Tag Archives: Meditation

Daily Buddhism

Sleepy Legs in Meditation

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Question:

I’ve started to meditate a lot, but my legs keep falling asleep. Any advice?

Answer:

There’s no magical solution to this very common problem, but here are a few tips that may help:

1. Stretch before meditation. Basic yoga or a few good stretching exercises can be a big help. Just because you’re sitting on your butt doesn’t mean meditation isn’t physical; a warm up is a good idea.

2. Try a different cushion; if you aren’t using a cushion, get one. People who meditate for long periods of time often use a cushion called a ‚Äúzafu.‚Äù It’s a small cushion that raises your butt and back off the ground by about four to six inches, while your legs stay at floor level. Imagine your body as the hands of a clock: If your legs and butt are flat on the floor and your back is straight, that is ‚Äú3:00.‚Äù By elevating your body with a zafu, you sit in the ‚Äú4:00 position‚Äù instead of the ‚Äú3:00‚Äù position.

3. Straighten up your posture if you find yourself slouching. Using the clock metaphor again, if you’re sitting at 3:05, that’s putting extra pressure on your legs.

I’m also assuming you are running into this problem after just a few minutes. If you are sitting for an hour or more, then your legs falling asleep would be perfectly normal. Get up and do some walking meditation for a while, and alternate between the two every so often. Naturally, if the problem is severe, or you just cannot work around it, talk to your doctor and see if there is any medical solution.

Daily Buddhism, Meditation

Meditation Part 6: Mantra Meditation

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Meditation Part 6: Mantra Meditation

Some people find it easier to meditate by focusing their awareness on a sound. When meditating, they recite or chant some kind of phrase or sound repeatedly, listening to the sound, being aware of how the sound is formed, and concentrating on the sound itself.

Some sects of Buddhism rely heavily on mantra meditation. If you are assigned a mantra by a teacher, the mantra may have some meaning in Pali or Sanskrit, or it may just be a sound without meaning. Sometimes, although rarely, a mantra can be an English phrase. You may have heard the phrase, ‚ÄúOm Mani Padme Hum.‚Äú This is a very common mantra. It’s meaning is complicated, but generally involves

‚Äúthe jewel in the lotus.‚Äù The precise meaning of this mantra isn’t so important right now, the sounds of the words themselves is supposed to be powerful in itself. Another common mantra to be repeated while meditating is ‚Äúshanti,‚Äù which means ‚Äúpeace.‚Äù

Years ago, I was taught to use one, ‚ÄúAh Re Hum.‚Äù I don’t even remember what it literally means, but I know I like the way the sounds come out as I breathe the words. I breathe in on the ‚ÄúAh,‚Äù pause a second on the ‚ÄúRe,‚Äù and breathe out with the ‚ÄúHum.‚Äù It sounds a little silly, but it works. It can be very relaxing. Also, if you are especially stressed out, focusing on the sound is sometimes easier than trying to clear the mind entirely. After a while, you don’t actually have to continue to vocalize the words once you have gotten into the mindset; keep the mantra rolling over in your mind as you sit silently.

There is a lot of mysticism and religious thought behind various mantras, some sounds are “holier” than others, some are used for purification, some are for tuning into your individual energy field or the universal energy field to produce practical results. Various sects of Buddhism treat mantras with differing levels of importance. There are also variations of this style of meditation that employ song, chanting, and rhythm to assist in focusing the mind.

Om Mani Padme Hum

Daily Buddhism, Meditation

Meditation Part 5: Mindfulness Meditation

Meditation Part 5: Mindfulness Meditation

Where are you right now? What are you doing right now? What’s going on around you right now? Open your mind, open your senses. Be aware. Absorb.

You’ve heard the old saying about blind people, that when someone loses one sense, the others senses get stronger. There’s more to it than that- you can make your senses stronger by simply paying attention to them. We get busy, we get distracted, we get lost in our everyday patterns, and we stop really paying attention.

Mindfulness meditation is all about opening up those closed down senses and being mindful. You try to be mindful about your external world, as I hinted above, but this mindfulness expands to include what’s going on inside you as well. Be mindful of your thoughts and emotions and everything else going on inside your head.
Buddhists have a common phrase that you’ve probably seen or heard before, ‚ÄúBe here. Now.‚Äù That’s mindfulness for you. Get your mind on the here and now and be observant, be aware, be mindful.

On a practical note, start out meditating on your breath as in regular Breath watching Meditation. Once you have explored and become fully aware of your breathing, expand outward through the rest of your body, then the outside world. Try to be aware of as much of everything as you can. Then come back into yourself and be aware of your thoughts, feelings, and inner workings of your mind. Be aware of what you really think and feel, not just what your daily routine grinds into you.

Be here. Now.
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You can buy “Mindfulness for Beginners [AUDIOBOOK] (Audio CD)” at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1591794641/?tag=askdrarca-20

Or “Wherever You Go, There You Are: Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life (Paperback)” at Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1401307787/?tag=askdrarca-20

Daily Buddhism, Meditation

Meditation Part 7: Conceptual Meditation

Meditation Part 7: Conceptual Meditation

This is the “big one” that really confuses people. When you hear things like “loving kindness” meditation, or “meditation on impermanence,” or even meditation on a koan or physical object, this is the broad category involved. The mind focuses on itself and examines itself as you work through the problem or object or subject of meditation. As you contemplate the subject, you examine your thoughts and feelings as you concentrate on all aspects of the subject.

At different times you may choose to meditate on different subjects; there’s nothing wrong with that, and it is in fact encouraged. One of the goals of meditating on a concept like this is to cut through the layers of untruth we hold about the object. With most ideas, we are taught to ‚Äúthink inside the box‚Äù or become conditioned to thinking about something in some regular way. Meditation on a concept encourages thinking differently about the subject at hand.

One famous example of this is the “meditation on the corpse.” When doing this meditation, you first envision a body being buried in the ground. You picture the dirt being shoveled in and the body being covered up. Then you picture the body in dark silence. Then you picture decay setting in, and the bugs and the worms. You picture a bare skeleton, and then picture it eventually rotting away. Finally you picture nothing being left. You meditate on this until you are calm and at peace. You realize that this will eventually be your fate as well and you accept it. There is no longer revulsion or fear, just acceptance that your life and body will change like everything else. Life is precious and worth living here and now, as you really understand how life will end. This is how you meditate on the corpse; something like meditation for loving-kindness would obviously be quite different, but the process is the same; you envision all aspects of the subject, breaking it down by stages if necessary.

There are many kinds of conceptual meditation subjects, and we’ll be covering forty of them next week.

Daily Buddhism, Meditation, Reviews

Book: The Gift of Loving Kindness

Book: The Gift of Loving Kindness
by Mary Brantley and Tesilya Hanauer
Review by Brian Schell, http://www.dailybuddhism.com
New Harbinger Publications, 286 Pages, ISBN: 1-57224-562-X
Purchase Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/157224562X/?tag=askdrarca-20

I’ve mentioned loving kindness meditation here on the Daily Buddhism quit often in my postings the past few weeks, and it may still not be clear what it’s all about. This book makes it clear as glass. The book is small (6‚Äùx6‚Äù), and as the title itself suggests, would make an excellent gift for someone interested in taking up a simple form of meditation for perhaps the first time. Although the introduction and explanatory pages mention Buddha a few times, the book is not religious and could be enjoyed by anyone of any faith.

The introductory section explains why the authors wrote the book, how to use the book, and basic instructions for both formal and informal loving kindness meditations. This takes around 44 pages, and is an interesting, fast read. The instructions on the formal meditation are clearly presented, and easy to follow and practice.

The book centers heavily on the ideas of generosity, forgiveness, and compassion. Towards others, of course, but starting with directing those concepts towards yourself. The book explains early on that it’s hard to direct loving kindness outwards towards others if your mind is filled with blame or self-hate. Therefore, the book focuses on directing loving kindness (generosity, compassion, and forgiveness) towards yourself first, and then expanding that mindfulness outward towards others.

The rest of the book is broken into four parts, consisting of exercises that expand or modify these basic instructions in simple, yet useful ways. Part one of the book consists of meditations of loving-kindness towards yourself, part two is about loving-kindness towards difficult emotions, part three covers loving-kindness towards others, and finally, part four involves loving-kindness towards the world. On the last few pages are some additional resources for further exploration.

The bulk of the pages are filled with 100 mindful practices that can be attempted in any order. Some are quite good, others are a little weak, but since you can pick and choose the ones that appeal to you, there’s plenty to work with. Each exercise is explained clearly and concisely, usually with only two or three paragraphs. Some of the ideas are a bit saccharine, but with a book on this subject, that’s nearly unavoidable.

Buddhism Level: Beginner. All Daily Buddhism readers should be able to understand all parts of this one. It has no jargon and requires no special background. It’s even fine for those who may be uncomfortable with Buddhism, yet interested in meditation.

It’s easy to do, it’s easy to understand. Send yourself a little gift of loving kindness, and you can learn to pass it on to the rest of the world.

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Order the Book: http://www.amazon.com/dp/157224562X/?tag=askdrarca-20
.

Daily Buddhism

Fear

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A Reader recently wrote:

What is the buddhist way to overcome fear and anxiety in life? I understand it is by controlling the mind: but the question is what are some of the key techniques used to tame the mind in a more positive way?

My Response:

Meditation will generally lead to a calmer, more thoughtful approach to most things, and that would be my main recommendation; get started meditating and learn to control your anxieties.

Another thing to consider is that fear is generally a result of attachment. Buddhists consider attachment (“grasping”) a bad thing. Everything changes, and that’s something we have to learn and accept. That’s a whole lot easier to say than do, but that really is it in a nutshell. Think for a bit on what causes your fear. What are you afraid of losing? Is that something (or someone) that you are going to lose eventually anyway? Most things and people are going to be lost someday, no matter what we do; it is important to understand and accept that.

That sounds somewhat negative, but once those bonds of grasping can be broken, you will have real freedom, and the fearlessness that accompanies it.

Buy “No Death, No Fear” by Thich Nhat Hanh
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1573223336/?tag=askdrarca-20

Podcasts

Bosses, Children, Abuse and Holidays

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Podcast Episode 71:

Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number 71 recorded June 27th, 2014. My name is Brian Schell, and I am your host for the show. You can find the text as well as all links mentioned in this program and all past episodes on the website at www.dailybuddhism.com.

Announcements:

If you aren’t signed up for the email newsletter, just go to www.dailybuddhism.com and sign right up. It’s free and easier than ever to sign up.

If you enjoy the podcasts and website, follow me on Twitter. I’m @BrianSchell. I’m also on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Google Plus and all the other usual places. There are links to everything on the site.

I just released my latest book detailing my stay in Japan a few years ago. It’s called “Teaching and Learning in Japan: An English TeacherAbroad.” It’s a long book, detailing my day to day activities and misadventures living in Japan pretty much on my own. If you’ve ever heard me start a story with “In Japan…” and were curious, then this is the book for you.  There’s a link at http://www.dailybuddhism.com/Japan

And now let’s get on with this week’s show!

 

Links to this show’s original articles:

Working with a Bad Boss:
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1810

From New York to India, by Forrest Curran
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1820

Legendary Days and Holidays
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1814

When Meditation Isn’t Enough
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1816

When Buddhism Fails Me… Abusive Relationships
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1823

Free Newsletter:http://www.dailybuddhism.com/signEmail:Dailybuddhism@gmail.comThe Book:http://dailybuddhism.com/book/Donate:http://www.dailybuddhism.com/donate

 

That’s all I have for you this week.

If you have a question on any Buddhism-related topic, send in your questions by email at dailybuddhism@gmail.com or go to the website and click on the voicemail tab. The show primarily depends on users to send in questions, so send in your questions!

The Daily Buddhism also runs off your donations, and it’s easy to help out.  I’m trying something new now. If you listen to  lot of podcasts, you may have heard about Patreon. It’s a neat new way to support podcasts and content creators like me. Check it out at http://www.dailybuddhism.com/patreon

I will see you next week!

 

Podcasts

Judgment, Burning Hearts, Inuits, and Monkey Attacks

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Podcast Episode 66:

Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number Sixty-Six recorded March 22nd, 2014. My name is Brian Schell, and I am your host for the show.

Announcements:

I’d like to start answering more of your questions, so be sure to ask! Send in your questions pertaining to Buddhism and beginners or anything even remotely related. I’d love to hear from you, and even more, I need to know what you want to hear for future shows.

If you aren’t signed up for the email newsletter, just go to www.dailybuddhism.com and fix that oversight right now. It’s free and easier than ever to sign up.

If you enjoy the podcasts, and the website, and the emails, and the Tweets, and the Facebook posts, and all the other stuff, then don’t forget to buy the books! My book, “The Five-Minute Buddhist” and the sequel, “The Five-Minute Buddhist Meditates” are now available on Amazon, Nook, iTunes, and in paperback. You can get it from any place that sells books, so ask at your local library or independent bookstore if they don’t already have it on the shelf. It’s essentially the “Best of Daily Buddhism.” You can get it in pretty much any format you want. Just go to http://dailybuddhism.com/book/ and follow the links. If you have already picked up a copy, please leave a review on whichever site you got the book from. Also, if you enjoy this free podcast, head on over to the iTunes Store and leave a review for the show, I’d. Appreciate your support there.

And now let’s get on with this week’s show!

Links to this show’s original articles:

Judgmental Family and Hypocrisy
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1589

Koan: My Heart Burns Like Fire
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1585

Can Anyone Be a Buddhist?
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1596

Staying Focused and Working on Mindfulness
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1578

Free Newsletter: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/sign

Email: Dailybuddhism@gmail.com

The Book: http://dailybuddhism.com/book/

Donate: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/donate

 

That’s all I have for you this week.

The Daily Buddhism runs primarily from your donations, and it’s easy to help out. Just go to http://www.dailybuddhism.com/donate and click on one of the options there. You can donate as little as a dollar or as much as you want. Keep in mind that the Daily Buddhism Daily email newsletter is completely free, all you need to do is go to the site and sign up. If you’d like to get caught up on the show, ALL the back episodes are available on the website, and most of the best are included in the book, “The Five-Minute Buddhist,” available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and all other booksellers. Ask your local bookstore to order you a copy if they don’t already have it on their shelves.

If you have a question on any Buddhism-related topic, send in your questions by email at dailybuddhism@gmail.com

I will see you next week!

 

 

Podcasts

Breaking Up, Bad Buddha, and Mushrooms

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Podcast Episode 65:

Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number Sixty-Five recorded March 14th, 2014. My name is Brian Schell, and I am your host for the show. You can find the text as well as all links mentioned in this program and all past episodes on the website at www.dailybuddhism.com.

 

Announcements:

If you aren’t signed up for the email newsletter, just go to www.dailybuddhism.com and fix that oversight right now. It’s free and easier than ever to sign up.

If you enjoy the podcasts, and the website, and the emails, and the Tweets, and the Facebook posts, and all the other stuff, then don’t forget to buy the books! My book, “The Five-Minute Buddhist” and the sequel, “The Five-Minute Buddhist Meditates” are now available on Amazon, Nook, iTunes, and in paperback. You can get it from any place that sells books, so ask at your local library or independent bookstore if they don’t already have it on the shelf. It’s essentially the “Best of Daily Buddhism.” You can get it in pretty much any format you want. Just go to http://dailybuddhism.com/book/ and follow the links. If you’ve already picked up a copy, please leave a review on whichever site you got the book from. Also, if you enjoy this free podcast, head on over to the iTunes Store and leave a review for the show, I’d. Appreciate your support there.

And now let’s get on with this week’s show!

 

Links to this show’s original articles:

Magic Mushrooms and Psychedelics
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1539

Breaking Up is Hard to Do
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1537

Temple Time
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1533

Buddha: Evil Spirit Repository
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1529

Koan: The Stone Mind
http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1573