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Thich Nhat Hanh.Love

Simple is best when beginning anything. So, today, I’ll give you a simple practice for making the most of every moment. This technique comes from Thich Nhat Hanh.

Use this practice daily for a month — if stressed at all — if you are low on energy — if you are lacking sometimes in concentration; You will VERY likely notice a substantial difference — Or if this sort of practice is entirely new to you then you will notice a difference in that you now have a way to find inner peace and serenity.

Thich Nhat Hanh is one of the world’s leading teachers of mindfulness and meditation. He claims that life is available only in the here and the now; it is our “true home” according to his teachings. This mindfulness meditation is simple and isn’t at all religious.

I’ll summarize the five steps here.

Mindfulness (here and the now) living as a practice of five simple steps that you can use in just about every moment of your day.What is Bloggers for Peace?

Thich presents mindfulness (here and the now) living as a practice of five simple steps that you can use in just about very moment of your day.

1) Mindful Breathing, 
2) Concentration, 
3) Awareness of Your Body, 
4) Releasing Tension, and 
5) Walking Meditation

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Most people are often caught up in a state being preoccupied… forgetful of inner peace (true self); not really present at least during some of their time. Is your mind ever caught-up by worries, fears, by regrets, anger, by obsession? That is the state of “being forgetfulness” — here but, not here…. caught-up in being preoccupied.

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Thich Nhat Hanh’s method is designed to bring mindfulness home, into your body, to become more fully alive, and to perform the miracle of mindfulness — always. If you discipline yourself to practice the simple five steps, you can do so in every moment. The more that you are fully in the moment, the healthier will you be as we’ve discovered in my previous article.

Simple… the “Five Steps to Mindfulness” is a simple way to relax and energize. It brings more blood into the brain and it facilitates a deeply relaxed peacefulness. It is so simple you can use it all the time. Use it always.

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1. “Breathing in, I know that I am breathing in.”

You don’t make an effort. Allow your breath to take place. Become aware of it and enjoy it…. think: Effortlessness and simple Enjoyment.

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2. “The energy of mindfulness is the energy of concentration.”

Follow your in-breath from the beginning to the end. If your in-breath lasts three or four seconds, then your mindfulness also lasts three or four seconds. Breathing in, I follow my in-breath all the way through. Breathing out, I follow my out-breath all the way through. From the beginning of my out-breath to the end of my out-breath, my mind is always with here with my breath.

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3. “Breathing in, I am aware of my whole body.”

My body is here, so my mind ought to be here. Put peace and harmony in your breathing; the peace and the harmony will penetrate into the body, and the body will profit.

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4. “There is peace and harmony in your breathing.”

Practice this simple affirmation often during the day: “Breathing in, I’m aware of my body. Breathing out, I release the tension in my body.”

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5. “Every step is joy. “

You don’t make any effort during walking meditation, because it is enjoyable. You are here, body and mind together. The last step is to remind you during every transition that may occur in your day, be here, be relaxed, breathing and aware of peacefulness.

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Thich Nhat Hanh’s recent book, You Are Here: Discovering the Magic of the Present Moment, is a comprehensive teaching on mindfulness. You can read that. However, you can also read up on the essentials at Mindful.org. My summary is drawn from the website basic teaching… “Five Steps to Mindfulness” taking time for what matters. 

PDF download:
Five Steps to Mindfulness
by Thich Nhat Hanh

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Beginning the day

I begin the day with a simple mindfulness morning Meditation followed by a simple prayer and breakfast. It takes only a few minutes to get the day started and thus retain the benefit of rest and to charge up my body with lasting daytime energy. NOTE: while stillness of mind is ideal, the fact that we begin to notice bothersome thought is actually tremendous progress — so, expect progress and relax into realizing that with practice comes progress.

Alternatively, you may prefer this simple standing movement:

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If you like a more varied routine, try the video technique one day and the morning Meditation another day… the essential key to making progress is really that by increasing mindfulness, you will become more healthy, more energetic, and peacefully relaxed.

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Need help or want to collaborate with me?
Just e-mail me at thehunt4truth@yahoo.com

Thanks for visiting.

 Eric

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May 11, 2014 .

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