365 Days of Fun and Chillaxation – Blog#73 – Zazen Meditation: Useful
Zazen - source of image: http://blog.brillianttrips.com/2009/09/try-zazen-meditation-in-kyoto-japan/
Today (Sunday) the sun beamed it’s warmth into the lives of the good citisens of Golden Bay. It found us, even if had to filter slyly through well-shut curtains, or creep beneath closed doors. And mesmerized, we stepped outside, moth-like, following the light.
So, despite being mid-winter, I sat outside on the deck feeling the heat permeate my skin and didn’t even get out of my dressing gown until noon. I had made plans to work on my e-book, despite working hard all week, which was kind of an unrealistic plan. You see, I am a Leo and whether you believe in all that star-sign stuff or not, most of those born with their sun in Leo are of the ‘doer’ breed. We fill our days with activities and missions and quite often we fool ourselves into believing there is simply not enough time in the day.
So eventually, the call of the phone interrupted my easy moments of doing nothingness and it was FiFa (she of the small-farm with horses, goats, chickens, cats, dogs and three beautiful children) inviting us to Pohara Beach.
An hour later, I found myself on the beach, determinly resuming my doing nothingness, while my son zig-zagged around me, brought me shells and wood, and occasionally required me to acknowledge that he was doing another very cool thing such as standing on a two feet high sand-dune. Eventually he ran off to play with some kids, so I decided to meditate and managed to get a solid five minutes ofzazen in there, from which I emerged feeling actually quite good.
There are many ways to meditate and still the mind, and I practice zazen because I was taught this discipline fourteen years ago by a then Senpai at the Nelson Seido Karate dojo. He started by asking us all to lie down with one hand on our belly and one on our heart and simply watch our breath, whilst counting to ten on the out-breath and the same for the in-breath. We later took this into the dojo, where we sat on zazen stools in rows, meditating together after a good karate session. At this dojo they believe strongly in the importance of a calm mind. Each of us would focus on watching our breath, and when thoughts came, we’d acknowledge them but not attach to them ‘like clouds, just note them and let them pass’ said one of the teachers.
Since becoming a single Mama, meditation has, to put it bluntly, saved my ass. It’s helped me look inward for my energy and power, rather than outward for support, as I’d been used to doing when I was in partnership. This has been a valuable tool. I try and meditate twice a day while I’m breastfeeding Kahu, or while he’s asleep, and this practice has the capacity to profoundly influence my day. When I’ve had a good session I feel totally at peace with my own company, I don’t feel alone, I feel calm, trusting, observant of my thoughts, rather than ruled by them. I told someone today that meditation is ‘my drug of choice’, actually it beats any drug I ever took!
For those of you out there who find yourself feeling stressed and overwhelmed occassionally, or more than occasionally, try meditating. Just giving yourself the space, even if it’s only five minutes, to be still in the mind, can be all it takes to calm down and feel a little gentler with life.
Today’s rating: 8/10
365 Days of Fun and Chillaxation (as I raise my gorgeous son and grow my good news website to a subscription base of 100,000 people). The Low Down on this Blog.
Check out yesterday’s blog.
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Oh wise woman, thanks for your words of wisdom as always. That pesky monkey mind of mine needs a bit of that
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