Namaste Bahrain
  • Home
  • Classes
  • Teacher Trainings
  • The Teachers
  • Contacts

Blog

The Craziness of Doing Nothing

10/1/2018

0 Comments

 
Picture
I just came back from a silent retreat in India.

That has raised a few eyebrows. When I told my friends I will spend 10 days in silence, the first question was "what will you do?", followed by "why?", and "but you can use your phone right?" and finally "have you lost your mind?"

The answers of course were I will spend ten or more hours each day meditating. I will not be reading, talking, writing, exercising, practicing ritual or using any form of entertainment or external stimulation. And I went because I needed to have deeper understanding of my mind, to reprogram it better, to un-condition it so it does not reactively chase after pleasure and run away from aversion. I wanted to gain control over my happiness. So no, I cannot use my phone and no, I did not lose my mind but I sure do hope I eventually do.

What was really worth stopping and thinking about was why had this created such a strong reaction. Friends have jumped off planes, trekked and climbed mountains, done crazy travel routes, spent crazy money on silly things, gone into abusive relationships, exhausted their bodies, brains and pockets beyond belief and were encouraged to do so. Yet me sitting on a cushion, day after day, hour after hour, creating nothing, doing nothing, saying nothing, affecting nothing, being nothing, seemed like a crazy thing to do.
 
We live in a world where we fluctuate between juggling a million tasks at a time (think wanting the perfect career, family life, friends and looking good doing it!), and finding whatever dulling stimulation that will shut our minds up (think binge watching series, scrolling down social media endlessly and using substances) that the idea of conscious rest has become insane.

I see this when I teach new students deep breathing, they embarrassingly laugh at themselves as they yawn all the way through class not understanding why. A mind that is trained to be constantly stimulated thinks it is the normal state of being. It also thinks that the lack of stimulation means the lack of reason to remain awake. Yet even in sleep, this busy mind remains troubled and unable to shut down and so even binge sleeping does not leave it rested.

We have lost the ability as a specie to "do nothing". Our idea of doing nothing is that it is a waste of time or completely insane. We think doing nothing means to be passively stimulated. But doing nothing is vibrant, essential and natural. Watching our breath, feeling the breeze, hearing the rustling of leaves are all experiences that make us more awake, more innocent, more pure, more present and ultimately, more loving.

0 Comments

    Author

    Weam is the founder of Namaste. She had started a very deep and intense spiritual journey at a young age having refused to continue to suffer with the common challenges of her generation: depression, anxiety and being lost. She insisted that there must be more to life than the constant rat race she was in

    Since delivering her baby in 2007, Weam has been hooked on yoga. Seeing how it transformed her body, and mind, she started practicing regularly fascinated by the way yoga got her to look at her mind and body in broader and more creative ways. Yoga stretched her body and mind beyond her comfort zone and created more space for her within.

    Taking her yoga practice further Weam got certified as a yoga teacher (RYT) and now truly believes that yoga is for everyone . She finds great joys taking people to their own edges to allow for growth and to help individuals achieve their goals whilst respecting their bodies and its limitations.

    Being fascinated by the human mind and body, Weam came across Reiki. The Reiki meditations transformed her emotional and mental state in ways she had not thought possible. Feeling that freedom from the prison of her own mind she decided to dedicate her life to help others find the tools right for their own spiritual growth and inner peace and so Namaste was born.

    Archives

    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    January 2013
    November 2012
    August 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Classes
  • Teacher Trainings
  • The Teachers
  • Contacts