‘Create Mind Space’ what it means to me…
Written by Eckard Naujoks
Contribute a post to the Mind Space site.
The word Mind Space (creating Mind Space) indicates an essential aspect of meditation, to make the mind more creative & flexible.
Meditation is not obscure.
Everybody has had moments of meditation, though it might be a vague memory and you might never have used the name meditation for it.
I am talking about moments when you totally surrender to nature, to a work of art, to a human being.
It can be a simple event, like the toll of a bell, the wing of a butterfly, the laughter of a child.
Meditation teaches us to be natural and authentic and not to be seduced by outside impulses.
We are guided into the presence by observing our breath and body sensations, without reflecting or getting lost in thoughts.
Many people believe it reveals a state of no mind, where you don’t think anymore – which is a misunderstanding.
Human beings will always think.
But it is about not being driven and haunted by your thoughts and emotions anymore.
Meditation teaches the art to observe, without being identified.
The most effective way to erase or purify thought patterns and emotional tendencies is to observe them without identification, because it is exactly this identification that keeps them alive or makes them even stronger.
Einstein said once: he wants to think like god does. He didn’t mean it as a joke, but that he was trying to align himself to the laws of the universe.
Just as an instrument needs to be tune before you can play it. Likewise a human being needs to tune and align his mind and body.
Every age and every society had its own approach.
The approach of meditation is beyond time, culture and religions – and it is the most direct one.
The more you practice the more your meditation experience is teaching you.
The most valuable lesson a human being can be taught is something he will never forget – that which carries and protects him all his life…the practice of Meditation.
The Sound of Meditation
In one of the national broadsheets on Saturday there was an advert entitled: Classical Music for Meditation.
A series of 4 different CD’s offering the relaxing and soothing works from classical composers.
It was curious how they used the word ‘Meditation.’
‘Classic FM’ like to use words like ‘relax’, ‘unwind’ or just ‘Music for Relaxation.’
Music is a universal tool which touches the heart of everyone, it can be confusing for people to use the word ‘Meditation’ alongside it.
Meditation is a word that at this moment in time is used loosely. As a result there can be confusion in people’s minds.
Through engaging with a piece of music there is an effect on the mind perhaps memories or a feeling of calm, this can be enjoyable, but also at the same time a distraction.
Meditation is working directly with our mind and its function is to focus & concentrate the mind, overcoming distraction.
Music, perhaps will induce states of relaxation but it’s confusing to state that it will cause you to meditate.
There is a difference and its important to distinguish the difference if you are to fully benefit from a meditation practice.
At Mind Space we create music and ambient sounds with video for people to enjoy however we are cautious not to confuse people.
Correct Meditation will lead to an experience of silence – this is a type of music for the mind, ‘the Sound of Meditation.’
To arrive at this experience we will need audio instructions initially but there comes a time when the outer noise will stop and we can engage directly with our mind and experience peace.
Experience ‘the Sound of Meditation’ by trying this recent meditation we have designed which has no guidance just simple instructions at the beginning & a timer to keep you on track.
Written by Adam Dacey
Contribute a post to the Mind Space site.
memory loss, meditation & seeing into the future
Scientists have stated today memory loss begins to kick in from the early 40′s as opposed to what was previously thought as in the 60′s.
In our world of distraction it’s not surprising – memory loss is the first stage on the path to dementia.
A regular practice of Meditation engaged in correctly can not only prevent this but increase our memory and concentration.
In Buddhist Meditation they state that if your concentration is sharp enough through training you can see far into the past and the future as clearly as we remember yesterday.
My Grandparents are both in their late 80′s and have faculties in full working order – why? They make an effort each day to keep their minds active and engaged…
Try to Meditate each day for a two weeks and see what effect it has on your mind, memory and concentration.
Written by Adam Dacey
Contribute a post to the Mind Space site.
Meditation, Alcohol and Recovery
Addictions can be all-consuming but there is hope for regaining sobriety, meditation can help provide an individual with a set of powerful tools to conquer their habit.
This article featured on thefix.com shows the journey of Jenna Hollenstein who documents her journey and the meditations she practiced on the road to recovery.
It also begins to show the growing research being revealed around this subject as she states:
‘The benefits of meditation may seem like a “no-brainer” to many people in recovery. But can they be satisfactorily demonstrated beyond anecdote?’
The article which can be read here which is a very good read and also provides an essential ‘step by step’ meditation reveals that yes these benefits are starting to be revealed – (check out the latest research by the BBC and read this article for another view on Research and Meditation.)
Dr. Petros Levounis, Director of the Addiction Institute of New York. States ‘individuals are most successful in recovery when they make Meditation a way of life.’
Written by Adam Dacey
Contribute a post to the Mind Space site.
The Ocean Mind
There is an analogy in Buddhist scripture which compares the mind to an ocean.
Our thoughts are waves that arise from our ocean-like-mind
We sit and watch the waves as they arise out of and back into the ocean.
There is vast potential inside of us – within our mind. Meditation practice helps us to tap into this potential.
Tight conceptual thoughts block the flow of the ocean like mind – causing stress within and without.
It’s a misunderstanding to think that meditation is a way to try to stop all conceptual thoughts.
Meditation helps us to create a mental environment where our mind can grow and we witness the natural stillness within our mind free from tight conceptual thoughts.
Try this Ocean Mind Meditation to help you accomplish this.
Written by Adam Dacey
Contribute a post to the Mind Space site.
Clearing the Mind Junk
Mind Junk – according to the Urban Dictionary:
The condition where you have so much useless concerns, thoughts, and other issues interfering with your ability to think clearly. For example: I can’t get focused on this project with all the mind junk floating around in my head!
Sounds familiar?!
The beginning of the New Year is the time to make a decision that enough is enough.
Meditation is the key to clearing the junk out of the mind.
Living in a house that is full of clutter, junk and mess – it’s not a pleasant experience.
When you go into a space that is clear, clean and junkless there is a certain experience of clarity that washes over you.
It’s the same with the mind if its clear and free of junk then its a pleasant place to reside.
So what would define junk in the mind?
States of mind such as:
Frustration, High Stress, Increased Distraction, High Worry, Haughtiness
These states and mind come and go – it’s better that they just go and don’t come back.
We know how to dejunk our house/room – but how to do this to our mind?
Meditation helps us to clear out the junk from our mind feel refreshed, clear and happy.
We can do this today – right here and right now, try this Simple Meditation in 5 Minutes - just 5 Minutes of your time.
We don’t need to wait for another holiday to have a break.
New Year can be a strange hang-over time – weather getting colder. It seems a long way to the next break. We can change all this with a little shift in the mind.
Read about how to Dejunk the mind here.
Written by Adam Dacey
Contribute a post to the Mind Space site.
Why Meditation is more like riding a bike than untangling a mystery!
The two meditations – 5 & 30 Minutes we have launched this week are an opportunity for you to go alone with your meditation practice.
When we learn to Meditate in the beginning we need to be guided but there come a time when it is important to develop and improve the skill alone.
We can practice Meditation continually – we don’t always need the help of someone else to do this.
Much is made of meditation, spoken & written about – there are many layers to the practice – this can be overwhelming and confusing.
Often when we hear about the practice it can be misleading preventing us from establishing a regular practice.
I feel that one of the reasons this is the case is that Meditation is very closely connected to religious practices and spirituality.
This is not a bad thing but it can confuse and prevent people from accessing the benefits of the practice, they can be put off by the jargon, the clique of the religious group or simple its ‘over the top’ mystical presentation.
When we were a child and learnt to ride a bike – it was simply a process.
We put the time in; with the aid of our parents supporting, until eventually we could cycle off and experience perhaps our first taste of freedom as a child – such joy and exhilaration!
Once we have developed this skill then we have it for life – we don’t necessarily cycle everyday or join a club and buy lots of lycra but we have the skill that we can use.
Our Meditation in Schools program is designed to so that we can give children in the early stage of their life the opportunity to life a priceless skill that they can have in their life. They may practice everyday they may not – doesn’t matter – they an important skill have it in their kit bag.
Meditation can empower an individual to progress and move forward in their life.
Offering a tool which they can use to:
experience peace
overcome stress
protect their minds from depression
reduce mental wandering
keep healthy physically and mentally.
We can be confident that we can practice meditation without somebody guiding us or the need to have music on in the background.
These two Simple Meditations which we are offering this week are building a bridge enabling us to do this.
Written by Adam Dacey
Contribute a post to the Mind Space site.
New Year, New Mind
Where is the New Year?
Try to find it.
It’s simply a concept.
There is a freshness about something new.
A new relationship, a new book, a new album, a new holiday location…a new year.
Its newness is quite apparent on New Years Day – the freshness can quite quickly evaporate.
In reality each moment is new and fresh.
Everything is changing continuously. Some change is difficult to see and notice – its taking place all the time.
Like when you receive a friend request on Facebook from someone you went to school with and perhaps haven’t seen them for decades! Check the photos and you see a person who sometimes in unrecognizable.
Things die and are reborn moment and moment.
The mind can groove in autopilot for periods of time.
A day, week, month, year, decade, life.
Our preferences, likes, dislikes, opinions.
A feeling that there is no change can bring a sense of security. Keeping everything in the same place at home.
Beneath the sense of safety and comfort there is change taking place continuously.
New Year gives us an insight into impermanence beginnings and ends.
We can use this time to embrace change and use it to transform our mind and perspective.
If we wish to change and transform it doesn’t need to take a long time – a single moment gives us an ocean of opportunity.
Feeling stuck is a common state of mind.
Every time we sit still Meditation helps to refresh our mind and encourages us to see the space in each moment.
Meditation can provide us with a new recharged mind every time we sit.
So we can take the New Year as a landmark – an opportunity to see the newness in each moment – however if we are skillful each day can feel like a New Years Day.
Written by Adam Dacey
Contribute a post to the Mind Space site.
5 thoughts why New Years resolutions are difficult to keep & how to change this!
5 thoughts that come up…
1) We make too many
2) Our vision is too narrow
3) We try too hard.
4) We go off too soon
5) We forget the importance of making a decision
1) We make too many
Sometimes it can help to simply make one resolution & focus on developing and nurturing it.
Making many resolutions can be greedy and lead to distraction – come February there is no real strength left in the centre of the resolution for bringing it to completion
2) Our vision is too narrow
‘Always keep your mind on the horizon.’ Words of advice that I was given nearly 15 years ago.
Sometimes when making a resolution it can be too much about ‘me’ & not enough about others – this dilutes the power of the resolution. We can widen our vision by bringing more people into it by developing our intention. Thinking:
I am making this resolution for the benefit of all the people throughout the world.
3) We try too hard
Trying hard is encouraged by many people, how about trying too hard. Over-egging it.
When we grow a plant we need to create suitable conditions for its growth – soil, moisture, attention whilst at the same standing back and enjoying it grow. Same with our resolutions we can view them like seeds growing in our mind. You can force a seed to grow, simple create the right conditions for its development.
4) We go off too soon
You often see this happen at a long distance running event – a runner will set off at blistering pace at the beginning but have nothing left in the tank for the mid and latter stages of the race. Not pacing oneself and burning out. This can happen with a resolution, being very excited in the early weeks and telling everyone but then the intention can fizzle out. So set off with your intention at a reasonable pace to last the duration of your life….
5) We forget the importance of making a decision
Finally there is nothing mystical about accomplish a resolution other than continually making the decision.
If we make the resolution to meditate everyday – we can keep this alive by returning to the decision again and again.
Making the decision to meditate even if days pass and we are not meditating never let go of the decision to meditation.
Written by Adam Dacey
Contribute a post to the Mind Space site.
The Horizon Mind
The Horizon Mind
When I lived in Nepal I spent a period of time visiting an English man who was in prison. Residing in Katmandu. Not the most salubrious of abodes – he shared a cell with around 10 people and the drinking water was from a pond in the middle of the courtyard. He was continuously sick.
He had been sentenced for 25 years as a result of over-staying his welcome.
I was very young at the time and was quite moved by the encounters and the attitude that he showed and conveyed in our conversations.
One of the things that he mentioned that stays with me and words of advice that often arise in my mind when encountering difficult situations.
‘Always keep your mind on the horizon.’
Words that can be trotted off the tongue in a few seconds.
When someone has experience and expresses it through their speech – words take on a power which can reach you deep in the heart.
He was practicing this experience in prison and had the mind space to be able to offer me advice about the path that lay in front of me:
‘Always keep your mind on the horizon.’
He told me these words 18 years ago but they still have an effect on my mind and life. How kind!
Our speech and actions of generosity can have a profound and far-reaching effect on those around us.
Written by Adam Dacey
Contribute a post to the Mind Space site.
