Friday, April 14, 2017

#AtoZChallenge 2017 M - Monkey, Mind, Meditation, Music

M actually said M for Mm...Hmm. I did consider writing a post on that. Well, since that cannot exactly classify as a word, I asked her again and she said Monkey. I suggested M for mummy and that is when she remembered that her own name started with that.

Monkeys are quite close to us in DNA and I have read that chimpanzees have started using tools and that gorillas can be taught sign language. Till my son enlightened me, I was not aware that apes are those monkeys that do not have tails. I am not even sure if I realized that gorillas and orangutans were tailless before that.

A saying we often hear is that the human mind is a monkey. There is a story in the Mahabharatha where the character Yudishtira says "The mind is faster than wind and our worries  are more numerous than straws". I am not exactly sure which parts of the grey matter in our brains control all the non-stop chatter that goes on inside all of our heads but yes there is this monkey (or a whole team of monkeys) that get easily influenced by factors internal and external and keep hopping.

Something that is stressed upon so much these days and is sought after is meditation. It is believed to relieve one of stress, calm ones mind and bring more clarity. The big question is how does one go about it?

There are numerous schools out there ....Meditation retreats where people go like a vacation and indulge in this guided practice for like say ten days. Mindful meditation is another thing that is getting a lot of attention too. Yoga schools and branches teach various meditation practices. 

Some religious practices like chanting of shlokas are meditative practices too - A few moments when we choose to simply detach ourselves from everything around and focus only on the words coming from our mouths. When we do that, our breathing falls into a rhythmic pattern and the mind gets some rest. 

Art and music can be meditative too to those who are able to immerse in it and let themselves go.Personally I feel, being a part of the music , i.e. learning to play an instrument or simply singing along to something we are listening would make us feel a lot more lighter. There would be moments when all that matters is 

The music around me and me in the music.

My monkey has done a not so bad job now in the past twenty minutes when I typed this post. Starting from the sign language of gorillas, I have traveled to playing the piano or the violin. 

To conclude I want to share a video on simple meditation advice given by a Tibetan monk on Facebook that I really liked. In fact I liked his message as well as the warm simple humorous way in which he expresses it.


I don't know much about meditation but sometimes when we feel agitated or anxious , a few deep breaths do help in calming I think.

8 comments:

  1. Meditation helps people to calm down.

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  2. yes, meditation helps immensely in the long run. Nice and informative post!

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  3. Chanting Om is the best form of meditation as per me. it has the power of connecting ur body and soul.

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  4. I don't meditate. I pray, but I reckon this little video is the coolest thing I've ever seen on mediation. "Say hello to the monkey mind. Tell it to watch the breath." That's gold. Good stuff.

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  5. Now you have me wondering how many primates have tails and how many do not and if that body part is used in classification. Fascinating! I have to go Google now.

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  6. I am a big fan of mediation. It has such a calming effect and of course makes you mindful too. It's still a WIP for me and I am hoping to make it a way of life for me.

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  7. Jaishree, if you would like to read about it, do check out the book called "Mindfulness in plain English" by Gunaratana. I liked it a lot.

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  8. Our mind is a monkey from sure.
    I personally find shlokas peace inducing and calming

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