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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...

Concentration, Insight and Loving-Kindness: The Swiss Army Knife of Meditation Practice

Concentration, Insight and Loving-Kindness: The Swiss Army Knife of Meditation Practice Today I want to shine a light on basic meditation practices, how they work and why you should use them. I would consider this to be the tip of the iceberg and just a first introduction. There are basically 3 types of meditations for different purposes, which I would consider to be the "Swiss Army Knife" of meditation. Just like this multi tool has different blades for different purposes, these 3 meditation techniques have certain use cases. And like a Swiss Army Knife, they should be seen as a package, they last you a life time and never go out of fashion. 1) Concentration Meditation helps you to focus, relax and enjoy yourself (Samatha) Concentration Meditation (Samatha) uses an object to focus the attention on. It is like one of those old school Maglite flashlights, which you can twist at the top to bundle all of the light in one spot in the distance. There are various objects that ca...

The 3 meditation books to keep your practice fired up on a deserted island

What happens to a stone with sharp edges on the top of a mountain? Let's play a little mind game here. You are stranded on a deserted island. Nobody is around except wildlife and beautiful flora and fauna. My first thought is: Great! These are perfect conditions for relaxation and enlightenment! There is just this little issue. Who helps me to stay on the right track towards the unconditioned? In the past I had a dream of living an hermit lifestyle, somewhere remote, alone. With all the time on my hand to focus on spiritual growth. But reality will kick in pretty fast. I talked to a monk in a Thai monastery about it, as I was so frustrated with the ordinary monastery lifestyle of duties, work and little time for formal practice. He gave me a little simile: "What do you get, when you put a rock with sharp edges on the top of the mountain? You get a rock with sharp edges even afer decades of weather heavily wearing and tearing it. But what do you get when you throw a rock a wit...