For those who have attended the workshop, Nirmiti NidraTM you know that we blend NLP, meditation, mindfulness and affirmations into a simple 10 minute practice each day. You also know that any practice is meant to be effortless and easy which guarantees continuity as long as one is dedicated. It should be an interesting, fun exercise that anyone can do and you will greatly enjoy it and benefit from it. Meditation or its variations is not a chore; it is an enjoyable practice.
Yet, we have to get out of the way and let the practice be the practice. It is not about learning a new skill, it is about enjoying the practice. This is one of the reasons that dependence on any external person or object, be it even music, should preferably be avoided – the practice alone matters. Dependency means that you will create an excuse for non-practice, should that person or object not exist. Unless and until you learn to enjoy the practice by itself, for itself, the purpose is lost.
In this video, Bodhin (a Sōtō/Rinzai Zen roshi and Abbot of the Rochester Zen Center (RZC)) weaves metaphor and allegory together to explain the importance of meditation. He will deliver several tangible benefits of meditation that would go unrealized without personal experience. The only way to know is to experience it for yourself.
Bodhin says that what you learn through meditation is to direct your attention and you have a choice as to where you wish to direct your attention. We have the ability to use our mind like a flashlight and this has enormous consequences. The great Spanish philosopher and writer, Jose Ortega y Gasset said “tell me what to pay attention and I'll tell you who you are”. The quality of our life is not determined so much by what we do but instead how we use our mind to direct our attention and as a corollary, how we respond to various situations.
Nirmiti NidraTM makes it easy and effortless because of the mind programming at the workshop. As you practice over a month, you find it easier to direct your attention, easier to de-focus from stray random thoughts and easier to determine a response for situations that you encounter. See this video.