meditation... guest blog by my husband, christopher jarecki
Meditation
By Christopher Jarecki
"I have spent the last few years trying to find a meditation practice. I tried all different kinds and they all have their benefits. I never really knew what meditation was supposed to do exactly.
When you meditate (depending on which kind of meditation you practice, some have you repeat a mantra or some have you concentrate on your breath, etc.) the key is to not think about anything and to clear your mind. If thoughts come in that's cool, but just try to go back to the practice.
Anyways, if I meditate it gives me practice in trying not to think, and believe it or not if you practice this awhile it becomes really easy not to think if you don't want to....like when you're going to bed or driving down the road having a fight with someone in your head, you now somehow have this tool in your tool box to kind of shut down the mind.
When Alicia meditates (not very often) she peeks and wiggles a lot. She usually starts quietly searching for a pen cause she has to write something down."
A note from Alicia:
In the past I would always write in my journal before I would meditate to clear my thoughts. Now I'm skipping that, because it just takes time away from my meditation. Now I journal just a few times a week, when I feel like it, or when I need to clear my mind. I've started meditating first thing in the morning, because a little meditation sets up my whole day. I have no excuse not to do it when I wake up! Here's what I do: Before I get out of bed, I take 5-30 minutes, depending on the day, and I meditate...And it feels great. I connect to the universe and feel my heart and breath... And all is good. It's a great way to start my day!! One day maybe I will be super cool and meditate in the afternoon too. But for now, I'm thrilled to be on this routine of meditating every day that I've been on the the last few months!
And yes sometimes, I need to jot something down while I'm meditating, as it's better to get it out of my system so I can get back to the practice and have a clear mind. Even if I have just one moment of bliss during my meditation, I am thrilled! It is a time for me to be with myself and to be completely quiet. If I start thinking, I just remind myself that it's ok to be thinking, and then I remember to go back to the breath or the mantra and it just feels good and sets my day up right.
If you are interested in meditation, but just don't know where to start, there are some great books out there on the topic. Check out these books that have helped me over the years:
-Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life
-Don't Sweat the Small Stuff...and it's all small stuff - this is not a meditation book, but it's a great spiritual book in general.
-The Joy Diet: 10 Daily Practices for a Happier Life - again, not solely a book on meditation, but it is great and has a whole chapter devoted to meditation.
-Finding Your Own North Star: Claiming the Life You Were Meant to Live - amazing for deep, personal growth. If you have anything blocking or upsetting you, or if you are unsure about the direction of your life, read this one.
And here's a video of David Lynch talking about meditation and art... Its great:
Do any of you meditate? If you do, have you had any great benefits from practicing a certain kind?
38 comments
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Have you tried this book -- it has very simple guidelines on how to meditate Elijah Crow - The Silence of the Mind I found it very helpful for myself
http://www.scribd.com/doc/34607176/Elijah-Crow-The-Silence-of-the-Mind
by the way, meditation is like breathing, something you live all the time and not just a practice for a few hours
try this book
Jeremy
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This is great! Also, we would LOVE to feature Alicia and the Kind Life at the Women In Green Forum - the nation's only conference focused on women in environmental careers. How do we get in touch with you?
The Forum features today's leading women in green! http://www.womeningreenforum.com
Follow us at http://www.twitter.com/WomenGreenForum
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It is amazing how things come to you when you need them. I have recently been thinking of trying meditation but didn't know where to start. And then I read this post. Thanks. I started running and training to do my first 5K about 4 weeks ago and found that my day goes so much smoother on the days I go out early in the morning. I am kinder to myself, my children. I get more work accomplished and feel that my daily tasks are easier to tackle. When I run I go into a zone which I feel is much like meditation, which is when and why I have decided to try it. Anyway, I am going to check out some of these books and see what I can accomplish.
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hey i have done eastern philosophy Yogananda, i believe it make me loss and feel better than i do not , every day i meditate about 5 minutes ,so i think it is just enough .
b/r
honeyreplicas.com
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Hello, i,ve read so many books on meditation and eastern philosophy (Yogananda, Vivekananda, the Dalai Lama, Ramakrishna) that I can't count them anymore. Still, meditating as technique, i,ve practiced very little, which feels like a loss. Never too late, of course.
However, i'm convinced that meditating without the right attitude of honesty, non-violence (in deed and thought), non-possesiveness, the right (kind) diet, care for the other, detachment etc. is a difficult thing! Studying Jainism, I decided to put Karma Yoga before Hatha Yoga, and the right meditation will (hopefully) naturally spring from it as a soft voice, so to speak. Have still problems with always speaking the truth, though. Especially when it comes to little sins...
Thank you for the nice article about meditation, I hope to learn from it, there is so much to learn and life seems so short!
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I have been wanting to start meditation. The last few years I have had everything you could think of on my mind. So I have heard about how meditation really helps to relax you. I am going to start this tomorrow. I am very excited and can't wait. :)
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Hi everyone, I do a 10 minute meditation in the morning and then 30 minutes around 8pm. I find it quite difficult to meditate too close to bedtime because I experience more feelings of drowsiness which defeats the purpose. However, if I do happen to meditate near bedtime I fall asleep really quickly and have a very peaceful sleep, so all good!
I couldn't recommend meditating enough! It can be quite daunting when you first attempt to eliminate thought even for a second, but when you get the hang of it you can quickly feel how beneficial it is. There is nothing like the relief of a still and quiet mind when life begins to get a bit hectic.
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I love the David Lynch video, It was really inspiring. I could listen to him talk about Consciousness and creativity anytime, wow...
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It's funny how the universe works...I recently (as in 5 days ago) started meditating. I've been interested in eastern philosophy for a long time and have read quite a bit on it, but never actually started the act of meditating. For some reason I've felt this strong pull to start praying again and meditating...now this pops up! I've also been looking into spiritual retreats and a few ashrams and through this online community I've now been connected to www.dhamma.com! I feel that a change is beginning in my life and that change began when TKD arrived on my door step! Thank you Alicia, Christopher, and the reast of TKL community!
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This is what I needed. I am thankful for your writtings and for your followers on this blog. I am learning so much on this path the path year. Mid life is a time to open up and feel blessed. Becoming Vegan has turned my world "up" and now adding meditation to quiet the "noise" ahhhh Alicia you are an angel on this earth bring answer through what your are learning on your journey..... much thanks Swan Meadow
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I was actually prescribed a guided meditation CD (chakras) by my Integrative MD. She asked how it was going and I told her I always fell asleep at a certain part. She asked which part, I told her it was at the throat chakra, and she nodded and mumbled something. I asked her what she had said, and she repeated it, "Repressed anger". This turned out to make a lot of sense to me. I am blocked in the throat chakra because I am not expressing any anger I have. I am in a household of very large personalities, and I love peace and tranquility, so my role by default has turned out to be the peacemaker. But repressing whatever I would add to the emotional stew apparently takes it's toll on my natural flow of energy, which I guess plays a part in compromised health, whatever. Not sure what should follow this revelation, but being aware of it must be the first step in improvement. Would love any further thoughts from any of you who are "in the know" about this type of thing. Thanks! http://midlifevegan.blogspot.com
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hi all , i also have to say the Vipassana meditation is very very amazzzzzing ! Its intense but if youre serious about learning to move beyond the mind chatter, i say go for it .
i have never had such a wake up as after i did that course . just google vipassana to find teh website and centers.
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Hi Cristopher & Alicia
I am sooo happy that you broth that topic up. I was just writing my Response but it was to long to fit in :-D... so in a short version, here are some links ill post in, witch is my life jearny, and my life has just been AMASING walking this walk. I hope Ill get to it this weekend to write more about my own story on my page.
If you are intersted to know more about any of these:
http://www.yogaindailylife.org/
http://www.thework.com/index.php
from me, ill be more the happy to tell you sooooo much about it and how the peace of minde can shift your whole world in to a beautiful place to live in :)
MUCH love from the sity of Vienna, Europe :)
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Hey Aung, you're talking about Vipassana, as I was in my post also. Unlike you i dont do the meditation daily but i the information and practise given in the course has affected me deeply! By the way i did the course in belgium/ the Netherlands and the food is vegan, very good, now knowing more about food I understand that part of becoming so peaceful is also because of the food :) Once again: everybody that can and want to learn about this meditation, please visit the website. i can really recommend it!
Look at their website if you are interested in it: www.dhamma.org
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Hi
I have started meditating 10 years ago. Since then I keep practicing 1 hour each every morning and evening. As soon as I woke up I aware of sensations on my body and respirations then I meditate for 5 minutes before getup. I do the same just before fall in sleep. It help me alot and keep my mind peaceful and happy. Here is nice cool meditation website (www.dhamma.org) and they have centers around the world. The foods are very simple vegetarian and no cost for the course. I would like to share with all kind lifers.
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I'm gonig to add the fact that it seems not one moment goes by in my life with out some sort of noise! I either have the TV on or the radio...which, I find, is not a healthy habbit to have in life. I HOPE one day I will start meditating, and get ALL the noise out of my head! INow that has to be a benefit of meditating........cheers!
ps so far I've learned great things from Alicia's book, and from Christopher, I've learned to Nap, Sweat, and Meditate! Think you could almost write another book!
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I try to meditate twice a day - first thing in the morning and late in the arvo. I set up a little room in our home dedicated to my meditation. I find it's easy to zone out and block out the rest of the house. Meditation is tough and it really does take practice, but it is so worth it! I have cancer and I am fighting it with all natural methods. Meditation is a very important tool in my cancer-fighting regime. xx
www.thewellnesswarrior.blogspot.com
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For me the best meditation is singing or dancing..... or both! I find its so easy to let go when I'm really feeling some good music. Thats when I can truly connect and stop thinking. Love and light to everyone!
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I learned transcendental meditation about 4 months ago and it's my favorite type of meditation I have learned so far...I've tried it all!! I have a practice of writing down my fears followed by a prayer and then going into a nice deep TM practice....twice a day for 20 minutes! I have never before experienced a soundness of mind or peace like I do with this practice....everything David says in this clip has been my experience...
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For me meditation is a time to be quiet so I can listen to what's comming in. I mostly do TM that I learned about 3 years ago. It has become a very relaxing and rewarding time for me.
I've also recently participated in a daily worldwide meditation where on a given day the collective energy is raised (scientifically proven) being in my own home at whatever time I chose on that specific day. It felt good like living the Kind Life feels good.
I feel that any effort you make in trying to raise your consciousness is a good thing. So, good for you for doing something!
Namaste.
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I'm going to my first buddhism meeting in a week. I'm super excited, being a new mom and going to though some hard times, I'm looking for a way to clear my thoughts and rid my mind of some of the enemies in it. Thx for the post, now I'm even more excited
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