Mindful Mondays|Week 26: Zen

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What better way to end Season One of all these Monday meditations than with Zen — which is a Japanese translation of the Sanskrit word meaning “meditation”. For us, we also recognize this word to mean peaceful, calm, enlightened, relaxed. The original word also has to do with simplicity, not worrying, awareness. So let’s play with those concepts today and find a moment of Zen.

Today if you are able, find a comfortable place to lie down, with feet either propped up or the knees bent slightly to keep any tension off the lower back. Whether sitting or standing or lying, put one hand on your chest cavity above your diaphragm and place the other right on or below your diaphragm in the stomach region. Take a nice cleansing inhale and let it out slowly on the exhale. Close your eyes when you’re ready.

For a few minutes of Zen, just lie here. Let your body get heavy and sink into the earth below you. Let your mind quiet itself. And notice your breath, which is always easier to focus on with your hands holding the movements of the body. Stay present in the moment without falling asleep. See if you can straddle the line between staying aware that you are lying here in this moment with the other side of consciousness where total relaxation can occur. Stay with both those realities, and just breathe. Just be Zen.

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If you’ve got lost in thought and lost your sense of Zen, just come on back. Welcome your mind to anchor down into the breath, feel the sensations below your hands as your inhales and exhales flow, and keep your relaxation at peak calmness without losing your present awareness to your body.

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That, my friends, is our Zen practice for today. Simple, peaceful, and unhurried. Just being, no doing. Alert but calm. That’s the practice. You nailed it. And if you want more, stay right here after my voice fades, and keep on in the Zen for as long as you want. You earned this; you deserve this. See you next season for more mindful moments together. Be well, Survivors.

Mindful Mondays|Week 16: Pause

Author Note: If you prefer to listen or watch instead of or along with -
 Check out the YouTube video and/or the Podcast audio.

Let it be said first that however you are showing up today is perfectly wonderful. Your true self, whether it’s messy, tired, energetic, calm, or rushed, is welcome here today. Find a space somewhere comfortable where you won’t be distracted. You can sit, stand, or lay down — based on your body’s needs today. If you are more energetic, perhaps standing is a good form for meditation today. If you are very calm and feel it best to root down into your favorite chair, that’s wonderful too. Choose a place that makes you feel at ease but alert. Let these next few moments serve as a pause. A pause on all the things you must do. A pause on that nagging sense of perfectionism. A pause on the passions of your heart. Let this be a pause on all that ails you and delights you. Find some neutrality with the world for a couple minutes if you are able.

Close your eyes when you are ready and breath in the atmosphere around you. Allow sounds to fade in the background. Give permission for the ground below you to metaphorically liquify. The aim here is to detach the senses and feel internally into your body. Take three long, slow breaths and root down into your inner being.

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Now with the attention draw inward toward your spirit, stay focused on something natural in your body. Pick something you can sense but not quantify. Your breath is a good anchor, and so can be your heartbeat, blood flowing through your veins, tummy rumbles, or tingling nerves. Once you’ve chosen, just stay with that focus for a few minutes to pause yourself in this space — right here, right now.

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Congratulations yourself on taking this time to pause by going inward. Reconnect your body and mind back to the outside senses and readjust to the space you are in. Feel your body touching the support surface. Allow your eyes to flutter open and absorb light. Smell the air deeply. Now you are welcome to move peacefully back into the rest of your day.