Gradually a new kind of normality emerges in our life. Now we can begin to question not only ourselves, but also the circumstances.
We have been receiving a lot of news. The majority is in favor of the measures that have been introduced, while a few are critical of them. Much about this new threat remains unknown, including even the extent of the threat. What news should we trust?
Fake news or correct news – the connection of thinking and feeling
Sit down as for meditation. Know: “This is sitting, this is what sitting feels like.”
Recall the content of a recent piece of information in your mind.
Do not judge or ascertain whether the content of these thoughts is correct or incorrect.
Contemplate your feeling. Is it pleasant, unpleasant or neither, i.e. indifferent?
Commentary: This is not an easy practice. We are aware of most of our thinking. To direct awareness to thoughts requires practice. Not judging the content of thoughts is even more difficult.
This is an enormously important practice. If we succeed in recognizing the feeling that is triggered by the thoughts, we realize how much our speech and action is conditioned by what we feel.
A daily meditation practice will facilitate this exercise. Meditation here is gathering the mind, an important practice for the development of concentration.
Meditation – daily practice
Find a suitable, undisturbed place.
Sit down on a cushion or a chair.
Keep your back comfortably upright without leaning against anything.
Place your hands in your lap or on your knees.
If sitting on the floor, let your knees touch the floor.
If sitting cross-legged is impossible, take a seat kneeling on a cushion or a chair. In this case, keep your legs parallel and do not cross them.
Feel what it is like to sit on the floor.
Bring your attention to the breath.
Observe the inhalation and exhalation at the tip of the nose or in the nasal cavity.
Notice distractions, thoughts, emotions, obstacles, and return to observing the breath.
Perform this practice for a certain time.
You can find a guided fifteen-minute practice here.
Commentary:
You can always trust yourself. This too can be practiced:
Intend to practice meditation for a certain length of time and keep this time. It is better to intend for only 10 minutes and meditate for 10 minutes than to intend for 30 minutes and then stop after 20 minutes.
With Rudi Klausnitzer in Radio Austria: A practice for fear
These practices and instructions will be continued for the duration of the corona crisis.