Marcel Legros - Play the Game of Life

You Don’t Know You’re Dreaming

What is meditation? How do you do it? Why do it? There is nothing more powerful than awareness. Meditation is the tool you use to become aware of your inner world as well as your outer world. It is like exercise for your spirit - it strengthens your understanding of how things really are. If you decide to investigate meditation, you will be amazed what you find, as you begin to wake from your dream.

What Meditation Is

• It is the practice of paying attention to the present moment.
• It is a tool for learning how your own mind works.
• It is an effective stress reliever and health enhancer.

What Meditation Isn’t

• It isn’t any sort of religion. Many religions have meditation as a central theme, but it has nothing to do with any particular belief system.
• It isn’t a trance-like state.
• It isn’t an escape from reality.
• It has nothing to do with drugs or with drug culture.

Basic Breath Awareness Meditation

Awareness of your breath is one of the most basic, yet powerful forms of meditation. If you have a timer, set it for fifteen to twenty minutes. Sit in a comfortable chair or on the floor, cross-legged. Keep your back straight but not rigid, your head up, and your eyes closed. Put your hands in your lap and get comfortable. Now, simply pay close attention to your breath. Breathe naturally through your nose and focus your mind as intensely as possible on the sensation of the air entering and leaving your nostrils. In particular, pay attention to the momentary pauses between the in and the out breath. Do not try to control your breath, just pay attention to it. If thoughts or emotions arise in your mind, pay close attention to those things without judging or labeling them. Then softly bring your attention back to your breath. If you become itchy, hot, cold, sleepy, or agitated - simply notice the thoughts, feelings or sensations and let them pass. Don’t try to hold onto pleasant feelings or resist unpleasant ones. Keep coming back to your breath. When you’re done, slowly open your eyes and ease back into your day.

Benefits and Rewards

Meditation is a quick and effective stress reliever and relaxant. We all know that stress is negative to our health. Fifteen minutes of meditation will cut right through any kind of tension. After fifteen minutes of mediation you will also realize how crazy your mind really is. You will get carried away by your thoughts and won’t realize it until many minutes later. Then you catch yourself and wonder, ‘Where was I, just then?’ You also begin to notice what games your mind plays and what it likes to chatter about. It’s chattering all the time but we rarely notice it in everyday life because we’re so used to it, it seems normal. Some meditators call this chaotic noise, ‘monkey mind’ - it’s not hard to figure out why.

Become aware of what your mind is doing, and you begin to reclaim control of your life. Meditate daily if possible. Your awareness and strength will grow every day.