Posts Tagged ‘meditation technique’
Today's Meditation - Relaxation
Today’s Meditation – Relaxation
Today’s quotation:
The road to happiness lies in two simple principles: find
what interests you and that you can do well, and put your whole soul into it—every bit of energy and ambition and natural ability you have.
John D. Rockefeller III
Meditation and Relaxation
In today’s world people are just go go go and often do not take to breathe, de-stress, and relax! This is even worse through the holiday season!
So today I am focusing on meditations on relaxation as well as relaxation techniques as everyone deserves a break each day even if it is only for a couple of minutes!
If you’re thinking meditation means twisting your body into an uncomfortable position and uttering “oohs” and “omms” for an hour, guess again.
Any repetitive action can be a source of meditation, says Herbert Benson, MD, author of The Relaxation Response and director emeritus of Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
This includes walking, swimming, painting, knitting — any activity that helps keep your attention calmly in the present moment.
When you catch yourself thinking about your job, your relationship or your lifelong to-do list, experts say to simply let the thought escape, and bring your mind back the repetition of the activity. Try it for just 5 to 10 minutes a day and watch stress levels drop.
There are many meditation, breathing and relaxation techniques that you can learn to use to promote relaxation and relieve stress. The deeper and slower that you breathe the more relaxed and sedated you will become. This is the basis of Meditations!
Sleeping with the window open will help the air to circulate in your bedroom and fill your lungs with fresh air. Relaxation techniques will help your body to wind down and prepare for the sleep cycle.
Try this meditation technique when you first get into bed:
1.Take a deep breath.
2.Breathe in through your nose and visualize the air moving down to your stomach.
3.As you breathe in again silently count to four.
4.Purse your lips as you exhale slowly.
5.This time count silently to eight.
6.Repeat this process six to ten times.
The results of this breathing technique are immediate. You will feel your shoulders and arms relaxing. Your chest will feel less constricted and you will feel less stress and tension.
Practice this breathing technique on a daily basis so that it becomes a natural routine for you and helps to induce natural sleep.
As well as using breathing techniques to encourage natural sleep you can try several relaxation exercises. The goal is to relax your mind and let your body unwind and surrender to sleep.
Try the following relaxation exercise/meditation before you get into bed:
1.Lay on your back on the floor with your feet slightly apart, your hands by your sides, and your palms turned upward.
2.Close your eyes and concentrate on every part of your body.
3.Begin at the top of your head and work your way down to your toes.
4.Start by feeling your forehead tense, then your eyes, face, and jaw.
5.Tense and release each muscle group, such as your shoulders and neck.
6.Give attention to each area of your body from the top of your head, down through the trunk of your body, down along your legs, and ending at the tip of your toes.
7.Stay in this relaxed condition for a few minutes. Concentrate on your breathing and let all worry and stress dissipate from your mind and body. Make sure that your breathing comes from deep in your stomach and flows slowly and evenly.
8.Stretch slowly before standing.
The above exercise will tell your body and mind that it is okay to settle down, leaving behind thoughts of worry, fear, and stress.
There are many more techniques and exercises available to promote deep breathing and relaxation. You will have to find what method works best for you.
Your goal is to recognize that deep breathing and concentrated relaxation are tools available for you to achieve natural sleep as well are the tools of MOST meditations.
Is your mind too talkative to meditate?
Try creating a peaceful visualization, or “dreamscape.” To start, simply visualize anything that keeps your thoughts away from current tensions. It could be a favorite vacation spot, a fantasy island, that penthouse in New York City — or something “touchable,” like the feel of your favorite silk robe or cozy sweater.
The idea is to take your mind off your stress, and replace it with an image that evokes a sense of calm. The more realistic your daydream — in terms of colors, sights, sounds; even touch and feel — the more relaxation you’ll experience. And with deep relaxation comes meditations like the one I have below!!
Meditation to Relax
This meditation is to allow the mind to relax
To relax the mind
We need to let go of stresses
That is causing friction within
As we begin to relax the mind
Try to visualize
That you are sitting on the banks of a stream
And I am a peaceful observer
And the stream is flowing with the thoughts in my mind
Some positive some negative
Some necessary some unnecessary
But I relax
And just watch the thoughts flow by
Like a stream
I watch these thoughts
And I realize that I am separate from them
And I am relaxed knowing that
I just let them flow by
And do not get attached to the thoughts
Sitting on the bank of the river
Like an observer
I can experience a deep relaxation
For I do not need to worry
About each and every thought in my mind
I let the negative thoughts pass
And enjoy the positive ones
And I am the observer of my mind
And as I am the observer
I choose to relax with positive feelings
And the more these relaxed feelings in my heart
I notice the gradual change of thoughts
The change from the polluted negative stream
To a clear flowing stream of positive thoughts
Thoughts such as that I am relaxed and peaceful
No matter what thoughts are in my mind
Or in the mind of the others
For I am a relaxed peaceful observer
Calm concentrated detached
Today’s Affirmations:
The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it. ~Attributed to both Jim Goodwin and Sydney J. Harris
Sometimes it’s important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it’s essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow. ~Douglas Pagels, These Are the Gifts I’d Like to Give to You
The mark of a successful man is one that has spent an entire day on the bank of a river without feeling guilty about it. ~Author Unknown
I give myself permission to relax
I am at peace
I am meditation
I trust in the process of life
I release the stress of the day
I am relaxation
Today’s Inspirational Pictures (Relaxation)
Today’s Decorations – Meditation and Relaxation
Watch our BLOG for Meditation, Inspiration and Decoration!!
Today's Meditation
Todays Meditation – Giving and Receiving
Today’s Quotation
Character is the product of daily, hourly actions, words and
thoughts: daily forgiveness, unselfishness, kindnesses,
sympathies, charities, sacrifices for the good of others,
struggles against temptation, submissiveness under trial.
It is these, like the blinding colors in a picture, or
the blending notes of music, which constitute the person.
Today’s Meditation
Today’s meditation is a bit longer than I have posted in the past few weeks! But it is of great importance as we head into the holiday season! Giving and Taking, Giving and Receiving Ying and Yang!! A balance must be attained to fully understand how powerful these actions are, and how they are intertwined.
I will go more in-depth with Giving and Taking in a future meditation. So enjoy the meditation and I hope it helps YOU find the perfect balance!!
Namaste
TONGLEN Meditation – TAKING AND GIVING
“Without attuning body, speech and mind unto the Doctrine,
What gain is it to celebrate religious rites?
If anger be unconquered by its antidote,
What gain is it to celebrate religious rites?
Unless one meditate on loving others more than self,
What gain is it merely from the lips to say: ‘O, Pity (sentient beings)”
Milarepa (From Evan Wentz ‘Tibet’s Great Yogi Milarepa’)
INTRODUCTION
This meditation technique can be extremely powerful when practised correctly. To me, it represents the full idea of a Bodhisattva; a being who wishes to help all sentient beings, without concern for his/her own interests. It is advised to read the pages on Meditation Theory (chapter on Vipashyana) and Meditation Practice if you are not used to (analytical) meditation..
In case you find this meditation very difficult to do, it may well be a very positive sign! It is definitely extremely difficult to let go of our selfish attitude and deciding to give all one’s own happiness and positive karma to others and take upon oneself the suffering of all sentient beings.
If you do this meditation seriously, it cannot be easy – unless you are an extremely advanced practitioner. If you realize that doing this practice is too difficult when trying to focus on all sentient beings, it may be helpful to start at an easier level; instead of being surrounded by all other sentient beings, you can imagine sitting opposite yourself of a future lifetime and practice giving and taking.
If that works well, try to imagine your mother, father or a good friend with whom you practice. Next, one can try to think of ones entire family, friends or neighborhood, and so gradually expand it to include everyone, even animals and life forms we cannot even see.
This meditation works in many ways, to name but a few:
- reducing selfish attachment
- increasing a sense of renunciation
- creating positive karma by giving and helping
- developing loving-kindness and bodhicitta
- it refers to all of the 6 Perfections: giving, ethics, patience, joyous effort, concentration and wisdom.
Set yourself a time, like 15 or 30 minutes for the session, put a clock in front of yourself.
Take a couple of deep breaths to relax, check if your body is relaxed and reasonably comfortable.
Set the motivation: for example recite the refuge prayer:
I go for refuge to the Buddha,
I go for refuge to the Dharma,
I go for refuge to the Sangha. (3x)
Setting the mind towards enlightenment:
By virtue of giving and so forth,
may I become a Buddha for the benefit of all sentient beings. (3x)
The four immeasurables:
May all sentient beings have equanimity, free from attachment, aggression and prejudice.
May they be happy, and have the causes for happiness.
May they be free from suffering and causes for suffering.
May they never be separated from the happiness that is free from suffering. (3x)
The seven limbed prayer:
Respectfully I prostrate with body, speech and mind;
I present clouds of every type of offerings, actual and imagined;
I declare all the negative actions I have done since beginning of time,
and rejoice in the merit of all Aryas and ordinary beings.
Please teacher, remain until cyclic existence ends
and turn the wheel of Dharma for all sentient beings.
I dedicate the virtues of myself and others to the great Enlightenment.
Short breathing meditation (maybe 5 minutes or so):
Concentrate on the tip of your nose, and feel the breath going in and out.
To help your concentration, you can count every out-breath as one, and count from 1 to 10. When you arrived at 10, simply start at 1 again. All the attention is with the feeling of the nose and the counting, nothing more, nothing less.
Regularly check yourself if you are still concentrated, do not get angry when distracted, simply return to counting from 1.
Just before the end of the session, release the concentration on the counting and the tip of your nose, and simply be aware of how you feel.
Giving and taking; try to imagine the following:
- Visualize all sentient beings around you: enemies in front, friends behind you all sentient beings are in the form of human beings.
- First visualize that all their sufferings take the form of black clouds of smoke that surrounds them, and inhale this smoke.
- Direct the smoke to your heart where you visualize a black spot, representing your own egoistic self-cherishing mind.
- The destructive force of all the black smoke of suffering goes to this self-cherishing mind, completely destroying it
Take some time to do this.
- Now imagine exhaling bright white nectar and light towards all beings. This white nectar is your own potential for happiness which you give away.
Take some time for this part. When you are used to both practices, you may try the following:
- If possible combine both above practices of inhaling black smoke and exhaling light and nectar with every in- and out-breath. If this takes too much effort, simply return to either giving or taking.
Near the end of the session, let go of the thoughts of giving and taking, and take some time to sense how you feel now.
Next, try to make some sort of brief positive conclusion, like: “this meditation is too difficult, so I need to practice more”, “this was really great, I should do this more often” or “I must work harder to control my selfish mind”, something like that – but it must be your own conclusion.
Then try to concentrate very strongly on this conclusion, but without discussing it in your thoughts: just try to hold on to the feeling that the conclusion gives you and try to focus intensely on it for just one or two minutes.
Dedicate the positive energy of the session to whichever goal you like, use for example:
May all sentient beings have equanimity, free from attachment, aggression and prejudice.
May they be happy, and have the causes for happiness.
May they be free from suffering and causes for suffering.
May they never be separated from the happiness that is free from suffering. (3x)
and below prayers:
By this virtue may I soon
reach a Guru-Buddha-state,
and lead each and every being
to that state of Buddhahood.
May the precious Bodhicitta
not yet born, arise and grow
may that born have no decline
but increase forever more.
And any specific wishes that you may have.
ViewonBuddhism.org is who gets FULL CREDIT for this wonderful meditation!!
Today’s Inspirational Pictures
I a world of darkness, be the light. Be the hope for those who don’t have any. Give your strength to the weak. Light the way for those who are lost. Dare to be different, dare to love&to live. And always remember that life is fragile and should be handled with prayer.- Abigail Jourdain Miller
Today’s Decorations – Indoor Water Features
Watch our BLOG for weekly meditations!!
Today's Meditations
Today’s Quotation
I wish there were a book I could read each day to tell me exactly what to do to live consciously from my heart and soul. But part of the mystery and magic, part of the reason I’m here, is to try to stumble through and hear what the soul has to say about what it needs at each moment–whether it is to work through an emotional block, discover what the next lesson is, meet the next soul mate (my children are soul mates; my best friends are soul mates), or finish my business with the one I’m with now. Ultimately, for most of us, the journey comes down to the same issue: learning to love freely. First ourselves, then other people.
Melody Beattie
Today’s Meditation
Pink Bubble Meditation Technique
This meditation is simple and wonderfully effective.
Exercise:
Sit or lie down comfortably, close your eyes and breathe deeply, slowly, and naturally. Gradually relax and feel this meditation taking you deeper and deeper.
Imagine something that you would like to manifest. Imagine that is already happened.
Picture it as clearly as possibly in your mind. Now in your mind’s eye surround your fantasy with a pink bubble; put your goal inside the bubble. Pink is the color associated with the heart, and if this color vibrations surrounds whatever you visualize, it bring to you only that which is in perfect affinity with your being.
The third step is to let go of your bubble and imagine it floating off into the universe, still containing your vision. This symbolizes that you are emotionally ‘letting go” of it.
Now it’s free to float around the universe, attracting and gathering energy for its manifestation.
There is nothing more you need to do.
Today’s Affirmations
I open to the flow of great abundance in all areas of my life.
I allow the universe to bless me in surprising and joyful ways.
Today I open my mind to the endless opportunities surrounding me.
I boldly act on great opportunities when I see them.
Today’s Inspirational Picture
Today’s Decorations (from our good friends at Celtic by Design)
Keep watching our BLOG for more meditations!!











































