"Master, can you show me a good routine of mental training for busy people leading stressful lives?
Is there a certain morning meditation that the Gyokku Ninja use to better tackle the day or secrets for mental toughness that I can use for dealing wth stress?"
Greetings! The members of the ninja clan actually live in a mountain fortress. As you can imagine, our lifestyle is quite different from your own. As a matter of fact, I cannot remember the last time I experienced what people call 'stress'.
These exercises are best done at the beginning of the day. You will not need more than a few minutes. You will need some place where the atmosphere is relatively relaxed. If you can be in touch with nature directly, weather permitting, that is even better - for example, if there is a park near your house that you can go to on summer mornings. If not, acquire a CD with nature sounds conducive to meditation, or bookmark something similar on youtube - if you search, you'll find enough. Make sure this plays continuously throughout your session.
Also, you will need something with a rich aroma - a cup of coffee or herbal tea, or even a flower. Set this object before you before you begin.
First, you need to banish sleepiness, and bring the mind to alertness. Sit in a comfortable position. Move the fingers of one hand, then move the toes of the other foot. Then move the fingers of your opposite hand, and then the toes of the opposite foot. This might seem simplistic, but it is actually a method of activating centers of the brain that bring the brain to alertness.
After the above, do about ten minutes of vigorous exercise. Aerobics, pushups, whatever you wish, though the BEST combination is five minutes of aerobics and five minutes of strength exercises. This, in combination with the meditations, cause the body to place itself, mentally and physically, in a positive frame.
Detailed training in meditation and mental exercises, after the message below...
Begin by lying comfortably on your back in an environment conducive to meditation.
Now tighten all the muscles of your body.
Then, begin to loosen the muscles starting with the toes and working your way upwards, while simultaneously counting backwards from hundred.
When your entire body is relaxed (you will relax the head last, of course) close your eyes. You then go to the next stage of this meditation, relaxing the mind.
Imagine that you�re standing in a very crowded place, filled with people, loud noises and bright lights.
You sink through the floor and arrive at a level below. Here there are less lights, less noise and less people. You sink through the floor again to a level below that one, and so on.
As you travel downwards level by level, the noises, lights and people grow cumulatively less until finally you are in perfect silence and darkness and perfectly alone. Imagine yourself traveling downwards infinitely so that the silence, darkness and solitude become infinite.
You are now at the very center of your being, your entire universe encapsulated within yourself. Imagine a container within your mind. Into this container you place all your troubles, all your worries of past and future. But DO NOT place these things in this mental container as 'bad' things. Place them in this container as things that are a PART of yourself, and therefore treasured. Once you have placed all that causes darkness in your life in the container WITH THE MINDSET of it being a part of yourself and therefore treasured, close the container. Place the container on a shelf within your mind, still maintaining the mindset that what it contains is a treasured part of yourself.
Now, slowly expand your senses. Allow yourself to listen to the sounds of nature (or of your recording). Feel the texture of whatever you're sitting on. Become aware of the very air around you. Open your eyes and look upon your surroundings as if you were seeing them for the first time. Breathe in the aroma of your tea (or whatever you chose for this purpose).
Do not allow your thoughts to wander. There is no past. There is no future. There is only the now. Be centered in the now. TREASURE THE NOW, THIS TIMELESS PRESENT MOMENT. Hold this mental state for at least a minute.
Without the initial exercises, the actual meditation above can also be done anytime during your day when you are feeling stressed, if you can spare the five minutes it takes. Using it when you actually feel the effects of stress can be a powerful counter for those leading stressful lives.
I will try to have a video made of these and other meditations. Do the meditations and exercises above for one week, and let me know the results you have.
I trust this will be of assistance.
...Did you find this page interesting?
HERE ARE OTHER INTERESTING PAGES ON MEDITATION AND MENTAL POWERS...
| Ninja Meditations for Stress Relief |
| Holding an empty mind during Meditation |
| Dealing with the fear of Failure |
...OTHER INTERESTING QUESTION-AND-ANSWER SECTIONS...
|| COMBAT AND TRAINING ||
MEDITATION AND MENTAL CONTROL ||
PHILOSOPHY ||
|| CULTURE OF THE GYOKKU NINJA CLAN ||
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