Shifting Focus: Meditative Reflection on the Self and Connectedness
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Title
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Shifting Focus: Meditative Reflection on the Self and Connectedness
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Description
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This chapter from the student-written book “Emerging Perspectives on Religion and Environmental Values in America” explores how connecting with the environment and the self can improve mindfulness and meditation. Additionally, it discusses how meditation and mindfulness can improve one's connection with nature and the self. Below is the first paragraph of the chapter to introduce the discussion.
"In the beginning of a meditation, focusing on breathing provides rhythm and a connection between body and mind. My experiences in both guided and solitary meditation begin this way to ground myself and clear my mind, accepting any thoughts that may come through but not dwelling on them. From this awareness of breath, attention is then shifted throughout the body, gradually working from the feet to the forehead. Now that I have pushed up against the boundaries of my body, the next step is to reach out just past myself and focus on the space around me. But what are these boundaries? Meditation practices have roots in various religious ideologies, which analyze these boundaries and deconstruct the notion of the self. While I usually avoid having an end goal in my own meditation, learning about the dissolution of the self has changed my perspectives and techniques when meditating, as well as how I think about myself and my place in the world in general. Meditation now serves as a way of opening my mind and breaking down the perceived barriers around me, in a way that allows me to grow and ground myself."
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Date Created
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02/15/2022
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Creator(s)
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Justin Smith
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Audience
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All audiences/General public
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Rights
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This photo and text were accessed on 06/08/2023 at https://ohiostate.pressbooks.pub/enr3470studentbook/chapter/shifting-focus-meditative-reflections-on-the-self-and-connectedness/.
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Issues
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Mindfulness and Simplicity
