Thank you to Fleur for supporting daily breath.

This week we begin a several week series on my five buckets of well-being, all of which are essential for total well-being.

We'll start with physical well-being.

A part of my physical well-being practice and that which I encourage for others

is meditation, otherwise known as restful alertness.

As we've been doing our Friday meditations weekly, I think it apt, we explore more about the how, why and what of this ancient

practice.

Meditation has a long history in every spiritual tradition in the world.

The Buddhists are known for what is called mindful awareness meditation or Bipassnana these days very popular. It's called mindfulness or mindful

awareness. Then there's another form of meditation that uses mantras or centering prayers to go to the source

of thought which is pure consciousness. Then there are other meditations which are self-inquiry or contemplative self-inquiry.

In my personal meditation practice I use a combination of all of the above.

So I usually sit every morning with my eyes closed and bring my awareness to my heart and observe my breath.

That is the mindfulness part of my practice. Then I engage in self-enquiry asking myself mentally questions like

who am I what do I want what so am I grateful for what is my life purpose?

I don't try to answer the questions.

I just ask them and I just watch any sensation,

image, feeling or thought that spontaneously arises.

And then I very frequently will practice mindful awareness or just sound or one of the senses sound or color or taste or

Smell or fragrance or sensation feeling my body,

feeling my heartbeat.

I can also practice mindful awareness of mental space,

...