Did you reminisce your past and worry about your future so much that you couldn’t live at present and enjoy life? Did you feel so miserable and aimless that you couldn’t focus at the moment and achieve nothing? I did.
Zen tells us not to dwell on the unchanged past, not to worry about the unknown future, but to focus at the moment, the only thing we can control and make use of is today. It is crucial to live well today.
Sometimes we feel miserable and unfocused because we have too many illusory and wandering thoughts. Meditation is a practical way to obtain a peaceful and quiet mind. When the mind is tranquil, we will reach a state of relaxation or awareness, wisdom will naturally arise.
How to meditate? Before you read the following, please turn on the video to listen the soothing music and enjoy a zen garden view.
- Wear loose, comfortable clothing, so that you can breathe easily and feel physically free.
- Find a quiet and relaxing place. It is essential to find a place without distractions and noisy appliances. If you want to play music, only silent and soothing music is allowable.
- Sit in a comfortable position. There are several leg positions, such as lotus position, half lotus position, and so on. I don’t follow this strictly. Sit in a way you feel comfortable, either on the floor or on the chair, keep your back straight, close your eyes and relax.
- Breathe deeply, slowly and evenly. Close your mouth, begin inhaling deeply and exhaling gently, put your attention on your breath. When your mind wanders, return your attention to the breath (or to the counting).
- Focus on one thing, i.e. the feeling of joy. When you breathe in, you think about joy, the joy of being alive, the joy of breathing, the joy of seeing, and the joy of hearing.
- Calm and clear the mind. Focus on your breath and your body, relax all your muscles. Get rid of all the wandering thoughts, have a pure and lucid mind.
- Set yourself a minimum time (at least ten to fifteen minutes) that you want to meditate and try to abide by the minimum.
- Be consistent. Meditate regularly, generate the automatic meditation response, try going to deep concentration each time, and within a week you'll start having deeper meditation.
