bodhi elements

meditation of the week – sensitivity

russell — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 23:15:05 +0000

choose an object which appeals to any one sense: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, thought. Spend some time exploring it with the other senses.

if the object is a rope, is it rough or slippery? does it smell? how does it taste? is it a single colour or made up of many different shades? what thoughts does it trigger?

meditation of the week – focus

russell — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 23:00:12 +0000

today, pick one activity that is usually difficult for you to concentrate on.

keep your focus on that activity for 20 minutes.

can you tell what it is that tries to pull your focus away? not the object, but the internal rejection of what you are trying to focus on.

meditation of the week – decision

russell — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 23:10:46 +0000

how do you make decisions?

today, whenever you make a decision ask yourself

“is this based on anger or desire?”

if you can’t make a decision, is it due to confusion?

meditation of the week – awareness

russell — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 23:00:48 +0000

concentrate on the breath for 20 minutes.

if the mind wanders away, bring it back to the breath.

meditation is an active process. don’t make the mistake of just zoning out. stay aware of the breath.

after 20 min, review your meditation to see how your awareness fared

meditation of the week – non dominance

russell — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 00:00:48 +0000

this week, try brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand.

meditation of the week – secular mantra

russell — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 00:00:10 +0000

no hope, no fear, free.

Δεν ελπίζω τίποτα. Δε φοβούμαι τίποτα. Είμαι λεύτερος.
epitaph of nikos kazantzakis, author of zorba the greek.

repeat for 15 minutes. if the mind wanders off to thoughts of wine, women (or men) and songs played on the santuri, bring it gently back to the mantra.

photo source here

meditation of the week – hindu/yoga mantra

russell — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 00:00:32 +0000

lam, vam, ram, yam, ham, aum

pronunciation:
lum, vum, rum, yum, hum, om

these are the seed mantras for each of the chakras.
lam is the root chakra, located at the perineum
vam is behind the sex organs, near the sacrum
ram is three finger widths below the belly button
yam is in the heart
ham is in the throat
aum is in the forehead, between the eyebrows

for 15 min, visualize a ball of energy at each location as you say the corresponding syllable. what does that energy look like? what colour is it? is it moving? what size is it?

picture: wikipedia

meditation of the week – islamic mantra

russell — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 00:00:03 +0000

bismillah ir rahman ir rahim

“in the name of god, most gracious, most compassionate”.

repeat the phrase for 15 minutes. If the mind wanders off the words, bring it gently back.

more information on bismillah ir rahman ir rahim here

meditation of the week – christian mantra

russell — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 00:00:26 +0000

the jesus prayer

lord jesus christ, son of god, have mercy on me, a sinner.

repeat the prayer for 15 minutes. remember, the original meaning of sin is not to do wrong but to “miss the mark”. if your mind misses the mark and wanders off the words, bring it gently back without mentally punishing yourself.

more information on the jesus prayer at wikipedia

image from: gospelgifs

Meditation of the Week – Mantra

russell — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 09:43:39 +0000

a tibetan mantra for sunday.
chenrezig the bodhisattva of compassion.

for 15 min repeat the mantra silently or out loud:
om ma ni padme hum

“hail to the jewel in the lotus”