Catching up on Journal stuff

HH101: Techniques of Relaxation and Meditation

Meditation. I don’t know how other people do it. I certainly don’t see this as a practice I would do regularly. I find it boring, at least the type that asks you to sit still. I guess that could be taken as a sign of being undisciplined. Being able to still your mind and bring it to focus is never a bad thing, especially in the practice of magic. I just can’t seem to master it. Actually, that’s only partially true. When it comes to magic, I can bring myself to focus fairly quickly. When it comes to meditation - most often, I fall asleep. When I meditate to actually try to sleep, I don’t. Something, I think, isn’t clicking.

I tried two exercises from the lesson. I find that if I keep them short, I’m fine and I actually feel pretty good afterwords. The “Yell, for release” part of the meditation was omitted. I don’t think my neighbors would appreciate it, at any time in the day. Oddly enough, after reflection, I realized that I don’t think I’ve ever meditated simply to relax.
Kind of funny.

Journal Homework
List the things that relax you, and why they relax you.

Almost anything that will let me shut off my brain for a bit will relax me. TV, movies, being out with good friends, dancing, any sport. All of these will work. My favorites:

- Hiking, walking in the woods.
Why? Not really sure. Something about being with the trees recharges my batteries. The calm and quiet let me put aside, for a time, life’s little problems. Even better, from time to time, I can actually think more clearly and focus on those problems because so many other distractions are gone.

- Working out.
You can’t beat physical activity to relieve stress and frustration. Working out demands the attention of your mind as well as your body. It helps loosen the muscles, it gets the heart pumping and the blood moving. It makes you breathe. If I need to relax or blow off steam, the gym will probably be my first choice.

- Getting a good Massage.