Shining Sloth 666 said:
Dypet Rod said:
Doing this before meditation can also help silence the mind:
1. Find 5 things you can see (in your immediate environment or on yourself, like your clothes etc), and label them in your mind.
2. Find 4 things you can touch, and label them in your mind.
3. Find 3 things you can hear, and label them in your mind.
4. Find 2 things you can smell, and label them in your mind.
5. Find one thing you can taste or remember tasting, and label it in your mind.
Do you have any idea why this trick is helpful?
I think I had seen this before for people dealing with anxiety attacks or I may be wrong.
Anyway, I tried it and I think it
is helpful. I am just very curious as to why.^-^
Yes, I myself am quite anxious, and one day I was looking up tips to relieve anxiety so I could effectively quiet my mind and feel at peace to meditate, and this came up among the results. I've shared this in another topic here, too.
The reason why this helps so much, is it's basically based upon void meditation techniques. When you pay attention to sounds, smells, etc around you and label them, you are essentially doing a combination of void meditation techniques
Therefore it helps you become more aware of your surroundings, of the here and now, and takes your focus away from distracting thoughts.