Seeing Mikhail’s deep, relaxed eyes, Bold became inclined to do so. When Bold and Emma took their positions and sat in a crossed leg position, Mikhail spoke:
“First, we must clear our minds from all useless thoughts. And meditation is just that. Being in the present moment with no thoughts, no mind. But first one thing has to be understood about the mind. That mind is a desiring machine. It has no concern for the present. And it is by nature constantly jumps to the past or the future. The past is illusionary. It is just memory. It is not real. The future is also illusionary. It is imagination. It does not exist. Only the present moment is real. To learn the spells, being present in the present moment is mandatory. But trying to not think about anything and being in the present is quite hard. Try it”
“Right now?” asked Emma.
“Yes, there is no rush. We got all day” said Mikhail.
Bold and Emma gave a look at one another and closed their eyes. The peacefulness, the silence. It was quite nice. Strange that Bold had not noticed this while he was training.
Huh, it’s not that hard to be thoughtless. Wonder what Mikhail is talking about. a thought crossed Bold’s mind.
Yeah, it’s true. It didn’t seem that hard. Wait the thought!
Okay man. You need to stay quiet.
Then again, I never consciously tried to be thoughtless before but I’ll make it work.
No, you won’t, dumbass. You will never defeat the all-mighty mind
What the fuck? You are Bold, what the hell? Stop trying to disobey your master.
I am no servant of you
I am the bone of my sword
Get that shitty references out of here, I’m trying to achieve no mind!
Okay okay. Now it’s time to m-m-m-m-m-meditate
Nice reference there, my man
FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU ALL
He didn't know how long it lasted. It wasn't long, he was sure of that. But it didn't matter. Bold grabbed his head in agony then screamed and raged.
“What is the matter?” asked Mikhail.
“It’s my head. It’s filled with thoughts. The more I try to be thoughtless the more thoughts keep bubbling up. I tried to restrain it. But it’s no use. Darn it” yelled Bold.
“Haha, that happens. I was very confused the first time too” said Mikhail.
“What am I supposed to do? There has to be some trick” said Bold.
Mikhail’s eyes lighted up a little.
“Quiet down. It’s hard to meditate” said Emma.
“Are you successful, Emma?” asked Mikhail.
She opened her eyes and melancholically answered:
“No”
“Well, it is to be expected” said Mikhail.
“I can’t believe I never noticed this. I have no control over my thoughts! They are all just buzzing inside my head” claimed Bold.
“Me too. It’s kind of hard” added Emma
“That’s to be expected. Given that you’re trying to stop a thought with another thought” said Mikhail.
“What else am I supposed to do? I have to order them to stop or else they just won’t stop” enraged Bold.
“No, you mustn’t do that. Thoughts are dangerous. They love a fight. If you try to fight only more will come to you. Because the urge to restrain your thoughts is also another thought. And you definitely should not follow a thought. You’ll only be feeding it power”
“Then what is the secret? You talk as if you know about this mind stuff” mumbled Bold.
“Observation and awareness”
“That is the key?” asked Emma timidly.
“Yes. All meditation techniques are based around it. And let me give you a technique. One that I am familiar with and is the simplest” said Mikhail gently.
Emma and Bold stared at him with curious eyes.
“Observe the breath coming in and going out…coming in and going out. Breath comes in from your nostrils into your belly. It doesn’t stop at the chest. People have become so head oriented and timed that they stopped breathing with their belly. But that is absolutely wrong. Breath with your belly. Exhale fully and inhale fully. That way you will be full of energy.
Now again, the breath coming in and going out. Feel it, observe it. Follow its movement. Follow the breath. It reaching the depths of your belly, then turns. And when it turns it goes out through your nostrils, observe the movement as well”
Peeks... looks around... chappy?
Okay... Best way to meditate for dumbos: observe and listen to the sound of your breaths, then reobserve everytime when you change from an exhale to an inhale, all the while feeling your heartbeat. If you feel and thoughts intruding, expand your awareness. Feel your skin, how the blood flowing and the heart makes your body twitch ever so slightly and then reobserve the change from exhale to inhale, to prevent from falling asleep. Also while minding the inhale and exhale, hearing it and such, you can try imagining something. You can slip away but try to focus on the breath, the sound and feel of its changes else you might lose awareness.
It is a method to frame your mind, keep it grounded and from moving too much. That breath and the shift is your anchor. Hope you enjoy. Another is if you indulge too much into your task and can'y stop, it is to count the shifts of inhale and exhale and then see that you set it as a timer. 40 breaths... for exemple. Then you just move yourself and stop. If anything distracts you while trying to stop, keep your mind focused on the changes of breath and if necessary the heartbeat. Also as an option, you can also feel the everexpanding ground underneath you. If you stand that is your legs. An inspiring experience is to try to not move at all while doing this. After a while... Your senses will be all tingly and your touch will feel magnifiscently sensitive as your brain did not recieve any particularly diferent sensasions in the while and became numb to to the others. Note: I also use this to be lazy and it works. It is good at keeping your mind sharp and mental state ready for the influx of info.