While practicing your meditation you could use outside or external  aids to make the whole experience more relaxing and easier. There are different aids used for different types of meditation like the Hindu,Budhist ,Japanese or Taoist.You could make yourself familiar with some popular aids with the list below.

TAOIST /JAPANESE aids:

INCENSE STICKS: They are handmade sticks coated with natural aromatic material and which give out sweet smells when burnt.They are used frequently for religious and meditational purposes.

When used they provide a sense of calm and appeal to your senses and helps your mind  settle down and  focus.

TIBETIAN SINGING BOWLS: These are bowls usually made of ‘Panchaloha’ (in Sanskrit) or commonly known as the five metals.The new singing bowls are usually made of bronze and are made in Nepal , India, Korea  and Japan.There is also a wooden, plastic or leather  mallet along with the bowl which is used to  the strike the bowl to create multiple harmonic overtones due to the vibration of the rim. These are used for meditation, trance or prayers.

BUDDHIST:

The budhist aids also consist temple bells, chimes, prayer bells and gongs  which are made of timber or wood in different sizes.

INDIAN AIDS :

MALA BEADS:They are usually used for the mantra style of meditation ,where you choose a particular word or mantra along with each bead passes between your fingers.There are different kinds of beads and are used for various spiritual and religious purposes .Like the Rudraksha beads etc.

SHAWLS AND ROBES :There are a lot of people who like to wear silk or cotton shawls while meditating which usually have some scripts,mantras written on them to keep them warm.

MEDITATION FURNITURE

CUSHIONS: They help in providing support and comfort while sitting for a meditation session whether for a little while or for a long duration.

ZAFU: is a cushion which is round and filled with kapok or buckwheat.You could also make your own Zafu Cushion at home. check out http://zen.columbia.missouri.org

ZABUTAN: is a mat which is a little bigger than a Zafu cushion and it is square and flat.

MODERN AIDS:

YOGA MATS: There are mats which could be used for meditation well  as Yoga.

STOOLS: It is a myth that Meditation could be done only by sitting on the floor but its not true. It could be performed even  by sitting on stools .This makes a session comfortable especially for people who suffer from back problems etc

TIMERS: If you are beginner and you would want to plan your sessions, it would definitely help  to have a timer to clock your minutes .This would help you concentrate on the meditation process rather than keeping a track on the time you need to spend meditating.

MUSIC:

It is a wonderful aid while meditation as it keeps your mind more calm and does not let it wander.You have various kinds of music available and in different formats ie in CD’S or also in downloadable formats.

CD:There are many music cds available which help you concentrate on the meditation technique you are involved in.They  are available online on many stores like Amazon etc and also have downloadable versions for better prices.

MEDITATION MACHINES: Various machines have been developed to ease the whole experience of meditation of which some are also scientifically tested .They work on the brain by energising the alpha, theta brain waves and make it easier to achieve a meditative state. You could find some like the Proteus machine.

AMETHYST POINTS CANDLE HOLDER:I came across this candle holder which is made of  amethyst and could be used as a candle holder for various focused meditation techniques. Also the colour is very pleasing and makes the mind calmer.

ALTAR: An altar is usually set by a person who wants to meditate .It could be a table or chest on which the objects which inspire and have a meaning are placed .

There are different altars available in the markets which are made of pine wood in Korean, Thai and Zen styles.Sometimes you could also find carved altars which have draws and doors for spiritual reasons or according to individual tastes.

A week ago (September 12) I posted instructions for meditating in the Burmese positions. That’s the closest I get to sitting in lotus, since my groin and calve muscles are just too tight. My next-favourite position – the one I’m able to maintain for several 30-minute periods with only occasional foot cramps — is called seiza.

To sit in seiza, turn the zafu on its side so that it’s taller than wide, and lower your buttocks onto it, while placing your knees on either side. This gives you the three-point foundation so necessary to sit upright for any length. Place your hands before you. Some people put a small cushion on their thighs just below the waist and rest their hands on it. Keep in mind that these are general instructions: each meditation centre has its own ways. If you’re unsure of how to sit, arrive early and ask for beginning instructions, or watch an experienced sitter next to you or across the room. Just don’t be intimidated by all the bowing, the garments, and people’s serious expressions. In my experience, meditators are always glad to assist each other.

Seiza is the traditional way for Japanese people to sit for meals and tea ceremony. In the West you’ll see martial arts students sit in seiza before and after mat exercises, arranged according to rank, ready to bow to their teacher. Such seiza is done without a cushion: feet are flat on the floor, big toes overlap, and buttocks lowered all the way down. Ouch!

photo credit (top) and inspiration for this post: Still Sitting Meditation Supply, Vachon Island, WA.

I came to Zen meditation late (with inflexible hips, knees, calves, and ankles) and have been hobbling along for ten years. Over time, I’ve managed to train my body (and mind) so that I can sit for up to eight hours per day for a week (on retreat), using a few postures other than lotus. In Thailand monks sit on bare floors, without cushions, in full lotus, for hours; most Buddhist centres in the West,  however, allow flexibility in how you sit, as long as it is still and upright. At the monastery where I trained, lay practitioners are free to sit on either chairs, benches, or cushions using various postures. Meditation periods last 50 minutes, with a short “wiggle bell” at the half-way point to allow for posture adjustment.

If you’re an experienced sitter who knows what “full lotus” means, these instructions are old hat. But if you’re new to this, you’ll benefit from having experience with more than one posture. The easiest way to sit on a cushion may well be in the Burmese position (as shown). Both legs are folded in front of you, neither crosses the other. It doesn’t matter which leg is in front as long as you are comfortable. If you sit for an extended time, it’s best to occasionally switch which leg is in front.

The big square cushion is called a zabuton (in Japanese). They come in several colours and degrees of thickness. Zen centres typically provide them; at home a blanket folded into a 3′ x 3′ square will do. You’ll need a second cushion which is round and called a zafu. You sit towards the front edge of the zafu (as shown here); some people use an additional wedge underneath to emphasize a downward angle towards the knees.

The key to all postures is to create a tripod made of knees and buttocks. Let your hands rest naturally in front (more on that later) and your body upright with the spine straight but not forced.

photo credit: Still Sitting Meditation Supply on Vashon Island, WA.

Awhile ago, Jen asked me to make a cover for her plain zafu pillow. She gave me the following dimensions:

The measuring is harder than I thought. It looks like the exact size of the one I sent you but on mine the top circle is 11.5″ at it’s widest point and the pillow itself is 16″ at it’s widest point. It is about 7″ tall and has 12 pleats plus one center seam for the zipper.

and told me I could choose the fabrics. This is what I came up with. My measurements are pretty close. The circles at the top and bottom measure about 11 1/2 inches across. The circumference of the body is about 16 1/2 inches around. It’s about 7 inches tall. Unfortunately, due to my inability to do decent math, it only has 9 pleats. Hopefully this won’t matter.  Jen suggested using buttons as a closure, but I went with a 7 inch zipper instead. Hopefully she can stuff her current pillow through the zipper and cover it that way (she may have to remove some buckwheat to get it to fit, but she can always put it back in).

If worse comes to worse and this *doesn’t* fit her pillow maybe she can use this as the actual pillow instead? I really regret that I didn’t do french seams. If you turn the pillow inside out you can see all the not-so-nice seaming and stitching. At least she’ll be able to tell it was handmade, lol!

It was really difficult to take a photo of this empty cover. I think it’ll look better with the actual pillow inside.

La vulgarización del zen es imparable: hay comida zen, diseño zen… es un término que se aplica como adjetivo a tantas cosas, desde modelos de platos a reproductores MP3, pasando por bañeras de hidromasaje.

La consola Nintendo Wii ha tenido un gran éxito con el videojuego Wii Fit y la Wii Balance Board, una balanza electrónica con la que se realizan diversos ejercicios de yoga, tonificación muscular, aerobic y juegos de equilibrio. Entre estos últimos, junto al eslalon de esquí, la cuerda floja y rematar de cabeza un balón de fútbol, está el juego zazen que, como su nombre indica, consiste en sentarse en la balanza como si fuera un zafu. Las instrucciones que da el programa son:

Encuentra tu paz interior con el zazen, una antigua práctica del budismo zen. Siéntate en la Wii Board y dobla [cruza] las piernas. Si no puedes, no pasa nada. Siéntate en la Wii Balance Board con la espalda estirada.

Luego empieza el juego, se ve en pantalla el suelo del dojo y una vela, con el mensaje: Un alma inquieta hará temblar la llama. Mantén cuerpo y alma en paz.

Y eso es todo. De vez en cuando se oyen los pasos del maestro y, si uno se mueve, la llama se tambalea, el maestro -sin previo aviso- nos golpea con el kyosaku, y el juego termina (“game over”). Si uno no se mueve, el juego dura hasta tres minutos (aunque se puede repetir).

No parece gran cosa, aunque un videojuego en el que no hay que disparar ni atropellar a nadie, ya es algo.

“And I saw heaven opened”
– John, Revelation 19:11

Go outside. If you’re already there, that’s great. If you’re indoors, move away from your desk, couch, or zafu and head toward the nearest exit.

Once you’ve extricated yourself from whatever edifice you may be in, look up. Tilt your head back and lift your eyes toward the skies. What do you see?

In our postindustrial world, we spend long hours gawking at electronically generated images. Our computer screen, flat panel television, and Blackberry have become the primary items we focus on and through. While I’m grateful for these new virtual worlds, it’s important to understand that they are housed within a more ancient real world: the cosmos.

Traditional western thinking — religious and secular — often depicts the universe as harsh, depraved, and unruly. Popular theologies consider it to have fallen from a primordial pristine condition. Subsequently, the natural world is supposedly in conflict with the spiritual world and in desperate need of an extreme makeover. Modernism saw the planet as a machine to be harnessed in order to meet any and all human desires. The excesses of Modernism have led to the Postmodern critique portraying the world and humanity as being at war with each other — we’re trying to kill Gaia, and she is trying to protect herself by killing us.

There may be bits of truth in all of these viewpoints. The cosmos is an apparently chaotic place. It has vast resources that support human life, and we have habitually treated the planet as an infinite waste dump. Yet the prevailing narratives depicting humanity as separated from the broader universe ignore our mutual interconnection. Even Genesis has humanity arising from the dust of the earth. This suggests integration, not isolation.

In The Great Work, Thomas Berry points out the multiple layers of cosmic reality. Humanity lives on a planet situated within a solar system and “beyond the sun is our own galaxy and beyond that the universe of galactic systems.” Everything is nested within a complex structure of embedded reciprocity.

Because the outside world houses our inner world, we discover profound spiritual inspiration when we contemplate our exterior domain. Berry notes that our “psychic nourishment and support come from the natural environment.” We neglect our place and presence in the cosmos to our own impoverishment.

As a shepherd, David experienced a rich inner life through years of outdoor living. He recognized the changing of the seasons, the flora and fauna, and the soil. He could read the sky, the wind, and the flocks. No wonder when musing upon the glories of his surroundings, he exclaimed in wonder, “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, what is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” (Psalm 8:3-4). The first step stimulating David to reach this place of enraptured praise was his consideration of the heavens. He looked up.

Centuries earlier, God invited Abraham to lift his gaze. “Look up at the heavens and count the stars” (Genesis 15:5). In looking upward Abraham received the promise of an immeasurable blessing that became realized in John’s vision. When John looked up, he saw heaven opened. Mimicking the rip in the temple veil, the torn sky assured John of unfettered human access to God.

Without reflecting on our environment, we reduce the ways in which we can appreciate God and diminish the ways we can identify ourselves as partakes in the divine nature. So follow the example of the sweet Psalmist, Abraham, and John. Go out and look up. You will discover a deep mystical resonance in your heart as you peer into the limitless heavens.

In taking the physical step of going outside and looking up, you’ll discern a new sense of presence in your place. Our universe just is — a welcoming home for us to live, die, love, and thrive. Popular author Meredith Little reminds us, “The land is nonjudgmental enough to allow us to be our whole selves fully. Nature expresses its wholeness not through words but through its being, and that allows us to remember our own nature and step into that expression of ourselves.”

Maybe it’s been a while since you’ve gone outside to intentionally notice your world and your place in it. You may seem childlike as you stare upward in awe, but Jesus invites us to receive the kingdom of God like little children. Initially you may feel foolish when you go outside and look up, but where’s the folly in appreciating the glory of the physical creation?

Go outside, stretch out your arms, and look up. What do you see? Where do heaven, earth, and sea meet? What specific hue is the sky right now? Notice the clouds. Do you observe any stars, planets, comets? When you look up with the eye of the spirit, feel your heart expanding. Allow your inner self to soar. Let looking up be a living metaphor for hope, optimism, and sanguinity. See the heavens open and look directly into the eyes of God.
~~~~~~~~~~
Originally published on July 14, 2008. (c) Presence International. Parousia is a free Transmillennial publication of Presence. To receive Parousia in your inbox each week click here.

Someone made a suggestion that we should make a rickshaw and night before last, I decided to try to put one together. Then I had to decide how it would be utilized. Could it be worn or should it be a vehicle. It would need a passenger, so as Fox and I discussed it, we both came to the logical conclusion that it would need to be a vehicle. I had gotten Jeffrey Heaton’s book, Scripting Recipes for Second Life (plus his other on LSL Scripting) in my attempt to learn more about how scripting works in SL. I often find that I can come up with some cool products only to come to full stop because I don’t have a script to accomplish what I need. Heaton provided some great examples and, even better, some physical examples at his sim in SL. Such was the case with his car scripts. However, mine wasn’t a car; mine was a rickshaw. The driver would actually be running and pulling the rickshaw. To the rescue, my friend, Pandora Wrigglesworth, gave me the capacity to put in the animations I needed and the llSleep in the right place to assist in making it “just right” for a tiny.

Vehicles must be 30 prims or under (the avatar being the 31st)…so…29 if you want two avatars on it. This is the rule with things that are physical which a vehicle becomes upon your sitting in it. I had to jiggle speed to slow down for an avatar running, who would be slower than a car. Physical things have some interesting things that can happen. At one point, when trying to set the sit target for the driver, I found myself catapulted with the rickshaw right off my work platform. Once it was working, sometimes it is difficult to get the vehicle to go over to high a step, a steep hill and fell over backwards as I learned how the vehicle worked.

Finally it did! I had found a really cute running animation which is a little more crazy hop like run that is hilarious to watch in action. Next, come races! I’m going to check about the possibility of it being utilized for some of the Tiny Olympics coming up. That would be fun! Will let everyone know.

In addition, Fox and I have put a new location for Tiny TAMA in the Raglan Shire Tree City Forest. We’re right on the way down to Extrovirtual.

~elfa and namaste