Our mind connects us with the world outside. As we interact with the outside world, thoughts arise from our mind giving rise to feelings and emotions. Thoughts are just thoughts, an expression of the mind’s wandering habits and not facts. Instead of breathing life into them, we learn to focus our attention on an anchor, like the breath and learn to witness the thoughts with a sense of non-attachment and non-involvement. As we learn to make our mind still, we will find our true self, shining beneath.
Meditation gives you what nothing else can give you: it introduces you to yourself.
Swami Rama
In meditation, we get to know our “self” by turning our attention inward and maintaining our focus. By focusing and being aware of the sensations of the breath in the nostrils, we learn to relax the mind. With practice, meditation purifies and harmonizes the mind, gives us direct strength from within and creates an awareness of self. At the heart of meditation practice are two inseparable skills- concentration and mindfulness which together create a clear and one-pointed mind.
Concentration includes the practice of stillness, breath focus, and relaxation. Physical stillness brings our attention to the sensations of the body, attention on breathing narrows the focus to the flow of breath, and relaxation techniques further refine focus by merging awareness of body and breath into an experience of internal wholeness.
Mindfulness is paying attention to the present moment on purpose, without judgment. By repeatedly practicing to be in the present moment without judging, one develops an awareness of the bigger picture that leads to clarity and discrimination. The past is gone, and the future is yet to arrive. The present moment is the only moment any of us have for understanding, learning, growing, and healing. Mindfulness helps us recognize the distractions that arise in the mind, observe, and allow the distractions to pass without reacting.
By learning techniques to recognize thoughts and feelings, investigating them and gradually developing a sense of non-identification with them, we learn to overcome frustration, stress, anxiety, fear, grief, trauma, depression, manage chronic pain, diabetes and insomnia. We develop a positive attitude, change bad habits and include acceptance, forgiveness and compassion towards oneself and others.