tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148557807474310110.post8705248213657882330..comments2022-07-19T07:48:28.683-04:00Comments on Belle, Book, and Candle: On Meditation and MindfulnessBellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04335523622158333456noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148557807474310110.post-60676682379088755252015-08-09T13:04:21.058-04:002015-08-09T13:04:21.058-04:00Kat, I think the whole point is to quiet the mind ...Kat, I think the whole point is to quiet the mind not be in pain. I haven't been able to sit in the lotus position ever! I just maintain an erect posture and I concentrate on my breathing instead of aches and pains in my hips and knees. Maybe give it another try. I'll see if I can locate a copy of 'The Empty Mirror'. Sounds intriguing.Bellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04335523622158333456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148557807474310110.post-47213504211403812502015-08-08T22:27:55.965-04:002015-08-08T22:27:55.965-04:00I tried to do Zen meditation for a while, under th...I tried to do Zen meditation for a while, under the influence of Janwillem Lincoln van de Wetering's The Empty Mirror: Experiences in a Japanese Zen Monastery. I must admit the uncomfortable sitting position ended it for me. Sitting in a chair sounds much better!Kathttp://mirabiledictu.orgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148557807474310110.post-18247989461507328662015-08-05T14:39:35.690-04:002015-08-05T14:39:35.690-04:00I was hoping you would provide a good list, Tullik...I was hoping you would provide a good list, Tullik. And you have! And thanks for the quote from Rumi...'the phrase each other doesn't make any sense'...surely something to ponder.<br /><br />I have read a few of your suggestions, but long ago. How could I have forgotten 'Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind'. I will give 'Awakening the Buddha Within' a try. It is one I have heard of. Funny how books come along or back into our thoughts at different stages of life.Bellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04335523622158333456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148557807474310110.post-43888144043551556422015-08-05T12:38:23.576-04:002015-08-05T12:38:23.576-04:00Hi, Joan. I was lucky to find a yoga class that I ...Hi, Joan. I was lucky to find a yoga class that I liked on my first try. It is small - 7 to 10 - and the people who attend are very committed. We started in chairs but now are down on the mats. Good luck. Perhaps the YMCA?<br /><br />That's funny about the Presbyterian upbringing. I too was raised in the Presbyterian church but never gave much thought to its effects. Now I have something else to meditate on!Bellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04335523622158333456noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148557807474310110.post-11906577639849832942015-08-02T16:18:52.835-04:002015-08-02T16:18:52.835-04:00Belle, I have a few Buddhist books on my shelves b...Belle, I have a few Buddhist books on my shelves but few strictly on meditation as the linkage between Buddhist philosophy (in reality it is not a religion) and meditation is like ordering a Banana-Split and asking them to hold the ice-cream! I like all of Kabat-Zinn’s books the one you mentioned in particular. Lama Surya Das (Jeffery Miller) wrote a beautiful book “Awakening the Buddha Within”. Joseph Goldstein’s “Insight Meditation” and Tara Brach (Phd Clinical Phycologist) “Radical Acceptance” are detailed and again speak to meditation but in a form that is used in stress reduction clinics and hospital programmes. Her introduction page starts with this:<br />“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,<br />there is a field. I will meet you there.<br />When the soul lies down in that grass,<br />the world is too full to talk about<br />language, ideas, even the phrase each other<br />doesn't make any sense.” Rumi (1207 – 1273).<br /> Jack Kornfield’s “Path with a Heart” is a classic and I would be remiss if I didn’t add the corner stone” Zen Mind Beginner’s Mind” by Shunryu Suzuki. Its short and brilliant but one needs time to mull over what is being said, typical Zen school. <br />I was recently involved as a mentor with someone who had suffered a mental breakdown and the Physiatrist’s first order was getting her started in mindfulness training (and meditation) with Dr Kabatt Zinn’s “Wherever You Go, There You Are.” as the primer. It is no longer considered just a hippy activity....or as you so nicely put it....."the Woo-Woo" brigade (..too funny)!!<br />Tullikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10524256855855014534noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9148557807474310110.post-60455835338458121112015-08-01T09:16:33.298-04:002015-08-01T09:16:33.298-04:00Jack and I have been talking about yoga recently t...Jack and I have been talking about yoga recently to help with aches and pains. I have so many friends who swear by it. But I have to find a co-ed, beginners class for old people.<br />I've also suggested meditation for both of us, but that's usually all the farther I've gotten. I'm intellectually lazy and, like you, my mind is always buzzing. Of if it's not, I feel guilty because I'm doing 'nothing'. Katrina, at Pining for the West, says this is because I was raised a Presbyterian!<br />I think I have Wherever You Go, There You Are on my Kindle. If so, I'll start with that one.joan.kylerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17015342608992682333noreply@blogger.com