Good Weekly Journal Essay Example

Meditation helps us to be aware of the present moment always in our day to day life. Thich Nhat Hanh, the great master of meditation helps us to feel joy and happiness at all times through certain simple practices called the mindfulness exercises. Most of us feel that either happiness is lost with the past or it is waiting for us many years from now. Mindfulness exercises help us find happiness in our lives at this moment. Mindfulness is nothing but the energy that helps us realize that joy and happiness are already present in our daily lives. We realize the miracle of life when we are aware of our breathing-in the live energy from the universe (Hanh).
The basic exercise of mindfulness is the breathing exercise. While doing this exercise one has to concentrate on his breath-in and breath-out, forgetting everything else to feel life at the present moment. We often lose happiness by having worrying thoughts in our minds. Not bringing anything else to mind apart from the breath and concentrating only on the inhalation and exhalation of air through the body while breathing brings the body and mind together to enjoy the present moment, which is the mystery behind happiness (Hanh). We can also release mental and bodily stress by being aware of our breath always. Giving an auto suggestion to our mind “breathing in gives me awareness about my body” while we breath in and “breathing out releases my bodily tension” while breathing out helps us to get rid of our tension (Hanh).
Human beings have an inborn connection with earth, but they often forget it amid day to day problems. Hugging a tree, which grows above the earth with roots down below the earth is a way of meditating that makes us feel our connection with nature and the earth. One way of practicing tree hugging meditation is to hug a tree so that our body, including throat, heart, naval and solar plexus are aligned to transfer life energy between the tree and us. Another way is to sit with the back against a tree trunk and imagining roots growing beneath us and establishing connections with the tree to exchange love and energy. Breathing with concentration is important in tree hugging exercise (“The Hugging Meditation”).
Meditations thus help us to connect our body and mind to find happiness in the present moment besides establishing our connection with the earth and nature.

Works Cited

Hanh, Thich Nhat. "Thich Nhat Hanh on The Practice of Mindfulness." Lions Roar. 1 Mar. 2010. Web. 14 Mar. 2015. <http://www.lionsroar.com/mindful-living-thich-nhat-hanh-on-the-practice-of-mindfulness-march-2010/>.
"The Hugging Meditation." Mystic Banana. 1 Jan. 2011. Web. 14 Mar. 2015. <http://www. mysticbanana.com/tree-hugging-meditation.html>.