Mindfulness means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through a gentle, nurturing lens. … When we practice mindfulness, our thoughts tune into what we’re sensing in the present moment rather than rehashing the past or imagining the future.
The session facilitated by Shalini Matai covered an understanding of brain waves, functions associated with different brain waves, what causes our reactive responses and how to transform these reactive responses to creative responses.
This is also due to the brain waves that are working cohesively to create a state of restful awareness. Beta waves is the normal alert consciousness which is busy, active, attentive and energetic. Alpha is relaxed, calm, reflective, learning and creative flow. Theta is deep relaxation, meditation, mental imagery, creativity, dreaming, day dreaming and sleep. Delta is deep healing sleep, intuition, knowing, empathy and bliss. Meditation is the process of getting from Beta to Theta through a step by step process.
At the beginning of the session, Shalini Matai informed the participants of the benefits of meditation. Some of it included evenness of mind in facing dualities, compassion, restful alertness and an energized body. She also explained the process of having a creative mind as an after-effect of meditation. The mind is capable of large amounts of creativity, many which can be untapped if not in the creative state of mind.
During the meditation period, the mind is at peace which allows disruptions to mutate into creative tensions. This is the perfect time and space for creativity to come forth from all the distractions the mind provides. As the creativity continues to come forth and influence our minds, it can therefore change our condition including our past, our present and our future. The perfect phrase to describe this is ‘mind creates matter’.
Meditation practice
There are many ways of doing meditation, but to take full advantage of its effects you will have to do it in a way that will link the body, mind and heart.
1. Start by breathing in and out for 5 seconds each to calm your mind.
2. For the heart, what you can do is to put your hand in your heart, smile, take it out, watch what happens, put it back. Do it again.
3. Focus on your breathing.
4. If your mind is wandering everywhere, then focus on your breath again.
5. Gently stop what you are doing.
6. Sit down, rub your palms and put it in your face.
7. Feel the energy, then slowly open your eyes.
All in all, changing your present and future starts from your mind. Meditation is therefore the catalyst.
