Daily Buddhist thoughts

[Ghost]

So I've discovered a wealth of knowledge on spirituality and I want to share some of that peace of mind with others who are seeking it. To this end I will be sharing numerous articles I've come across that strike me as useful. To start things off some simple practice on living in the moment!

2 Simple Buddhist Practices to Kickstart your Day.

Via Elyane Youssef



on Jul 27, 2017


Last year, I took an “Introduction to Buddhism” course and did Vipassana in India.

One of the most important things I’ve learned in my courses is that how we start our morning dictates the rest of our day.

Doing a few practices in the morning during my courses shaped my day and helped me sleep better. To this day, even when life throws me off course, I maintain my practice. Self-discipline requires time and effort. However, once we experience the benefits of our spiritual habits, we start valuing them and find time for them.


Oftentimes, we think we need to do big things to get big results; but it isn’t true. We can learn simple habits that require little time but impact our day.

It might be nearly impossible to live like monks and nuns, but I have learned a few things from them that can set the tone for our entire life—not just our day.


Here are two practical Buddhist practices we can add to our morning routine:

1. Breathing exercise.

A short meditation in the morning has an enormous impact on the rest of our day. This is because our mind is usually at its calmest during the first minutes of waking up—it’s very delicate and refined. That said, it’s imperative to train it early on before the mental activity kicks in. Everything that we imprint on the mind in the morning, manifests during the day.

We often associate meditation with sitting cross-legged, but that’s not necessary. We can do this breathing exercise while we’re still in bed, before grabbing our phone or distracting ourselves with anything else.

Focusing on the breath calms us down. Therefore, a little meditation in the morning keeps us calm and grounded the entire day.

As we’re sleeping on our backs, we can typically place our hands on our stomach and close our eyes. Focus on the air coming in from your nostrils, going all the way down to your chest and stomach, and feel your hand going up with your stomach as you inhale. Then, focus on the air coming out and retrace all the steps backward. Five minutes of meditation every day in the morning is enough.

With time, we might feel that we want to expand the five minutes to 10 or 15 minutes. Do so, as long as you’re comfortable with it.

2. Set an intention.


We had three daily meditation sessions during my “Introduction to Buddhism” course in India. We were asked to set an intention before and after starting our meditation. Also, we had to do the same upon waking up before we started our day.

It was a little difficult the first couple of days to do this practice—oftentimes, I didn’t know what intentions I should set. With a little help from our teacher, this practice became my favorite, and I realized why setting an intention in Buddhism is of vital importance.

An intention means the direction of our behavior. So, setting an intention first thing in the morning gives us the drive to accomplish something and be better during the day. The intentions we set in the morning—before doing anything else—subconsciously stay with us all day long and influence us to a great extent.

For instance, we can say the following: “Today, I will try my best not to harm any living thing. Today, I will not lie, hide the truth, or deceive anyone. Today, I will be kind and compassionate toward my family, friends, and pets.”

We can set any spiritual intention that we feel we need to cultivate more often. It doesn’t take more than one minute to release an intention to the universe.



Author: Elyane Youssef
Image: Flickr/Hillary Boles; elephant archives
Editor: Yoli Ramazzina

[Ghost]

How to Find the Life-Giving Rhythm of Meditation.

Via Eric Klein



There’s a rhythm to meditation practice.
When you get in sync with that rhythm, it generates coherence, beauty, and clarity in your daily life.
But, getting in sync won’t happen on its own.
Our own habits of mindlessness and the distracting pull of the ever-present screens degrade attentional focus and fragment the mind. It takes a conscious commitment to find and align with the rhythm of meditation.

This nano-teaching is drawn from a recent month-long program offered to the Wisdom Heart Community (which is open to everyone).
During that month, we strengthened our commitment and discovered how to align our lives with the rhythm of meditation.
Highlights from this teaching:

>> When you get into the rhythm of meditation practice, it gets into you. You need to start it up…but once you get in the groove, the rhythm will take you.
>> Weave the practice into the pattern of your day. Keep that rhythm going, day in and day out, until you can’t not do it.
>> Intensity is the secret sauce of spiritual development. Intensity isn’t straining. It’s not a “no pain, no gain” thing either. Intensity, in spiritual practice, is being profoundly, joyously absorbed in what you’re doing.
Enjoy the dance as you find your rhythm!
~
Author: Eric Klein
Image: Author’s Own
Editor: Leah Sugerman

[Ghost]

End Worrying Forever With These 5 Buddhist Teachings

By Matt Caron




In Eastern traditions, the mind said to be the cause of our bondage and the cause of our liberation. It’s in the mind that the entire field of spirituality plays out. But many aspects of the mind are not considered a necessary part of its functions; in particular, worrying is taught to be one of the lowest things we can do.

To stop worrying is tough, but it’s not impossible. If we adopt a few notions on worrying from the Buddhists, an astounding change can take place. Here’s how to do it!



1) Understand the Mind

In India, it’s common knowledge that the best analogy to the human mind is a monkey. Monkies love jumping from one tree to another, similar to how our mind jumps from one thought to another. When something attention-grabbing comes up, the mind naturally wants to think about; the only problem is that it easily slides into worrying. This requires awareness in order to stop it.

2. Walk Away

The more you worry the more you become agitated. We get wrapped up in something that may not even necessarily exist! The important thing is to take a step back and get out of that energetic ‘space’ by letting go of that thought pattern, or even to walk away for a bit. This will help you see it from a different angle, and with a more objective lens.

3. Know it Doesn’t Help

In of itself, worrying doesn’t help anything. Think of all the times you worried about things in the past. Did it help in any way? Notice how you are in the present moment with your current worry, and ask yourself if it will be any different.

4. Stop Searching for a Solution

We worry because we feel out of control in certain situations. We’re searching for a way to feel in control again. The uncertainty can be hard for the ego to accept. Instead of fighting that uncertainty, learn to embrace it. The bottom line is you can’t control everything and the universe operates on change. It’s a hard truth, but one that defines our life…whether we want it to or not.

5. Mindfulness

When we practice mindfulness, we actually allow things to fall into place. We swim in the present moment, part of us deep inside is detached from the outcome. It gives us a sense of peace and contentment. Things flow easier when we don’t push them to happen.

[Ghost]

5 Important Reasons You Should Never Skip Sun Salutations
Yogi Ram



Have you ever felt like starting your yoga practice by jumping straight into your favorite pose? Sometimes we are so excited – or crunched for time – to get into our asana practice that in the process, we skip the practice of sun salutations.

Many yoga practitioners have experienced some form of injury from their yoga practice. While some yogis accept this as part of the practice, others wonder what they are doing wrong. Injury often happens due to inadequate warm-up before jumping into forward and back bends and other demanding poses. There are many reasons why traditional yoga classes begin with Surya Namaskara, or Sun Salutation.

Here are five reasons you should think twice about skipping your sun salutations:


1. Give your body a complete warm-up

Warming up is essential to reduce the risk of injury. A sun salutation can be performed 5-15 minutes depending on the total length of your yoga practice, and provides a complete warm-up for the entire body. As rule of thumb, it should be performed for about 1/10 the time of your total practice. Depending on your physical fitness and the intensity of the sun salutation, the duration can vary.

Another way to measure the right amount and duration of a warm-up is that you should be perspiring lightly, your breathing slightly faster. Yet you should not be catching your breath or already feel exhausted.

Sun salutations include cardio, stretching, and core strengthening movements, and increase the blood circulation and body temperature. This helps the muscles get warm and receive fresh oxygen. A warm muscle contracts more forcefully and relaxes faster, which increases the overall strength and function of the muscle.



Sun salutations also increase the blood flow in the spinal cord which results in increased nerve transmission and muscle metabolism. This increase in nerve transmission activates the deeper muscles and tissues. Sun salutations also prepare the heart for increased activity and prevent rapid change in blood pressure by activating the baroreceptors.

2. Increase overall flexibility

Sun salutations lubricate the joints, decrease muscle tension, and increase elasticity of the muscles and the connective tissues, which increases the range of movement around the joints. This decreases the risk of injuries like strains and pulls, as well as soreness after.

The inter vertebral discs get massaged and stimulated, and in turn lubricated from the forward and back-bending motions which results in a healthier spine. The overall strength and flexibility of the spine is increased with a regular sun salutation practice.

3. Increase strength and endurance of all muscles

When the muscles get warm, the temperature of the blood traveling through these muscles also increases. When the temperature of the blood increases, oxygen becomes more easily available to the muscles, which improves the overall endurance of your muscles.

Due to the increase in body temperature during sun salutations, the body increases the secretion of hormones (epinephrine and norepinephrine), which are required for the oxygenation process. These hormones increase availability of additional fatty acids and carbohydrates for converting oxygen into energy. Muscles need this energy to cope with the extra tension and load of any physical exertion.

4. Increase body-breath coordination

Sometime we tend to hold the breath during challenging poses (or any challenging situation in life). In a traditional sun salutation, the movements are coordinated with the breath, and each movement lasts a full breath. This helps improve body-breath coordination. Such coordination is useful for maintaining the proper breathing pattern throughout your yoga practice, so you can maintain the one breath to one motion flow for optimal safety, concentration, and performance.

5. Prepare and focus your mind

Due to the complexity of the movements and breath coordination during Surya Namaskara, concentration and focus is required. Your mind gets tuned and prepared for the upcoming asana practice when you start with sun salutations. It is easy to get injured if the mind is in an unfocused or stressed state. Sun salutations increase your overall awareness and concentration, which is essential for a fruitful yoga (and meditation) practice.

There are many compelling reasons to make sure you include sun salutations in your physical yoga practice. They build physical strength and endurance, they warm up the entire body, and they help cultivate presence in your practice. Sun salutations have been practiced for thousands of years to celebrate the life-giving energy of the sun, and to acknowledge that same energy within yourself. Namaste!