-- 5 mins looking at my weather pattern, choosing what to work with (sounds, difficulty, body awareness)
-- 5 mins breath awareness to prepare and 'clear the decks',
-- 5 mins focus on either body scan, sounds and thoughts, working with difficulty
-- 5 (or more) mins loving kindness for myself and others.
I also want to keep finding 3 minutes here and there in my work day to do the 5 minute breathing space, and if I'm finding proper meditation hard, I plan to motivate myself with some knitting. :)
26/12/14
I have only just now begun to reintegrate meditation back into my life. Things have gotten seriously out of balance. I have previously prioritised so many other things.... but enough is enough. I know that I want to focus the coming year on achieving greater peace of mind and more ability to enjoy the present moment. To do that, I really need the benefits of daily meditation.
I have downloaded Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness -- a book online in PDF form no less that follows the traditional Eighfold Path but in a very East-meets-West sort of way. I am hesitant to embark on what looks like such a large project, but I am also convinced it is probably the right thing to do to achieve my aims.
I'm going to dedicate a full 30 mins per evening to my meditation in order to try and get through this material and apply it. That's going to be a hard commitment to keep, but I'm sure it will be worth it. Let everything else fall by the wayside..... this is something I really must do for myself.
In order to measure my ability to work with this and develop my practice, I have two goals in mind:
1. Develop more enjoyment of the present moment
2. Develop greater peace of mind
Enjoyment of the present moment:
This might include stopping to smell the proverbial roses, enjoying a game or book with my kids, when doing a planned activity being open to what is actually happening rather than what I had planned, doing things that make me feel good.
Greater Peace of Mind:
At present, I believe my mind will be at peace if I:
- take care with my body
- take care with my mental and emotional space
- take care with my relationships through speech and action
- practice balance in applying my energy to self, relationships, work, and environment
- cultivate compassion for all creatures.
- and accept my shortcomings with all of the above
I now realise that I must be very much PRESENT in order to do all of the above with any degree of care and success -- if I am trapped mentally in what I want to happen in future or in what has/hasn't happened in the past, I'm pretty doomed not to have peace of mind.
I have a yearning to find some new structure or daily 'thought' to centre my meditation on. I'm not sure if this will help. I will try a few sources in the next few days.... Gretchen's Daily Happiness Thought, the Tricycle email, Action for Happiness which comes up on my Facebook..... See what sticks.
Meanwhile, I really REALLY need to engage with the present on a more visceral level as I sometimes feel I'm going through the motions of what could be a really nice time but I fail to really connect with it fully, or even nearly. I'm certain meditation will help me do this, so I am committed to it.
Another thing that will really help is defining my boundaries better... when are my moments of unavailability for my business, when are my committed times with my children and husband, etc. These need defining now before I go back to work properly. A lot to sort out and resolve myself to at present!
I have only just now begun to reintegrate meditation back into my life. Things have gotten seriously out of balance. I have previously prioritised so many other things.... but enough is enough. I know that I want to focus the coming year on achieving greater peace of mind and more ability to enjoy the present moment. To do that, I really need the benefits of daily meditation.
I have downloaded Eight Mindful Steps to Happiness -- a book online in PDF form no less that follows the traditional Eighfold Path but in a very East-meets-West sort of way. I am hesitant to embark on what looks like such a large project, but I am also convinced it is probably the right thing to do to achieve my aims.
I'm going to dedicate a full 30 mins per evening to my meditation in order to try and get through this material and apply it. That's going to be a hard commitment to keep, but I'm sure it will be worth it. Let everything else fall by the wayside..... this is something I really must do for myself.
In order to measure my ability to work with this and develop my practice, I have two goals in mind:
1. Develop more enjoyment of the present moment
2. Develop greater peace of mind
Enjoyment of the present moment:
This might include stopping to smell the proverbial roses, enjoying a game or book with my kids, when doing a planned activity being open to what is actually happening rather than what I had planned, doing things that make me feel good.
Greater Peace of Mind:
At present, I believe my mind will be at peace if I:
- take care with my body
- take care with my mental and emotional space
- take care with my relationships through speech and action
- practice balance in applying my energy to self, relationships, work, and environment
- cultivate compassion for all creatures.
- and accept my shortcomings with all of the above
I now realise that I must be very much PRESENT in order to do all of the above with any degree of care and success -- if I am trapped mentally in what I want to happen in future or in what has/hasn't happened in the past, I'm pretty doomed not to have peace of mind.
I have a yearning to find some new structure or daily 'thought' to centre my meditation on. I'm not sure if this will help. I will try a few sources in the next few days.... Gretchen's Daily Happiness Thought, the Tricycle email, Action for Happiness which comes up on my Facebook..... See what sticks.
Meanwhile, I really REALLY need to engage with the present on a more visceral level as I sometimes feel I'm going through the motions of what could be a really nice time but I fail to really connect with it fully, or even nearly. I'm certain meditation will help me do this, so I am committed to it.
Another thing that will really help is defining my boundaries better... when are my moments of unavailability for my business, when are my committed times with my children and husband, etc. These need defining now before I go back to work properly. A lot to sort out and resolve myself to at present!
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