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How a simple reflection transforms your attitude towards food

Is that chanting or just a chore? Wh en I spent time in Thailand in a monastery (Wat Pah Nanachat), we had our meals just once a day at around 8.30 am. And right before every meal, we sat down and chanted a food reflection in Pali. To be honest, it felt kind of strange and back then, I did not yet fully grasp the full power of this chant. Or maybe it was just the hunger creeping up on me after 23 hours and 30 minutes of fasting that clouded my brains. So here goes the chant in my favorite translated version: "With wise reflection I eat this food, n ot for fattening, not for beautification, o nly to maintain this body, t o stay alive and healthy, t o support the spiritual way of life. Thus I let go of unpleasant feelings, a nd do not stir up new ones. Thereby the process of life goes on. b lameless, at ease, and in peace." It felt like an empty chore. And I just took it as just one of the things you have to do. A month later I left the monastery and went on a 10 day silent re...

Boost your practice with a free 6-week course in mindfulness

So after having meditated for some months, you might want to get additional information on how to make your meditation practicr more methodical and profound. I stumbled across the homepage of the Insight Meditation Center where you can find a lot of information and instructions about meditation. Well, you can find a lot of information about meditation online, but what made the difference is that there is a free 6 week training course in mindfulness that you can either do totally on your own or you can also do it with a personal assistant that you can ask for support during your 6 weeks of the course. How it works is that you sign up on that page and when the course starts, you will get every sunday a link to the 80 minute audio file that you can download as well as transcripts and additional handouts. If you have chosen that you want to be assisted, you will get a person assigned to you, that you can contact once a week during a predetermined time, if you have questions about t...

How to start your meditation practice? Just do it!

So you are motivated to start your first meditation, but somehow you can't get yourself to sit down on a cushion and to close your eyes? Here is a little secret that the NIKE brand has used for decades as a marketing slogan: "Just do it!". There is no away around pushing yourself over the edge to get the deed done. Here are 8 tips, how to get yourself over the hump: 1) Make a strong resolve to do a meditaton today. Right after you wake up and get up out bed, think about the things you want to achieve today. And make sure you include meditation in your planning. It could be something like this: "Today, I want to sit down and meditate." 2) Pick a specific time, when you want to meditate. When you do the strong resolve, make sure you include a specific time, when you want to do it. So it should be something like: "I want to meditate today, when I get back home after work." or "I want to meditate at 10 p.m.". Being specific helps your brain to...