Meditation made easy

I know of so many people who just aren't interested in meditating. They say they can't do it, it's boring or they make excuses. With so much research revealing the benefits of meditation, it's popularity is now growing and it's starting to go mainstream. Personally, meditation helped me out of depression and anxiety, and I use it twice daily to release stress, fear, loneliness and find inner connection. To meditate, simply watch your breath for 5-10 minutes a day. Or if you have trouble meditating, repeat a mantra or sit in quiet contemplation. Sitting in nature or with your indoor plants is another great way to be still.

A day of being not doing

Every week I take a day of stillness or a day of being me. I don't turn the computer on, I make no appointments, I do no chores, I resist the temptation to do things. I've had to re-learn over the years the importance of just 'being'. As we grow up there's a constant expectation for us to do stuff. We spend a decade or so at school in training to do one thing after another. Then we grow up and we are so centred on accumulating wealth, success, power, sex, food and material posessions. We seem to be 'human doings' not 'human beings'. It's tough in these times because society and the media also convinces us that we need to do and get things to survive. And when we have it all we aren't happy so then we believe we need more and more. It's been challenging to slow down and come back to just being, but I keep practising as I feel more and more joy entering my life.

Japanese Yoga for the mind

I'm reading H.E. Davey's Japanese Yoga, using his experiments to understand that the mind controls the body, while the body acts as a reflection of the mind. Test it out for yourself.

Hold your two hands in front of you a hands-width apart. Now attempt to move your hands together using only the force of your concentration. Either mentally imagine your hands coming together or imagine they already are together. Or command that your hands come together. It may take you 5 or 15 minutes or longer.

After that, try using your mind only to change the direction of a spinning pendulum or for the Matrix fans to bend a spoon. Remember there's nothing super natural going on, you are merely unifying your mind-body connection using natural ki.

I'm starting with blind faith...

With some reluctance after reading Ben Elton's Blind Faith a few years ago, I'm blogging my insights. Not because I think I'm special. My intention is to give openly and serve the greater community. And if my personal stories help at least one person it's worth it.