Don’t forget to meditate! Day 2
“Breathing in and out is very important, and it is enjoyable. Our breathing is the link between our body and our mind. Sometimes our mind is thinking one thing and our body is doing another, and mind and body are not unified. By concentrating on our breathing, ‘In’ and ‘Out,’ we bring body and mind back together, and become whole again.”
- Thich Nhat Hahn, Peace is Every Step, page 9
As you meditate today, spend some time trying different anchors as the home base for your meditation—the place you will gently redirect your awareness when you notice it has moved into thought or feeling. Tara Brach suggests these potential anchors:
It is helpful to select a home base (or several anchors) that allow you to quiet and collect the mind, and to deepen embodied presence. Useful anchors are:
The breath as it enters and leaves the nostrils.
Other physical changes during breathing, e.g., the rise and fall of the chest.
Other physical sensations as they arise, e.g. the sensations in the hands, or through the whole body.
Sounds as they are experienced within or around you.
Listening to and feeling one’s entire experience, (i.e., receiving sounds and sensations in awareness).
You can explore these anchors through a self-guided meditation, which allows you to spend time trying different anchors at your own pace. Or, if you’d like a guided meditation, I have recorded one for you here.
In the rush of modern life, we tend to lose touch with the peace that is available in each moment. World-renowned Zen master, spiritual leader, and author Thich Nhat Hanh shows us how to make positive use of the very situations that usually pressure and antagonize us.
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