Hi, I want to talk about some benefits I have been getting from both Zazen and a meditation I am calling Reflection meditation. It might be called something different but I don't know.

When I Zazen, I let my self just be. I sit with my thoughts and emotions. I allow them to come and go without clinging to them. They arise and dissipate, arise and dissipate, forever and ever amen :-) Most times (but not always) my thoughts slow and my emotions calm down, and I have a great sense of well being and calmness. I have a better clarity about life. I don't make this my goal but it is what happens naturally to me and is why I continue to do it.

For me, it has also been beneficial to meditate Reflectively. It is kind of the opposite of Zazen. The yang to its yin. It is sitting and contemplating myself. I do it in a room free of distractions where I can really really focus on myself.

For example, I am a shy person. I have always struggled with it. When I look deeply at it during Reflective meditation, I realize it causes me a lot of stress and anxiety.

Shyness makes me a passive person and I allow myself to be a door mat, and when I can't take it anymore I suddenly become aggressive and act inappropriately. The aggression leads to stress and anxiety for how I bahaved.

Shyness has made me less successful in my career because I am not assertive enough to express myself in an effective way. This leads to more stress and anxiety.

Shyness has prevented me from having a lot of friends. I have missed out on many meaningful relationships which again leads to stress and anxiety.

You can see how this list can go on and on. One aspect of my personality permeates every part of my life.

With out taking the time to Reflect on myself, I would have never realized this. In fact, I was in denial thinking oh, I am not shy because that is weak and I am not a weak person.

Discovering I was shy, accepting it and here is the most important part: BEING OK WITH IT, has brought indescribable relief for me. A near end of suffering in that part of my life. The suffering diminishes daily as I discover how this realization affects my life. In this case, the "being OK with it" is enough I don't need to focus on solutions. The solutions happen naturally. This is what Reflective meditation has and is doing for me.

Thanks for listening :-) Thoughts?