Biologically, not likely as most of our cells replenish themselves in 7-15years, hence, approximately 1% of your body has been replaced with new cells in 39 days (simple math, averageof 7 & 15 = 11, 365 days a year, plus 3 leap years, 4018 days, 39/4018=0.97%).
Weight? Did I hear weight? Alrighty, that counts too.
How about mentally? Has your brain / mind / mental maturity replenished itself or grown by 1% over 39 days? How did you spend the precious time with thyself or family / flat mates?
A friend I really admired posed a question to me today (yes, that is often how Istart writing, so folks, questions please). Well, he would claim that he requested or demanded: Coach me on Meditation.
Hmm, how did we get to this point?
1) For a start, we were onlytalking about intermittent fasting as we all segregated ourselves at home
2) Naturally, two ex-consultants started to discuss why we both are doing this? Goal Setting framework comes to picture
[What? You guys even have a goal setting framework? Yes, dude, we do, with deep psychological principles. But that is not the focus for today, it would be in the parking lot for now, as it deserves at least a separate article]
3) One of his goals for fasting is to preserve brain function as he ages, or as we all do, inevitably
Ah-huh, here we go, Brain Function, how interesting?
「If you sit still and look within, you will see our minds are unstable and restless. But as time passes, the waves crashing in the mind will calm down. Then this creates a margin that can detect something more subtle. At that moment, our intuition kicks in and one can see the world more clearly and become more faithful to the present. This is the cultivation of the heart which needs to be constantly trained.」
– Steve Jobs
What did Steve Jobs obtain through meditation? In the book <Steve Jobs, the Exclusive Biography> by Walter Isaacson, his acquaintance stated how Jobs』 meditation journey affected Jobs:
1. Courage to Follow Intuition. Seeking the Voice within Me.
「Everybody’s time islimited. Don’t waste your time trying to live somebody else’s life. The noise from someone else’s voice, make sure it does not cover/overturn your own inner voice. What is most important is that you need to have courage to follow your mind and intuition. You already know what your mind andintuition want. Everything outside of that is secondary.」 -Jobs, 2005, during Stanford University’s graduation speech
His meditation time was solely time to know and meet his true self.
2. Aesthetics of Simplicity. Just discard everything and leave only the Essence.
「Completion is, not when there is nothing more to add, but rather when there is nothing left to remove.」 - Jobs
「Simplicity is harder than complication. To make your thinking clear and simple requires alot of effort. When you reach the level of being able to think simply, you can move mountains.」 – Jobs, 1998 Business Week
3. Unconventional, Every Moment he Breaks Frames
「As people age, they get stuck in their ways. Our mind is like a computer. Thoughts create a pattern that will be a stepping stone to a person’s mind. And people usually fall into those patterns. It’s like a groove in a vinyl record and you cannot get out of it. There aren’t many people who can create new grooves that are different from their established viewpoint and values.」 – Jobs, in his interview with 「Playboy」 (Feb. 1985) it is rare to find one who does amazing things in his 30s-40s.
But if every moment you could get out of that set pattern…?
That result would be very different. Steve Jobs himself showed just that.
[Reference: https://www.meditationusa.org/blog/the-3-things-steve-jobs-found-through-meditation/]
Very few of us, if any at all, would achieve what Jobs has achieved in his short life (biologically). What we can do, is to follow his steps and discover the magic power of meditation, on our brain and mind.
Here comes my twenty cents on Meditation. Come In, Sit Down, Let’s Meditate:
When? In late evening or early in the morning, whenever you feel more able to stay focused. Preferably either on an empty stomach or over 2 hours after a meal
Where? Find a quiet corner / space; if in the morning, find a window space with sunshine; in the evening, a space with warm / dim light
What do I need first? Sitting gear: Prepare a chair if you have back issues; otherwise, a comfortable thick blanket / yoga mat / cushion with certain density, on the floor, keep 10-20cm from a wall; prepare an extra blanket, in case you feel cold as your body calms down
What to wear? wear comfortable / loose clothing and stockings, no shoes, let your body be totally free inside your clothing without any feeling of restrictions
What to eat and drink? Drink ~200ml lukewarm water, feel your body in a relaxed and safe state, no food for at least 2 hours.
What to hear: if you don’t want to / can’t bear total silence, or If you like some music, try Dan Gibson’s Solitudes series, there are a lot of Albums, mostly simple melody with natural sounds, e.g. Sleep Deeply (First Star in the Sky, Worlds Away etc.) Shoreline Serenity, Zen in Relaxation, Natural Concentration. Do put voice low, 20-30% of normal level, or 10% of max vol.
How long to meditate: You may set a timer / alarm, either to time yourself when you feel like ending this meditation, or give yourself a set period of time (start from 5mins as a beginner)
How to pose my body? Body posture: sit comfortably, could be on a chair, if you have back issues; otherwise, preferably on a comfortable blanket / yoga mat / cushion on the floor, back towards a wall or nothing at all, but do not lean to the wall
Legs: Sit up straight, cross your legs if you can; if not, just sit comfortably, you may use a yoga block underneath to help uplift / support body. It is critical to keep body straight up, so energy flows smoothly
Arms and hands: Put both hands on your knees, palms up, a signal of open mind and ready to receive energy from the universe
Eyes, Mouth, Nose: Close your eyes, mouth, use nose to breath, start by focusing on your breathing, inhale, exhale, do you best to count your breaths
Stay awake: it would be very cozy to fall asleep, wake up if you feel you are falling
You may lose count of your breaths easily (our minds are naughty kids that can’t stay sit), when lose track of counting, start counting again
There will be, and often be, a lot of thoughts that come to your mind, don’t fight the thoughts, let them come in, smoothly. Learn to pull yourself away from the thought, look at it, with a stage light, as an audience, just simply observe it with curiosity and acceptance, or you may also ask:
A) What is this thought about?
B) What is it trying to tell me?
C) How do I feel looking at it?
D) Anything I can do about this thought? (Yes —> do it later) (No—> park it or just let go)
E) Let go of the thought, look at it, with your mental eyes, to say good bye and bring your focus back on your breathing
Repeat above process whenever a thought comes into your mind. And go back to focus on breathing when a thought has gone / being put away
Keep breathing and clear your mind as time goes by
You may sit for as long as you feel comfortable. Target for 5-7mins, it may appear very short now, when you start, it could feel unbearably long (I tried really hard to embed music by Dan Gibson's <First Star in the Sky> , 7mins 20seconds, delicately picked for you, however failed many times due to IP constrain, though no clue what does Tencent mean by that. You may easily find it available in Itunes, QQ, NetEase, Xiami music, it is a new skill I need to learn)
Coming out of a meditation: When you feel it is enough, which could come very quickly for first few times, take your time to:
A) With your eyes closed, rub your hands together till you feel warmth within palms
B) Use your palms to cover eyes like two little cups
C) Slowly roll your eyes open, gently feel the light
D) Put away your hands, stretch slowly your arms and legs
E) Hands on the floor or nearby furniture, stand up slowly
F) Pause and feel your body, allow time for body to wake up from a deep state of meditation; especially if you have sat for more than 30mins
If you meditate in the evening, you are encouraged to go straight to sleep, often you will be blessed with longer deep sleep afterwards (CAUTION: never sit on a bed to meditate, be as grounded as you can. For rational minds like some of you, Grounded does not mean following…
20. Enjoy Your Worlds Away, or your away time from the World! Wish you:
See the First Star in the Sky
See the Star in your Heart
更喜歡看中文的朋友們，
請稍等，下周會準備中文版給大家。
小劇透，中文版的音樂選擇也會很國風 😉