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spinal_tap
Indonesia
40 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 09 2009 : 09:58:52 AM
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Hello,
A friend taught me to smile a lot sometimes ago, even when I don't feel like smiling. He even gave me a few ice cream stick to bite on to practice smiling. Although I never really used the sticks or took him seriously back then.
I realized a few days ago that smiling does help a lot. It seems that when we smile, we draw in positive energy and we end up becoming more positively energetic (becoming optimist is one of the effect I've felt so far).
I tried smiling during meditation but it's hard to retain the smile. I do believe there is a better way to apply the benefits of smiling in meditation practices. Maybe during warming-up?
Does anyone have any ideas regarding this? |
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samara
Iceland
31 Posts |
Posted - Aug 09 2009 : 11:24:51 AM
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I can´t even begin to imagine life without smiling. I always thought of a smile as an absolute necessity, especially during difficult phases of my life. To me smile and laughter are the fastest and most effective self-healing methods I know, and can be applied anywhere at any time. They change the way we perceive reality, make us see things in perspective. Make us relax and feel more at ease.
Last night after a powerful meditation I saw this humorous image in my mind, of myself having all these currents going through my body. Something told me this image did exist so I made an Internet search and found it immediately. Perhaps this can make you smile? Here it is:
http://www.clivebarker.info/electrified.jpg
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spinal_tap
Indonesia
40 Posts |
Posted - Aug 09 2009 : 5:14:47 PM
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| ha, that image actually made me feel uncomfortable, but to each his own.. |
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Kirtanman
USA
1651 Posts |
Posted - Aug 09 2009 : 6:59:59 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by spinal_tap
Hello,
A friend taught me to smile a lot sometimes ago, even when I don't feel like smiling. He even gave me a few ice cream stick to bite on to practice smiling. Although I never really used the sticks or took him seriously back then.
I realized a few days ago that smiling does help a lot. It seems that when we smile, we draw in positive energy and we end up becoming more positively energetic (becoming optimist is one of the effect I've felt so far).
I tried smiling during meditation but it's hard to retain the smile. I do believe there is a better way to apply the benefits of smiling in meditation practices. Maybe during warming-up?
Does anyone have any ideas regarding this?
Here's a link Chapter 1 of the eBook "Way of the Inner Smile" by Taoist/Qi Gong teacher, Michael Winn:
Way of the Inner Smile, Chapter 1.
Excerpt:
"The Inner Smile is a simple, effortless Daoist (Taoist) meditation on how to live with an open heart. You can practice it sitting quietly, or while engaged in everyday activities. The Inner Smile challenges us, in a series of “smiling baby steps”, to unconditionally accept every aspect of our body, mind, and spirit.
The Inner Smile connects our biological self, our psychological self, and our spiritual self in a practical way. It ingeniously captures the power hidden in our natural impulse to smile. It doesn’t try to fix anything or ask any part of us or others to change. It relies on the power of non-verbal communication coupled with a clear mind intent to “creatively find” the harmony hidden within everything.
To paraphrase Lao Tzu, the Inner Smile “does nothing, yet leaves nothing undone”. The Inner Smile cultivates the spontaneous nature of our inner heart to accept all experiences in life at their most profound level."
I read this ebook chapter several months ago, and found it well worth reading; I don't really know anything about Michael Winn beyond this ebook/PDF chapter ... but he's one of those teachers who seems to just kind of radiate "good vibes" (<- must be that inner smile!! ).
Hope this helps // brings a smile to your face // your heart // the Universe // "Etc."
In-JOYing Life,
Kirtanman
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Metta
Sweden
24 Posts |
Posted - Aug 13 2009 : 1:51:22 PM
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Thank you for this topic. I dont like to fool myself and force a smile even if that would make me feel better. The inner smile really connected with me though. I tried it out and imagined an inner smile....focused around the chestarea. I cant really explain what happens but I connect somehow with the heart or energy or something else and the smile comes.....but it comes naturally. I cant help it...it just comes.
Thank you! I am even smiling as I write this. :-)
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Scott
USA
969 Posts |
Posted - Aug 13 2009 : 4:26:27 PM
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I highly recommend smiling, inner and outer, for help with energy work. For guys who have trouble with celibacy and are working on upward draw, it is really helpful.
Try to smile with your whole head. Spread your cheekbones apart, feel your ears rise up, feel the back muscles of your head pull apart, very slightly lift the forehead, and feel the spreading open of the skull down the middle. All of it can be done at the same time. It's just the mechanics of a true smile.
Yes it is hard to "force" a smile, when you aren't used to it. It helps to look up babies laughing on youtube. |
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matangi
USA
53 Posts |
Posted - Aug 13 2009 : 10:04:36 PM
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| What a wonderful topic! Smiliing is essential and sometimes the best one can offer another. When I was about 8 years old and felt overwhelming happiness and joy, I really wanted to share with life. I didn't have much to offer by way of helping with something big like world hunger so I decided to smile big to everyone I saw. An exceptionally toothy year, as I recall. |
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markern
Norway
171 Posts |
Posted - Aug 14 2009 : 2:57:01 PM
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| I highly recomend the inner smile and the secret smile |
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Steve
277 Posts |
Posted - Aug 14 2009 : 6:30:46 PM
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Hi spinal_tap,quote:
I tried smiling during meditation but it's hard to retain the smile. I do believe there is a better way to apply the benefits of smiling in meditation practices. Maybe during warming-up?
Does anyone have any ideas regarding this?
A very simple smiling exercise to strengthen the heart and feeling can be found at http://heartsanctuary.org/opening-our-hearts.html. If one likes, this exercise can be done as a warmup sometime prior to AYP practice. A short rest afterwards before AYP practice begins may be needed. Since this smiling exercise begins to open and strengthen the heart, others may find it more helpful to do it after formal AYP practice concludes rather than before. Of course, cumulative AYP self-pacing guidelines apply.
An alternative to those who prefer not to use it as a warmup or at the conclusion of AYP practice is to use the smiling exercise later throughout the day as you feel inclined. Over time, the beneficial effects of gently opening your heart, strengthening your heart and feeling and letting those beautiful feelings radiate to others will carry over into formal AYP practice in a very natural way. This may be the best approach for many.
This simple smiling exercise also provides a complementary practice to those practicing mindfulness exercises during the day. There is great joy in letting the smiling heart shine forth radiating good feelings and love to others. As this occurs, we are connected more fully to all life and through our deepening feeling it becomes easier to be here and now in the present moment.
Recently, in another thread, 'Dropping the "me"', http://www.aypsite.org/forum/topic....ID=6092#6092, Shanti shared some very powerful observations and awakenings regarding the self-inquiry process. One point was how she noticed that the common emotion in every situation that caused her any kind of flutter or reaction that was difficult to let go of completely was fear. Fear literally short circuits our God-operating system. The good news is that fear and love cannot coexist together. We can shift back and forth between the two, sometimes very rapidly depending on the situation. However, love truly casts out fear. Smiling and opening the heart play an important role in living life to the fullest and can help bring additional momentum to the self-inquiry process.
Formal AYP practice, all parts, the deepening inner silence cultivated through DM, the opening of the nervous system encouraged through SB along with enlivening the inner silence through samyama provide direct assistance helping us to relax more and let go enabling our smiles to become sweeter and freer. And in fair turnabout, our sweet free smiles and opening heart help to let Source's Love and Light work better providing support for formal AYP practice.
Love and Light,
Steve |
Edited by - Steve on Aug 18 2009 09:27:03 AM |
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Steve
277 Posts |
Posted - Aug 18 2009 : 09:42:21 AM
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Another smiling practice, that I believe Carson previously shared on the forum posted at the TheTaoBums website is the 'Secret Smile' from Dr. Glenn Morris as presented by Vajrasattva. I believe it is one of the introductory practices of the KAP curriculum that Vajrasattva teaches.
http://www.thetaobums.com/index.php?showtopic=9719
The smiling practice can be found after the 'The Kundalini Awakening Breathing Instructions' in the referenced post.
Love and Light,
Steve |
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spinal_tap
Indonesia
40 Posts |
Posted - Aug 22 2009 : 11:47:06 PM
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| thanks guys for the explanation |
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Smiling benefit
