In this time of change, uncertainty, and anxiety, pause to take care of yourself. Perhaps you’ve had your first session of meditation. Did it seem easier than expected? or more challenging? Like any new skill, it needs practice. Our mind naturally jumps around, lingering thoughts from the past or To Do list. Patience and kindness towards self is to take care of what’s most precious in us: our mind. In Eastern cultures, there is only one word for the mind and the body. As you are reading now, take a moment to sit or stand comfortably. Eyes open, nice soft focus, or if comfortable, you can also close your eyes and have someone else read this next section at a slow pace to you. You can even record this on your phone, slowly speaking the words, and then play it for yourself later. "In a comfortable position with a firm back and soft front, let's take a few big breaths. Take a moment to notice how you are sitting or standing, the points of contact with the chair, or the ground, the points of contact with clothes, the air. Sense the top of the head attached to a balloon floating towards the sky. Breathe 3 breaths, noticing how the In breath is different from the Out-breath.. Which one is shorter? Which feels warmer? Where is the point where the In-breath becomes the Out-breath? Examine your breaths for 5 more In and Out breaths. Shifting the attention to the symmetry or non-symmetrical feel of the body. As you breathe in through the nose, focus on the lungs as they expand filling in with air. As you breath out notice how the body softens What else is moving? Just notice without judging or trying to change. Sometimes we’re caught in thoughts. That’s normal, when that happens, gently bring your mind back to the next breath. There is no perfect breath, nor perfect meditation session. Each day, at the moment you are checking in with yourself, your breath will be different, your concentration will be different. So how is it today, at this moment? Breathe and feel the breath through the body. In the next breath notice how slow or fast the breath is, In or Out. Even before COVID-19, life consumed us. Life is made of small but also big changes that can shake us or the world around us to the core. This pandemic is one of these events. But even before COVID-19, the small stuff that happens sometimes make us sweat. If you ask yourself whether you would be still sweating or thinking about something in a few months or even in a few years, what would be the answer? If the answer is no, then why is it that we are so often overwhelmed by a single thought or emotion? If the answer is yes, as this pandemic is a huge changing time, just recognize that it is a big turn in the road of life. The road ahead lies unknown, unpredictable. The illusion of control, gone. Right at the moment that these bothersome thoughts are triggered, It’s almost as if we can’t let go of them. They seem to be so real, so true, and it seems like this would last forever. We get caught up in our own story, our own perspective of that story. Take five breaths now. There were lots of ideas. Recognize what they triggered. Begin anew again, and bring the attention to the next breath. It’s in the resilience of Mindfulness practice that one can learn to push a pause button to that inner monologue. Count 5 breaths. Sometimes it takes a few days before we realize “Wow, I have been consumed by this for a few days now! Is there another perspective I can try to look at?” We have perhaps all experienced being blindsided by the passion we felt towards something, not listening to our inner wisdom. To suspend judgement, keep this constant companion to yourselves: your breath. It is a witness to your emotions, your life. This is the practice. Observe while breathing 5 more breaths these moments of your life as they happen. Emotions are usually felt in our body. Sometimes, even before the brain realizes the emotion, the body already knew. Come back to that body, just the way it is now. Take 5 more breaths. Where is your mind now? By now, we have learned how to recognize symptoms for COVID-19. So let’s learn to recognize our own mind habits. Continue the practice in silence.
Past Mindfulness courses or introductory sessions
Introduction to Mindfulness Webinar
introduction-to-Mindfulness through sound for middle school band students
Audio Samples: in English or in Vietnamese
"Why not go out on a limb? That's where the fruit is!" Mark Twain
Impermanence: "If you see yourself as a wave, you would have a beginning and an end. If you see yourself as a drop of water, you would have no beginning nor end." Thich Nhat Hanh
It takes a village
Interdependence
"The words you speak become the house you live in" Hafiz