Meditation is a practice of settling emotions and communicating with the mind through breathing, without space or time constraints, and without needing to spend a penny to heal anxiety and restore calm. Unfortunately, urban dwellers are plagued by too many distractions, constantly surrounded by trivial matters, forgetting to take the time to be with themselves. Learning different meditation methods such as walking, staying, sitting, lying down, even just a few minutes of practice each day, each breath can help embrace a peaceful and calm better life!
Before becoming a meditation instructor, Berna Lee, who used to work in the antique art auction industry, was a city dweller overwhelmed by work stress. With an impatient personality, she would instantly break down when things didn’t go as planned. Coupled with emotional entanglements, Berna once experienced emotional imbalance, even her body and skin started to sound alarms. Before everything spiraled out of control, Berna chose to meditate and sit in silence, allowing herself to settle in the unpredictable life, clarify her thoughts, and choose a more ideal life path.
// 冥想並非清空思想，而是整理 //
Many people have misconceptions about meditation, thinking it’s just closing your eyes and stopping thoughts. We can’t control our brains from thinking, just like we can’t control our ears from hearing sounds. Meditation is not about emptying the mind, but rather about controlling the breath, organizing anxious emotions and chaotic thoughts. “Just like a cup of muddy water, constantly stirring will only make it more turbid, why not pause for a moment and let the mud settle,” after clearing the obstacles that block your peaceful thoughts and rational analysis, dealing with people and things will bring a whole new understanding. Meditation helps us organize problems, not escape from the present.
// 零成本的情緒調整 //
“A master once told me, ‘When you regulate your breathing, you can regulate everything else.’ Everyone breathes, and through breathing exercises to adjust your mood, there is no cost and no waste. Meditation has different modes such as walking, standing, sitting, and lying down. Walking meditation, sitting meditation, slow eating, and even sleeping are all forms of meditation. By incorporating meditation into your life, slow down, feel and live in the moment, you will become calm, and your interactions with others will become gentler. This is the biggest change that meditation has brought to Berna. ‘Rather than saying it changed me, I would say that meditation has allowed me to return to gentleness and calmness, accept myself, and embrace the imperfect perfection.'”
// 知易行難的放下 //
Aside from each breath, Berna believes that the most difficult part of meditation is letting go. Letting go not only means letting go of distractions during meditation practice, and facing oneself wholeheartedly, but also letting go of “expectations” in daily life. “Letting go of ingrained thought patterns, letting go of all assumptions, taking off the colored glasses of the past in how you treat yourself and others.” It’s easier said than done, but once you take the first step in letting go, no longer approaching things and people with a harsh attitude, you will fall in love with that refreshing feeling. Letting go actually brings more than holding on tightly.
後記：
每當遇上不如預期的事總會急躁崩潰，一時被情緒牽引做出恨錯難返的決定，哪怕是一句無心氣話，一個嫌棄表情帶來的傷害性永遠無法估計。回想過去，你有多少個恨錯難返的時刻？學習接受當下、跳出錯亂思緒，靜心冥想整頓思想與行為，雖然未必是解決問題的特效藥，不過
冥想絕對是保持身心靈健康的維他命。
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Producer: Vicky Wai
Editor: Candy Chan
Videographer: @mxkan_ , Andy Lee
Photographer: @mxkan_
Video Edit: Andy Lee
Designer: Tanna Cheng
Special Thanks: @bernbernlee
