This is just a little addition to my last post on Mindfulness Meditation which can be read by following this link.
Watching the breath, without trying to change or control it, is the backbone of mindfulness meditation. And, as I previously talked about, when the conscious mind interrupts with either fantasy, worry or recollection I gently take my attention back to my breath, after acknowledging the thought. The key being to keep in the present time, where everything is absolutely as it is meant to be.
The idea that everything is as it is meant to be is sometimes a hard one to grasp. In brief, we live in a world of cause and effect, where every action eventually has an outcome. Anxiety and depression for instance have causes (emotional, physical, genetic, spiritual), and because of those causes whatever is happening right now, is exactly as it should be. The laws of cause and effect do not make mistakes. Odd outcomes have odd causes preceding them. Therefore wherever we are, and how ever we feel, we are in the right place. We can’t change the past, we can control the future, but only by accepting where we are right now.
We spend such a small amount of time in the present. Our minds tend to be on what has happened and what we think is going to happen. Being in the present gives us a release from our cyclical lives.
As well as watching the breath there are other ways to stay in the present. Notice other sensations in your body as they happen right now. The pressure and texture of whatever is supporting you, sounds, smells etc. Just notice them and see what they are doing right now.
Thanks for your thoughts. I have been researching ways to reduce blood pressure naturally and am finding that meditations and breathing techniques can be very helpful for this. I liked what you wrote so much I thought I would link to your article.
Thanks for your article. I just learnt about this technique at a study day for graduate nurses and I think it is amazing. I suffer from anxiety, and I am definitely going to give it a go every day from now on.
How long do you think it takes for someone to notice any changes in themselves by using the technique?
Thanks again!!
How long it takes to “work” depends I guess on the person and how long they do it for. But remember, you have to let go completely of wanting it to “work”!