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WHAT IS MEDITATION?
- Along with affirmative prayer/treatment and affirmations,
meditation is one of our core spiritual practices.
- There are different meditative disciplines that encompass a wide range
of spiritual practices which can emphasize development of either a high
degree of mental concentration, or quieting the mind.
- Techniques develop mindfulness, concentration, tranquility, insight and wisdom.
- A person becomes aware of their thoughts and actions in the present
moment, non-judgmentally.
- It is a state of concentrated attention on some object of thought or
awareness.
WHAT DOES MEDITATION DO?
- It brings one's awareness back (i.e.
from the past or the future) into the
present moment.
- By being in the present moment, a
person develops "mindfulness." The mind
that was once preoccupied with thoughts
of mindless chatter is now more aware of
these thoughts. The realization that
"thoughts are just thoughts" and hold
little or no weight frees a person to
let go of thoughts that may not be
concrete reality or absolute truth. One
is now free to observe life without
getting caught up in the "monkey
chatter."
- One finds that happiness is not
exclusively a quality brought about by a
change in outer circumstances, but by
realizing happiness often starts with
loosening and releasing attachment to
thoughts, pre-dispositions, and
"scripts"; thereby releasing "automatic"
reactions toward pleasant and unpleasant
situations of feelings.
Meditation is an activity that can be done
at any time; it does not require sitting, or
even focusing on the breath. It is an
activity that brings the mind to focus on
what is happening in the present moment
whether it is feeling the sensations in
one's feet while walking, of the sound of
the wind in the trees, or the feeling of
soapy water while doing dishes. One can also
be aware of the mind's chatter: "I wish I
didn't have to walk any further, I like the
sound of the leaves rustling, I wish washing
dishes wasn't so boring and the soap wasn't
drying out my skin", etc. Once we realize
the mind's running commentary, we are free
to let go of those judgments: "washing
dishes is boring" may become "washing dishes
is washing dishes".
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