What is Zen?
The traditional meaning of Zen originated in the values of Buddhist monks and the religion of Zen Buddhism. The monks established the practice and refinement of meditation to awaken their inner nature and wisdom by embarking on lifelong quests of enlightenment.
Modern Zen follows these traditional values. It focuses on meditation in daily life, mindfulness, and calm, compassionate energy. Zen is a highly individual experience, and there is always room for growth, change, and interpretation.
What Does Zen Mean to The Silent Path Coaching?
The Silent Path Coaching uses Zen to promote clarity, calmness, and both physical and mental awareness. Your ability to harness your Zen can help you direct your energy towards small and large life goals, both in your inner life and in day-to-day interactions and decisions. The Silent Path Coaching helps you determine what your idea of Zen is and how to incorporate it into your daily living. It trains you to reach towards Zen in your life, both for today, and for the many years of tomorrow.
Three Ways to Add Zen into Your Life Today
The Silent Path Coaching encourages you to try one, two, or all three of the following techniques to help inject Zen into your life today.
1) Practice positive thinking. If you have a difficult experience or bad moment, reflect on what you can learn from the situation in order to strengthen your mind, body, and soul. Positive thinking will help you grow as an individual, particularly when faced with opposition.
2) Be with nature. This can be as easy as walking on grass with bare feet, taking a walk through a forest or ravine, or standing outside in a natural space, breathing, absorbing the sights, sounds, and smells of your environment. Focus on the life surrounding you.
3) Do one thing at a time. It can be challenging to limit your thoughts and actions to one task, but by doing so, you will be adding Zen into your daily life. Channel your energy, focus on one thing. Instead of skipping between tasks or your cell phone, focus fully on one task and relax into the energy it generates.
Getting Back to Breath
At The Silent Path Coaching, one of the first things you’ll focus on is getting back to the breath. What is breathing if not life itself? Re-learn how to breathe. Try slow, even breaths, with one hand on your chest and the other on your forehead. Clear your thoughts by focusing on the feeling of your lungs working hard to breathe. Feel the temperature of your skin with your palm. Can you reach an uninterrupted rhythm of five breaths? How about ten breaths? How about twenty? Breathing exercises like this will trigger a physiological reaction; changing your breathing patterns, changes your brain patterns. Relaxed breathing can help an individual get through the intense moments of anxiety, fear, and pain, both physical and emotional. Getting back to breath is a specialty of The Silent Path Coaching, and an excellent way to start a conversation about Zen.
Embrace Gratitude and Self-Affirmation
Learn to be aware of, and grateful for your body, mind, and soul with The Silent Path Coaching. Pausing to reflect on what specifically you are thankful for can aid in creating short term and long term goals. Gratitude creates a special Zen which can drive you successfully forward towards achieving those life goals.
The definition of self-affirmation is “the recognition and assertion of both the existence and the value of one’s individual self.” The Silent Path Coaching is here to help target positive self-affirmation which will increase your confidence and sense of self-worth.
Simplify Your Life and Try to be Authentic in All that You Do
Zen will infuse tranquillity, peace, calmness, positivity, and self-love into your day-to-day life. Start your inner journey and support your physical self with The Silent Path Coaching. Evolve your own idea of Zen while transforming your body. Reach out to The Silent Path Coaching to start the conversation and discover, create, and embrace Zen.
Written by Joanne Taylor, freelance writer