Scattered mental activity and energy keeps us separated from each other, from our environment, from reality, and from ourselves. And that’s a fact.

From time to time, we always look for ways on how to loosen the grip of the “occupied aura” which dominates our existence. And as a result of being too much hasten up looking for strategies, we end up being more unrelaxed and more and more pre-occupied as well.

MEDITATION. This is a word of the mouth that has been passed on through different generations, and was practiced since the biblical days to ease our “disturbed nature“. It was proven and tested for relaxation and reflection as it is purely to engage in mental exercises and concentration to elevate ourselves to spiritual awareness through its calming effect. Forms of meditation are typically devotional, scriptural or thematic, while Asian forms of meditation are often more purely technical. But the most common form of meditation is simply called ‘prayer‘.

Thousands of years ago, different practices of meditating were mastered and spread across nations. The most common is Zazen Concentration (the study of self), which is known as the “meditation school” of Buddhism. In zazen, they focus on the breath as it is the vital force or the central activity of our bodies.

Although Zazen looks very disciplined, the muscles should be soft. You need to take note that it is what you do with your mind, not what you do with your feet or legs. Thus, keep the back straight and centered, rather than slouching or leaning to the side, to allow the diaphragm to move freely.

Zafu will help you fully relax as this meditation seat is filled with reed-mace down. Plus, it raises the hips that makes the entire range of cross-legged sitting positions more stable for the meditators. There are also applied sitting practices which will be of big help for you.

1.) Burmese Position Meditation

2.) Seiza/ Sitting Position Meditation

3.) Half Lotus Position Meditation

4.) Full Lotus Position Meditation

Frankly speaking, majority of us hate lengthy works; we prefer the ones hasty and easy. And some called it Self-Meditation. By doing so, there are no other applied techniques but solely yours, that means, you can initiate free techniques by yourself.

Here are some of the sample Self-Meditation techniques: (by Geoffrey James)

1.) Sit cross-legged in a quiet place, preferably on a low pillow to reduce strain on your back. Take deep breaths.

2.) Close your eyes and listen to your inner monologue. The thoughts that spin and chatter through your mind all the time are your “monkey mind.” Don’t be in a haste to stop it from chattering yet. Instead, just observe how it jumps from thought to thought to thought. Do this for five minutes every day for a week.

3.) After a week, without trying to silence your monkey mind, during the meditation, shift your attention to the part of your brain that thinks slowly and quietly, which is the “ox mind”. It senses things around you and doesn’t try to assign meaning to anything. It just sees, hears, and feels. Most people only feel their ox mind when they experience a “breathtaking moment” that temporarily stops the monkey mind from chattering. However, even when your monkey mind is driving you crazy with rush-rush-rush and push-push-push, your ox mind is still there, thinking its slow, deep thoughts.

4.) Once you’re feeling more aware of your ox mind, ask it to start quieting your monkey mind down. Try to imagine the monkey mind going to sleep due to the slow walking of the ox as it moves patiently along the road. Don’t get upset if your monkey mind keeps waking up. It’s a monkey, so it can’t help acting like one. However, you’ll find that, despite its protests, your monkey mind would rather give it a rest.

5.) As your monkey mind calms down, continue to shift your attention to your ox mind. Each breath will seem to take a long time. You’ll feel the air on your skin. You may feel your blood flowing through your body. If you open your eyes, the world will look brand new and even rather strange. A window, for example, becomes just a square thing that full of light. It doesn’t need to be opened or closed or cleaned or repaired or anything else. It’s just there. You’re just there.

6.) While on it, you’ll know you’re doing the exercise correctly when it seems as if no time has passed at all between when you started the timer and when it goes off. When you succeed at that, gradually increase the amount of time you spend each day. Weirdly, no matter how long you practice, it will seem as if no time has passed.

Its valuable results: completely eliminates stress, end insomnia, and most importantly, it will allow you to think more clearly and more creatively about everything happening in your own life

Either way, let us take time to spare our minds from the world’s fast-track and errands. Let us not forget to take good care of ourselves, most especially to save the chakra that comes from within us or on the outside. It is also important to be patient and persistent, to not be constantly thinking of a goal and mindfulness will create a positive change in your life. It may be time consuming just by thinking about it, but if you are eager to give it a try, you will succeed in doing so and it’s all worth it. Remember, Life remains as fragile and unpredictable as ever, so we may never know when and how soon we will be needing these energies the most.

 

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