Meditate

 Our mind is like the sky. 

Free, boundless, limitless

One of the new habits that I started (or more like took again) this year is to meditate. After reading "The Tibetan Book of The Dead and Living" by Sogyal Rinpoche, I am just so convinced to start meditating again. I used to meditate on a daily basis in 2011 for like a month heh. And in 2012 I meditated only when I want to. After reading the book however, I realised that my technique was wrong.

So before reading the book, I thought we're supposed to empty our minds when meditating. And I realised how difficult and annoying it is to do that, cause the more you "try" to empty your mind, the more it will be filled with thoughts. After reading the book, I learned that we're supposed to let go of our thoughts. Instead of trying hard to get rid of them, just let it rise, don't cling onto them, and let it go. And yes, this is much easier, and somehow naturally your mind will be "empty" too.

When I mean empty I don't mean it figuratively. From the book, I learned that the mind is like a body of water. When we have so many thoughts and emotions inside it, this body of water is like a stormy sea. Moving, ravaging, shaking and just pretty much uncontrollable. But when we meditate, this body of water is like a small lake on top of a mountain with no winds blowing. Very still, very quiet, very peaceful. And the more we meditate, the more often our mind will become still like that lake, instead of a stormy sea. And the more we can see things clearly and solve problems clearly too.

I watched a Buddhist documentary back in 2012 during the THIS Buddhist Film Fest in Singapore called "Your Mind Is Bigger Than All The Supermarkets In The World". It is from there that I learned how big, limitless and spacious is our mind. And how much potential it has, when we are able to train them. And I can't agree less when the book says that meditation is the way to train our mind.

I've been meditating for almost 5 months now, everyday, or at least 6 days a week. I followed the book's method of meditation closely and... I did feel a difference. One of the biggest differences I feel now is that I don't cling on to emotions and thoughts. I used to feel annoyed by things for DAYS. Now the feeling can disappear within hours. I used to feel angry by little things but now I feel less anger controlling me. And another difference I feel is that I'm calmer throughout the day.

To be honest you just feel different. I can't describe this feeling, but who I am now, after meditating everyday, is definitely a different person than who I was before. You can try it out for yourself. Try 5 minutes a day, then 10. Now I meditate at least 15 minutes a day. Quite an improvement I suppose. And I am definitely carrying this habit forward to 2015, and more years to come.

And also, meditation is sometimes (or most of the time) the only time in the day when I feel most serene and calm. I couldn't remember what I think, feel and experience during meditation (well since my mind is empty) but I could remember how peaceful I feel during meditations.

As Sogyal Rinpoche puts it: "In meditation be at ease; be as natural and spacious as possible. Quietly sitting, body still, speech silent, mind at peace, let thoughts and emotions, whatever rises, come and go, without clinging to anything."

I've always believed in the Buddha's words "Your mind is everything, what you think you become. With our thoughts, we make the world". I've always believed that our mind is the most powerful thing in the world. Whatever you do to it, will have an effect to you and your life. It is big and limitless, and we are yet to explore a tiny bit of it. It is like the sky, boundless and free. And when we meditate, it is when we are exploring this boundless part of the sky. We are truly free when we meditate. I feel free when I meditate. Free from worries, free from thoughts, free from emotions.  

Well I recommend everyone to make meditation a part of your daily life. You will feel the difference it makes. and I think your mind will thank you for it.