Many times we live in our thoughts, forgetting to experience the world around us, just the way it is.
The meditation (dhyana) practice means to stop and look deeply. It helps us recover the connection with the body, the sense, awareness of emotions, thought patterns and reactions rooted in us.
Meditation allows us calm the mind, observe all that emerges, exists and then disappears, without judging or reacting to these events. A regular practice offers us a sense of perspective and helps us identify that which is truly important from what isn’t.
This practice is not about escaping but rather about being fully in the present and connecting with life.
To meditate is to bring space to our minds. Meditation is posture, bringing conscious quietness to our bodies. This way, we are aware of life inside, our ongoing breath and its flow, the vibration in our bodies. We simply are.
We embrace this moment and lengthen it, making of this present an ongoing moment full of mystery, that we gradually discover with curiosity. The breath, the sensations, the emotions and the thoughts keep flowing, and we simply use them as concentration points or anchors, to experience the moment as it is.
In our retreats, there are 2 meditation sessions per day. The first one happens in the morning, right after we wake up, when our minds are at their quietest, just like the nature around us. The second session occurs at the end of the day, in order to clean our minds before going to sleep, encouraging a deeper more repairing sleep.
These sessions typically last 30-45 minutes, with some instructions at the beginning, where the practice is guided for about 10-15 minutes, after which everyone continues on their own, in silence.
Recent scientific studies show that the parts of our brains associated with positive emotions such as happiness, empathy and compassion, are strengthened and become more active in people who meditate on a regular basis. It’s not necessary to spend a long time practicing before we start noticing the benefits of the practice, every minute that we meditate can bring immense value to our lives and day to day.
