Nature and Meditation
Nature and Meditation How can you model your life after nature? “Wu wei” is an important concept in the ancient Chinese philosophy of Taoism. It is used to describe nature and as a way to model our lives. “Wu wei” translates to mean “effortless action” or “action of non-action.” While this initially might seem paradoxical, the idea is that nature has a way of moving, changing, and acting without effort. A river floats downstream rather than up the mountain. It uses gravity and other elements to pave it’s path naturally. A river is both strong and gentle. So to should humans attempt to live their lives. As a guided meditation…
We Aren’t All Meant to Be Monks!
We are not all meant to be monks living the spiritual life free of all desires, but we are meant to experience peace. If we were all monks, there would be no sex (no babies), no drugs, no rock and no roll, and while this utopia is a very peaceful, quiet world it isn’t a balanced one. Without darkness there is no light. Without light there is no darkness. We must accept both as one. Photo by: Sam Austin There are two ways to free yourself from desire: the first is to simply let go, the second is to fully indulge until you realize that you no longer needed it…
What is Mindfulness?
If meditation is reaching a point when you have no thoughts, mindfulness is having one thought at a time. Furthermore, it is the ability to choose a thought wisely and move to the next with intention and fluidity. As a meditation and mindfulness instructor, I use a metaphor (stolen straight from the ancient Taoist text, “The Toa Te Ching”) to explain this to my students: the metaphor of the bowl. The usefulness of a bowl comes not from its material but rather, the empty space it creates. From this space comes its ability to hold things. A bowl is not the things that it holds. Similarly, we are not our…
Anxiety and Meditation
Anxiety is an emotional state of stress caused by worry, fear, and concern for future events. It is experiencing the unknown and responding to it by projecting negative possibilities. We all experience anxiety in our lives, some to different extent than others. This article is not talking about chronic anxiety but rather a sort day-to-day anxiety that we may all experience. This is not to say that people suffering from chronic anxiety won’t find meditation and this article useful. In fact, I think they will, but I am not a doctor or a psychologist,therefore, I do not feel I can appropriately address this type of anxiety. Why do we experience anxiety?…
