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advertisement	your
your	most
most	productive
productive	self
self	Here
Here	s
s	How
How	A
A	Month
Month	Of
Of	Zen
Zen	Meditation
Meditation	Changed
Changed	My
My	Life
Life	The
The	Buddhist
Buddhist	meditation
meditation	practice
practice	is
is	over
over	years
years	old
old	but
but	modern
modern	science
science	says
says	it
it	has
has	very
very	real
real	mental
mental	and
and	physical
physical	health
health	benefits
benefits	Here
Here	s
s	How
How	A
A	Month
Month	Of
Of	Zen
Zen	Meditation
Meditation	Changed
Changed	My
My	Life
Life	Photo
Photo	Flickr
Flickr	user
user	Thilo
Thilo	Hilberer
Hilberer	By
By	Michael
Michael	Grothauslong
Grothauslong	Read
Read	On
On	a
a	trip
trip	to
to	Japan
Japan	last
last	year
year	one
one	of
of	the
the	places
places	I
I	visited
visited	was
was	Kyoto
Kyoto	home
home	to
to	over
over	Buddhist
Buddhist	temples
temples	and
and	Shinto
Shinto	shrines
shrines	During
During	one
one	of
of	my
my	daily
daily	walks
walks	exploring
exploring	the
the	city
city	and
and	its
its	forested
forested	borders
borders	I
I	came
came	across
across	the
the	Ryōan
Ryōan	ji
ji	temple
temple	one
one	of
of	the
the	most
most	beautiful
beautiful	Buddhist
Buddhist	temples
temples	in
in	the
the	world
world	As
As	you
you	would
would	expect
expect	the
the	temple
temple	grounds
grounds	were
were	full
full	of
of	tourists
tourists	and
and	locals
locals	enjoying
enjoying	the
the	cool
cool	May
May	breeze
breeze	There
There	were
were	also
also	a
a	handful
handful	of
of	Buddhist
Buddhist	monks
monks	actively
actively	engaged
engaged	in
in	Zen
Zen	meditation
meditation	While
While	meditating
meditating	these
these	robed
robed	monks
monks	seemed
seemed	impervious
impervious	to
to	any
any	distraction
distraction	a
a	huge
huge	feat
feat	considering
considering	the
the	number
number	of
of	people
people	on
on	the
the	grounds
grounds	that
that	day
day	Impressive
Impressive	yes
yes	but
but	no
no	doubt
doubt	a
a	mastery
mastery	gained
gained	because
because	well
well	what
what	else
else	are
are	monks
monks	going
going	to
to	do
do	all
all	day
day	advertisement
advertisement	advertisement
advertisement	But
But	then
then	as
as	I
I	continued
continued	roaming
roaming	the
the	temple
temple	grounds
grounds	I
I	came
came	across
across	a
a	Japanese
Japanese	woman
woman	decked
decked	out
out	in
in	a
a	clearly
clearly	expensive
expensive	business
business	suit
suit	sitting
sitting	cross
cross	legged
legged	on
on	the
the	ground
ground	with
with	her
her	heels
heels	and
and	purse
purse	placed
placed	at
at	her
her	side
side	She
She	too
too	was
was	meditating
meditating	exactly
exactly	as
as	the
the	monks
monks	were
were	eyes
eyes	closed
closed	effortless
effortless	breathing
breathing	seemingly
seemingly	impervious
impervious	to
to	the
the	noise
noise	of
of	the
the	people
people	around
around	her
her	I
I	watched
watched	her
her	for
for	minutes
minutes	and
and	she
she	didn
didn	t
t	open
open	her
her	eyes
eyes	once
once	nor
nor	move
move	much
much	at
at	all
all	Then
Then	finally
finally	she
she	opened
opened	her
her	eyes
eyes	smiled
smiled	at
at	me
me	and
and	got
got	up
up	where
where	a
a	smartly
smartly	dressed
dressed	assistant
assistant	who
who	I
I	hadn
hadn	t
t	noticed
noticed	before
before	bowed
bowed	and
and	then
then	led
led	her
her	to
to	a
a	black
black	luxury
luxury	car
car	where
where	a
a	driver
driver	was
was	likely
likely	waiting
waiting	to
to	take
take	her
her	off
off	to
to	some
some	business
business	meeting
meeting	Photo
Photo	Flickr
Flickr	userThilo
userThilo	Hilberer
Hilberer	That
That	s
s	the
the	day
day	I
I	first
first	became
became	interested
interested	in
in	Zen
Zen	meditation
meditation	It
It	was
was	the
the	day
day	I
I	realized
realized	that
that	it
it	s
s	not
not	just
just	for
for	monks
monks	and
and	new
new	age
age	hippies
hippies	Indeed
Indeed	recent
recent	scientific
scientific	studies
studies	support
support	the
the	facts
facts	that
that	the
the	year
year	old
old	practice
practice	that
that	originated
originated	in
in	China
China	and
and	then
then	spread
spread	to
to	Japan
Japan	Vietnam
Vietnam	Korea
Korea	and
and	more
more	recently
recently	to
to	the
the	West
West	has
has	real
real	world
world	mental
mental	and
and	physical
physical	health
health	benefits
benefits	that
that	everyone
everyone	not
not	just
just	monks
monks	can
can	benefit
benefit	from
from	These
These	studies
studies	have
have	shown
shown	that
that	meditation
meditation	like
like	the
the	kind
kind	practiced
practiced	in
in	Zen
Zen	Buddhism
Buddhism	can
can	do
do	everything
everything	from
from	ease
ease	anxiety
anxiety	and
and	stress
stress	to
to	lessen
lessen	the
the	perception
perception	of
of	pain
pain	to
to	make
make	us
us	more
more	focused
focused	and
and	productive
productive	at
at	work
work	advertisement
advertisement	advertisement
advertisement	Of
Of	course
course	like
like	many
many	my
my	days
days	are
are	packed
packed	with
with	meetings
meetings	and
and	work
work	obligations
obligations	family
family	and
and	friend
friend	commitments
commitments	Who
Who	has
has	time
time	for
for	meditating
meditating	If
If	I
I	was
was	going
going	to
to	do
do	it
it	I
I	d
d	need
need	a
a	really
really	good
good	reason
reason	to
to	keep
keep	me
me	on
on	track
track	And
And	that
that	reason
reason	came
came	when
when	my
my	editor
editor	said
said	she
she	d
d	be
be	happy
happy	to
to	have
have	me
me	write
write	an
an	article
article	on
on	my
my	personal
personal	findings
findings	of
of	trying
trying	Zen
Zen	meditation
meditation	provided
provided	I
I	try
try	it
it	for
for	a
a	month
month	So
So	that
that	s
s	exactly
exactly	what
what	I
I	did
did	Specifically
Specifically	I
I	did
did	zazen
zazen	meditation
meditation	which
which	is
is	the
the	most
most	traditional
traditional	form
form	This
This	is
is	where
where	you
you	sit
sit	in
in	the
the	lotus
lotus	position
position	legs
legs	folded
folded	hands
hands	resting
resting	outwards
outwards	on
on	the
the	knees
knees	In
In	zazen
zazen	posture
posture	is
is	critical
critical	because
because	it
it	aligns
aligns	your
your	body
body	and
and	enables
enables	optimal
optimal	breathing
breathing	Breathing
Breathing	is
is	perhaps
perhaps	the
the	most
most	important
important	thing
thing	with
with	zazen
zazen	it
it	s
s	also
also	one
one	of
of	the
the	most
most	difficult
difficult	things
things	to
to	do
do	for
for	Westerners
Westerners	You
You	are
are	supposed
supposed	to
to	keep
keep	your
your	mouth
mouth	closed
closed	and
and	only
only	breath
breath	in
in	and
and	out
out	through
through	the
the	nose
nose	Don
Don	t
t	worry
worry	about
about	breathing
breathing	in
in	that
that	will
will	happen
happen	naturally
naturally	Exhaling
Exhaling	through
through	the
the	nose
nose	is
is	the
the	hard
hard	part
part	and
and	takes
takes	some
some	getting
getting	used
used	to
to	since
since	most
most	of
of	us
us	are
are	mouth
mouth	breathers
breathers	A
A	terrific
terrific	overview
overview	of
of	how
how	to
to	do
do	zazen
zazen	can
can	be
be	found
found	on
on	Zen
Zen	Buddhism
Buddhism	net
net	which
which	is
is	where
where	I
I	got
got	most
most	of
of	my
my	information
information	on
on	the
the	proper
proper	posture
posture	along
along	with
with	watching
watching	some
some	helpful
helpful	YouTube
YouTube	videos
videos	Once
Once	you
you	ve
ve	nailed
nailed	the
the	posture
posture	and
and	the
the	breathing
breathing	comes
comes	the
the	hardest
hardest	part
part	doing
doing	it
it	for
for	to
to	minutes
minutes	at
at	a
a	time
time	Photo
Photo	brenkee
brenkee	via
via	Pixabay
Pixabay	The
The	position
position	plus
plus	the
the	breathing
breathing	plus
plus	attempting
attempting	to
to	clear
clear	your
your	mind
mind	of
of	thoughts
thoughts	once
once	perfected
perfected	leads
leads	to
to	increased
increased	alpha
alpha	and
and	theta
theta	brainwaves
brainwaves	inside
inside	your
your	head
head	as
as	medical
medical	scans
scans	have
have	shown
shown	The
The	increased
increased	alpha
alpha	and
and	theta
theta	brainwave
brainwave	activity
activity	could
could	very
very	well
well	be
be	the
the	reason
reason	for
for	the
the	psychological
psychological	and
and	physical
physical	benefits
benefits	of
of	Zen
Zen	meditation
meditation	mentioned
mentioned	in
in	the
the	studies
studies	above
above	advertisement
advertisement	But
But	don
don	t
t	feel
feel	that
that	you
you	need
need	to
to	understand
understand	the
the	modern
modern	neuroscience
neuroscience	behind
behind	it
it	I
I	didn
didn	t
t	and
and	many
many	neuroscientists
neuroscientists	don
don	t
t	and
and	still
still	here
here	s
s	what
what	happened
happened	on
on	my
my	Zen
Zen	journey
journey	Phase
Phase	One
One	I
I	Became
Became	More
More	Annoyed
Annoyed	With
With	Myself
Myself	It
It	s
s	natural
natural	to
to	assume
assume	that
that	meditation
meditation	automatically
automatically	brings
brings	inner
inner	peace
peace	but
but	at
at	the
the	start
start	of
of	my
my	journey
journey	trying
trying	to
to	be
be	Zen
Zen	just
just	made
made	me
me	cranky
cranky	for
for	a
a	number
number	of
of	reasons
reasons	First
First	it
it	was
was	hard
hard	for
for	me
me	to
to	shut
shut	off
off	all
all	my
my	devices
devices	during
during	meditation
meditation	sessions
sessions	I
I	was
was	afraid
afraid	I
I	was
was	going
going	to
to	miss
miss	an
an	important
important	message
message	during
during	my
my	minute
minute	meditation
meditation	each
each	evening
evening	But
But	I
I	wanted
wanted	to
to	get
get	this
this	right
right	so
so	I
I	switched
switched	off
off	every
every	distraction
distraction	I
I	could
could	think
think	of
of	Next
Next	I
I	brought
brought	out
out	the
the	exercise
exercise	mat
mat	lit
lit	candles
candles	dimmed
dimmed	the
the	lights
lights	and
and	even
even	sat
sat	zazen
zazen	The
The	more
more	I
I	forcefully
forcefully	tried
tried	to
to	let
let	go
go	of
of	my
my	thoughts
thoughts	the
the	more
more	they
they	popped
popped	into
into	my
my	head
head	While
While	this
this	set
set	the
the	stage
stage	for
for	Zen
Zen	meditation
meditation	when
when	I
I	actually
actually	closed
closed	my
my	eyes
eyes	and
and	concentrated
concentrated	on
on	my
my	breath
breath	it
it	was
was	hard
hard	for
for	me
me	to
to	let
let	go
go	of
of	any
any	of
of	the
the	thoughts
thoughts	I
I	had
had	in
in	my
my	head
head	That
That	s
s	a
a	problem
problem	considering
considering	letting
letting	go
go	of
of	your
your	thoughts
thoughts	is
is	one
one	of
of	the
the	main
main	goals
goals	of
of	Zen
Zen	meditation
meditation	The
The	more
more	I
I	forcefully
forcefully	tried
tried	to
to	let
let	go
go	of
of	my
my	thoughts
thoughts	the
the	more
more	they
they	popped
popped	into
into	my
my	head
head	My
My	mind
mind	just
just	kept
kept	wandering
wandering	from
from	one
one	thing
thing	to
to	another
another	and
and	I
I	began
began	to
to	think
think	I
I	just
just	wasn
wasn	t
t	the
the	kind
kind	of
of	person
person	who
who	could
could	meditate
meditate	Because
Because	of
of	this
this	and
and	rather
rather	ironically
ironically	my
my	first
first	attempts
attempts	at
at	Zen
Zen	meditation
meditation	made
made	me
me	more
more	stressed
stressed	and
and	anxious
anxious	than
than	I
I	usually
usually	am
am	IFRAME
IFRAME	https
https	embed
embed	podcasts
podcasts	apple
apple	com
com	us
us	podcast
podcast	this
this	is
is	why
why	your
your	boss
boss	is
is	so
so	bad
bad	at
at	his
his	job
job	id
id	i
i	advertisement
advertisement	Yet
Yet	this
this	increased
increased	anxiety
anxiety	and
and	doubts
doubts	about
about	my
my	ability
ability	to
to	be
be	Zen
Zen	is
is	normal
normal	for
for	beginners
beginners	according
according	to
to	Dan
Dan	Tricarico
Tricarico	a
a	high
high	school
school	English
English	teacher
teacher	and
and	author
author	of
of	The
The	Zen
Zen	Teacher
Teacher	Creating
Creating	Focus
Focus	Simplicity
Simplicity	and
and	Tranquility
Tranquility	in
in	the
the	Classroom
Classroom	The
The	irony
irony	of
of	Zen
Zen	meditation
meditation	and
and	mindfulness
mindfulness	is
is	Western
Western	society
society	s
s	obsession
obsession	with
with	getting
getting	it
it	right
right	when
when	the
the	entire
entire	point
point	of
of	mindfulness
mindfulness	Zen
Zen	and
and	meditation
meditation	is
is	that
that	the
the	duality
duality	of
of	right
right	and
and	wrong
wrong	is
is	illusory
illusory	and
and	that
that	things
things	just
just	are
are	says
says	Tricarico
Tricarico	He
He	points
points	out
out	that
that	one
one	of
of	the
the	biggest
biggest	misconceptions
misconceptions	about
about	Zen
Zen	meditation
meditation	is
is	that
that	the
the	meditator
meditator	isn
isn	t
t	allowed
allowed	to
to	have
have	thoughts
thoughts	in
in	their
their	head
head	But
But	that
that	s
s	not
not	true
true	says
says	Tricarico
Tricarico	We
We	can
can	t
t	stop
stop	our
our	thoughts
thoughts	Zen
Zen	meditation
meditation	simply
simply	helps
helps	us
us	notice
notice	the
the	thoughts
thoughts	without
without	attaching
attaching	to
to	them
them	or
or	judging
judging	them
them	The
The	metaphor
metaphor	I
I	heard
heard	that
that	helped
helped	me
me	understand
understand	this
this	was
was	from
from	someone
someone	who
who	said
said	You
You	can
can	sit
sit	at
at	the
the	side
side	of
of	the
the	stream
stream	and
and	watch
watch	the
the	water
water	go
go	by
by	but
but	that
that	doesn
doesn	t
t	mean
mean	you
you	have
have	to
to	jump
jump	in
in	and
and	be
be	up
up	to
to	your
your	elbows
elbows	in
in	it
it	The
The	same
same	is
is	true
true	with
with	our
our	thoughts
thoughts	We
We	can
can	t
t	stop
stop	them
them	from
from	flowing
flowing	but
but	we
we	can
can	sit
sit	on
on	the
the	riverbank
riverbank	and
and	just
just	watch
watch	them
them	float
float	by
by	And
And	Tricarico
Tricarico	was
was	right
right	Because
Because	by
by	the
the	end
end	of
of	the
the	first
first	week
week	I
I	had
had	stopped
stopped	trying
trying	to
to	stomp
stomp	my
my	thoughts
thoughts	out
out	and
and	instead
instead	just
just	let
let	them
them	flow
flow	around
around	freely
freely	as
as	I
I	concentrated
concentrated	on
on	my
my	breathing
breathing	The
The	first
first	time
time	I
I	noticed
noticed	I
I	had
had	done
done	this
this	successfully
successfully	was
was	when
when	I
I	looked
looked	at
at	the
the	clock
clock	thinking
thinking	only
only	five
five	minutes
minutes	had
had	passed
passed	In
In	actuality
actuality	minutes
minutes	had
had	gone
gone	by
by	advertisement
advertisement	Phase
Phase	Two
Two	I
I	Slept
Slept	Better
Better	And
And	Woke
Woke	More
More	Refreshed
Refreshed	And
And	Focused
Focused	The
The	first
first	week
week	I
I	felt
felt	sleepy
sleepy	after
after	meditating
meditating	But
But	by
by	week
week	two
two	I
I	actually
actually	felt
felt	more
more	alert
alert	afterwards
afterwards	By
By	week
week	three
three	I
I	swear
swear	this
this	alertness
alertness	carried
carried	over
over	into
into	my
my	work
work	life
life	I
I	felt
felt	more
more	focused
focused	much
much	of
of	the
the	day
day	and
and	was
was	better
better	able
able	to
to	concentrate
concentrate	on
on	tasks
tasks	without
without	outside
outside	stimulus
stimulus	That
That	s
s	right
right	I
I	actually
actually	drank
drank	fewer
fewer	cups
cups	of
of	coffee
coffee	I
I	just
just	didn
didn	t
t	need
need	the
the	caffeine
caffeine	hit
hit	like
like	I
I	normally
normally	do
do	I
I	actually
actually	drank
drank	fewer
fewer	cups
cups	of
of	coffee
coffee	I
I	just
just	didn
didn	t
t	need
need	the
the	caffeine
caffeine	hit
hit	like
like	I
I	normally
normally	do
do	Also
Also	by
by	week
week	three
three	I
I	also
also	noticed
noticed	I
I	was
was	getting
getting	to
to	sleep
sleep	faster
faster	than
than	I
I	normally
normally	do
do	At
At	first
first	I
I	thought
thought	this
this	was
was	due
due	to
to	meditating
meditating	right
right	before
before	bed
bed	but
but	the
the	following
following	week
week	I
I	meditated
meditated	in
in	the
the	afternoons
afternoons	and
and	I
I	still
still	managed
managed	to
to	fall
fall	to
to	sleep
sleep	faster
faster	than
than	I
I	normally
normally	do
do	Also
Also	I
I	woke
woke	up
up	in
in	the
the	morning
morning	more
more	easily
easily	and
and	feeling
feeling	more
more	refreshed
refreshed	Tricarico
Tricarico	says
says	the
the	sleepiness
sleepiness	when
when	you
you	first
first	start
start	meditating
meditating	is
is	normal
normal	After
After	all
all	our
our	bodies
bodies	are
are	programmed
programmed	to
to	recognize
recognize	that
that	quiet
quiet	time
time	with
with	our
our	eyes
eyes	closed
closed	usually
usually	means
means	we
we	want
want	to
to	go
go	to
to	bed
bed	When
When	I
I	was
was	a
a	drama
drama	teacher
teacher	many
many	of
of	my
my	students
students	fell
fell	asleep
asleep	when
when	we
we	started
started	doing
doing	guided
guided	visualizations
visualizations	and
and	meditations
meditations	simply
simply	because
because	the
the	exercises
exercises	are
are	so
so	relaxing
relaxing	Tricarico
Tricarico	says
says	but
but	with
with	practice
practice	the
the	relaxation
relaxation	you
you	feel
feel	from
from	Zen
Zen	meditation
meditation	stays
stays	around
around	without
without	you
you	nodding
nodding	off
off	until
until	you
you	actually
actually	want
want	to
to	that
that	is
is	advertisement
advertisement	One
One	of
of	the
the	obvious
obvious	benefits
benefits	of
of	meditation
meditation	is
is	relaxation
relaxation	And
And	I
I	m
m	sure
sure	science
science	would
would	agree
agree	that
that	the
the	more
more	relaxed
relaxed	you
you	are
are	the
the	easier
easier	it
it	is
is	to
to	fall
fall	asleep
asleep	I
I	think
think	your
your	body
body	understands
understands	that
that	you
you	have
have	made
made	an
an	attempt
attempt	to
to	lower
lower	your
your	rhythm
rhythm	and
and	decrease
decrease	your
your	stress
stress	and
and	so
so	better
better	and
and	easier
easier	sleep
sleep	may
may	be
be	your
your	body
body	s
s	way
way	of
of	rewarding
rewarding	you
you	he
he	notes
notes	Phase
Phase	Three
Three	I
I	Felt
Felt	Less
Less	Rushed
Rushed	And
And	More
More	Confident
Confident	Another
Another	benefit
benefit	I
I	noticed
noticed	in
in	week
week	three
three	and
and	week
week	four
four	was
was	that
that	I
I	felt
felt	less
less	rushed
rushed	than
than	I
I	normally
normally	do
do	I
I	had
had	just
just	as
as	much
much	to
to	do
do	each
each	day
day	of
of	course
course	but
but	I
I	felt
felt	less
less	anxiety
anxiety	about
about	the
the	time
time	I
I	needed
needed	and
and	my
my	ability
ability	to
to	accomplish
accomplish	all
all	the
the	tasks
tasks	I
I	needed
needed	to
to	get
get	done
done	It
It	s
s	as
as	if
if	I
I	had
had	more
more	confidence
confidence	Knowing
Knowing	that
that	whatever
whatever	gets
gets	done
done	gets
gets	done
done	is
is	an
an	amazing
amazing	feeling
feeling	It
It	s
s	like
like	having
having	a
a	secret
secret	that
that	no
no	one
one	else
else	has
has	For
For	me
me	this
this	is
is	one
one	of
of	meditation
meditation	s
s	greatest
greatest	benefits
benefits	says
says	Tricarico
Tricarico	There
There	is
is	something
something	liberating
liberating	almost
almost	subversive
subversive	about
about	knowing
knowing	that
that	you
you	have
have	the
the	same
same	amount
amount	of
of	stuff
stuff	to
to	do
do	each
each	day
day	but
but	that
that	you
you	re
re	not
not	anxious
anxious	about
about	it
it	and
and	not
not	feeling
feeling	rushed
rushed	Knowing
Knowing	that
that	you
you	re
re	in
in	the
the	moment
moment	and
and	that
that	whatever
whatever	gets
gets	done
done	gets
gets	done
done	and
and	that
that	that
that	s
s	okay
okay	is
is	an
an	amazing
amazing	feeling
feeling	It
It	doesn
doesn	t
t	always
always	happen
happen	but
but	when
when	it
it	does
does	it
it	s
s	like
like	having
having	a
a	secret
secret	that
that	no
no	one
one	else
else	has
has	advertisement
advertisement	Phase
Phase	Four
Four	My
My	Mood
Mood	And
And	Patience
Patience	Improved
Improved	Contrary
Contrary	to
to	my
my	increased
increased	crankiness
crankiness	when
when	I
I	first
first	started
started	Zen
Zen	meditation
meditation	by
by	the
the	last
last	week
week	I
I	noticed
noticed	I
I	was
was	decidedly
decidedly	less
less	moody
moody	and
and	more
more	patient
patient	than
than	I
I	was
was	even
even	before
before	I
I	started
started	meditating
meditating	four
four	weeks
weeks	earlier
earlier	I
I	m
m	generally
generally	one
one	of
of	those
those	guys
guys	who
who	gives
gives	you
you	the
the	death
death	stare
stare	if
if	you
you	can
can	t
t	figure
figure	out
out	where
where	the
the	change
change	in
in	your
your	purse
purse	is
is	to
to	pay
pay	for
for	your
your	coffee
coffee	as
as	I
I	wait
wait	in
in	line
line	behind
behind	you
you	with
with	somewhere
somewhere	more
more	important
important	to
to	be
be	But
But	by
by	week
week	four
four	I
I	d
d	happily
happily	wait
wait	patiently
patiently	as
as	the
the	barista
barista	remade
remade	your
your	venti
venti	caffe
caffe	mocha
mocha	with
with	the
the	right
right	kind
kind	of
of	sprinkles
sprinkles	Annoyances
Annoyances	of
of	course
course	come
come	from
from	personal
personal	expectations
expectations	of
of	a
a	desired
desired	outcome
outcome	that
that	doesn
doesn	t
t	arise
arise	Zen
Zen	meditation
meditation	says
says	Tricarico
Tricarico	offers
offers	you
you	a
a	sense
sense	of
of	detachment
detachment	from
from	expectations
expectations	which
which	can
can	result
result	in
in	lighter
lighter	moods
moods	That
That	sense
sense	of
of	detachment
detachment	from
from	expectation
expectation	and
and	what
what	I
I	call
call	intentional
intentional	and
and	radical
radical	self
self	compassion
compassion	simply
simply	being
being	kind
kind	to
to	yourself
yourself	is
is	also
also	one
one	of
of	the
the	benefits
benefits	of
of	meditation
meditation	and
and	can
can	be
be	quite
quite	satisfying
satisfying	he
he	says
says	Photo
Photo	Flickr
Flickr	userThilo
userThilo	Hilberer
Hilberer	How
How	To
To	Work
Work	Meditation
Meditation	Into
Into	Your
Your	Daily
Daily	Life
Life	After
After	my
my	four
four	week
week	journey
journey	through
through	Zen
Zen	meditation
meditation	I
I	m
m	a
a	believer
believer	in
in	its
its	benefits
benefits	It
It	s
s	not
not	a
a	miracle
miracle	cure
cure	all
all	but
but	it
it	definitely
definitely	helped
helped	me
me	become
become	more
more	focused
focused	get
get	better
better	sleep
sleep	and
and	improved
improved	my
my	mood
mood	And
And	though
though	I
I	dedicated
dedicated	minutes
minutes	a
a	day
day	to
to	meditation
meditation	zazen
zazen	style
style	just
just	like
like	the
the	business
business	woman
woman	in
in	Kyoto
Kyoto	Tricarico
Tricarico	says
says	there
there	s
s	no
no	right
right	or
or	wrong
wrong	way
way	to
to	do
do	Zen
Zen	advertisement
advertisement	Another
Another	misconception
misconception	is
is	that
that	if
if	you
you	want
want	to
to	meditate
meditate	you
you	have
have	to
to	shave
shave	your
your	head
head	wear
wear	a
a	robe
robe	move
move	to
to	a
a	monastery
monastery	and
and	be
be	a
a	monk
monk	on
on	top
top	of
of	a
a	mountain
mountain	in
in	China
China	or
or	India
India	he
he	says
says	Not
Not	so
so	Anyone
Anyone	can
can	meditate
meditate	regardless
regardless	of
of	his
his	or
or	her
her	lifestyle
lifestyle	or
or	background
background	It
It	can
can	be
be	as
as	long
long	or
or	as
as	short
short	as
as	formal
formal	or
or	as
as	informal
informal	as
as	you
you	want
want	The
The	busier
busier	we
we	are
are	the
the	more
more	we
we	can
can	benefit
benefit	from
from	stillness
stillness	and
and	mindfulness
mindfulness	But
But	it
it	doesn
doesn	t
t	have
have	to
to	take
take	forever
forever	Tricarico
Tricarico	notes
notes	that
that	the
the	environment
environment	you
you	re
re	in
in	or
or	position
position	you
you	choose
choose	is
is	less
less	important
important	than
than	people
people	realize
realize	You
You	can
can	do
do	Zen
Zen	meditation
meditation	sitting
sitting	standing
standing	or
or	laying
laying	in
in	bed
bed	at
at	the
the	office
office	or
or	in
in	the
the	car
car	or
or	at
at	a
a	dedicated
dedicated	Zen
Zen	meditation
meditation	center
center	One
One	of
of	my
my	most
most	formal
formal	meditation
meditation	sessions
sessions	is
is	a
a	walking
walking	meditation
meditation	I
I	do
do	every
every	morning
morning	at
at	a
a	m
m	where
where	I
I	listen
listen	to
to	the
the	birds
birds	look
look	at
at	the
the	moon
moon	and
and	enjoy
enjoy	the
the	stillness
stillness	while
while	I
I	focus
focus	on
on	my
my	breathing
breathing	and
and	each
each	step
step	I
I	take
take	It
It	s
s	heaven
heaven	he
he	says
says	As
As	for
for	the
the	time
time	you
you	need
need	each
each	day
day	you
you	needn
needn	t
t	do
do	my
my	minute
minute	sessions
sessions	advertisement
advertisement	There
There	s
s	an
an	old
old	saying
saying	If
If	you
you	re
re	busy
busy	meditate
meditate	for
for	minutes
minutes	If
If	you
you	re
re	REALLY
REALLY	busy
busy	meditate
meditate	for
for	an
an	hour
hour	Tricarico
Tricarico	says
says	The
The	moral
moral	there
there	I
I	think
think	is
is	that
that	the
the	busier
busier	we
we	are
are	the
the	more
more	we
we	can
can	benefit
benefit	from
from	stillness
stillness	and
and	mindfulness
mindfulness	But
But	it
it	doesn
doesn	t
t	have
have	to
to	take
take	forever
forever	There
There	s
s	a
a	chapter
chapter	in
in	my
my	book
book	where
where	I
I	talk
talk	about
about	no
no	matter
matter	how
how	busy
busy	you
you	are
are	you
you	can
can	carve
carve	out
out	five
five	minutes
minutes	Start
Start	there
there	Take
Take	some
some	slow
slow	breaths
breaths	and
and	listen
listen	to
to	the
the	birds
birds	look
look	at
at	the
the	sky
sky	listen
listen	to
to	a
a	Beatles
Beatles	song
song	That
That	s
s	meditative
meditative	too
too	he
he	notes
notes	Starting
Starting	with
with	five
five	minutes
minutes	a
a	day
day	is
is	absolutely
absolutely	acceptable
acceptable	and
and	probably
probably	a
a	good
good	place
place	to
to	start
start	Even
Even	if
if	you
you	sit
sit	zazen
zazen	for
for	an
an	hour
hour	twice
twice	a
a	day
day	a
a	quick
quick	five
five	minute
minute	breathing
breathing	session
session	can
can	always
always	help
help	advertisement
advertisement	advertisement
advertisement	advertisement
advertisement	advertisement
advertisement	About
About	the
the	author
author	Michael
Michael	Grothaus
Grothaus	is
is	a
a	novelist
novelist	journalist
journalist	and
and	former
former	screenwriter
screenwriter	His
His	debut
debut	novel
novel	EPIPHANY
EPIPHANY	JONES
JONES	is
is	out
out	now
now	from
from	Orenda
Orenda	Books
Books	You
You	can
can	read
read	more
more	about
about	him
him	at
at	MichaelGrothaus
MichaelGrothaus	com
com	More
More	Video
Video	Impact
Impact	Impact
Impact	No
No	you
you	probably
probably	don
don	t
t	need
need	a
a	th
th	vaccine
vaccine	dose
dose	yet
yet	Impact
Impact	The
The	Western
Western	U
U	S
S	might
might	be
be	seeing
seeing	its
its	last
last	snowy
snowy	winters
winters	Impact
Impact	How
How	big
big	philanthropists
philanthropists	making
making	big
big	bets
bets	can
can	keep
keep	their
their	efforts
efforts	compatible
compatible	with
with	democracy
democracy	News
News	News
News	With
With	omicron
omicron	spreading
spreading	will
will	schools
schools	mandate
mandate	COVID
COVID	vaccines
vaccines	for
for	all
all	students
students	and
and	teachers
teachers	News
News	The
The	Great
Great	Resignation
Resignation	roars
roars	again
again	Here
Here	s
s	why
why	more
more	workers
workers	than
than	ever
ever	quit
quit	in
in	November
November	News
News	Omicron
Omicron	in
in	the
the	US
US	Updated
Updated	CDC
CDC	map
map	and
and	tracker
tracker	show
show	where
where	the
the	variant
variant	is
is	spreading
spreading	Co
Co	Design
Design	Co
Co	Design
Design	Why
Why	zoos
zoos	are
are	being
being	radically
radically	redesigned
redesigned	Co
Co	Design
Design	Want
Want	to
to	rule
rule	the
the	metaverse
metaverse	Symbolism
Symbolism	is
is	key
key	Co
Co	Design
Design	New
New	Balance
Balance	lawsuit
lawsuit	shows
shows	how
how	flimsy
flimsy	the
the	Made
Made	in
in	USA
USA	label
label	actually
actually	is
is	Work
Work	Life
Life	Work
Work	Life
Life	Not
Not	motivated
motivated	at
at	work
work	strategies
strategies	to
to	get
get	back
back	in
in	gear
gear	Work
Work	Life
Life	Where
Where	are
are	all
all	the
the	women
women	workers
workers	Work
Work	Life
Life	Why
Why	you
you	need
need	to
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