Meditation Part 1: Zen
I haven't been meditating for long; maybe since January. Starting off, I would say it's pretty simple but for me it was a bit of a challenge. When you start out, you may want to sit a certain way, have your palms facing up and mumble random sounds. At least, that's what I imagined at first. The more I researched though, I found that there are several different types. Different kinds of meditation have different purposes and methods. Over the next few blog posts, I will brief you on the ones that I find the most interesting.
Zen Meditation or Zazen is your basic form of meditation that consists of two parts.
Part one: Focus on your breath. Starting out you will want to solely relax and get to a comfortable and effortless rhythm with your breathing. Literally just breathe. Don't let your mind overthink your breathing pattern. I wouldn't even suggest counting the seconds for your breath as it may end up having your mind wander. Continue to just breath in deep and then exhale.
Part two: Focus and just BE. The other half of this meditation allows your mind to be clear and aware of the present. By continuing to refocus you mind back when it wanders, you are training your brain in many ways. I will try to explain how it helps a little further: For me, when I start to realize my mind is getting distracted and then I focus it back, I'm not really focusing on anything in particular. More like back to square one or back to nothing which is somehow everything all at the same time. Sometimes, this allows subconscious thought to surface and I will even become aware of realizations I never knew I knew. I also feel that this practice helps my mind reorganize itself. It helps me align and think more clearly. The more you do it the easier it is to hold onto the present awareness and allows everything around you to happen. The more you do it, the less you will have to keep refocusing your attention as well.
