Its always inspiring and refreshing to create using real plants rather than plastic plants.
When you want to meditate using visual sense, you might try using your miniature garden. Look at your plant or plants. They are small powerhouses. They grow and make their own food with the barest minimum of water, nutrients and sunlight. These plants subsequently may provide gaseous exchange, food for insects/ worms and aesthetic value.
If you’re using a clock or timer, set it to 60 or 90 seconds. Listen to the ticking sound. Close your mind to other sources of stimuli, and mental thoughts. Listen to your chosen sound. If your focus strays, gently return to it. Listening to the same sound can become soothing. Many regular sources of input stimuli can induce you to feel comforted and soothed by its rhythm.
When your alarm rings to tell you its the end of your sound meditation, breathe deeply. Slowly receive the stimuli that surrounds you. Be attentive to the sounds in your background. Gently return to the pressing issues that are calling for your attention and time. Prepare to return to your station in life.
2. Decide where you want to walk for a short distance of 10 minutes duration. It should be a safe location where you can focus on your mindful walking exercise.
3. Start walking slowly. Concentrate on placing one foot after another, on the ground. This is your only allowed input for now.
4. Look at the ground immediately in front of your feet. What do you see?
5. When you’re comfortable with your immediate vicinity, you can look at the ground slightly ahead of your feet.
6. What do you see? When you walk towards that piece of ground, do you see your view changing? Do the grass look drier or more lush?
7. You should be paying attention to the ground at your feet, and slightly farther away from your feet. If you get distracted, gently return to your task.
8. Continue walking in this manner for the rest of your 10 minutes.
9. When you’ve reached your time limit, stop walking.
10. Take a deep breathe.
11. Stretch your body to relax. ‘Your mindful walking is done. You can now walk back to wherever you desire, be it your home, your workplace, or somewhere else.
Mindful Walking on September 11 2019
I chose to walk along the sidewalk of my neighborhood. I paid attention to my footpath and ground. I looked at the grass growing next to the pavement. Some grass is yellow and dead. Among the dry grass, are fresh green grass.
I continued walking. I saw more patches of dried yellow grass, interspersed with dark green grass. There were clumps of wild flowers in the patches of green grass. I just think of hope. There is hope even in the dead grass.
I was aware my mindfulness to my walk was faltering. I return to concentrating on the pavement, and then the grass next to the pavement. My 10 minute walk is finished, sooner than I expected. I stop, stretch, and breathe deeply. I turn back to walk home.
Photo prompt from The Daily Spur – silhouette of man walking.
September 8 2019 – word meditation using “smile”. Focus for 60 seconds.
Feedback after the day has passed: Pass the smile on.
September 9 2019 – meditate using a religious image. Sense (of sight) meditation.
Result – The turbulent & stressful thoughts have passed.
September 10 2019 – Meditate while on a walk. (Mindful Meditation) Look at each stimulus in my path. Acknowledge its presence and appreciate its creation. Don’t think of other thoughts. Pay attention to my walk.
Feedback – I felt refreshed after a short outing walking along a road hemmed by civilization, and little bits of nature by the sidewalk.
- People who are easily distracted.
- People who have Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD).
- People who prefer a structured and guided activity.
- People who use visual imagery to fantasize.
- People with thought disorder problems.
- People who have difficulty controlling their impulses because they act on imaginative thoughts.
- People who have not consulted their medical doctor, or other healthcare professional who have been treating them.
For example, if you place a candle in front of you to focus to meditate, you’re using your senses to meditate.
If you can smell the object, like an aromatherapy candle infused with scent, then you are using your senses of sight and smell to meditate.
You may like to have a physical object of your own choice. You may select one that holds positive affirmations for you.
Sit in a quiet place and focus on your object for sense meditation. Breathe calmly. Revel in the beauty and greatness of the positive vibes. Concentrate for 90 seconds. If your attention strays, gently return to your focus. You should be feeling calmer, peaceful and happy. At the end of 90 seconds, slowly bring yourself back to your external world. You will begin to receive the wide variety of input from your immediate environment. Your brain starts to process the data and decide how to respond to each, to handle them. You have returned to your life.
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Prompt – sense from The Daily Spur.
The second kind of meditation of the mind uses visual imagery. You can choose a simple object to imagine seeing in your mind. If you’re a religious person, choose a picture or icon of your faith. If you’re non-religious, think of a simple source of light and hope, like a candle flame that flickers as it burns.
A burning candle is often accepted as a universal symbol of hope. Look at the candle in your mind’s eye. You don’t need to think of anything else. If you get distracted by thoughts like your worries, or trivial matters, return to seeing the burning candle in your mind. Do this visual imagery meditation for 90 seconds. You are only allowed to think of thoughts that are directly related to your chosen image. For instance, think about how strong the candle flame is, as it burns as a lone light. Admire the beauty of the flame. A natural event like a burning candle emits a beautiful flame that flickers and dances.
As you engage with your visual imagery, you immerse yourself with that one stimulus. You release all other stimuli that were battling for your attention. You’ll feel calm. You’ll feel ready to leave meditation and return to the real world.
You can imagine another type of image for your next session of visual imagery meditation. Or you can choose to re-use this same image.
Visual imagery – imagine a green tree full of vigor.
Visual imagery – hills.
Breathing exercises are easy to perform as they do not need much skills in focus. If the doer loses concentration, they can return to the breathing exercise easily without much skill in refocusing.
For simple breathing exercises, breathe slowly. Pay attention to each inhalation and exhalation. You are sending a vital nutrient to your body. You are preparing to deal with your situation. You will manage your current status. Revel in the sheer goodness of breathing.
People who should not try breathing exercises:
People who have respiratory illness/ chest or abdomen injury/ heart disorder/ kidney disease/ diabetes should not try breathing exercises without direct supervision from a qualified physician. Breathing exercises may cause harm to patients with existing physiological disorders. Please consult your medical doctor.
Meditate by thinking of only one word. Today, let’s meditate by concentrating on the word “calm”.
How to meditate:
1)Sit in quiet place which is your sanctuary. Decide the length of time you wish to meditate. Start with a short span of time. Set your alarm on your clock, smartphone or watch.
2)Close your eyes and shut off all input stimuli calling for your attention.
3) Focus on your chosen word “calm”. You don’t need to think about anything.
4)You might help yourself by verbally repeating the word calm …. calm …. calm….
5)If you got distracted and thought about other stuff, you must return to your focused word “calm”, as soon as possible, and in a relaxed and steady manner. You are meditating and distraction should not make you feel upset. You can acknowledge the distraction, then let it go, and return to meditating on the word “calm”.
6)When the alarm rings, slowly leave your meditation. Slowly start to receive external stimulation from your immediate environment. Listen to the sounds. Smell the air. You get ready to return to your position in life where you were before you started this meditation exercise.
7)Smile. You did a good job.