Last Sunday in my blog post about Concentration Meditation I explored concentrating on an object in meditation. Today, I would like to explore the Insight Meditation.
Insight Meditation is when you pay attention to the process, to the experience of changing phenomena rather than one particular object. Mental Noting is a powerful Insight Meditation technique. You can start by noticing your breath. You can either notice your breath as the rising and falling of your abdomen or the sensations around your nose. If you choose to work with your belly, you can start by placing both hands on the belly to feel the rising and falling of the belly.
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Last Wednesday, more than 20 people who are committed to their journey gathered together at the Heal Center for my Meditation Class. What a wonderful group of people! The next day, some of the therapist at the center said they could still feel the positive vibes. In class, we explored mainly 2 types of meditation: Concentration meditation and Insight meditation.
Let’s explore the concentration meditation.
In Concentration meditation, you focus on a single object. It might be your breathing, or it might be a mantra, an image, a candle. You gently return to this object whenever your mind wanders. You do this over and over until it blocks out any thought or worry and your mind becomes peaceful.
Read More Post a comment (0)Anxiety is the feeling of nervousness, apprehension, fear, or worry. We all experience it from time to time. How do we get from anxiety to inner peace? One way is to train our mind not while we are anxious but when we are calm and relaxed. If we get used to being peaceful, it might be easier to access those states in times of need.
Read More Post a comment (0)Getting ready for my Meditation Class in August, I listened to a Dharma talk by James Baraz. Baraz quoted one of his teachers who said:
Let go a little – you’ll have a little freedom
Let go a lot – you’ll have a lot of freedom
Let go completely – you’ll have a complete freedom.
How do you let go completely? How do you let go a lot? For ordinary people like me, it takes a lot of practice to let go. It sounds simple, doesn’t require hard work but I wish somebody would find the perfect recipe for letting go….
Read More Post a comment (1)I just came back to Atlanta after a month of traveling. It was only natural for me to wake up in the morning on the day after with the longest To-Do list ever….. First, it was in my head.
When I started to meditate, the only thing I could focus on was my list. I did what I usually do when this happens: I did a Journaling Meditation. In my journal, I put it all on paper, without worrying about what it is or what it looks like. Then, I took a big piece of paper and wrote down the list I had in my head. Everything. Looking at the list I knew that it is not reasonable to think that I, or any human being, would be able to do all these in one day.
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Preparing for next week’s FREE Stress-Reduction Phone Seminar, I “played” with different types of meditation. I approached it with the sense of play and curiosity I talked about yesterday and it was really fun.
Who said meditation should be serious? Who said it should be scary?
Do I have to always sit crossed legs in a quiet room with candles and music?
The answer is NO. Mediation can be simple as gazing at the wall and counting your breaths or saying an affirmation or mantra over and over again. One of my favorite ways is to listen to one of my guided meditations on my iPod when I come back from work and need a break before dinner and whatever else I have that night.
I call it my “Meditation Nap.” My daughter says it is funny that I listen to my own voice on my iPod. Funny? Maybe. But it always calms me down and gives me a refreshing boost of energy.
By the way, I always set the alarm clock to 20 minutes when I take my “Meditation Naps” because I sometimes fall asleep in the middle…..don’t tell anyone! In my morning meditation I make sure to sit up straight and to stay awake and concentrated but during my nap, I don’t’ mind if I fall asleep.
Be creative, have fun with meditation. It doesn’t have to be serious!
Before I created my “Relax and Let Go” meditation (part of my Weekly Meditation program), I made a list of areas in my life in which I needed to practice letting go.
The list was quite long. Since then, every time I listen to this meditation, (Yes, I do… it’s on my iPod and one of my favorite ones to use during my “Meditation Naps” when I come back from work) I have new additions to my list of “letting go”.
Why is it so hard to let go?
All my life I was a control freak. I still catch myself thinking that the more control I have, the easier my life would be. It is actually the opposite: The more I am able to let go, the more I am able to trust the universe and the divine, the easier my life would be.
I would definitely say/write/read this affirmation over and over again this week while traveling back home. There are so many things I have no control over right now and so many areas in which I need to let go.
I Let Go and Accept the Flow
Family vacations are always fun. For me, they are even better when they involve the beach, ocean and sunsets. My daughter took this photo yesterday while I was sitting next to her on the beach and gazing into this beautiful sunset. It is a wonderful way to meditate: Just to sit on the beach, look at the sunset and allow yourself to sink in. But what if you are sitting at your home or office and there is no way you can get to the beach now? I find that even a photo can be a worthy substitute and serve as a mini-vacation without all the travel.
Look at this picture and follow the steps:
1. Sit in a comfortable position and gaze in the direction of the picture.
2. While breathing, imagine the sound of the waves.
3. Synchronize the feeling/sound of the waves with your breath.
4. Feel your heart opens while you are breathing and looking at the picture
5. Release all thoughts and worries into the direction of the sun.
6. Fill your heart with gratitude for the sun, the sky, the ocean and EVERYTHING ELSE you have.
7. Say to yourself: No matter what is going on in my life, the sun continues to rise in the morning and set at night.
How do you feel?
