C Shehata 1 I ‘Ahmed Shehata pew UWRT 1102 re Instructor: Fran Voltz Le ow Sept 29, 2014 Journal 3: Five-Minute Meditation Meditation is a practice that spans many religions-Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam-and even the non-religious. The human mind thinks up to 60,000 thoughts a day, so it’s important to take some time out to clear the mind. It’s very refreshing physically and spiritually. Deep breathing, which is a part of meditation, is very important. Breathing is the immediate method of detoxing the body, but beyond that, it’s powerful. In high pressure moments, if you can control your breathing, you can control your mind, which controls your actions, Even in an intensely emotional situation, you can control your response by concentrating on regulating your breathing. Hunters (and military snipers) know the power of controlling their breathing and it allows them to get those accurate shots, despite micro-tremors, crazy emotions, and intense pressure. Meditation can be difficult at first, but the more you do it, the better you'll feel and the better at it you will get, #editation is beneficial for everyone, regardless of faith or the lack thereof, Stress can literally kill people, so it’s very important to take time out for the mind and body. Tama thinker. | am comfortable in my mind. I love to analyze. I love to know. I love to question. I love my inquisitive nature and all that I have learned about the world that I live in because of it.Shehata 2 But what if all of this knowing and thinking becomes a distraction? What if “knowing” how to fix a problem never gets you to the solution? There is absolutely nothing wrong with a being a thinker. We all have such amazing minds that help us live extraordinary lives. But our minds are just the beginning of our lives. What if I set my timer and sit still for five minutes? I would actually be doing AND being at the same time! My Meditation Experience, It kicks off the time with a chime, and away I go. I'm completely on my own now. My eyes are closed, and I am still. It’s really happening! I begin to hear things that I don’t normally notice: cars driving by, the hum of the computer, my chair creaking as I shift to get comfortable, the email alert (oops — forgot to turn that off). | struggle to keep my eyes closed. I want to know how much time Ihave left. I want to prove to myself that I can do this, though, so I squeeze them even tighter. I notice how my mind. WN, is racing thinking about writing this post. I know what I want to say, and I am a bit concerned xy that I will forget it before the time is up. I start to nod off — the lack of sleep last night is to blame vi ft for this one. And then I hear the chime again and open my eyes. I would love to say that during ° this experience of being still the thoughts stopped and I saw the light and everything was magical... but that’s not what happened. But I did it.I sat stil, I closed my eyes and stayed with my thoughts and body for five full minutes, a few minutes of concentrated breathing in a quiet place and the decisions you need to make will become easier, my frustrations become less intense and the obstacles my face less daunting. Meditation, or whatever you want to call it. It’s like travel in the sense that there is no ‘right’ way to do it. Find out what works for me and that’s my ‘right’ way, even if it is just five minutes of eyes-closed breathing here and there.