Category: Meditation

What is the real purpose of meditation?

Emptying your mind of thought is not the purpose of meditation. The real purpose of meditation is self-reflection, which leads to self-discovery, which leads to self-realisation.

This process of self-realisation not only releases emotional blockages in the body, which are the precursors to disease, but also connects us with a deeper reality.

Our lives are very busy and the pace of life is fast. There is little time to think and reflect. For many of us, we have lost the connection with ourselves, our reactions and understanding how we feel.

Meditation understands and corrects the mind that created any imbalance

The purpose of meditation is to observe our minds, to understand what we do, why we do it and how to correct it. The mind can often work independently of time.

For example, when we think about a stressful past event, the body can start to produce stress chemicals such as adrenaline and cortisol as if it occurred yesterday.

Re-visit past mistakes

Looking back at past mistakes, not in condemnation or blame, but to understand what we did or what others did to us (it is immaterial whether it comes from us or others, the mind responds the same way), is an important process to bring the mind to a state of balance.

Energy blockages are usually caused by our emotions. The mind creates them, the mind undoes them. As we reflect on ourselves and correct our minds, less repetition takes place. Many people talk of a repetitive pattern in their lives; this is because the mind is never corrected.

Achieve true balance

It is a simple process, but difficult to achieve as we don’t like to face our ‘faults’. For many years, we have been hard wired to deny or suppress our least attractive traits. It drives us deeper into ourselves and we try to suppress it. However, the true balancing act is to reduce what is plentiful and increase what is lacking. In other words, rather than suppress our least attractive traits, we should make the opposite stronger. For selfishness, balance with giving; for arrogance, practise humility; for anger, practise calmness or humour.

As the mind is corrected, the body is healed.

I’m concluding my three-part blog series on meditation with some words of encouragement. Some people believe that meditation is exclusively reserved for the most spiritual, disciplined or mentally-focused among us. This is false, as by adopting meditation and mindfulness techniques you can manage negative thoughts relatively simply; promoting the inner peace which exists inside you.

Trying to meditate

It may be that you are reluctant to try to meditate, or that you have started only to give up quickly after a few frustrating sessions. Maybe you believe that you don’t know how to do it or that you are doing it incorrectly. Meditation is a learned skill. It does require practice and determination that will lead to improvement. If you are struggling with a busy mind and find it hard to switch off, start by trying it in combination with chanting or Qi training. The Qi energy you receive during both will allow you to quieten the mind and have a much more successful and enjoyable meditation.

Meditation does not mean a blank mind

Some class members explain that when they start to meditate they are easily distracted. They sit down and close their eyes, and all they can think about is their to-do list, their job or the day they’ve just completed. So they give up. It may be difficult to achieve a completely blank mind; however, this doesn’t mean you aren’t meditating. Part of meditation is to accept distractions as part of the experience. Clearing inherited energy patterns can significantly improve your meditation. Our mind is made up of the conscious and subconscious. The conscious mind is made up of all the thoughts, feelings and emotions from our life experiences, whereas the subconscious is made up of all the thoughts, feelings and emotions from our ancestors’ lives.

Being in the moment

When we meditate we are trying to just be in the moment. Meditation allows us to be really present with ourselves. During meditation our attention is turned inward for a specific period of time, often by focusing on our own physical/mental experiences. Despite widely-believed myths, meditation is not a strict process. It does often have a planned start and end point, but it is actually simple to meditate, even for beginners.

Having no expectations

I encourage you to step away from thinking that something must be ‘achieved’. The most dramatic results will come from allowing things to naturally unfold. Release any expectations you may have about what meditation will or will not do for you. The simple act of observing your thoughts, rather than becoming embroiled in them, is a sufficient goal for your practice. Stay curious about what emerges without trying to analyse or judge.

There are different approaches that you may wish to try and see what resonates for you: some people respond well to visualisation, some to mantra-based work and others to a physical or movement-based style of meditation.

Reflect on your session

I would like to end this blog series by encouraging you to celebrate the time that you have spent meditating. When you’re finished, no matter how long you have committed to, smile. Be grateful for this time that you gave to yourself. End your meditation respectfully. Be sure to slowly ease into the physical state. Take as long as you need to do this and instead of resuming your physical activities immediately, consider spending some time reflecting upon your session. You may also want to just spend a few minutes expressing gratitude for what you have and what you enjoy in your life.

My previous blog reflected on the basic steps of starting a meditation practice. It’s very normal to struggle with a wandering mind during meditation time. Today I will talk about developing concentration. Without concentration it is impossible to meditate and a helpful technique to support concentration is to focus on the breath.

Focus on the breath

While a relatively simple suggestion, keeping your attention on the breath can be challenging. Attention is easily captured by a distraction, making you forget that you’re supposed to be paying attention to the breath. However, when you understand breathing physically, mentally and spiritually, then you will be able to use it to clear your mind very quickly. We all take breathing for granted. Everything breathes; taking in the new and removing the old. When you breathe in, you are taking both air and invisible energy into the body. When you breathe out, you remove carbon dioxide and toxins from your body. You can also use the breath to release old emotions and pain from your body. Everything including the universe is breathing. This movement of expansion and contraction is what keeps everything alive and in a state of balance and harmony. Therefore it is important to love and respect ourselves by paying attention and appreciating our breathing.

Focus on your abdomen

Start by focusing on your abdomen. The energy point just below the navel is called the ‘dangeon’. This is the most central point of our energy system and where our Qi energy is stored. We can imagine it as our battery. Start to breathe in deeply through your nose, letting your abdomen rise as it fills with air. Breathe out slowly through your nose, letting your abdomen fall. Continue to breathe deeply in and out focusing on the ‘dangeon’ and on your breath. You can count silently how long it takes you to breathe in. Then count how long it takes you to breathe out. If your breath in is shorter than your breath out, then try to lengthen it until they are both equal. For example, if your breath out is shorter, try and lengthen it to match the in breath. Once your breathing is even, continue to breathe in and out for ten minutes.

Focus on your dangeon

When thoughts come, don’t entertain them. Let them come and go without getting engaged. When you notice you are engaging with a thought or emotion, don’t worry about it – just gently return to the breath and focus on your dangeon. After some time you should feel your mind quieten. You might also start to feel a deep sense of stillness and peace. Breathing this way, while focusing on the dangeon, helps to correct the flow of Qi energy in the body, helping it to circulate in the right direction. This stills the mind and allows us to make a connection to our original mind or spirit.

Self-reflection

When we start to feel calm and peaceful, through breathing and focusing on the breath, then we are ready to use our mind in the right way. This is the best time to reflect on our day or on our recent actions and intentions. This is a process that can be very natural. When a thought comes, let your mind explore the situation from all angles, taking into account each person’s side of the story. If you see you did something wrong, you were disrespectful or unkind to others, then make a plan to rectify your actions. The more we do this, the better relationships we can build and the more positive energy we spread around us.

Chanting classes

Good breathing technique can also be developed in chanting and Qi classes. Some of the training steps work directly with the breath, using it to receive and circulate energy in the body, as well as open deep energy blockages. Chanting helps us to calm the mind and tune to the unique vibration of Qi, so we can start to receive energy and clear the mind. This vibration creates inner happiness and opens our heart, so we naturally want to share what we have with others. Chanting also strengthens the abdomen or ‘dangeon’, which is very important for both our health and vitality.

You can find out more about chanting and Qi classes here.

I often speak about how important daily meditation is to me.

It is through meditation that we can free ourselves of our thoughts, feelings and desires and be with our true essence, which is our spirit. Our spirit exists as stillness and has a very unique vibration. It is constantly emitting invisible light, love and energy to keep ourselves healthy and happy. It is the source of wisdom, unconditional love and energy which exists within all of us.

The more we practice meditation, the more we can strengthen the connection to our true self and practice our original nature, which is kind, loving, generous and compassionate.

When we are connected to our essence, naturally we feel peaceful and calm. This connection also supports our energy and at the same time it gives us the wisdom to make the right decisions and the responsibility to do more for others and the world.

Why practice meditation

Many people practice meditation to empty the mind of thoughts and find a moment of peace. In this ever-demanding world, we find ourselves constantly running around, unable to slow down and take care of ourselves. An overactive mind, as well as the resulting emotions, can deplete us of our human energy – Qi – and leave us feeling stressed, fatigued and lacking in motivation.

Trying to free ourselves from our thoughts, feelings and desires is definitely a good reason to practice meditation, for we all need to find stillness from our busy lives and not be ruled by our changing thoughts. When we find this stillness, our body and mind can recharge.

Although achieving peace of mind is a good reason to start your meditation practice, keep in my mind that this is only the beginning. In spirituality, the true purpose of meditation is to begin to connect to our essence in order to practice our innate beautiful nature and be able to make a contribution to the world.

When we connect to our essence we can learn to overcome strong emotions that come from our ego and sabotage our relationships.

During meditation is the best time to look at our emotions, especially if we are struggling with something. When we finally reach the point of stillness and connect to ourselves, then we can use this moment of clarity to revisit the situation and ask for these emotions to be cleared. If you practice this, you might just be surprised at the far reach of the results.

How to practice meditation

There are several ways in which we can meditate in order to come into contact with our true self to find peace and calmness, as well as starting to explore the higher vibration of the spirit which is coming from deep within.

Let us start with some basic introductory comments.

When meditating, find somewhere quiet where you feel comfortable and can relax without interruptions.

Pay attention to your posture. Try to make your back as straight as you can. Extend your chest out and hold that position, pushing your shoulders slightly back, until it feels right. This position supports the flow of energy around your body as it flows in a straight line from your crown chakra to the base of your spine. When you meditate or do any kind of energy training, if your back is not straight, it is hard to stay alert and can often make you sleepy. You want to be comfortable but not too comfortable that you fall asleep.

The next step is to pay attention to your breathing. Make sure you are breathing in deep and you are breathing from your abdomen, letting it expand and contract with each breath. When you start meditation it is natural for your mind to wander. One technique commonly used is to completely focus on one thing in order to slow and focus the mind, as well as stop all the other thoughts that arise. This is why people will often begin meditation by focusing on the breath. Deep breathing also supports the correct flow of Qi energy in the body.

Another type of meditation is to consciously clear your mind of thoughts, feelings and emotions and just try to sit with yourself. Try to feel the empty space and stillness inside you. When thoughts and emotions come, accept them. Believe that this stillness inside you is stronger and can embrace anything. If you feel pain or sadness, embrace it with love: emotions are like our children that need our care. If worries or thoughts arise, don’t engage with them; if it helps, tell them to come back later.

Regular meditation practice

I encourage you to try and develop a regular meditation practice.

Put all your effort into holding a conscious intention to sit down and meditate for a set period every day, and to practice diligently for the duration of the sit. It doesn’t matter how long you manage, being consistent will help your practice develop. Try and engage whole heartedly in your meditation, even for just a short while.

A great place to kick off your meditation practice is by joining Qi classes. They are run four times a day and are made up of chanting, movements and finally 20 minutes’ meditation. The vibration of the chants, as well as the movements, help you to open your energy system, receive energy and allow your Qi to flow correctly. This makes the mind very calm and peaceful and helps you to get more out of your meditation practice.

I often come across people who had found meditation impossible before joining Qi classes, and suddenly find they can meditate without any struggle. The energy you receive during the Qi classes clears the mind and makes you feel centred, peaceful and recharged.

I hope you benefit immensely from this post. In the next blog I will be explaining more about the importance of keeping your attention on the breath.

If you want to find out more about how to join Qi Classes at a Centre or online  or call 0207 462 8811.

Modern day leadership is fast-paced and stressful. Business leaders are inundated with high-pressured decisions requiring immediate action with little room for error. Study after study has shown the benefits of mindfulness.

First, let’s think of mindfulness as stopping your thoughts and being in the now with no distractions.

By practising mindfulness and helping people create a one-second mental space between an event and their response, it can be the difference between making a good decision and bad decision. One second can be the difference between a rushed decision that leads to failure and reaching a thoughtful conclusion that leads to increased performance.

Mindfulness can be the one-second lead over your mind and your emotions. It’s the difference between displaying anger and applying due patience.

How does this work?

Mindfulness changes how we engage with ourselves, others and our work. The practice changes how our brains work so through repeated mindfulness practice, brain activity is redirected from ancient, reactionary parts of the brain, including the limbic system, to the newest, rational part of the brain, the prefrontal cortex.

As a result, the part of our brain that controls ‘fight or flight’ and knee-jerk reactions becomes less active, while the part of the brain responsible for our thoughts, words and actions becomes more active.

How to start practising mindfulness

1. Observe the present moment as it is. It isn’t always about quieting the mind; it is more about paying attention to the present moment.

2. Let go of your judgments. When judgments arise, make a mental note and then let them pass.

3. Keep returning to the present moment. Mindfulness requires us to keep returning to the here and now when our minds start to wander.

4. Be kind to your wandering mind. Don’t judge yourself for whatever thoughts crop up; just consistently recognise when your mind has wandered off, and gently bring it back.

Making the most of your leadership qualities

I would encourage you to try the following four tips to help make the most out of your leadership qualities:

• Try to practice ten minutes of mindfulness each day to train your brain to be less reactionary and more active.
• Avoid reading email first thing in the morning. Our minds are generally most focused, creative and expansive in the morning. This is the time to do focused, strategic work and have important conversations. If you read your email as you get up, your mind will get sidetracked and you’ll begin the slide toward reactive leadership. Making email your first task of the day wastes the opportunity to use your mind at its highest potential. Try waiting at least 30 minutes, or even an hour, after you get to work before checking your inbox.
• Turn off all notifications. The notification alarms on your phone, tablet and laptop are significant contributors to reactive leadership. They keep you mentally busy and put you under pressure, thereby triggering reactionary responses. They cause damage far more than they add value. Try this: for one week, turn off all email notifications on all devices. Only check your email once every hour (or as often as responsibly needed for your job), but don’t compulsively check messages as they roll into your inbox.
• Limit multitasking. It keeps your mind full, busy and under pressure. It makes you reactive. Try to maintain focus on a single task, and then notice when you find your mind drifting off to another task – a sign that your brain wishes to multitask. When this happens, mentally shut down all the superfluous tasks entering your thoughts while maintaining focus on the task at hand.

If you and your company would like guidance on how to practice mindfulness in the workplace, please get in touch.

Soon we will be welcoming a new year.  Often seen as a chance to make right the wrongs of the previous year, for some it is customary to make resolutions.

The tradition of New Year’s resolutions dates all the way back to 153 B.C. January is named after Janus, a mythical god of early Rome. A god of beginnings and endings, he had two heads: always looking backwards and forwards.  This allowed him to look back on the past and forward toward the future.

Whilst we are changing and shifting all the time – constantly in flux as we learn, make mistakes, and carry on with the business of growth and setbacks and negotiating the world around us, a new year can be a useful point to reflect and explore ways to improve. And it is the small changes that often make the biggest difference to our wellbeing and our environment.

Practise Self care

My clients often share that their New Year’s resolutions focus on exercising more, weight loss and eating more healthily.  We can see how ‘being more healthy’ is something that many of us constantly strive for.  And I would like to encourage my clients to revisit and challenge their definition of what being healthy is to ensure that they include practising self care as part of their daily routine.

Self Care is the actions that individuals take for themselves, on behalf of and with others in order to develop, protect, maintain and improve their health, wellbeing or wellness.

• Don’t be afraid to put yourself first more often.
• Listen to your body and respect what it needs.
• Cancel or rearrange plans.
• Do not justify or explain having to look after yourself.
• Be kind in your thoughts about yourself.
• Work to quieten the inner critic.

Be Grateful

A life without gratitude is often an unhappy, unfilled life.  When you feel thankful, grateful, and content in your own life and in your own experiences then you will find that want less. Gratitude can be shown in so many different ways, for example regularly sharing a smile, always saying thank you, giving out compliments, making sure you make eye contact when interacting with people and even performing a few random acts of kindness. And a lovely way to show your gratitude is be an active listener, show you gratitude to others by really listening to what they have to say.

Respect our world

Our planet is desperate for respect.  Try to do a little more of all of these things to make your personal contribution to this beautiful planet.

• Recycle.
• Give your old clothes to charity shops.
• Stop using so much plastic.
• Reduce your meat intake.
• Reduce your dairy intake.
• Walk more.
• Drive less.
• Turn off your lights.
• Don’t waste water.

Do your best to behave in a way that is thoughtful of a world bigger than yourself.

Try an energy assessment

For something a little more personal and tailored to your specific needs, why not start the year with an Energy Treatment and consultation with Master Oh? During the consultation, Master Oh can help you to understand and resolve issues in your personal and professional life by highlighting the subconscious patterns at play and guiding you to think and act in a different way.

Master Oh is also able to pick up the influence of inherited energy patterns within your system and guide you to heal them, in order to create a stronger foundation. Master Oh teaches you how to cultivate a ‘beautiful mind’, which he believes is the essence of life and key to happiness.