Dr. Steve G. Jones gives tips on starting meditation through well-developed modules
History
Before you start meditating, you have to understand first where and how it all began. In ancient India, there lived a son of a great and powerful man. His name was Shakyamuni Buddha. He had the luxury and comfortable lifestyle wherein everything he wanted or needed was given to him. However, he was not really satisfied with what he had. This made him ask questions that had no definite answers- questions about life, death, and suffering.
Years of fasting, and scholarly devotion did not really help him in seeking the answers that he sought. From that moment on, he decided to look within himself. He searched through his thoughts and emotions. For six years, he sat and dug deep into his own mind. Eventually, he became on with the morning star, then with the Universe.
After his Enlightenment, Buddha (meaning “The one who woke up”) set out on a journey to teach the profound knowledge that he had acquired. What started from India began to spread all over Asia- China, Korea, then Japan. Today, Zen Meditation has found its way to the West. People who find peace and purpose in meditating continue to grow.
5-Minute Meditation
After gaining all this information, there are probably a lot of thing going on inside your head. Give yourself five minutes to let you thoughts race. Let your imagination take you to places that only your mind can come up with. You don’t have to censor your thoughts. Let them flow freely. You might be thinking about the questions Buddha asked himself. You might also be thinking about your own set of challenges– mountains that are too big for you to climb. Let your mind wander and explore possibilities and solutions.
Take Down 5
At first you might have had very random thoughts that were not really related to what you have read. It’s fine. Now, with the knowledge what you have read and from what you have reflected on, list down 5 points that really left a mark on you. Think about 5 things that resounded within you, from your reflection or from the information that has been given to you. You can do this within 3 to 5 minutes.
Elaborate
Elaborate these 5 points. If you have written, “I should change _________.” Get into the details. Reflect on why this particular thought made its way into your consciousness. If you have written an idea about a new hobby or sport, dig deeper into this thought. Let your mind process the specifics of the 5 points that you have written down.
You might have noticed that letting you mind wander freely allows you to gain more insights to the solutions that you seek. It gives you better access to new and amazing ideas. Instead of forcing your mind to generate solutions, choose to meditate and search through your thoughts and emotions to find the answers that you seek. This is only the beginning. If you want to develop your meditation practice, visit http://startzen.com/
