by guest author Peter Fernando, Meditation and Mindfulness I've got to be honest with you. The desire to be a well adjusted person wasn't really what motivated me to commit to meditation practice. I remember once, when I was about thirteen, riding my bike home from school down the main street of Whanganui. It was a normal day, nothing spectacular going on. The usual concerns going around in my mind; 'I wonder if such-and-such a girl likes me...' 'Maybe I will become a rock star … [Read more...]
What is meditation? How do you do it? Why would you want to do it? Is it fun? Find out the answers to these questions and more in the articles and stories below.
How to create a spiritual home with a child-friendly meditation circle
by guest author Jenifer Parker, owner of Healium Yoga Studio in Wellington They say that it takes a village to raise a child, but it can be a struggle to find the right village! We are blessed that there are many secular villages in which we can participate, like our play groups and parent meetings with thosewho practice attachment parenting techniques, but we have really struggled to find the right spiritual home for our family. Both my husband and I were raised in religious … [Read more...]
How does Gangaji describe the practice of enquiry?
The path of direct enquiry is the lineage of Ramana Maharshi and what he offered as a path to his own spiritual self-realisation. It is what Papaji taught, and what Gangaji now teaches. Ramana once defined the practice of enquiry by starting with the question: Who Am I ? For all thoughts the source is the 'I' thought. If thoughts arise, without trying to complete them, enquire; to whom did this thought arise. What does it matter how many thoughts arise? As each thought arises, be … [Read more...]
How to meditate with a baby or toddler
by Kara-Leah Grant, My daily, morning half-hour meditation is a must-do. It's the first priority as soon as I wake up, and whenever possible, I'll get up and do it before my toddler is out of bed. There are times though when he's awake before me, and that means I meditate with him. I've done this ever since he was a tiny baby - tiny enough to lie nestled on my lap, sleeping, while I meditated. He out-grew that at about four months, and now he's quite happy to play around me while I do my … [Read more...]
Establishing a daily mindfulness practice is easier than you think
by guest author Peter Fernando, Meditation and Mindfulness Establishing a daily meditation practice can be an opportunity for creativity and a fresh perspective on how we live in the world. It doesn't have to seem like just another thing we should be doing, but aren't... One of the most frequent struggles I hear shared by those of us living in urban environments is around maintaining a continuity of mindfulness – both in terms of times alone, sitting in silence, and also in our encounters … [Read more...]
Equaniminity and the dying mouse
by guest author Alys Titchener, author of blog Squashed Mosquito. Below is a story I wrote about being open. Why? Because I found that when I shared this story at a meditation workshop earlier this year, there was a lot of empathy for the situation. And a real life story can start to build up a picture as to what it actually means to live with an open heart. In this workshop, nicely called Refuge and run by meditation teacher Peter Fernando, we found ourselves asking; What is being … [Read more...]
Learning to soften
by guest blogger Lia Aprile of Shanti-Town If you've got your own website and would like to write a guest article for The Yoga Lunchbox on anything related to yoga or meditation, get in touch. I have recently started a meditation practice. Again. I am several weeks in at this point, and things have been going pretty well so far, but the last week of this new-found practice has coincided with a particularly rigorous yoga schedule (there's some ass-kicking virus going around, … [Read more...]
Being Still for a Change – Why Meditating is a Response to Climate Change
by guest author Christine Dann, writer, researcher, teacher and Green activist October 24, 2009 is a day with a difference, one that will go down in history as the first international day of grass roots action on climate change. Hopefully it will be the last such day, because the world leaders meeting at the December climate change conference in Copenhagen will get the message - stop protecting the profits of big business and start protecting people and other living beings by committing to … [Read more...]
Completion of a loving-kindness sadhana, Day 30 to Day 40
This was the easiest sadhana (daily spiritual practice) I've done. Simply sitting cross-legged and repeating four lines (in English no less!) over and over. May I be filled with loving-kindness May I be well My I be peaceful and at ease May I be happy I finished yesterday, with a twenty minute meditation. Yet this morning, getting stuck into work, I couldn't wait to do my meditation. So I did. Day 41. This may just be a daily practice for me until... well who knows? … [Read more...]
Inside the experience of a Loving-Kindness sadhana to day 29
Kundalini, or prana, rising up the spine Meditation is a cumulative experience. That is, the more you do it, the more you get it, the more you want to do it, the more you get out of it... creating this constant feedback loop of encouragement. Unfortunately, it also works the other way. We begin to meditate, never having done it before, likely with many expectations of what meditation is "supposed" to be like. … [Read more...]