Activity-Oriented Meditation Techniques: With this type of meditation, you engage in a repetitive activity, or one where you can get ‘in the zone’ and experience ‘flow.’ Again, this quiets the mind, and allows your brain to shift. Activities like gardening, creating artwork, or practicing yoga can all be effective forms of meditation.
—From About.com
I agree with that, and I’ve been on a meditation retreat for the past few days. I didn’t have to go anywhere to do it, I just immersed myself in Photoshop and spent hours each day playing with new techniques, trying to draw a couple of pictures that came close to what I envisioned. In fact sometimes they didn’t even come close, and that was all right too. I just kept playing until I wound up with something else I liked.
Do you ever meditate? If so what form does it take?
Writing in my journal and qi gong. Both on occasion rather than regularly. When my living situation changes over the next few months I hope to develop a daily qi gong routine
Evan,
I agree with you about the power of journal writing. I’ve done a lot of that in my life, especially when going through transitions. Also, when I wrote this post I thought of qi gong and tai chi. They’re both great too. I haven’t done them nearly as much.
An hour every morning between 5 and 6 am at Vipassana. I try and get in another half hour every day before sleeping and achieve about four days a week of that too. Writing blog posts, commenting on other blogs and responding to comments on my posts; comes close to activity meditation for me.
Hi Jean!
LOL you slay me!
But to answer your question: yes, I do meditate and I often use the Lotus position for that effect. But I also do Yoga and Tai Chi.
Another great meditative form is knitting (since it gets in you in the “zone”).
Loved the image.
Cheers
I’ve done tai chi & qi gong (at Jean’s “church”) back when yoga was popular & I was limber enough to do those contortions.
I’m not good at meditation. My mind is too active. I tried saying a mantra & thinking of an orange-the fruit. It didn’t work. Maybe the color was too active. Blue is a better color.
On my computer are 6 “meditation rooms” but I don’t sleep there. Now I have some soft sounds on my ipod that go on forever & that is relaxing. But I need a lot of exercise to help.
I don’t exactly meditate but I do try to put whatever problem/ache on another planet…
I remember once when I lived in a place, where the window didn’t meet the top of the frame and when it rained or was very cold as it often was – and I will decide I wasn’t cold from say chilly cold but in an airconditioned beach house on a sunny isle far away! I do that still when I’ve not got enough clothes on – winter/autumn/fine days here of late, hard to have enough clothes on when the sky is a huge blue…
Rummuser,
I thought of you when I wrote this post.
Max,
Thanks for reminding me about knitting. That’s a great one that most people don’t think about.
I’ve knit a lot in the past; several sweaters with patterns, a cape, even argyle socks. But I have to keep moving now to keep what I’ve got at my age.
i just mainly sit and notice my breathing. and try to relax into it as much as i can until it’s very very soft.
sometimes i play the sound of rain on a cd or the computer.
that is heaven when it’s 106 degrees outside like it was all last summer! i pretended it was raining. it helped.
i did hatha yoga for years when i was in my 20’s 30’s 40’s…
not sure why i ever quit. it was wonderful!
and monk…
you know how much i love the subject for your art above!!!!
hugs,
tammy j
My preference is to do a walking meditation bare footed. My first choice would be on a tropical beach but I’ll settle for a park. Being a Canadian that’s a little tough in the winter but I take that as a sign that God wants me to go south at that time of the year….lol
Thanks for rain sound idea. Googled rain sound & got Chris Hawkins Free rain storm mp3 to copy. Am not allowed to distribute link sans permission. His hr. long cd-s are $10 but this is free to record. (You’ll get advertisements for others.)
We don’t get rain like this here. Reminds me of my home state of West Virginia. Probably too exciting to put me to sleep, but I’ll turn it low.
This rain isn’t soft pidder pat quiet rain. It’s a lightening & thunder storm. Reminds me of the backpack trip on top of a mountain in a storm, a hair stand-on-end one. We’ll see…
bikehikebabe,
I’m with you, I used to knit a lot and loved it, but I don’t like to sit so I’ve moved on to other things. I used to have all sorts of relaxation tapes, including rain, birds, and the sound of surf. I used the surf one the most. It really worked for me.
tammy,
I like the idea of you playing the sound of rain when it’s so hot and dry. I’m afraid we use an air conditioner. I thought of you when I made the picture. 🙂
Eduardo,
Yes, your winters are a lot more severe than ours are. Especially now that we’re having a drought. Maybe you can build yourself a big sandbox, put on some surf sounds and pretend you’re at the beach. 😉
Cathy,
I’m impressed you can do that!
The demonstration sound on-line was a storm with lightening & thunder, but the link is just rain. The sound varies, like water building up & then overflowing etc.
bhb… and monk…
thanks for the tip bhb! i love a good thunderstorm.
it also reminds me of a trip… we were in a tent.
i was a young (foolish apparently) bride.
bob told me not to touch the tent.
well. of course if he hadn’t mentioned it….
to make a sad story short… i had to sit holding the
bucket catching the pouring leak where my finger had
softly scraped the tent… “to see what would happen honey!”
good times. good times.
I don’t do any formal meditation techniques; like Biker my mind is too active. I went to some meditation sessions many years ago but couldn’t get the hang of it at all. But I have a lot of personal techniques for calming myself when I’m feeling stressed and falling asleep when my mind won’t switch off. They work pretty well but I couldn’t begin to explain them.
I have never attempted meditation. It’s just not for fidgety me.
I don’t actively do anything to relax on a daily basis, but the closest I could come to that is when I read and when I eat my big three meals. The between-meal snacks are quick and business-like. I enjoy them, but there’s no time to savour them. I do that at mealtimes.
When I was very young, my parents got me to bite/chew each mouthful 20 times before I swallowed because I used to be ravenous and would gobble my food. To date, I take just as long to chew and I make it a point to be aware of every mouthful.
I enjoy the food I eat on a daily basis. It’s not gourmet by any means, but healthy and cooked from scratch. I savour the basic flavours and textures, I’m grateful to be able to afford what I eat and I’m grateful for not having any health-induced dietary restrictions. Eating for me is grounding and fulfilling.
bhb, I found some thunderstorm vids on YouTube. Lovely! Thought I’d work on this comment while I wait for the storm to pass. 😉
Kate
tammy,
That’s a great story. Thanks for sharing.
Nick
As long as you have things that work for you. That’s all that counts.
Kate,
Eating mindfully is a great habit to have. Good for you, and for your parents.