Thank you for coming. Thank you for being here. It’s not an accident. This essay has arrived in your life at the right and perfect time.
Let’s start by taking a break in your messy life. Lie back on a comfortable couch, close your eyes softly, take a slow, deep breathe and relax your body. You are breathing in fresh clean air and breathing out the bad things that have entered you today.
Yes, this is an essay about meditation, the art of being idle. The aim of this essay is to give you a brief introduction to meditation from my own view, a friendly beginner as you are.
Why should we meditate?
We live in a chaotic society and are exhausted because of it. We all struggle for success, and strive for happiness. We think, we hate, we are anger, and we covet. Our emotions change throughout the day, are never the same, never take a rest. Could we ever achieve t any happiness with such a fluctuating mind? Could we grant ourselves a moment in life to escape from these emotions and thoughts?
I think you have also asked yourself the same questions I have mentioned above and have your own answers. Everyone knows happiness is easy. Generally, in this modern life we believe that our happiness is related to the extent of our material possessions. But in fact, it is not. This thought is based on greed. It is true that we might be happy if we get things we want but it is not true happiness. Our happiness does not come from our consumption, but from doing good things such as giving to others.
Here, I just want to share my experience with it. Doing good things is absolutely good but may not be enough because it does not deal directly with the problem we confront or with what we suffer. This world is full of problems and that’s the way it is. When we want it to be good, it is impossible. We want our lives to be good or want our hopes to be fulfilled (get rich, be successful, or get married etc.) because we think it will be good and we will be happy. At last, we are find happiness, and striving for it, using up all our energy day by day, endlessly chasing that goal which we never reach. In my opinion, of course, we can do good things and should do them but there is a great hindrance which we cannot overcome. What we can do without limitation is only to manage ourselves, directly speaking; manage our minds, our consciousness, our perception, because actually all the problems are in our minds, in our thoughts, and are the origin of our actions.
What I mean about managing is not to do something, just see and feel (realize) what is in your mind. What is your mind. Listen to your heart, move according to your heart. Our minds are very simple and natural like the soil. Thus, where the soil is good, good plants can be cultivated. And thus we are bio-farmers cultivating crops and watching them grow. To get good crops, we must follow and obey the rules of nature.. The main principle is that nature can heal and develop itself. We become aware of this and give something natural to assist the process when necessary. But one should not give something that is too strong, like chemical fertilizer, in our attempts to force immediate change.
In our minds, we are just try to be "mindful"in order to become aware of what is in our minds, good thoughts are healthy crops, and bad things are weeds. Both are growing in your mind. It’s all about keeping a balance. The weeds would not grow if you improved the quality of the soil. The bad weeds grow more profusely in damaged soil. It’s a part of nature's way to protect the soil before it finally turns into dessert. So we don’t have to fight the bad system directly, what we can do is to nourish a good environment where good things can grow. After that, there is only one thing to do. Just waiting and watch it grow like you bring up a child.
Yes, that’s it. Do nothing but be mindful. It is a powerful secret lodged in our fantastic minds. At first you have to observe your weeds, just that. When you see your weeds, you will not give them their food like greed or anger, and then they will rot. And at the same time, you also cultivate some good things in your mind such as thinking positively, or cultivating loving-kindness. And when you let it grow, the mind will be awake and grow automatically and later you can harvest the sweet and delicate fruit that is ripe in your mind.
Just realize what is in your mind. Actually, if you do that, you will not only be aware of what is in your mind but also in your body and in all the actions you perform. Clear awareness of the result, sometimes comes immediately, but sometimes not. Therefore, you have to be patient and give it time just like waiting fora train to arrive. We should not worry about time if we would get to our destination. What we should focus on is whether or not we are on the right train. If we’re on the right train, then we can be sure that we would arrive at the right destination, sooner or later. In other words, the path is the goal. You have to be aware at every moment of feelings in your mind. After all, your mind is awake and can be used for your daily life. And you will see the truth behind it (beauty, refinement, pleasure, as well as pain, misery and ugliness. They are all impermanent conditions.) Awareness will set you free.
You will see how incredible your mind behaves; you will come across the best state of your mind which is normal, clean, bright, and peaceful. It will show you the direction your life should follow. For example; sometimes we are confused when we think we did something good but the result was not.. This is the result of not having known your own mind. Whenever the mind strays from normality or equanimity, it is on the wrong track. No matter how good are the reasons that we may give to ourselves to justify our emotions and the reasons for our actions, it is still wrong. Being angry or revengeful is never right. Through With practice, you will see this condition of your mind and your mind can improve. .
I would like to give you one trick to empower you. My technique is to calm down the mind, so that you can easily "read" it mind. First, relax your body and mind. Then, be aware of each breath you take. Breathe in a relaxed manner and observe how you breathe. . Breathe in and breathe out. Follow the wind going through your respiratory tract. Count the steps or say something to help you recognize each breath by naming them “in/out" or peace-ful according to your breath. When you get the right system, your breathing will become more refined and you will calm down. You will feel the body sensation at your nose or other places the wind touches. This is a contact, this is a sensation and it is very real.
This experience of resting is not something that can be grasped or forced. It comes naturally, as we grow more and more in tune with the rhythms of our own inner silences. Let yourself be softer and more mindful now because an inexpressible joy is waiting for you just around the corner. Nobody else can point it out to you, and when you find it you won’t be able to find the words to express it to others. But it’s there, deep within your heart, ripe and already to be discovered.
However, if you cannot feel it, don’t be embarrassed. It depends on you whether you do it. You can decide by yourself. The methods I describe to you here come from Buddhism. It is called Samatha-Vipassana (tranquillizing mediation and insight meditation). If you want to understand it better, you should study Buddhism, its philosophy and culture.
All in all, it is the ancient art of non-doing but feeling/knowing yourself (your body and mind), descended from our ancestors more than thousands of years ago. There are thousands of other ways of meditation to practice but please remember that all meditation techniques should be practiced by a healthy man. A healthy man can practice and it will later help him when he gets into trouble, but when he is in trouble it is too late to learn how solve the problem through meditation. In this case, meditation cannot help him. It is like falling into the river. We have to learn to swim before we fall; otherwise, we will drown.
I hope you will enjoy your new form of breathing from now on.
I breathe; therefore, I am.
Peacefully yours,
Your Tim
PS If you have some questions, please contact me at timbarrel@hotmail.com
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