single, solid entity, then just because things are tough doesn’t mean we’re fundamentally broken. No matter what our problems, there’s room for manoeuvre. Our brains can change, our bodies can change, our minds can change, and our lives can change. No matter what’s going on right now, pleasant or unpleasant, we can be sure it’s on its way to becoming something else.

Accepting that situations aren’t as simple or as stuck as we imagine can make them feel more workable, even in the midst of great challenge. By appreciating there are many aspects to any circumstance, we can start to see where the wiggle-room lies—where we have some agency to effect skillful changes. We can also better see when to let things lie. By tapping into awareness—recognizing where the choice points lie—we can use our energy effectively.

Solidifying our moment-by-moment experience into "selfhood" is a powerful habit—it’s not easy to see through it, and it’s an aspect of mindfulness that often gets left out, perhaps as being too hard to comprehend or too challenging. However, traditionally, it’s also the key to liberation from stress, which is why I included a chapter on it in Mindfulness: How To Live Well By Paying Attention (from which some of this blog is adapted).

When we stop trying to hold on, to ourselves or anything else, we actually become free to live in peace. Meditation is one of the best ways to practice this. When we meditate, we notice how thoughts, sensations, and events are in flux. We practice letting go—rather than getting caught up in ourselves and treating every change as a personal affront, we learn to live more lightly. And as the Thai meditation master Achaan Chah put it: "If you let go a little, you will have a little happiness. If you let go a lot, you will have a lot of happiness. And if you let go completely, you will be free."

[mfh]

http://www.buzzfeed.com/gyanyankovich/this-is-what-happens-to-your-brain-when-you-meditate#.pf177PBvZ

Reasons to Meditate every day.

[feralfae]

Thank you Mary. A very good article.

fae

[mfh]

You are quite welcome, fae I hope your health is good.

Peace

Mary

[feralfae]

[enna]

Inner Sunrise
Brand-New Day

by Madisyn Taylor We can start fresh in this very moment, not needing to wait for a new day to start anew. When today is not going well, it is tempting to focus on tomorrow as a blank slate with all the possibilities that newness provides. It is true that tomorrow will be a brand-new day, but we do not have to wait until tomorrow to start fresh. We can start fresh at any moment, clearing our energy field of any negativity that has accumulated, and call this very moment the beginning of our brand-new day. There is something about the s... more

[enna]

The importance of breath ~

[enna]

I have been a fan of Sharon Salzberg for awhile. This video left me with a few things to think about.

[enna]

Breath...

[kayc]

Haha, that's kind of how it goes, isn't it!

[enna]

A reflection by Francis Weller ~

The Reverence of Approach

4/1/2015

 

 

Several years ago, I came across a passage by the Irish poet and philosopher, John O’Donohue. His words profoundly impacted my thoughts and have become somewhat of an interior anthem in my life. It feels fitting that we begin our series of reflections with his words. In his book, Beauty: The Invisible Embrace, O’Donohue writes, “What you encounter, recognize or discover depends to a large degree on the quality of your approach… When we approach with reverence, great things decide to approach us.”

This passage is so rich with implications. As I have sat with it over the years and offered it to others in my therapy work and in workshop settings, I have continually seen its wisdom and value. For example, when we turn our attention to the inner world, we frequently do so with an eye toward evaluation and critique. We look for flaws and defects, casting about for evidence of failure. This gaze is harsh and causes the soul to retreat. Over thirty years in my psychotherapy practice, I have never seen anything open or change in an atmosphere of judgment. An approach of reverence, on the other hand, is foundational to a life imbued with soul. From this way of seeing, we recognize that everything possesses a measure of the sacred, including our sorrows and pain. Clearly, how we approach our inner life profoundly affects what comes to us in return.

What we encounter, recognize or discover, depends on the quality of our approach. An approach of reverence invites revelation. To pause and reflect on this can make all the difference between living in a cold, detached world, populated primarily by judgements and cynicism, and living in a world riddled with intimacy and offers of communion. When our approach is one of reverence, we find ourselves falling into a deeper embrace with all that is open to encounter, both internally and in the surrounding, breathing world. If we approach superficially or from a perspective of what can I get out of this exchange, then the encounter will be limited, what I recognize will be thin and what I discover will be nothing at all. I will simply be meeting my own well-rehearsed stories in the moment.

There is an intimation in O’Donohue’s passage: He tells us that great things will approach us when we practice the etiquette of reverence. It is as if the aperture of our perception widens when we bring reverence to bear. We become able to recognize the holiness that exists in the moment, as I experienced this morning on my drive to work. As I came around a bend, winding through vineyards and meadows, the mist was threading its way at the base of the hills and in that glimpse something great approached me. I was moved by the vista, brought to tears through the intimacy shared between my heart and the world.

An approach of reverence establishes a foundation ripe for amazement. We are readied for surprise and awe by a posture of reverence. It is a stance of humility, recognizing that the otherness that surround us—that infuses the world—is vast and powerful and yet curiously open for connection. An approach of reverence invites the mystery of encounter where two solitudes meet and become entangled, creating aThird Body, an intimacy born of affection. All true intimacy requires an approach of reverence, a deep regard, an unknowing of who or what we are meeting. It is our bow honoring the exchange.

O’Donohue advises us, however, that “The rushed heart and arrogant mind lack the gentleness and patience to enter that embrace.” We must be able to step out of the frantic and breathless pace that consumes much of our days. Reverence requires a rhythm akin to prayer. We are asked to slow down and rest in the space of silence and deep listening. There is a saying in the Zen tradition, “Not knowing is most intimate.” When we suspend our preconceptions and static stories of who we are, or who our wife, husband, or partner is; when we let go of our predetermined expectations of how it all should be, then we come into a place of reverence, of deep respect and the freshness of the encounter is once again available to us. When we pause and notice, we are free to drink in the delicious thickness of the moment and all that it offers.

Reverence, rather than expectation or entitlement, acknowledges we live in a gifting cosmos and that we do best-honoring creation by singing praises. As the poet Rilke said, “To praise is the whole thing! A man who can praise // comes toward us like ore out of the silences // of rock.” Reverence acknowledges that what we are seeing or seeking is holy; that we depend utterly on this world to breathe and to dream.

We are designed for encounter, our senses are rivers of connection in a continuous exchange with the world around us. How deeply we experience this encounter, what we come to recognize and discover, is a question of presence, of reverence.

Exercise:

Inner work: Experiment with reverence over the coming days. Be mindful of how you approach your inner world. Is it characterized by criticism and judgment? Imagine coming to your experience with reverence, especially around our more vulnerable states like fear or grief. Notice the difference when you come to your experience with reverence. Take ten minutes and write about your experience.

Outer work: Take a walk and let something call to your attention—a tree, a rose, a budding maple, an old barn. Soften your gaze and let the qualities of reverence fill your being. Simply notice what takes shape between the two of you. Allow the connection to come full and then offer your gratitude for the encounter. Remember, everything is open to the conversation. Take ten minutes and write about your experience.

[Wifflesnook]

That is so lovely. I too came across it on facebook but I'm glad you posted it here so more people can see it Anne.

[enna]

HOW LONG? picture is no longer available. 

 

[MartyT]

[kayc]

Haha, I love it!