Meditation for beginners The strange thing is that when I was 15, I meditated quite a bit. I was dealing with some anger issues (mostly anger about being a teenager in a not-challenging-enough school system whose friends had started to act in inexplicable ways) and I’m not sure how I learned about it, but I had a regular practice for almost a year. Fast-forward 18 years, and I have a regular practice going again, but barely engaged in the practice in the interim. Beginning to meditate again was a challenge, and it took almost a year of knowing I should, wanting to, and planning on doing it before I finally started down the path. I’m a believer in the positive effects of meditation, because I remember them from when I was 15; I could go from the throes of an almost-hysterical freak-out to relative calm in less than 15 minutes, using breathing and visualization. But if you’re like me and have wanted to start, but have found it to be less easy than you expected, here are some thoughts that might help. Also on MNN:
A Practical Guide To Meditation | PickTheBrain In this article I’m going to show you the way I learned to meditate, based on research and the teachings of different gurus. Meditation is a pretty common subject these days As with many things that fall into popular use, its true meaning and purpose can become distorted. There are a lot of misconceptions out there about what exactly meditation is, and how one should do it. Common Misconceptions It’s strange that there is so much confusion, as it’s one of the simplest things you could ever do. So what exactly is meditation? Meditation is being. When you meditate properly, you essentially become nothing. In order to start meditating, first find a quiet spot away from interruptions by family, phones, TV, and your dog. Become the watcher This technique involves becoming unidentified and nonreactive to your thoughts. The key here is to identify with consciousness. As I relax into this state, I notice my typical thoughts floating around. Taking meditation further Becoming one with the chair
Succeed With This & Calm Yourself Instantly Anywhere Everybody has been anxious at some time and it doesn’t matter how relaxed you are before you are going to present a speech or before facing an exam or an interview? We have all felt the effects of anxiety at some stage of our lives, we all know too well the shivers that assail us or the trembling and the sweats that we get before we have to face something that makes us shake inside. The object of this article is to give you differing ideas on how to liberate yourself from these same feelings and to combat this affliction that many of us have trouble with from time to time. It will give you good insight into the different ways in which you can control this, and that you can utilize anywhere without embarrassing yourself. You will not be told to meditate on the floor or anything like that, and you will not be asked to chant anything at all. In looking at calming yourself down, which is really a wrong terminology, we actually calm up. The Chair Press-up The Way You Breath Spreading Your Legs
Zazen In Zen Buddhism, zazen (literally "seated meditation"; Japanese: 坐禅; simplified Chinese: 坐禅; traditional Chinese: 坐禪; pinyin: zuò chán; Wade–Giles: tso4-ch'an2) is a meditative discipline practitioners perform to calm the body and the mind, and be able to concentrate enough to experience insight into the nature of existence and thereby gain enlightenment. Zazen in Rinzai school Kosho Uchiyama writes that Auguste Rodin's The Thinker, in which the "back, waist, legs, arms, and even fingers" are curled up, is the opposite of zazen posture.[1] Significance[edit] Zazen is considered the heart of Zen Buddhist practice. The aim of zazen is just sitting, that is, suspending all judgmental thinking and letting words, ideas, images and thoughts pass by without getting involved in them. Methods[edit] Setting[edit] In Zen temples and monasteries, practitioners traditionally sit zazen as a group in a meditation hall, usually referred to as the zendo. Posture[edit] Types of zazen[edit] Instruction[edit]
Rocking motion during meditation - resources During the past few months, I have meditated maybe 15 - 20 times. And during these 15 times, I have had 'involuntary' upper body rhythmic motions maybe 10 times. And believe me, I am not causing these motions. I tried to stop the motions, but they would begin again, involuntarily - So that told me that I was definitely not causing it.Being curious as to what this "rocking motion" meant, I scoured the web for articles that explain the same. 1) Kundalini Awakening2) Spontaneous Movement3) Odd rocking motion4) Meditation5) Raw foodie's story6) Rocking? Here's what the book, 'Ask and it's given' by Esther and Jerry Hicks has to say about this(Pg 186): "As you quiet your mind, you may feel a sense of physical detachment. you may feel no real difference between your toe and your nose. I think this upper body movement during meditation hardly affects my meditation.
Learning Meditation Home Page A beginner's guide to meditation Time out: Meditation can help improve your health and wellbeing. For many people, meditation falls into the same category as cycling, drinking more water and exfoliating. We suspect we should be doing it; we have friends who swear by it, but who has the time? And will it really make you feel better? A 2012 study published in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes found regular meditation cut the risk of heart attack and stroke by 48 per cent. In a series of studies, Professor Herbert Benson of Harvard Medical School also found meditation could help lower blood pressure by making the body less responsive to stress hormones. A 2006 study by the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston found that mindfulness meditation could alleviate cancer patients' psychological and physical suffering. Advertisement Medical conditions made worse by stress – such as irritable bowel syndrome or infertility – can also benefit from daily meditation. So, how to begin? You have to sit still
Body Mind And Modem: Ki Exercises There is a lot of discussion about ki, as though it is some kind of mysterious force. But actually, everyone has experienced ki in their life. And we can all learn to increase our ki power. Ki can be thought of as positive thinking, belief in yourself, faith, confidence, or a state of mind/body unification. In each case, you were totally focused and completely yourself. So that's what Ki exercises can do for you. Here is how we think you can use this Ki Exercise section best. Go through the exercises in order. Shikantaza Shikantaza (只管打坐?) is a Japanese translation of a Chinese term for zazen introduced by Rujing, a monk of the Caodong school of Zen Buddhism. In Japan, it is associated with the Soto school. Etymology[edit] The term is believed to have been first used by Dōgen's teacher Tiantong Rujing, and it literally means, "nothing but (shikan) precisely (da) sitting (za) A translation of "shikantaza" offered by Kobun Chino Otogawa[6] provides some additional insight into the literal meaning of the components of the Japanese word: Shikan means pure, one, only for it. Origins and development[edit] Silent illumination[edit] Silent illumination may be understood as the integrated practice of shamatha (calming the mind) and vipashyana (insightful contemplation), and was the hallmark of the Chinese Caodong school of Chan. Shikantaza's origins can also be traced back to silent illumination. Dogen[edit] Even still, Chan Master Shengyen states that shikantaza is similar to silent illumination.[8][12] Practice[edit]
7 Books That Will Violently Shift Your Perspectives Once in a while a book comes along that rocks your world so hard that you’re never quite the same after. Here are 7 of those books, ordered by how hard they’re going to rock your skull! On Happiness…. Zen and the Art of Happiness by Chris Prentiss Of all the books & articles I have read on happiness, this one is by far the best. The next book on the list is offers a perfect balance to this one. On Mortality and Meaning… Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl Viktor Frankl experienced the limits of human suffering during his extended stay in Nazi concentration camps. Now that you have your mind in order, it’s time to move on to your body… Read Man’s Search for Meaning in 15 minutes for free with Blinkist. On Health & Nutrition… Yoga of Eating by Charles Eisenstein – Health & Nutrition There is much more to eating than you think. Our envioronment has a huge impact on us. Society and Economics Sacred Economics by Charles Eisenstein The relationship we have with society starts at home.
Meditation Secrets Revealed