Dhyana is simple. Why meditation scares us.

                                                          

When the word, 'Meditation' is mentioned I have found that most of us find it scary. It seems like a strange unattainable state to which a select few are privy.

Friends have expressed the inability to control, stop or suppress thoughts. So the thinking is that essentially a thought-free state is meditation. This is not wrong but the way we go about trying to get there is what stops us. Also the effort we make at suppression releases tension in us and so a forceful control is surely not the way with something that is natural gentle and flowing.
                   
Being aware of what is happening in the entire body takes us out of the head and allows us to stay with NOW. This is Dhyana and to me it is just awareness. When thoughts come, it is okay let us watch them come and go. The act of watching separates us thus keeping us from getting entangled in the thought process.
 

Vipassana meditation which has come to us from Buddhism is particularly valuable to understanding awareness. In vipassana we watch our whole body-inside and outside, first inch by inch and then pinch by pinch, fine tuning this watching to such an extent that we are doing that and nothing else.

               Finally everything that comes out of such learning is made more precious when applied to everyday life because that is where we live most of the time :) With practice we are then able to every now and then draw our-self out of the head, simply watching whatever it is we are up to in that segment of time.

Here is a picture of giant amazonian lily pads in the Adelaide botanical garden taken by me about 6 yrs back. Draws out the meditator in anyone that looks at the focal lily pad methinks :)

A quick mention of the Diaphragms in our body. There are three-the vocal, the second one is right under the lungs, the third is the pelvic diaphragm. All three are of great value in breathing and elimination. If you would like to know more you could check this  link from a yoga blog.
http://doczyoga.wordpress.com/2011/05/14/three-diaphragms-and-their-uses-in-yoga-practice/

The link below will take you to all the other blogs participating in the April blog challenge. There is a huge variety of theme and the bloggers have worked with great interest to bring you well written, interesting posts.

http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/