Meditation Guide Now Exclusively on Kindle

Written by on February 7, 2012

Don’t Do Something, Just Sit There! A Simple Introductory Guide to Mindfulness Meditation – Now Exclusively on Kindle.

Do you want to learn to meditate but don’t know where to start?

Click here to buy now:

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com

Mindfulness meditation is a powerful tool of personal change. What seems a deceptively simple process has the potential to undo unwanted thoughts and behaviours and generate alternative ways of acting and thinking.

Mindfulness is traditionally a spiritual or religious process, but has been explored and studied by psychologist since the 1970’s and has been formalised into a number of therapeutic applications that have been shown to work with issues such as stress reduction, anxiety and depression and chronic pain.

This is a complete beginners guide and I have done my best to cover every aspect of the meditation process, simply and without fluff or padding. Including:

  • Breathing, postural and relaxation exercise.
  • How to sit in meditation to get the most benefit.
  • Warm up exercises.
  • The equipment that you need.
  • A simple (yet very powerful) mindfulness meditation.
  • How to incorporate mindfulness into your everyday life.

There is over 30 years of scientific evidence (and over 2500 years of anecdotal evidence!) that suggests that a simple practice of mindfulness meditation can:

  • Slow the effects of ageing on the brain (it makes your brain “denser”!).
  • Create razor sharp concentration
  • Reduce stress and stress related illnesses and effects.
  • Banish depression and the stranglehold of negative emotions
  • Act more appropriately, spontaneously, in any situation (and feel more confident)
  • Let go of cravings and attachments.
  • Live more in the moment, not dwelling on the past or focusing on the future.
  • Increase your sense of well being.

I firmly believe that a daily meditation routine is one of the best ways to improve your health and well being.

Why Publish it on Kindle?

Because Kindle publishing gives you the most flexible way to read the book. You don’t need to own a Kindle to, you can download the (free) Kindle reader app for your phone, tablet, or PC, including:

  • Android
  • iPhone
  • iPad
  • Windows 7 phone
  • Windows and Mac

My other ebooks will be following onto Kindle very soon.

Click here to buy now:

Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com

Can You Help Me?

Have you purchased my mediation guide? I would really appreciate it if you could take 5 minutes to write a review on Amazon. If you do, email me and I will send you a gift to say thank you.

Have you got your own blog or website? Do you run a meditation group? Why not write a review or add it to your recommended reading list (if you do it through Amazon Affiliates to can earn commission!)?

Matt

Categories: The Journey, The Knowledge - Tags: , ,

One Minute Meditation

Written by on November 22, 2011

Even if you have have a regular meditation practice (and if you don’t, I highly recommend that you cultivate one), you will find at times, in the hustle and bustle of life, yourself being swept away, distracted, harassed and flustered.

At times like this I have developed a “one minute meditation” (although, in reality it can be anything from 10 seconds to five minutes or more depending on time available and your needs), to ground myself back in the present moment and stop being swept away by it.

It is the psychic equivalent of “switching it off and switching back on again” that you do with your PC when it gets all clogged up and grinds to a halt or develops glitches.

Here it is in simple steps for you to follow if you find yourself being swept away:

(Read through it and practice it a few times when you have some time to focus and concentrate on it, before you do it out in the “real world”)

1. Stand or sit up straight, imagine a thread running from the crown of your head, holding you up like a marionette.

2. Scan your body for any areas of tension, and consciously relax them, if you want wiggle and shake out the areas, shrug your shoulders, etc. Pay particularly attention to your jaw and shoulders. This is where we tend to hold most tension.

3. If standing, soften your knees, so they are not locked. If sat in a chair, move forward so your back is not supported. Roll your hips forward slightly so that you have a slight, natural arch in your lower back.

4. Move your focus of attention to your centre (approximately your belly button), and sink into your hips. Rock your hips back and forth if you need to balance them.

5. Move the place you are watching the world from to the centre of your brain, away from your forebrain where all the chatter goes on. Look through your eyes as if you are looking out of windows.

6. Take a full breath, imagining you are breathing in and out through your centre. As you breath out make the effort to breath out any lingering tension in your body.

7. If appropriate and useful, as you breath in focus on a word or image that illustrates, to you, the mental and emotional state you want to be in at this moment in time. It could be simply “Grace”, or “Calm”, or a more vivid and complex image.

Warning: This can be quite a powerful process if you do it right and it is not uncommon for people to feel a little “odd” and dizzy when they get it right, so I suggest, for the first few times at least, that you are sitting down.

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Simple Ways to Slow Down Daily

Written by on September 7, 2011

Slowing down shouldn’t be a chore, it should be simple, easy, fun and rewarding. If it is a hassle, you are doing it wrong.

If it is a hassle, you won’t stick to it.

So here are a few simple ways that you can slow down in a day. You don’t need to do all of them at once (if you do, there is a good chance you will be overwhelmed and that is not the result we are after here).

When you very first wake up, take a few moments to become aware of your breathing, and aware of your body, run  a check to see any areas of tension and consciously relax them.

Then spend a few moment thinking of things you are grateful for, that you already have in your life.

Then think of what you want to achieve today and how you would like the day to go and how you would like to be.

(I would like to state, for the record, that I am certainly not a morning person and although I tend to wake early, I am usually grumpy and disorientated for some time, by doing the above 3 processes I find I get out of that fug much more quickly).

When washing and showering, be mindful of the water, of the sensations, the smells, etc, of the process you are doing.

When eating breakfast (and all meals today), sit down, don’t gobble it down whilst trying to pack you bag for work/school/college/etc. Take smaller bites, chew much more than you think you should and be mindful of the tastes, textures and sensations (as well as emotions and thoughts – but don’t get hung up on them) you have.

When commuting to work, run a commentary in your head of what you can see, hear, feel, smell and taste. Be polite to fellow commuters, let a car out of a side road, offer your seat to someone, hold the door open.

Be polite and well mannered, say “please” and “thank you”, take the time to connect with people and show a genuine interest in them.

If you can, go for a stroll, not to get somewhere, just for the sake of it. Look around and run the commentary in your head. See what you notice and how it makes you feel.

Do this 10 second relaxer whenever you find your mind has wandered or that you are getting flustered or frustrated:

  • Step back (either physically or mentally) from what you are doing.
  • Be in your body and focus on your centre (roughly your belly button).
  • Check your posture, stand or sit up straight.
  • Take a deep breath in (imagine your are breathing in through your belly button).
  • Breathe out and focus on relaxing on any tension in your muscles.
  • Mentally state the outcome that you want.
  • Repeat as necessary.
  • Carry on.

As a final note, some days are just rubbish and no matter what you do things seem to go against you. If that is the case, don’t fight it, just let go, walk away (either physically or metaphorically) and start again tomorrow.

Categories: The Knowledge - Tags: , , ,

Simplify

Written by on June 17, 2011

As a slight interlude to the conversation we are having about compassion I just wanted to let you know about an excellent ebook I have come across recently (I haven’t done a good book review for quite awhile!):

Simplify by Rob Westwood


On the face of it, this ebook appears to be another one of those minimalist tracts, in a similar vain to Ev Bogue or Leo Babauta, but it, for me at least, is much better than that.  Rob even, rather cheekily, suggests in Chapter 27 to avoid such guides, quickly distancing himself form the other productivity/minimalist guru’s out there!

This short but beautifully presented ebook’s goal is to create “ventilation” or gaps in your life as “things are simpler when they are spaced out”. He says you can do this in several ways:

Minimising  Meta-Work. unnecessary levels of work such as meetings or form filling that waste time but don’t actually do anything productive.

Manage Information Flow. Being choosy about what to pay attention to in this flood of information.

Live More Work Less. As most people find themselves “living to work” rather than “working to live”.

These ideas are then explored in more detail in the following 50 short chapters. With advice from the obvious that you never seem to get round to (Chapter 2: Delete Your Emails); to the more profound (Chapter 14: Stop Lying); to the much more difficult (Chapter 17: Stop Competing – easier said than done); to the utterly brilliant (Chapter 43: Get a Big Fat Letterbox!). It embraces the flexibility of the ebook format to give suggested chapters at the end of each section that you can jump directly to by clicking the link.

I am not sure I could go to the extremes that Rob has here, I doubt I could live without my car or mobile phone for example, but like he says “The book is not a set of rigid guidelines. You should pick and choose exactly which pieces of advice are applicable to you.”

A cut above most minimalist guides this has a unique approach and Rob’s voice is conversational and chatty with a seam of absurdist humour. I found it a more fun and original take on the minimalist/productivity scene, and a much easier read, than some of the more preachy tomes out there that tend to just gather up and regurgitate the same old advice.

If you are a fan of simplicity and minimalism I highly recommend it.

You can get it at lulu.com here.

Matt

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Compassionate Practice

Written by on June 9, 2011

Buddhism has a very powerful meditation called Metta Bhavana or “Development of Compassion” which is an excellent exercise in developing loving kindest or friendship.

Recent studies have suggested that regulate Metta practice can have positive effects on both your physical health and your mental well being.

How To Do It

There are six stages to the traditional Metta Bhavana, spend a few minutes on each stage, in order. To help you keep time you can use a stopwatch, countdown timer, or fancy meditation app for your smartphone.

To learn more about the basics of meditation, read my ebook here.

1 .Yourself

You cannot have compassion for everyone else without having compassion for yourself. If you are full of self loathing you cannot help but to project that outwards. To be be truly compassionate you must accept yourself fully.

2. A Good Friend

Think of a good friend, imagine those feeling of friendship you have towards them, focus on sending them your loving kindest and compassion.

3. A “Neutral” Person

Take someone who you don’t really have any feelings for, a neutral person, and project those feelings of loving kindest onto them.

4. A Difficult Person

This is where you may waiver! Think of someone you personally know who you do not like, notice where those thoughts and feelings come from and what memories come to mind. Now imagine that person as a friend, project those same feelings towards them, notice how your feelings towards this person slowly changes.

5. All Four of the Above Equally

Focus on all four people and feeling that loving kindest equally for each one, so one has no more feeling of compassion towards one than the other.

6. And Then Gradually The Entire Universe

Expand this feeling of compassion to all the people on our planet, all living things and as far out into the universe as you can imagine. See yourself as part of an intricate and complex system, not an individual but interconnected.

Remember, don’t leave this feeling on the meditation mat! That is just practice for being compassionate in the real world!

Matt

Categories: The Knowledge - Tags: ,

How to Develop Slow Speech

Written by on May 19, 2011

Here are just a few ways you can practice slow speech, become less critical and more positive in what you say. This will have an affect that more people will like you and want to hang out with you. Which is nice…

Be grateful – the happier you are with your life the less likely you will be to be a moaning bitch!

Practice your manners.

If you find yourself moaning and complaining – Stop! Take a deep breath and focus on something good.

If that doesn’t work, give yourself exactly 1 minute and 37 seconds to get it out of your system, on the understanding that as soon as that time is up you will go and do something more useful. Time it and stick to it!

Give everyone you meet today  a compliment.

Compliment your kids/husband/wife/better half AT LEAST 10 times each day…

Reflect on what you say before you say, don’t rush to comment.

If you are mean about someone in your head (shout at an inconsiderate driver for example), send them good wishes immediately afterwards.

Become genuinely interested in people. Everyone is unique and fascinating, learn about them and express that interest and fascination…

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Flirting with the Muse: Overcoming Writers Block

Written by on April 8, 2011

Wow! It has been awhile…

In fact I haven’t really got into the rhythm of writing yet in 2011 and it is April already.

I have been going through a period of unprecedented busyness since the start of the year. I recognise it all as the interplay of Yin and Yang, expansion and contraction, busy and not so busy and so on, but it does mean that I have got horrendously behind with everything I have wanted and needed to get done in that time. Now I have a mad scramble to catch up (especially with my correspondence, before people start to get very annoyed with me for not getting back to them/doing what I promised/etc).

This busy time has meant I have not had the time I like available to me to write. This lack of writing has effected my creativity muscles. They seem to have atrophied a little and like returning from a physical injury, I need to undergo a spell of mental “physio”  (if that is not a contradiction in terms) before my skills return to their usual (admittedly mediocre) level.

In this “dry spell” I have got out of the habit of thinking of hooks and ideas of posts, my thoughts have started to play a game of peekaboo; popping up into my head when I have no way of recording them and then running and hiding as soon as I break out a notepad or word-processing programme.

The ancient Greeks understood all too well the vagaries and fickleness of the creative process and ascribed creativity to Muses, goddesses that had to be romanced and flirted with to give up their gifts.

How I have Flirted the Muse: Getting My Creativity Back

Well, to begin with, creativity needs time and space.

It is one of the ironies of the human psyche that we cannot force creativity through the power of will alone. In fact that kind of tension seems to be poison to creativity. It is way writer block is so insidiously evil. Writer gets a block. Writer panics and beats themselves up and stress about the block, The block gets worse…

Saying that avoidance is not the answer!

So here are a few things I have found helped me get back into the creative writing flow (it is a collection of things I have picked up along the way – I have referenced the people I learned it from where I can so you can go and explore some more if you want), I hope they help you if you go through a similar thing:

Relax

From my preamble we know that creativity hates tension, stress, haste and demands. So, first things first, relax. Give up any notion of writing anything (for now at least) and just relax, have a bath, go for a stroll, watch TV If you want a more formalised process of relaxation try my “Deep Relaxation Primer” here.

Immerse Yourself

Read. Read anything; books, blogs, articles, magazines, whatever. Read things that are relevant to what you want to write about. Keep some sort of “capture device” (see next tip) at hand and jot down any ideas that come to mind as you are reading. I wrote several interesting ideas down recently whilst reading “Status Anxiety” by Alain De Botton (for a great interview with him grab the latest copy of the “New Escapologist”).

Capture

Make sure you have some way of capturing ideas when they strike. I have recently been using the notes function my iphone, but it is very slow and when I sync it the notes tend to disappear (I am sure I am doing something really obvious wrong!). I also love moleskine notebooks and often carry one round with me. I admit, this doesn’t help if inspiration strikes in the shower…

Set a Deadline, Target or Goal

Charlie Brooker asserts that all you need to overcome your writers block (or fear of starting) is not creative writing skills but a good solid threat of a deadline.

Sebastian Faulks and Terry Pratchett refuses to leave their desk until they have written a predetermined amount of words, whether that is a single line or a chapter (depending on the goal for that day).

Set a goal (keep it very, very attainable to begin with) and stick with it.

Just Write!

You are not in the mood to write. You start writing anyway. You get in the mood to write. Simples.

The comedian Richard Herring writes something every day, Joe Vitale and Dan Kennedy advise just sitting and writing whatever is in your head, stream of consciousness style with no editing for at least 10 minutes a day.

I write snippets, cool sounding hooks and seed crystals for post entries. Then I just start piecing it all together. I write fragments of sentences to return to at a later date, slowly a post will take shape.

Put More Effort Into Editing

Apparently (according to my friend Rob Wringham and I have not reason to doubt him), Stephen King in his book “On Writing” advises as the editing process to “kill” every 10th word. I also advice trying to change every 10th adjective or adverb. Get a thesaurus.

Learn to enjoy the process, like pruning some topiary. Editing (as long standing readers may have noticed) is my least favourite part of writing, I tend to write, do a bit of a slapdash spelling and grammar check and pop it up online.

I now resolve to edit better.

All these steps (maybe not quite in the order I have written here  and I am still a bit lax on editing) were how this post got created. It took me a week, but at least I did it.

Right now to get started on my next entry and I should have it some time in, oh, June?

See you there,

Matt

PS, since this blog is a bit of ramble and a bit of a “how to”, and I couldn’t figure out where to put it, so I have put it in both the Journey and the Knowledge category.

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