如何冥想:十條重要的建議

為何要冥想?一方面,冥想是一個工具。它可以幫助我們對抗壓力,保持機體的健康、減輕長期性的疼痛、還可以讓我們的睡眠更好、感覺更幸福、更寧靜、讓我們關注當下。但在更深層次的意義上,冥想是通向未知的途徑。它可以幫助我們去了解自身的神秘。

When you start meditating, you will notice how unruly the mind is. I remember being quite shocked by this! I noticed that my mind was all over the place. Profound thoughts about my past or future jostled with mundane thought clips about what groceries I needed to buy. Some time afterwards I would come too and notice that I had spend 15 minutes running a painful memory over and over. It was like sitting in a crazy cinema!

當你開始冥想的時候,你將發現意志是那麼的狂放不羈。我記得自己被此情況所震驚!我發現自己的心神七零八落,到處都是。對過去和未來的深刻思考與諸如我需要買些什麼雜貨的平凡的思想片斷交織在一起。過後的一段時間我重新來過,發現自己已經一遍遍閃現那些痛苦的回憶長達15分鐘了。這就像坐在一個瘋狂的電影院里。

So, if you』re starting out with meditation, please don』t beat yourself up about your wild mind. It is a natural condition. In time you will learn to work kindly with the barrage of thoughts and you will some clarity and peacefulness.

所以,如果你開始冥想,請不要被自己狂野的心神打敗。這是一個自然的情境。最後你將學會溫和的處理思想的阻隔,獲得清晰平和。

Here are some simple tips on how to start meditating. Maybe those of you who already practise meditation could please add your comments of what has worked for you.

以下是一些如果開始冥想的小貼士。希望那些已經實踐冥想的人發表自己成功的建議。

1. Posture

1.姿勢

Whether you sit on a chair or cross-legged on the floor, make sure that your spine is upright with head up. If you are slumped your mind will drift. Mind and body are intertwined. If your body is well-balanced, your mind will also be in balance. To straighten up, imagine that your head is touching the sky.

不管你是坐在椅子上還是盤腿坐在地板上,一定要保證抬頭挺胸。如果你倒下來了,你的思緒就會漂移。思緒和身體是相互交織在一起的。如果身體保持平衡,你的思緒也將保持穩定。直坐,想像著頭頂觸摸著天空。

2. Eyes

2.眼睛

Try and keep you eyes open. Open eyes allow you to be more present. Just lower your eyes and let your gaze be sort. If you close your eyes you will be more likely to drift away on thoughts and stories. However, it』s important to do what is comfortable for you. Some people find closing their eyes much more effective. It』s good to experiment and see what feels best for you.

盡量保持睜著眼睛。睜著眼睛可以讓你更關注當下。只要降低你的眼睛,注視在某一點上。如果閉上了眼睛,你更可能思緒漂移,胡思亂想。然而,適合自己的才是最重要的。一些人發現閉上眼睛更加有效。可以先做個試驗,看下哪種方式最適合你。

2. Focus

2.集中注意

In ordinary consciousness we are hardly ever present. For example, sometimes we drive the car on autopilot while being preoccupied with thoughts. Suddenly we arrive at our destination and don』t remember anything about the drive!

在通常的意識里,我們幾乎不關注當下。比方說,有時我們自動駕駛著車輛,一邊全神貫注地想著事情。在不知不覺間突然到達了目的地。

So, meditation is a wonderful way of waking up to our life. Otherwise we miss most of our experiences because we are somewhere else in our mind! Let』s take a look at what focus is. In ordinary life, we tend to equate focus with concentration. That』s like using the mind like a concentrated beam of light. But in meditation, that kind of mind isn』t helpful. It』s too sharp and edgy. To focus in meditation means to pay soft attention to whatever you place in the centre of awareness. I suggest using the breath as a focus. It』s like a natural door that connects 『inside』 and 『outside』. Zen Master Toni Packer says:

所以,冥想是認識生命的一個極好的方式。另外,因為在我們的心目中我們總是身處他處,所以我們會回想多數自己的經歷。讓我們看下什麼是焦點。在日常生活,我們常把焦點等同於專心。就像集中焦點的一束光那樣思考。但冥想的時候,這樣做並沒有多大幫助。這樣太尖銳。冥想時的焦點意味著要溫和地把注意力放在意識的中央。禪宗大師托尼·帕克說:我建議運用吸納來聚焦。就像在內在世界與外在世界之間搭起一扇自然之門。

Attention comes from nowhere. It has no cause. It belongs to no one

注意力來自於虛無。它沒有原因。它不屬於某個人。

3. The breath

3.吸納

Paying attention to the breath is a great way to anchor yourself in the present moment.

注意吸納是一種把自己固定在當下的很好的方法。

Notice your breath streaming in and out. There』s no need to regulate the breath – just let it be natural.

注意你的呼吸。沒有必要調整它——只要自然就可以。

4. Counting you breath

4.統計你的呼吸

If you are having difficulties settling, you can try counting the breath – which is an ancient meditation practice. On your outbreath, silently count 「one」, then 「two」, and up to 「four」. Then return to 「one」. Whenever you notice your thoughts have strayed far away or you find yourself counting 「thirtythree」, simply return to 「one」. In this way, 「one」 is like coming home to the present moment. It』s good to return without a backward glance.

如果你沒有辦法落定,你可以試著去計數自己的呼吸——這是一種古老的冥想修行。當你呼氣的時候,靜靜地記為「一」,接著記為「二」,記到「四」後,再重新從「一」開始。一旦你意識到自己的思緒偏離甚遠或者發現自己已經數到「三十」了,那就再重新從「一」開始來過。這樣,「一」就意味著回到當下的原點。這樣就可以不用回頭看就可以重新回到最初。

5. Thoughts

5.思想

When you notice thoughts, gently let them go by returning yous focus to the breath. Don』t try and stop thoughts; this will just make you feel agitated. Imagine that they are unwelcome visitors at your door: acknowledge their presence and politely ask them to leave. Then shine the soft light of your attention on your breath.

當你注意到自己的想法,輕輕地回到關注自己的吸納上,把思緒放天。不要試著去停止思想;如果這樣,你只會感覺更激動。把他們想像成不受歡迎的拜訪者:承認他們的到來並禮貌地讓他們離開就可以了。然後再輕輕地回到自己的呼吸上來。

6. Emotions

6.情緒

It』s difficult to settle into meditation if you are struggling with strong emotions. This is because some emotions tend to breed stories in the mind. Especially anger, shame and fear create stories that repeat over and over in the mind. Anger and shame make us keep looking at past events of the past. Fear looks at the future with stories that start with, 「What if…」

如果正與強烈的情緒抗爭,你是很難進入冥想情境中去的。這是因為某些情緒很容易在你的意識中產生出故事情節。特別是憤怒、羞愧和恐懼等情感會讓情節一遍遍在腦海中閃現。憤怒和羞愧讓我們不停地回想過去事情的情節。而恐懼則讓我們對未來做出許多種假定的設想。

The way to deal with strong emotions in meditation is to focus on the body feelings that accompany the emotion. For example, this could be the tight band of fear around the chest or the hot roiling of anger in the belly. Let go of the stories and refocus on your body. In this way you are honouring your emotions but not becoming entangled in stories.

處理強烈情感的方法就是把注意力放在伴隨這些情緒的身體感受上來。例如,有可能是緊緊環繞胸腔的恐懼,也可能是腹部熱烈翻滾的憤怒。放下那些情節,重新集中到身體上。這樣,你既尊重了自己的情緒,又不會陷入那些情節之中。

7. Silence

7.寧靜

Silence is healing. I know that there are is a lot of 『meditation music』 around, but nothing beats simple silence. Otherwise the music or sounds on the tape just drown out the chatter in your mind. When we sit in silence we actually get to experience what our mind is doing. There is steadiness and calmness that comes from sitting in silence. In time outer and inner silence meet and you come to rest in the moment.

寧靜是療養。我知道有很多的冥想音樂,但都敵不過簡單地寧靜。那些聲音和音樂只是把腦中的思緒淹沒了。當我們靜坐下來,我們還是要經歷腦中所想的一切。靜坐下來,你就能體會到那種穩定和靜謐。當外在的平靜和內心的安寧統一的時候,你就真正棲息在了當下。

8. Length

8.長度

Start with 10 minutes and only sit longer if you feel that that is too short. Don』t force yourself to meditate longer if you are not ready to do that. In time you might like to extend your meditation to 25 minutes. That』s a length that allows you to settle your mind without causing too much stress on your body. Most importantly, shrug off any 『shoulds』. Some people enjoy sitting for an hour at a time. Others find that they can』t sit longer than 10 minutes. Do what feels right for you!

開始的時候可以先靜坐10分鐘,直到你感覺對你來說時間太短的時候再坐的久些。如果你還沒有為些做好準備,不要強迫自己冥想太久。最終你可以希望把時間延長到25分鐘。這個時間長度可以在不對身體造成太多壓力的情況下把心緒安定下來。最重要的是,擺脫任何可能性。有些人喜歡一次靜坐一個小時。另外一些人發現靜坐10分鐘都有困難。做適合自己的就可以了!

9. Place

9.地方

It』s lovely to create a special place to sit. You can even make a shrine or an altar that you can face when you sit in meditation. You might like to place a candle on your altar and objects that have meaning to you. It』s lovely to find objects for your altar as you walk. Maybe you find stones, or seashells, or flowers that speak to you.

創造一個靜坐的特別的地方是一件令人愉快的事情。你甚至可以製作一個神龕或者祭壇,這樣當你冥想的時候就可以面對它們而坐。你可以在祭壇上插一支蠟燭或放些其他對你有意義的物件。當你漫步的時候為祭壇找尋物件是令人愉悅的。也許是一些石塊,或者是貝殼,或者與你對話的花朵。

10. Enjoyment

10.享受樂趣

Most of all it』s important to enjoy meditation. You might like to try sitting with a hint of a smile. Be kind to yourself. Start sitting just a little each day. It』s helpful to establish a daily habit.

最重要的一點就是要去享受冥想的樂趣。你可能喜歡試著面帶微笑靜靜地坐著。善待自己。開始每天靜坐一會兒。這樣有利於建立良好的日常習慣。


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