MINDFUL MAY
MAY is the month to be mindful, and never more so after a 2020 which saw the mindset of humans the world over, forever changed thanks to the ongoing global pandemic.
In light of locals asking about their place in our busy world, Dubbo Photo News asked some questions of Genla Venerable Thubten Tenzin, who is the teacher at Tharpa Choeling Australia, Wellington Buddhist Centre.
Tell us about meditation and its importance for human beings.
With practice, meditation will help us to become mindful. Mindfulness will help us appreciate the present moment. Mindfulness helps us to concentrate, to pay attention, enabling us to reduce anxiety and stress.
People in Western society seem to be on a busy treadmill of work, how damaging can this constant stress be for the psyche?
Unhappy mind = unhappy body. Taking time out to breathe helps reduce stress. Harvard Medical School says that breath control, particularly deep breathing, helps to quell the stress response.
How do you get into meditation – how difficult is it?
Meditation involves sitting down and allowing thoughts to dissipate, like clouds drifting away, revealing the clear sky. Doing this for even five minutes a day is beneficial for both body and mind.
What benefits do people see?
Meditation relieves stress because “time out” from anxiety, worry, fear, blame, anything disturbing at all, has to be a good thing. Meditation and the quality of mindfulness will help to regulate emotions because remaining in the present moment means dropping negative thoughts, and feelings of the detrimental kind.
How much time and effort does it take to consciously ‘slow down’?
If we take the time and put the effort into meditation, then both our body and mind will benefit.
Anything you’d like to add.
We have meditation classes every Monday at 1.30pm designed to help with letting go of stress, anxiety, worry and other harmful emotions. Also, we teach meditation techniques to enhance the qualities of mindfulness, selfworth, empathy, compassion and forgiveness.