meditation
Ideas for practice and teaching
meditation
When we say to ourselves, “This feels bad. I need a way to fix this!” that’s the very moment when the most growth and promise lies at our fingertips. But in order to access it, we have to do the opposite of what we want to do. We have to resist the urge to analyze or find a solution or protect ourselves from our emotions.
We have to stop and feel... See more
We have to stop and feel... See more
Heather Havrilesky • Tolerating Unknowns Will Make You Stronger
When we meditate for a purpose—to be calm, to gain insight—we are striving, not meditating. If we spend our time assessing how we are doing, we are defending ourselves against the intimacy of life, not letting it get hold of us.
John Tarrant • John Tarrant : Articles
If anxiety, anger, or any other feeling comes along and is just some mild atmosphere in the background of your experience, don't worry about it. But if it's so strong that it stomps up to the foreground and demands to be addressed, note how it feels ... physically. Neutrally, nonjudgmentally, matter-of-factly, allow yourself to experience the
... See moreDean Sluyter • Natural Meditation
It is as if we lived in a world where only diamonds could be used to put out a fire. In this alternate universe, fires are easy to start and break out everywhere, but water, which is as common there as here, won’t put them out. Only diamonds, which are just as rare as on Earth, will put out a fire. Only a very few unique individuals are capable of
... See moreBarry Magid • Ending the Pursuit of Happiness: A Zen Guide
I am also slowly learning that being present is not just about giving my full attention to whatever is happening right now. It is also about recognising that what I have is good, and then wanting what I have.
Can you find where this moment comes from or where it goes home to?
John Tarrant • Bring Me the Rhinoceros: And Other Zen Koans That Will Save Your Life
The lesson here, which you can actually apply to anything that happens in meditation, is: Just say "Hmmm." There's a scene in The Big Sleep where Humphrey Bogart, as the detective Philip Marlowe, is considering a clue. Tugging at his earlobe, he says, "Hmmm." When Lauren Bacall asks him, "What does 'Hmmm'
mean?," Bogey replies, "It means, 'Hmmm."
Tha
... See moreDean Sluyter • Natural Meditation
But, meditation is not about feeling a certain way. It’s about feeling the way you feel.
Jon Kabat-Zinn • Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life
I started to meditate in a different way. I let go of the idea of what meditation was supposed to be. So I would sit down and let my experience simply be, in a very deep way. I started to let go of trying to control my experience. That became the beginning of discovering for myself what True Meditation is. From that point on, that shift - moving... See more