Mind

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Being still does not mean don't move. It means move in peace

E'yen A. Gardner

If you recall the previous post, the lesson you should have come away with was:

Breathe in……..breathe out……..wax on……..wax off……..oh wait – wrong theme!  Sorry about that!

Seriously (and that is difficult for me), we learned that the key to stillness is finding a way to disengage from the thoughts constantly flowing through our mind.  We found we can do this by focusing our point of attention elsewhere.  In the previous post (Meditation: Stillness Through Breath) our focus was exclusively on breathing techniques.  We will go beyond that in this post! ...continue reading →

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Even when in the midst of disturbance, the stillness of the mind can offer sanctuary.

Stephen Richards

I think I forgot to pay the electric bill – must check on it……gotta call Mom back, she’s probably wondering why I haven’t called……got to finish that schedule for my boss today……my nose itches……got to cut the grass on Saturday - wish I could go to the beach instead……ugh! My nose is still itching……

Does your mind ever go crazy with these kinds of thoughts?  Well, if it does welcome to a typical beginning meditation session!  I can almost guarantee that anyone that has meditated has encountered this problem – the dreaded “monkey mind.”  So why do all the experts keep telling us to meditate if this is what comes out of it?  Read on and find out…….. ...continue reading →

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Quiet the mind and the soul will speak.

Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati

If you’ve read my self-discovery series, you may recall that in Part 2, I asked you to meditate.  I suspect many of you visiting Codex Vita may already have a daily meditation practice, but for those of you that don’t I felt a bit guilty with the brief instructions I left you with.  However, I did promise to explore meditation with you – and so here we go with the very first of (what is destined to be) many posts on meditation. ...continue reading →

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Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.

Aristotle

In part 1 of the Self Discovery series we learned that a true understanding of who we are is critical to living an authentic, holistic life.  Without this knowledge, we tend to fall into a robotic daily routine and end up living according to the will of society and the people around us.  This way of life leaves us empty and unfulfilled.  We also discovered that finding out who we are is not a straightforward process.  Most of the knowledge we seek resides in our subconscious, which is not directly accessible.  Part 2 is where we began the journey of self-discovery.  We participated in two exercises that began to stimulate our thinking with regard to our knowledge of who we are. Those exercises laid the groundwork for the next step we are about to take in our journey of self-discovery. ...continue reading →

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Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.

Aristotle

In Part 1, we established the need to access our subconscious mind so that we might gain an understanding of who we are and what we want out of life.  We also learned that we can’t gain direct access to the subconscious (ok, I’m ignoring hypnosis for the moment) and so we have to find an indirect method.  Part 2 of this series is where we actually begin the journey.  So let’s go “kick the tires” and “look under the hood” ...........of our mind! ...continue reading →

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Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom.

Aristotle

Ever find yourself barreling through life on autopilot?  That was me for certain a few years ago!  Too often we follow set patterns in our life, ignoring our true feelings and self.  To some extent, we are forced into this mode, especially if we have a family that we have to provide or care for.  But when we operate on autopilot, much of what we do is dictated by others and may be contrary to our own desires and needs.  We try to conform to the expectations imposed by society, family, school, friends, and our culture in general.  Much of the time we don’t even realize this.  We are zombies - animated creatures with no discernable life purpose and seemingly mindless.  At the end of the day we wind up feeling drained and empty inside and we are not certain why we feel this way or how to break out of this pattern of lethargy.  ...continue reading →