The gift of Meditation

[Karmoh]

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For years I looked in wonder at the Buddhist Monks meditating for hours in perfect serenity wondering how and why. I THOUGHT meditation was painful, sitting in lotus with a blank stare and an empty mind.

BUT.......
When we discover that meditation is not what we thought it was, we open up to celebration. The doorways within our minds and hearts open and the light is switched on. The realization that meditation requires keeping an open mind because when we make our mind up about something, we at once close a door to lifelong growth.

Meditation has brought about these wonderful realizations for me.

Realizing I am responsible for my own experiences
Realizing my inner self is a shared experience
Being grateful to myself for every experience that comes my way
Knowing that my hardships are always a disguised blessing of potential growth.
Knowing that nothing in my life happens by accident.
Being able to enjoy simple moments, like taking a walk and appreciating the scenery
Being willing to take each day to nurture, heal, and guide myself
Knowing the difference between reacting and reaction
Being able to forgive myself, and therefore others
Being able to sit with another as they go through hardship, without feeling compelled to expound their experience
Laughing at myself, when I catch a good thought or bad

Our life is an endless story we continuously discover and rediscover our eternal, and mystifying self.


Peace

[Salem Temple]

Thankyou for sharing. I never knew of meditation in my youth, and never met a buddhist.

But infact I did start mediatating early on. In many ways, but the first time I can ever recall is when I was put in the corner for "time out". I would stare at the wall, and soon I would in a trance. But often I would just enjoy the music and visualizations that happened. Like watching a movie.

Other times I would spend time trying to be aware of everything all at once. Or feeling what was going on around me though I couldnt see it.

Lol if you cant tell I had spent alot of time in "time out" early on, and became fascinated by meditation. After I had learned about buddhism, I had wished I had been born buddhist so that I could practice every day in a more conductive environment.

Great topic!

-Salem-

[olmate]

In 2006 I spent a couple of weeks in Burma (or Myanmar as some now like to call it). When I was there I was constantly followed around by soldiers due to the military dictatorship that controls that country.

I was however constantly amazed at the passion of the largely Buddhist peoples towards their faith and daily practice despite in many cases appalling conditions - physical, social and economic.

I clearly recall wondering in awe each day of the power of meditation practice in those wonderful peoples lives - no matter what.

As fortunate as I am not to have personally experienced such hardships to that extent, even today I remind myself of the power and importance of meditation in my daily spiritual routine.

So Karmoh, I concur.

Nothing but the best...

Olmate

[pollyanna]

Originally Posted by Karmoh

<-------
For years I looked in wonder at the Buddhist Monks meditating for hours in perfect serenity wondering how and why. I THOUGHT meditation was painful, sitting in lotus with a blank stare and an empty mind.

BUT.......
When we discover that meditation is not what we thought it was, we open up to celebration. The doorways within our minds and hearts open and the light is switched on. The realization that meditation requires keeping an open mind because when we make our mind up about something, we at once close a door to lifelong growth.

Meditation has brought about these wonderful realizations for me.

Realizing I am responsible for my own experiences
Realizing my inner self is a shared experience
Being grateful to myself for every experience that comes my way
Knowing that my hardships are always a disguised blessing of potential growth.
Knowing that nothing in my life happens by accident.
Being able to enjoy simple moments, like taking a walk and appreciating the scenery
Being willing to take each day to nurture, heal, and guide myself
Knowing the difference between reacting and reaction
Being able to forgive myself, and therefore others
Being able to sit with another as they go through hardship, without feeling compelled to expound their experience
Laughing at myself, when I catch a good thought or bad

Our life is an endless story we continuously discover and rediscover our eternal, and mystifying self.


Peace

Was looking where to post the following quote and found this wonderful post by you Karmoh Thankyou and I wish you much peace and joy

"We meditate for various reasons. Peace of mind we all badly need. Therefore, when we meditate, either consciously or unconsciously we aim at peace of mind. Meditation give us peace of mind without a tranquilliser. And unlike a tranquilliser, the peace of mind that we get from meditation does not fade away. It lasts for good in some corner of the inmost recesses of our aspiring heart" Sri Chinmoy

[Marina_J]

Meditation is wonderful, but it is so misunderstood. In this series, we will explore what meditation truly means, the varied ways to practice it and how to apply it to the daily issues you face such as stress, difficulties at work, self-empowerment and self-love, relationships, forgiveness and even anger.

[GilesC]

Marina,

Not sure what you're trying to say. Seems you've just quoted something from Oprah's website...

The Gift of Meditation - Oprah.com

I got confused when your post started saying "In this series, we will explore..."