#49 Meditation
Meditation has been around for thousands of years, but it’s recently become popular with a broad audience. Modern people are needing it to create peace from a frenzied world with unrelenting distractions and demands.
Typically, mediation is thought of as the practice of sitting still in the crossed leg position, for an extended period of time to quiet the mind. There are many techniques like special breathing, reciting mantras, guided meditations, and these days there are even apps. Bruce Lee practiced meditation through movement, such as running, practicing punching, on his exercise bike, or just walking around his backyard in quiet contemplation. He used natural movement as a way to meditate and connect to himself.
“It is not a technique of introversion by which one seeks to exclude matter and the external world, to eliminate distracting thoughts, to sit in silence emptying the mind of images, and to concentrate on the purity of one’s own spiritual essence. Meditation is not a mysticism of “introversion” and “withdrawal.” It is not “acquired contemplation.” To think that this insight is a subjective experience “attainable” by some kind of process of mental purification is to doom oneself to error and absurdity.”
“We do not arrive, we are. Don’t strive to become, but be.”
“Do not separate meditation as a means from enlightenment as an end.”
You don’t push everything, every thought, away in order to be enlightened. It’s quiet, but quiet integration of what is happening to you.
“There is nothing to try to do, for whatever comes up moment by moment is accepted, including non-acceptance.”
When we’re in our normal, everyday headspace, we are often in “list” mode, thinking about all the things we have to do or fix. In the moment of meditation you don’t need to be goal or purpose oriented.
“Any effort the mind makes will further limit the mind.”
When we are meditating we are the unattached observer, existing without concentrating on any particular thing.
“The difference between knowledge and enlightenment is that in the former a contrast exists between the knower and the known, whereas in the latter, there is no such contrast.”
In meditation, just letting something ”be” is the practice of being non-judgmental for a short time. This can be difficult at first, but like exercising a muscle, with repeat practice in mediation it becomes easier.
When you practice mediation in motion, you occupy your body with movement actually decreasing distraction.
“A simple mind is one that functions, that thinks and feels without motive. Where there is a motive, there must be a way, a method, a system of discipline. The motive is brought about by the desire for an end, for a goal, to achieve that goal there must be a way, etc. Meditation is a freeing of the mind from all motives.”
All day long we are constantly assessing things so it is beneficial to create space for your mind to be free of judgment. It helps to bring calmness and peace to your soul.
“To meditate means to realize the imperturbability of one’s original nature. Meditation means to be free from all phenomena, and calmness means to be internally unperturbed. There will be calmness when one is free from external objects and is not perturbed.”
Meditation is a moment to get in touch with your original essence. You should let this sense fill up your whole body and flow through your whole being.
Bruce incorporated meditation into his daily life. In the mornings he would go for a run, and not listen to any music and just run around the quiet neighborhood. He would follow up his times of meditation with journaling his insights. Try active meditation for yourself.
Take Action: Try meditating for a week, five minutes a day or longer if you want. Try different types of mediation to figure out what works for you—sitting, walking, bathing, dancing—whatever connects you to this effortless space where your mind is free of motives. Notice how it feels in your body to connect to this calmness.
If you’d like to share how you’re doing with this action item you can email us at hello@brucelee.com.
Starting this Monday June 12th, 2017, join Shannon and Sharon in a two week Action Challenge to practice Bruce Lee’s philosophies. One winner will be picked to be a guest on the Bruce Lee Podcast and receive a Bruce Lee gift bag!
1. Practice the 3 Action items listed below every day for 2 weeks: Affirmations, Nutrition/Fitness, Harmony.
2. Document your progress by journaling every day.
3. Submit your story on June 26th 2017 about your experience doing the 2 week challenge.
4. Final deadline for entries is June 30th, 2017.
#AAHA
(Awesome Asians and Hapas)
Jessica Henwick
This week our #AAHA shout-out goes to English actress Jessica Henwick. She’s the daughter of a Singaporean Chinese mother and a Zambian-English father. In 2009, she was the first actress of East Asian descent to play a role in a British TV series when she was cast in the lead role of Bo for the BBC show Spirit Warriors. Since then she went on to be in HBO series Game of Thrones, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Netflix series Iron Fist. Her acting chops continue to be praised and she’s become a fan favorite. Jessica, you’re doing great work and we think you’re awesome!
#BruceLeeMoment
This week our #BruceLeeMoment is from listener Thom:
“Dear Shannon and Sharon, love the podcast, great stuff, and I want to share with you all one of my best phrases to overcome personal hardships. You guys almost stumbled upon it in your "Walk On" segment a while ago, (I started with the beginning and listening to them all in order for they seem to build one idea from the previous)
My phrase is: "Just Remember to Breathe"
I had open-heart surgery to remove a growth that was causing a heart murmur when I was just eighteen. I felt like I had a dream about where my life was going and how it was to be and my body was saying no to me. "In the prime of my life, my body gives up on me" I remember saying to anyone who would listen. I had a great idea to go to College starting in the fall of 1993 but it had to be put on hold for a full year for me to physically strong enough to get across campus.
So in '94 I started, a year behind I thought and out of place I felt at first. I wind up with a philosophy degree plan after some soul-searching, but before I could complete my final year, I suffered a stroke. With my friends, classmates and parents, my final year plodded to completion. Five years later. It was never a sprint.
I don't remember what or how it came about that I landed on "Just Remember to Breathe, " but when I say that to myself I recognize my thoughts are just that, thoughts. All the possible outcomes of my day boil down to one, my emotions are reined back, my mind clears a bit and I recognize the past can't be undone, the future is unwritten, so what's left? Now. It's all we got. Time to act.
I continue to refresh my memory with math exercises to get my brain back and I love walking to get my health back. I help kids with special needs and share a little bit of my story and wisdom with them throughout the day. Each day is a brand new adventure.
All the best for you and yours --Thom”
Share your #AAHA and #BruceLeeMoment recommendations with us via social media @BruceLee or email us at hello@brucelee.com.
Subscribe:
