Meditation...
Meditation: Pure and Simple!
1. What is meditation? (Lat. meditari: to consider, reflect, think about)
You are not your thoughts but the witness behind them.
analogy: hidden apparently 3D picture in a complex 2D design
2. Why should we meditate?
1. What is meditation? (Lat. meditari: to consider, reflect, think about)
- natural, safe, effective process that soothes and calms your nervous system
- deep relaxation analogous to deep sleep (does not replace it though!)
- regular practice helps you gain awareness and perspective, helping you separate your thoughts from who you are:
You are not your thoughts but the witness behind them.
analogy: hidden apparently 3D picture in a complex 2D design
2. Why should we meditate?
- why should we brush and floss our teeth? Mediation is like flossing your soul and nervous system.
- tend to the body (exercise), mind (intellectual pursuits), spirit (meditate) meditation tends to unify body, mind, and spirit
- calms the nervous system, disengage mind chatter, discharge stress energy
- health benefits: BP, heart disease, asthmas, younger biologic age, sleep, IQ, better relationships, decreased anxiety and depression, etc.
- mind:body reactions
- get in touch with your deeper essence and present-time consciousness:
3. The 3 times zones we live in: past-present-future.
- Our head is in one place, our body is in another!
- Illusion vs. reality
- The only reality is in the present. Meditation puts us there.
4. How to meditate?
SIT: BREATHE: BE!
Make a special place to meditate: quiet, no interruptions.
A. SIT comfortably 15-20 minutes twice daily. Spine held straight.
B. BREATHE effortlessly (be aware of the in breath and out breath)
-become the breath, don't control it, let it happen.
-breathe in the image of "a mountain".
-breathe out the image of "being solid".
C. BE there. Ignore your thoughts and just be with yourself.
What about those pesky thoughts?
-Do not try to control them. Ignore them.
Analogy: sitting by a stream
: tuning in on a radio dial
Let your thoughts come, let them go.
(The more stress= more thoughts)
Stay with your breath, just "be" with yourself.
When you are finished, stop paying attention to your breath and become aware of the sounds around you for 2-5 minutes and slowly, gently come out of your relaxed meditative state.
Each session is different. Each time you sit for meditation, it's a success. One is not better than the other. Try not to meditate right after meals or when too tired or else you'll fall asleep. Meditate first thing in the morning and late afternoon or early evening. Let the meditative experience culture into you nervous system through daily practice so that you learn to bring it with you throughout the day.
Analogy: cloth dipped in paint (your deeper essence)...each time you dip the cloth into the paint can (meditate) and bring it out to the air to dry (daily activity), the brightness increases.
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE....
Each session is different. Each time you sit for meditation, it's a success. One is not better than the other. Try not to meditate right after meals or when too tired or else you'll fall asleep. Meditate first thing in the morning and late afternoon or early evening. Let the meditative experience culture into you nervous system through daily practice so that you learn to bring it with you throughout the day.
Analogy: cloth dipped in paint (your deeper essence)...each time you dip the cloth into the paint can (meditate) and bring it out to the air to dry (daily activity), the brightness increases.
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE....
