![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I posted this a couple of years ago, but thought I'd share in case anyone was interested. IMO, it's a key skill to have.
Set aside some time for yourself. 10 minutes at least. Others suggest 20, but time isn't really important. In fact, it's best if you can forget about time. But... if you've got a hectic schedule, and that's one of the things stressing you out, then it can be very freeing. Find 10 minutes for yourself. It's really not that much. And make those 10 minutes stress-free. No obligations. Just time to do nothing but relax. It'll do you a lot of good.
Sit down. Someplace quiet and comfortable. Or you can lie down, if that works better for you.
Close your eyes. Tune everything out.
Open your mind. Whatever is there... let it go. If thoughts come, let them drift away. Don't hold on to them. Don't wonder about them. Just let your mind drift.
Take in a nice deep cleansing breath. All your negative emotions - stress, anger, worry - gather them up.
Exhale. Slow and easy. All the bad things, whatever's on the surface, whatever you've got... let them go. They're reactions. They come from within you. They are a product of your own mind. You are the only thing keeping them there. And they are hurting you, and the people around you. They are not the enemy. Fighting them will only make things worse. Instead... open your mind and let them go. You don't need them. Not now. Like the thoughts, all you have to do is let them drift away.
The more deeply-rooted ones will take time. That's fine. Let yourself decompress. Let them ease their way out. Don't rush them. Don't hold on to them. Don't think about what they are. All you have to do is let them go.
Breathe in. Take in the fresh, clean air.
Breathe out. Let whatever is on your mind go.
That's all there is to it. It's so simple, but it can be so hard to learn. How not to fight. How not to hold on to it all. How to let it slip away, like so much sand through your fingers. We let it all build up. We let it get to us. And it can be a lot harder than you'd expect to learn to stop, take a deep breath, and let it go. But it's only as hard as you make it. It gets so much easier with practice.
There's no mystery to it. No mystical power words. The mantras, the physical positions, the elaborate techniques... they're just window dressing. There to help you focus on the task at hand... which is not to focus on anything at all.
All you have to do is learn to let it all go. Until you're left with nothing. Just... zen.
If you can do that, then you'll find something truly precious. Something that will let you float through the most hectic of times.
Peace.
Set aside some time for yourself. 10 minutes at least. Others suggest 20, but time isn't really important. In fact, it's best if you can forget about time. But... if you've got a hectic schedule, and that's one of the things stressing you out, then it can be very freeing. Find 10 minutes for yourself. It's really not that much. And make those 10 minutes stress-free. No obligations. Just time to do nothing but relax. It'll do you a lot of good.
Sit down. Someplace quiet and comfortable. Or you can lie down, if that works better for you.
Close your eyes. Tune everything out.
Open your mind. Whatever is there... let it go. If thoughts come, let them drift away. Don't hold on to them. Don't wonder about them. Just let your mind drift.
Take in a nice deep cleansing breath. All your negative emotions - stress, anger, worry - gather them up.
Exhale. Slow and easy. All the bad things, whatever's on the surface, whatever you've got... let them go. They're reactions. They come from within you. They are a product of your own mind. You are the only thing keeping them there. And they are hurting you, and the people around you. They are not the enemy. Fighting them will only make things worse. Instead... open your mind and let them go. You don't need them. Not now. Like the thoughts, all you have to do is let them drift away.
The more deeply-rooted ones will take time. That's fine. Let yourself decompress. Let them ease their way out. Don't rush them. Don't hold on to them. Don't think about what they are. All you have to do is let them go.
Breathe in. Take in the fresh, clean air.
Breathe out. Let whatever is on your mind go.
That's all there is to it. It's so simple, but it can be so hard to learn. How not to fight. How not to hold on to it all. How to let it slip away, like so much sand through your fingers. We let it all build up. We let it get to us. And it can be a lot harder than you'd expect to learn to stop, take a deep breath, and let it go. But it's only as hard as you make it. It gets so much easier with practice.
There's no mystery to it. No mystical power words. The mantras, the physical positions, the elaborate techniques... they're just window dressing. There to help you focus on the task at hand... which is not to focus on anything at all.
All you have to do is learn to let it all go. Until you're left with nothing. Just... zen.
If you can do that, then you'll find something truly precious. Something that will let you float through the most hectic of times.
Peace.
Tags:
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
From:
no subject
1) I like the idea of meditating, it's relaxing, stress-reducing, and the few times I took yoga classes the quiet still periods at the end were my favorite. And I should remember to incorporate this kind of thing into my days.
2) ... which is not to focus on anything at all
I have ADHD... every day is a meditation day (holding onto thoughts & such takes *effort* for me)!! LOL!
From:
no subject
2. lol, that works. Kinda.* But I like your perspective. :)
*Of course, meditation is about aiming for (near-)zero activity, rather than hyperactivity. But I don't mean to ruin the joke. And yeah, it probably does give you a head start, in a funny way.
From:
no subject
I've been meditating for quite a while but feel like I'm not getting anywhere and it's hard to not be frustrated and not keep trying to progress or other striving things which (intellectually) I know don't help!!!
It's very encouraging to have others who do this. Is there a meditation support/questions/etc. community on DW yet? Perhaps we need one??
From:
no subject
But yes, part of the whole deal as I see it is that you need to leave the concept of progress behind. Let it go. It's not about getting somewhere. Pretty much the opposite, really. (Although, TBH, when I was doing this regularly, I did find myself at a point where I could get into that mindstate in the span of a single breath. I suppose that's progress of a sort.)
Searching interests for "meditation" brings up 9 comms, but none of them seems specifically dedicated to meditation. Although 5 of them show "never updated," which, really, is about as zen as you can get. ;)
BTW,
As for creating a comm... We could. I'm willing. If you think it would be useful. *shrug* I'm not sure what I could add to it that isn't already here, TBH. But I'm happy to discuss the idea (and just about anything else).
From:
no subject
Also I mostly end up falling asleep when I meditate, as I'm always so fatigued and have to do it lying in bed (as everything else). I use graded muscle relaxation and visualisation to help me fall asleep at night but even doing other meditation I tend to drift off :(
It's hard to just "let go of progress". I am thinking of looking for a local teacher actually, somebody who can give me some feedback, but not sure where to start.
From:
no subject
Not sure what to tell you about finding a teacher. But if there's anything I can do from here, please let me know.
... Actually, a doc I saw a couple of weeks ago gave me a CD. It's a recording of music and peaceful sounds, with his instructions for the first 10 mins or so. It didn't do much for me, personally, but I could rip it and send you a copy if you think it might be helpful.