Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Be Still....


We read in the bible to "Be still and know that I am God." This verse is so beautiful and it calms me down every time I hear it. I wish at times I could live it out in my day to day life.
I read so much about meditating and have longed to work it into my daily routine. I just haven't figured this out yet.
I love reading Gwyneth Paltrow's newsletter on http://www.goop.com. This is a section about meditating and I found a piece that I think is doable:

To experience a taste of this luminosity, try sitting quietly in an upright posture. It could be in a chair or on the sofa or cross-legged on the floor. Keep your back straight. Or lie down if you would rather. Let your eyes gently close. And just listen. Listen to the sounds and the silence that surround you. Let the sounds come and go as they wish without choosing one over another. Try to listen to the entire sound, noticing when your mind identifies it as whatever it is: a car horn, the refrigerator, the heat coming on, children’s voices, the dog, or nothing. Don’t let your identification of the sound stop you from listening. Simply note the thought and return to the bare sounds, to the act of listening. If your mind wanders, as it will, bring your attention back to the sounds. It might be after a moment or two, or it might be after a whole cascade of thoughts, it doesn’t matter. At some point you will realize, “Oh, I’m not listening, I’m thinking,” and at that point you can return attention to the sounds. Treat your mind the way you would a young child who doesn’t know any better. Be gentle but firm. Meditation means bringing your mind back when you notice it has wandered, it’s not about keeping your mind from wandering in the first place. You will notice that you instinctively prefer some sounds over others - don’t let this influence your listening. Just observe the liking or the not liking but don’t let it control you. Listen to everything, the way you would listen to music.

Once your body is in a relaxed state, you can use this time to pray, recite scripture, or just listen to what God has to say.

Peace.

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