The second thing that changed my mind about meditation is that it does not necessarily entail a lot of the "weird" stuff I feared it might.
第二件改变了我对冥想看法的事情是,冥想不必包含我担心的很多“怪”事。
Contrary to popular belief, meditation does not have to involve folding yourself into a pretzel,
与普遍的看法相反,冥想不需要把自己折成椒盐卷饼,
joining a group, or wearing special outfits.
加入一个团体,或穿着特殊服装。
The word meditation is a little bit like the word sports; there are hundreds of varieties.
冥想这个词与运动一词有点类似,有数百种形式。
The type of meditation discussed here is called mindfulness meditation,
这里讨论的冥想类型称为正念冥想,
which is derived from Buddhism but does not require adopting a belief system or declaring oneself to be a Buddhist.
它源于佛教,但不需吸纳信仰体系或宣称自己是佛教徒。
I began my practice slowly, with just five to ten minutes a day, which is what I recommend everyone aim for at the start.
我慢慢地开始练习,每天只花5到10分钟,我建议大家开始时都这么做。
(Frankly, if you find time for even one minute a day, you can count that as a win.)
(坦率地说,如果你每天抽出一分钟时间这么做,就是一种胜利。)
The practice does get easier the longer you keep at it,
坚持的时间越长,就越容易,
but even after doing it for years, I get lost all the time.
但即使做了很多年,我也总是走神。
Here's a random sample of my mental chatter during a typical session: In. Out.
以下是我在一次典型的冥想中出现杂念的例子:吸气、呼气。
Man, I am feeling antsy. What's the Yiddish term my grandmother used to use for that? Shpilkes. Right.
天啊,我感到烦躁。我祖母过去常说的那个犹太语的词是什么?Shpilkes,对。
Words that always make me giggle: ointment, pianist. Wait, what? Come on, man. Back to the breath.
总能让我咯咯笑的词:软膏、钢琴家。等一下,什么?得了吧,重新关注呼吸。
In. Out. Likes: baked goods. Dislikes: fedoras, dream sequences, that part in techno songs where the French accordion kicks in.
吸气、呼气。我喜欢的:烘焙食品。我不喜欢的:软呢帽、梦境,数码歌曲中法式手风琴演奏的部分。
Dude. Come On. In. Out. In.
伙计,干嘛呢,吸气、呼气、吸气。
Alternative jobs: papal nuncio, interpretive dancer, working double time on the seduction line ...
另类工作:罗马教皇、诠释性舞者、在诱惑中努力工作......
You get the idea.
你明白了吧。
To give you a sense of exactly how simple it is, here are the three-step instructions for beginning meditation.
为了让你明白冥想到底有多简单,以下是开始冥想的三个步骤。