This is the last part of the series. Success in meditation is just doing it. The process of observing our own breathing cycle is simple, although it is not easy. Just wait 2-3 minutes. The tendency to become distracted and stop observing out breath is inevitable. In 5 minutes, it may happen 10 or perhaps 50 times. It is very important not to judge ourselves when we get distracted.
- Sit in a comfortable yet upright position. Focus on breathing and do "countdown breaths" exercise (as described in prior post) for 10 minutes.
- Then drop the count and just focus on breathing as you breath slowly from the abdomen. Let the sensations of inhaling and exhaling be the object of our focus.
- If your mind wanders from the focus on your breath, let it do so without judging it. Then gently bring your attention back to the breath. Do this as many times as needed during the course of your meditation. Attempt to breathe in a relaxed way without forcing it.
- If you find yourself getting frequently distracted, use the breath counting technique (as described in prior post). When you feel relaxed enough to stay relatively well-focused on breath, try dropping the count.
- Begin practicing this exercise for ten minutes and gradually work up to thirty minutes. It might be useful to set a timer or a tape so that you will know when it is done.
The more often we do meditation, the more quickly we will be training our mind to be less reactive, more stable and better be able to observe. We will be training our mind to be able to take each moment as it comes, without valuing any one above any other. Working regularly with the resistance of our mind builds inner strength.
Regular meditation practice will foster the development of the very attitudes that help facilitate the practice in the beginning - acceptance, patience, non-judgement, letting go, trust, discipline, consistency, commitment and beginner's mind. All of these are required for trading and meditation is one quick and efficient way to learn.
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Note: I am not an expert on meditation. So the contents of this series is a summary of my readings and understanding. Part of the reason I am writing this series is for myself to learn better the concepts and improve my own practice. This post is NOT an advice or recommendation.
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Note: I am not an expert on meditation. So the contents of this series is a summary of my readings and understanding. Part of the reason I am writing this series is for myself to learn better the concepts and improve my own practice. This post is NOT an advice or recommendation.
2 comments:
I've just discovered your great blog and liked this serie on meditation.
In case you haven't read it, I thought you would be pretty interested in the book Search Inside Yourself from a Google's engineer. This is an eye opening book on meditation and a great read.
Good luck.
Hi EasyTrader,
Thank you for reading the blog and for sharing your feedback. I appreciate it! I will check out the book you mentioned.
Regards.
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