Image of the day

How do cats always look so comfortable when they are sleeping? This picture is from the Crafts and Stuff blog.

Ah, to sleep like a cat, for just one hour a night,
Would erase more stress than any amount of pills!
MM

Thanks for being here and now.
KT

My daily favorite blog image

Have you seen the "Blogger Play" gadget that you can add to your blog? My blog has one in the lower right-hand corner - scroll down to see it.

It's a little box that flashes recently uploaded images from other Blogger blogs ... kind of a like a window on the world! I'm fascinated by it, and decided that if I see an image I particularly love while I'm watching my own Blogger Play screen, I'll share it with you here.

Todays' photo appears on the Blog "Snap Opportunities" for Friday, January 23, 2009

Nature's beauty will always calm the soul, the restless mind...

MM

Thanks for being here and now.
MM

Quieting the Chatter

The exercise this week will again be done in conjunction with your changes from the past two weeks, and so will require no additional time commitment on your part. You are now spending 15 minutes a day in silence, during which time you are taking 10 deep cleansing breaths, and then continuing to watch your breath for the rest of the time.

This week, you are going to make another change to this routine that will deepen the experience. As you sit in silence and take deep breaths, you are going to listen for the chatter – those thoughts in our minds that we all have and few of us can control – and you are going to find a way to stop those thoughts. You see, you have not really been sitting in silence for the last two weeks. Most likely, the space around you may have been silent, but the space within you has been filled with chatter – what am I going to make for dinner tonight, I’m hungry, why did I say that to my mother, when am I ever going to lose this weight … on and on incessantly.

This was fine while you were learning the new habit of silence, but now it is time to remove those thoughts and try to find true silence. If you have done any reading on meditation, you may have heard these thoughts referred to as the “monkey brain”. These thoughts are usually nothing important – just constant chatter like that of a monkey.

There are many ways you can handle these random thoughts as they appear, depending upon how your mind works. For some people, a visual picture of removing the thoughts may be required. Placing the thought in a bubble and blowing it away. Wiping it away with an eraser. For others, it may require a mental word – as simple as “Stop!” or “Thinking”, or whatever works for you. Whenever you realize that you are thinking a thought, you will say the word and go back to silence until you realize the next thought has arisen.

Eventually, you will find that you are able to sit silently for 15 minutes, watching your breathing and taking deep cleansing breaths, and having no “monkey brain” thoughts. If you haven’t read about this concept in the past, you may wonder about its significance or usefulness. But this ability to be able to truly quiet your mind is essential for the changes to come.

At the end of this week, once again take a few minutes to make a few notes in your journal abut how these changes have affected your life so far.

Thanks for being here and now.
KT

How's that breathing coming along??

Isn't it amazing how we are so busy that we can't find time to take 10 deep breaths twice a day??? Hope you've at least found time to try it out once or twice. It really is amazing how much it relaxes you!

Thanks for being here and now.
KT

Finding your breath

Your change this week will be done in conjunction with your 15 minutes of silence from Week 1, which you are going to continue this week (and hopefully every week!), so there will be no additional time involved. While you are sitting in silence for 15 minutes this week, you are also going to learn to breathe and to "watch" your breathing. Ok, you already know how to breathe, but few of us breathe correctly. Do you know how to take deep cleansing breaths? Do you know the physical and mental benefits of taking 10 deep breaths once or twice a day? And when you are sitting in silence, do you know how to watch your breath? If not, you are soon going to learn.

Your routine from last week may have to change a little this week if you have been doing anything like petting the cat or lathering your skin with a perfumed lotion during your 15 minutes of sitting in silence.

At least for this first week, you should try to do this exercise in a comfortable seated position, or even lay down if you can do so without going to sleep. Place your hands across our abdomen. Inhale through your nose and feel your abdomen rise and your belly fill with air until you don’t think you can take in another molecule of air. Then hold that breath for a count of 7. Exhale by blowing your breath slowly and steadily out of your mouth, while at the same time pushing the air out of your stomach until your belly button feels like it will touch your backbone.

At the end of your exhale, you will notice that there is a natural pause of breath before the next inhale begins. This is a quiet space that some religions consider almost holy. Focus on this quiet space for the split second or two that it lasts. Then begin your next inhale.

After you have completed the 10 deep breaths, continue your 15 minutes of sitting in silence by just watching your breath. There's nothing mystical about this. It just means to be aware of your breath as it goes into and out of your body. Focus your attention on your breath.

At the end of this week, again take some time to make a few notes in a journal about the changes you have noticed by adding this deep breathing exercise to your daily life.

Thanks for being here and now.
MM

1 minute meditation??

So, I thought I was making this meditation thing as simple as I possibly could by telling you to first just "sit in silence" ... no mantras, no following your breath ... just sit in silence! And then I see the Oprah show from last week with Elizabeth Lesser telling us to start 2009 by taking ONE MINUTE each day to sit quietly and breathe ... and add one minute each month ... so you'll have a 12 minute "meditation" practice by the end of 2009! ONE MINUTE?? Well, whatever ... if one minute is all you can manage ... then go for it!

Thanks for being here and now!
KT

Where's the silence?

So, have you managed to carve out those 15 minutes of silence each day this week? Not as easy as it seemed, is it? I have to admit I've resorted to headphones and soft music this week, even though I specifically said that wasn't a good idea in Saturday's post. But sometimes, that's the only way to "get away"!!

I also found it very relaxing to sit in front of the fireplace and watch the flames - very relaxing.

If anyone has interesting stories about their attempts to find silence, feel free to add them to the comments!

Thanks for being here and now!
KT