Meditation …….. Thursday 12th August 2021.
Headspace is a mental health initiative with an interesting website, headspace.com comprising 500+ meditations. Although they offer guided meditations rather than the silent, emptying the mind technique that most of us practice there are times guided meditation suits the mood.
Headspace meditation costs money however they offer a free trial.
I was particularly taken by some of their written advice. They suggest that we be clear about our motivation for meditating advising that our reasons for meditating are broad and subjective as well as different for everybody. I guess they are proposing that we regularly examine our reasons for why we want to meditate implying that if we have some vague idea of why we are doing it, then the chances are we’ll struggle to stick with our practice. Being clear about what we hope to get out of our practice without fretting about whether we are ‘doing it right’ is important. Some people say they are meditating because they want to be happier, to feel more at peace in their lives, to aid with concentration, to be less stressed, to help with their spiritual quest. Once you know why you are persevering it will be a big help in creating the right attitude of mind.
Headspace recommends that before meditating it is good to do a ‘body scan’. This needn’t be a long drawn out scan but rather a couple of minutes when you identify what parts of your body are tense and those that are relaxed, what parts of your body are uncomfortable or comfortable. Sometimes this is as simple as identifying that your belt is too tight or you would be more comfortable taking your shoes off. Some years ago we had a gentleman who came regularly to our weekly meditation who led us through some simple exercises before we began meditating.
During lockdown it must sound strange to recommend that in meditation we just let go and do nothing but that’s precisely what we set out to achieve.
Let’s meditate now with the intention that I meditate not only for oneself but for the benefit of others.
MEDITATION (Say 20 Minutes)
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Be sure to look at the zoom programs offered by the
Carmelite Centre. www.thecarmelitecentremelbourne.org