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Friday, July 21, 2006

Learn How To Sit Still For Meditation Today!

Meditation

Hi all,
Yes, yesterday I mentioned that we would start a new series today. Unfortunately, I have yet to decide on the new topic, so today, we shall continue with Meditation.

Please let me know what is your preferred topic and I shall do the research.

Ok, that's all about the new series, we shall begin today sharing ..........

Learning To Sit Still For Mediation

When talking about the practice of sitting still, one of the great meditation teachers, the Zen master Shunryu Suzuki, used to say that the best way to show a snake its true nature is to put it in a hollow stick of bamboo. Take a moment and give this unusual metaphor some thought. What could he have possibly meant by it?

Well, imagine that you're a snake in bamboo. What does it feel like? Every time you try to slither, which is after all what snakes like to do, you bump against the walls of your straight as-an-arrow home. If you pay attention, you start to notice how slippery you actually are.

In the same way, sitting in a certain posture and keeping your body relatively still provides a stick of bamboo that mirrors back to you every impulse and distraction. You get to see how fidgety your body can be - and how hyperactive your mind, which is actually the source of your body's restlessness. "Maybe I should scratch that itch or answer that phone or run that errand." For every plan or intention, there's a corresponding impulse in your muscles and skin. But you'll never notice all this activity unless you sit still.

The funny thing is, you can sit in the same position for hours without noticing it when you're happily engrossed in some favorite activity like watching a movie or surfing the Net or working on a hobby. But try to do something you find boring or unpleasant - especially an activity as strange and unfamiliar as turning your attention back on yourself and following your own breath or paying attention to your own sensations - and suddenly every minute can seem like an hour, every ache can seem like an ailment of life threatening proportions, and every item on your to-do list can take on irresistible urgency.

When you're constantly acting and reacting in response to thoughts and outside stimulation, you don't have a chance to get to know how your mind works. By sitting still like the snake in bamboo, you have a mirror that shows you just how slippery and elusive your mind can be.

Keeping still also gives you a tremendous edge when you're working on developing your concentration. Imagine a heart surgeon or a concert pianist who can't quiet her body while plying her craft. The fewer physical distractions you have, the easier it becomes to follow your breath, practice your mantra — or whatever your meditation happens to be.

Ok, that's all for today sharing.

Till we 'meet' again, stay focus.

Cheers.

Meditation

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Wednesday, July 19, 2006

Here Are The Exercises To Help You To Relax!

Meditation

Hi all,
Good day to you.
Hm...... today post might be the last in this series, I am thinking of what topic should I start for the next series, any suggestion?

Ok, lets start today sharing........

The Practice Of Relaxation

Let yourself go! Yawn, stretch, and rub your eyes as if you are sleepy and tired; As you stretch yourself, extend and separate your fingers. If you do not know what to do next, try to imitate a cat, which always makes a regular ritual of stretching itself. First of all stretch while you are lying on your back, then roll over on to your left side, and repeat the whole operation on your right side. When you have yawned and stretched carefully, you will be in a "non- active" frame of mind, because the practice of relaxation is an exercise in non-activity. It is a basic principle that is often ignored.

Here is a test that allows you both to control and to practice your capacity for non-action: Stand up, feet apart, and lean your trunk forward almost at a right angle to the legs. Then let the arms hang loosely in front. By turning the shoulders from left to right, swing the arms like the pendulum of a clock. Make sure that they and the hands are really swinging, without taking an active part in the movement. When the pendulum action is properly set in motion, stop the movement of the shoulders, and allow the arms to move freely from left to right. The scope of the swinging action lessens quickly; let each arm come to rest slowly like the pendulum of a clock running down.

Focus on what is happening in your arms and hands. If your hands are not completely limp and relaxed, start the exercise again. Have them first shaken from the wrists so that the fingers turn freely with the movement of the hands. Go on with the exercise until only the pendulum-like action is guiding the hands and arms, without any muscular intervention on your part; you can see now how they can participate in a passive manner.

To control relaxation in the arms, sit on the ground, or on a chair. Let your right hand and arm hang inert, as they did when you were swinging them. Take hold of the middle or index finger of the right hand with your left, and raise the arm. If possible, ask a friend to control its relaxation, raising it by pulling on the index finger and then making it swing from left to right. You and your friend should get the impression of dealing with a dead weight hanging from the index finger like a ham from a hook. Your helper should now release your finger without any warning, and if the arm is correctly relaxed, it will fall back inert. You will have some idea of the nature of the state your arm should be in if you lift up the arm of a sleeping child.

Now experiment with the gravity in the whole body. Give yourself a nice, warm bath where you feel relaxed and rested by the heat of the water and by the force of gravity. Pull out the plug and allow the water to run away. As your limbs emerge, you will feel yourself drawn down to the bottom of the bath and you will collapse like a puppet with no strings, feeling heavy. Learn to evoke this sensation of heaviness whenever you want to, without water, and you have reached the first stage in relaxation.

That's all for today sharing, folks.

Stay tuned for the new series.

Cheers.

Meditation

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Tuesday, July 18, 2006

6 Steps to Loving-Flow Meditation!

Meditation

Hi all,
Good day to you.
I believe that you had a wonderful weekend.
Sorry for not written yesterday, coz' I have been pretty busy lately.

Anyway, lets continue with today sharing.......

6 Steps To Loving-Flow Meditation

The following steps are a meditation for connecting with your soft spot and initiating the flow of unconditional love, also known as loving-kindness. To distinguish this kind of love from conditional love, imagine the love of a good mother for her baby. She gives her love freely and unconditionally, without expecting anything in return except her baby's happiness and well-being.

As with all the meditations, you may want to begin with five or ten minutes of a mindfulness practice like counting or following your breaths in order to deepen and stabilize your concentration. Once you get the knack, though, the cultivation of loving kindness itself can be an excellent way to develop concentration.

1. Begin by closing your eyes, taking a few deep breaths, and relaxing your body a little with each exhalation.

2. Imagine the face of someone who loved you very much as a child and whose love moved you deeply.

3. Remember a time when this person showed his or her love for you and you really took it in.

4. Notice the gratitude and love this memory evokes in your heart. Allow these feelings to well up and fill your heart.

5. Gently extend these feelings to this loved one. You may even experience a circulation of love between the two of you as you give and receive love freely.

6. Allow these loving feelings to overflow and gradually suffuse your whole being. Allow yourself to be filled with love.

Ok, that's all for today sharing.

Take care.

Cheers.

Meditation

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