Saturday, August 23, 2008

What is Essential Core of Meditation?

Here is What Osho Says
Once you have become aware of the way your being can remain undisturbed, then slowly you can start doing things, keeping alert that your being is not stirred. That is the second part of meditation — first, learning how just to be, and then learning little actions: cleaning the floor, taking a shower, but keeping yourself centered. Then you can do complicated things.
For example, I am speaking to you, but my meditation is not disturbed. I can go on speaking, but at my very center there is not even a ripple; it is just silent, utterly silent. So meditation is not against action. It is not that you have to escape from life. It simply teaches you a new way of life: you become the center of the cyclone.
Your life goes on, it goes on really more intensely -- with more joy, with more clarity, more vision, more creativity -- yet you are aloof, just a watcher on the hills, simply seeing all that is happening around you.
You are not the doer, you are the watcher.
That's the whole secret of meditation, that you become a watcher. Doing continues on its own level, there is no problem: chopping wood, drawing water from the well. You can do small and big things; only one thing is not allowed and that is, your centering should not be lost.
That awareness, that watchfulness, should remain absolutely unclouded, undisturbed. The essential core, the spirit of meditation is to learn how to witness. A crow crowing... you are listening. These are two-object and subject. But can't you see a witness who is seeing both? - the crow, the listener, and still there is someone who is watching both. It is such a simple phenomenon.
You are seeing a tree: you are there, the tree is there, but can't you find one thing more?-that you are seeing the tree, that there is witness in you which is seeing you seeing the tree.
Watching is meditation. What you watch is irrelevant. You can watch the trees, you can watch the river, you can watch the clouds, you can watch children playing around. Watching is meditation. What you watch is not the point; the object is not the point. The quality of observation, the quality of being aware and alert - that's what meditation is.
Remember one thing: meditation means awareness. Whatsoever you do with awareness is medication. Action is not the question, but the quality that you bring to your action. Walking can be a meditation if you walk alert. Sitting can be a meditation if you sit alert. Listening to the birds can be a meditation if you listen with awareness. Just listening to the inner noise of your mind can be a meditation if you remain alert and watchful. The whole point is, one should not move in sleep. Then whatsoever you do is meditation.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Useful words

Excerpted from Eat That Frog!
21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time

Plan Every Day In Advance

You have heard the old question, “How do you eat an elephant?” The answer is “One bite at a time!”

How do you eat your biggest, ugliest frog? The same way; you break it down into specific step-by-step activities and then you start on the first one. Your mind, your ability to think, plan, and decide, is your most powerful tool for overcoming procrastination and increasing your productivity. Your ability to set goals, make plans, and take action on them determines the course of your life. Conversely, as Alec Mackenzie wrote, “Taking action without thinking things through is a prime source of problems.”

Increase Your Return on Energy

One of your top goals at work should be for you to get the highest possible return on your investment of mental, emotional, and physical energy. The good news is that every minute spent in planning saves as many as ten minutes in execution. It takes only about 10 to 12 minutes for you to plan out your day, but this small investment of time will save you up to two hours (100 to 120 minutes) in wasted time and diffused effort throughout the day.

You may have heard of the Six-P Formula. It says, “Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance.” When you consider how helpful planning can be in increasing your productivity and performance, it is amazing how few people practice it every single day. And planning is really quite simple to do. All you need is a piece of paper and a pen. The most sophisticated Palm Pilot, computer program, or time planner is based on the same principle. It is based on your sitting down and making a list of everything you have to do before you begin.