Meditation 101: No Bird Nest
Friday August 10, 2007
Categories: Mental Health
I was sorry to see Beliefnet’s other woman blog, "Chattering Mind," come to an end because 1) I learned much of my blogging techniques and tricks from Amy Cunningham (when Beliefnet launched Beyond Blue, my very smart editor told me...
Add to Del.icio.us
Add to Technorati
Add to Digg
Add to Newsvine
Add to Facebook
Add to StumbleUpon
Advertisement
Advertisement
Search This Blog
Subscribe
About Beyond Blue
Beyond Blue: The Book!
Can't get enough of Therese’s wise, funny, uplifting journey through depression and anxiety?
Pre-order your copy of her upcoming book today!
Pre-order your copy of her upcoming book today!
Most Popular Posts
- Daylight Savings Time and SAD:
- Stepmonster: 8 Reasons Why Stepmothers Are Prone to Depression:
- Mindful Monday: And I Repeat--Trust Me:
- Am I Depressed or Just Deep?:
- Mindful Monday: 11 Ways to Treat the Death Thoughts That Come with Depression and Anxiety:
- Time Magazine: The State of the American Woman:
- Video: Seasons and Moods:
- 10 Reasons I Quit Smoking:
- On Veteran's Day: Some Grim Statistics:
- Video: Getting Through the Rough Spots:
Tag Cloud
addiction, anxiety, Anxiety, Beyond Blue, bipolar disorder, Catholicism, Christmas, depression, Depression, depression blog, depression support, Emotional Health, faith, friendship, God, Group Beyond Blue, humor, inspiration, marriage, Marriage, mental health, mental illness, Mental Illness, prayer, Recovery, recovery, relationships, stigma, therapy, Therese Borchard
Meet others on the journey in
Therese's community group
Ask Therese to be your friend
Follow Therese on these partner sites:
Recent Posts
Archives
Blogroll
- McMan's Depression and Bipolar Web
- Knowledge is Necessity
- Explore What's Next
- Finding Optimism
- World of Psychology
- The Happiness Project
- Mindfulness and Psychotherapy
- Family Mental Health
- Storied Mind
- Postpartum Progress
- The Trouble With Spikol
- Coping with Life
- Fresh Living
- Bipolar Beat
- Depression on My Mind
- Anxiety & OCD Exposed
- Celebrity Psychings
- Everyone Needs Therapy
- The Splintered Mind
- Families for Depression Awareness
- We Must Not Think Too Much
- Maternally Challenged
I don't know how I got subscribed to this list. I opened this email and read it. I have to say, it was not at all what I expected. If all the content is like this article on meditation, I think I'm really going to enjoy receiving these! I love the description of meditation from Swami Chetananda.
This is the first time I've heard of Therese, but I like her already.
thank you for your notes. i wanted to reply but my attempts were rejected upon return? no e-mail allowed? thanks, nancy
I wish I could calm my mind. When it doesn't happen, I feel guilty for wanting any possible distraction.
Great way to put. I struggle with meditation because I have a hard time centering myself. The balloon and the bird sitting on your head gives me a lot of visualization to use. What is transceding? Is that where you feel like you are flying? Has anyone ever felt like they were melting?
Thanks,
Melissa
i'm sorry but i didnt understand about the bird and balloon thing coz i am french educated so if u pls try in a simply way to understand the point .
thank you
I find medition easier if I imagine myself in a canoe, watching the sun going down and the geese flying by (or some other beautiful, meaningful scene). Once, in church, I was meditating on the cross and was so in touch with my inner soul and was so calm that I fell asleep.
WHY SHOULD I IMAGINE MYSLEF WITH ALL WHAT U R SAYING AND I CAN DO IT FOR REAL?IS THE IMAGINATION WHO WILL SOLVE THE PROBLEM ?
THANK YOU AGAIN
I just wanted to add my loss with Amy not posting a daily column. I AM 54 years old, handicapped and really enjoyed. Love always, Lindsay
Taking meditation as prayer I've found Centering Prayer or as I call it Listening Prayer to be very effective. You can google it or Father Thomas Keating for more info.. Basically you meditate and listen for God's communication to come to you while focusing on "God's Presence and action in your life. Similar to the Bird nesting, you let your thoughts pass as if boats on a river as you meditate on "the dock" as they go buy. If you find yourself "on board" a passing thought no big deal; however, should you find your self "going down into the hole" of the boat or thought you gently leave it by refocusing through use of a sacred picture or word, on your intention to focus on "God's presence and action in your life". It is an excellent form of prayer!
I read your article about meditation and as an Indian I must say I am amused.All this talk about the mind loitering around and the feather and the nest.
When you meditate, your body function undergoes change and you can immidiately feel that your breath has slowed down.You breath in the perfect way possible.You are aware of everything but nothing can distract you.
In the times of tiring cacaphony meditation is perfect peace.
I am unable to still my mind long enough since being a single parent of two children, ages 7 and 9. Any suggestions?
Meditation, yes is a practice but it is a strategy as well. I have had many accounts in life using meditation as a tool. When applied after practice of course, meditation is affective. Kind of like learning a killer cross over in basket ball, practicing it , and then appling it in the big game to help "the team win."
Namaste
I have found three excellent (I think -- doesn't mean the books actually ARE excellent! LOL) basic easy-to-read books on meditation:
The Breath by Vessantara
The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh
Calming Your Anxious Mind by Jeffrey Brantley (a great book to begin with)
There are different types of what we call meditation. It wouldn't hurt to read a basic book or two about meditation before beginning. But there are two big basic problems with most of us who want to meditate: (1) Actually getting down to the actual 'sitting', the actual practice of meditating, because you'll find that you have a million reasons NOT to do it; and (2) there are so many slightly different methods of meditation that, if you investigate them all, that's what you'll be doing with your time -- reading instead of meditating.
I may be wrong (I don't think so -- of course!) but I've read over and over that it's not so much the method/path that we choose as much as (1) we do choose a method; and (2) -- and this is very important -- we meditate every day.
For those of us who think we can't meditate -- our minds are just too 'busy', we don't have time, etc., etc., etc., -- just start sitting and breathing every day and see what happens.
And if you stick with it, eventually will need a teacher. Choose one carefully, when the time comes.
I'm a single mom with 3 kids, and meditation has been my anchor and refuge. I just wake up an hour or two earlier than I usually do in my regular day and "commune with my God".
Throughout the day, those early moments spent in meditation keeps me centered, more aware, more alive, stronger, wiser.
I think of it as taking a spiritual bath everyday, as well as recharging my self for the day, like I recharge my cellphone.
wow-great words--right now my bible study is reading Brother Lawrence's book-the practice of the presence of God. and I belong to a comtemplative prayer group. Meditation is a way to getting closer to God and listeneing to Him. I have seen it.
God's peace be with you,
Barbara
I have tried to do meditation, it gets kind of hard to sit and concentration, could you please advise some method to concentrate
Rav
Post a Comment
By submitting these comments, I agree to the beliefnet.com terms of service, rules of conduct and privacy policy (the "agreements"). I understand and agree that any content I post is licensed to beliefnet.com and may be used by beliefnet.com in accordance with the agreements.