Whilst Mindfulness is about breathing and noticing the present moment without judging, practising meditation is often associated with the practice of Mindfulness.
Meditation can simply be about focusing on the breath and allowing a relaxed state of mind to restore our state of balance. I believe that practising meditation helps us to be able to be more mindful.
Meditation and prayer are also sources of inspiration for all major religions.
Below are some quotations that you may find helpful to meditate on. Begin by settling into a comfortable upright posture and simply focus on your breathing. Then stay with your chosen meditation and allow your heart and mind to soak up the wisdom or inspiration that you find there.
“The morning wind spreads its fresh smell.
We must get up and take that in, the wind that lets live.
Breathe before it’s gone.” Rumi
“The birds have flown to freedom,
the cage lies empty.
Your happy songs bring to me
the scent of heaven.
Please keep singing.” Rumi
“What happens when your soul begins to awaken
Your eyes
And your heart
and the cells of your body
to the great journey of love?” Hafez
But let there be spaces in your togetherness and let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another but make not a bond of love:
let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Khalil Gibran
1 John 4:15 “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.”
NIV Bible
“You can’t stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go them sometimes.” A. A. Milne
“Be patient when you sit in the dark. The dawn is coming.” Rumi
“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.” William James [1842-1910]
Ecclesiastes 3: “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance…
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up…
a time to be silent and a time to speak”
“I would like to live like a river flows: carried by the surprise of its own unfolding.”
John O’Donohue
To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.
Nelson Mandela
The Birds they sang
at the break of day
‘Start again’
I heard them say
Don’t dwell on what
has passed away
or what has yet to be…
Leonard Cohen
