Lazy Girl does "The Minimalist Challenge" - Day 2
Meditate for 15 minutes.
As a creature of mental illness I’ve become very used to mediation. Honestly, it’s how I get through most days. So this ‘challenge’ for me is more of a necessity. The most popular form of meditation and the one I’ve used for years is Mindfulness. It’s simple, focused breathing.
I’m going to transcribe a paragraph from What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula that demonstrates this act of Mindfulness. **
‘Breathe in and out as usual, without any effort or strain. Now, bring your mind to concentrate on your breathing-in and breathing-out; let your mind watch and observe your breathing in and out; let your mind be aware and vigilant of your breathing in and out. When you breathe, you sometimes take deep breaths, sometimes not. This does not matter at all. Breathe normally and naturally. The only thing is that when you take deep breaths you should be aware that they are deep breaths and so on. In other words, your mind should be so fully concentrated on your breathing that you are aware of its movements and changes. Forget all other things, your surroundings, your environment; do not raise your eyes and look at anything.’
(p70)
Did you do it? It feels nice right? Peaceful. I do this everyday. It makes so much difference. It really does.
That’s all for today.
Oh wait!
Wish me a Happy Birthday! I aged today!
BYE!
**
What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula (2006)
What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula (2006)
A couple of years ago I went to Sri Lanka and came away with a book called, ‘What the Buddha Taught’ by Walpola Rahula. I read it from cover to cover and it’s awesome. If you’re interested in this kind of thing:
Here’s a link to the book:
http://www.amazon.com/What-Buddha-Taught-Expanded-Dhammapada/dp/0802130313
And a link to a useful website about Mindfulness and mental illness:
http://bemindful.co.uk/