I’ve read many books by Thich Nhat Hanh. He is a famous Buddhist Monk and is well known around the world. At our Temple we practice mindful meditation based on his teachings so I would say I am a big fan of his.
I wanted to write about his book, Peace of Mind, Becoming Fully Present. Over the past month I’ve been reading this book and incorporating his teachings and practices into my own daily life. I also use his teachings in my yoga and meditation practice.
In this book he speaks about uniting our body and mind through our breath and how it is the key to happiness. Breathing mindfully cultivates awareness and keeps us in the present moment. According to his book, if we don’t somehow ‘reunite our body and mind we will be in a state of dispersion. Our mind will be in one place, regretting the past or worrying about the future or thinking about our projects and emotions in the present moment. It is only when we bring our body and mind together that we become truly in touch with the wonders inside us and around us.’
One thing I’ve been practicing is following my breath from start to finish. On the inhale I follow it right to the top of the inhale and then on the exhale I follow it to the bottom of the exhale. Breathing in this way helps me focus, and when I do this I feel more awake and aware of my surroundings, my body, and my thoughts.
There is a mantra in Thich Nhat Hanh’s book that I really like and I will use it when I find my mind wandering. What I like about this mantra is that it focuses on the body. It helps you bring your mind back to your body. Throughout the day I spend a lot of time thinking about different things, but not often do I think about my body. What I do know is that when my body is holding on to tension or pain it is very hard to relax, and when I can’t relax my body it is hard to calm my mind.
I say this mantra when I am meditating, practicing yoga or when I feel my mind is scattered.
Breathing in. I am aware that I have a body.
Breathing out. I am aware my body is there.
Breathing in, I bring peace to my body.
Breathing out, I release the tension.
As I say these words to myself while I am breathing I can feel the tension begin to melt away and it also makes me feel grateful for what my body does for me.
As my body feels calm, I am able to calm my mind, my feelings, and emotions. Thich Nhat Hanh would say that ‘once our body and mind are calm we can think more clearly and instead of being lost, ill, or alienated, we have clarity, we have vision.’ This clarity allows us to see our anger and sadness and when we do we no longer feel angry or sad, we begin to feel compassion.
In this book Thich Nhat Hanh outlines various practices you can do to bring your body and mind together, I believe it is helpful resource to finding peace of mind, relieving stress, and ultimately finding joy and happiness in your daily life. It is one of those books you will be referring to often.
Some of the practices he outlines in his book are:
- Coming home to your body
- Four steps to ending alienation
- Deep relaxation
- Sixteen exercises to mindful breathing
- Body scan
- Taking refuge
- Belly breathing
- Touching the earth
- Walking meditation
Some of these practices we do in our meditation classes at the temple, for example; walking meditation, body scan, and touching the earth.
If you are looking for ways to relieve stress and cultivate joy, I would recommend reading Thich Nhat Han’s book , Peace of Mind.
Namaste