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| this picture doesn't have much to do with my post, but I thought it was funny |
This week was a little weird, but the idea was nice. It was a technique to "nurture a richer and more accepting relationship between you and your heart." It included a chant that was to be repeated over and over for the entire 8 minutes: May I be happy. May I have ease of being. My all beings be happy. May all beings have ease of being.
8/7 I love that I can lay down for this one. Saying something really helps me focus, except that by the end it is really boring and I start to wander.
8/9 I feel so silly with this one. It makes me laugh. I find it's easier for me to focus when i say it out loud, but that probably isn't what he had in mind--he wants me to practice releasing my thoughts, not avoiding them.
Week 8--Combination Platter
This technique combined several other techniques. It is supposed to be a more advanced technique, but I think it was my favorite. Anytime a thought, body sensation, sound or visual image in came into my mind, I was to label it and move on.
8/13 I changed my labels from just "talk" to "thought" and "sound". It was easier for me to separate them that way.
Sunday was the last day of my 8 week meditation series. Should I continue? For a majority of the nights, I felt negative about the experience. I rarely felt like I was getting anything out of meditation. I couldn't wait until I was finished with what I committed to do. Monday night I didn't meditate and felt a little guilty about it. Today I finished reading the book and have decided to continue. The first line of the last chapter reads, "The ultimate goal of 8 Minute Mediation is to empower you with a way of being--not for just 8 minutes a day sitting on a chair, but the millions of other minutes that comprise your life."
My goal at the beginning was to find peace and to enjoy the moment. I find that I never focus on what I'm doing, but think about all the other stuff that needs to be done. I need to be present. I think what sold me, though, was the Loving Kindness extension. Meditating and chanting for other people to help me feel differently toward them. Something that I could use right now. I'll keep you posted on my experiences.
Your last thoughts about the Loving Kindness extension where meditating and chanting for other people to help you feel differently toward them....how is that different from prayer?
ReplyDeleteNot knocking the whole meditate thing, just curious. We have been taught to study and ponder the scriptures...you could replace the word ponder with meditate. Study and meditate upon the words of the scriptures. Sometimes when I am truly praying (not just saying it fast because I am tired), I meditate (or ponder) on those I love, or have met, or know, or live around me and then I pray for them.