Training mind, body, and heart while facing stress What I like about Zen is that it is practical as long you practice it diligently. Stressors are everywhere, permanent, either acute i.e. loss of a loved one or chronic such as guilt They are defined as an event being perceived as out of our control. […]
The Breath as a Bridge Our bodies have both conscious and unconscious awareness, conscious and unconscious behavior, and conscious and unconscious minds. For instance, we can think, consciously, ‘I want to move my arm’, and then move our arm. We feel like we have agency and control over that. We also have unconscious behavior. For […]
Accepting your “non-peace” mind state Don't look for any other mental state or gateway when your current mind is not at peace. Don’t look at the “Why-When-How-Where-Whom” Otherwise, you will set up inner conflict and unconscious resistance, and, not only you will never win, but, even, you will even make it worse. How that? While […]
See if you can catch yourself complaining. Even, right down every time you complain about x,y,z … sort of a complaint diary! You will be amazed! We complain a lot consciously and mostly subconsciously in different forms: verbally, thoughtfully, and even physically when complaining becomes aggressive. The complaint can last a few […]
Being self vs. Doing self by Martin I'd like to begin with a quote from Alan Watts, who asserts, “The meaning of life is to be alive... it's so simple. Everybody rushes around in great panic as if it is necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.” In a world saturated with materialism and incessant striving, […]
Reflections to strengthen your motivation to meditate. Meditating every day alone and weekly in a group is not easy. It can be even impossible when our mind is restless for whatever reason. Every time you have difficulty meditating, turn your mind toward a gratitude reflection that will benefit you. By doing so, you will […]
This breathing technique is used by the US Navy Seals **as an anti-stress relaxing technique during drills or even in covered missions. By stimulating our parasympathetic nervous system, this technique is a great anti-stress tool by slowing down the heart rate and consecutively blood pressure. It is a derivative of the so-called "Vasalva manoeuver", a […]
The Sunlight of Awareness Imagine awareness being a powerful headlight shining on your body such as breathing, physical pain, what you are doing, what you are thinking including feeling, and your immediate surroundings. For a few seconds, and under this silent shining bright light, observe, mindfully, them as they are no analysis, judgment, or decision. […]
The First Noble Truth Life is challenging…While navigating its ups and downs, we try hard to hold on to whatever pleases us and push away that which causes discomfort. As a result, life becomes a constant struggle. Even when things are going reasonably well, we are inherently aware of the impermanence of everything and our […]
The essence of meditation The essence of meditation can be summarized in 1 word: awareness. Incorporating active awareness in one sentence: Meditation is the practice of mindfulness-based active awareness to experience the surrounding realities of the present moment. In other words: active awareness is moving away from your permanent daydreaming state. Let me go through […]
