Sang H. Kim's Blog, page 6

The Heart Sutra

What is Chanting?

Chanting is a continuous repetitive rhythmical recitation of mantras. Chanting has been used in sacred rituals for thousands years throughout human society. The purpose of chanting is to connect the casual mind with the inner divine world, the big Self, and attain a heightened state of consciousness.

How to Practice Chanting?

Chanting literally can be done anywhere and anytime as long as it does not offend anyone. I practice the Heart Sutra in my heart in public and aloud when...

The Power of Attention

“What we think of, we become,” Buddha said. So out of many things that enter into our mind, we need to choose what we would like to think of and ignore others.

The ability to dismiss unimportant things or distractions and selectively concentrate on one thing is simply defined as attention. It is an active awareness of the world around and in us. With greater attention, we are more likely to better engage the world, either focusing inward narrowly on a small object or outward, broadly spreading...

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is bringing deliberate attention to the present moment without judgment. The objective of being mindful is to connect the mind with the body.

As human beings, we are not always conscious of our bodies. Most of time, we are just busy with the business of life.Is being mindful hard to practice? Yes and no.

Yes, because we forget things. We live purposefully and without purpose. We are used to being judgmental in literally every area of our lives. And we must. Without judgment, we can...

Experiencing No Mind through One Mind

In martial arts training, concentration is a virtue. A student brings his or her attention to one point in the body such as the center of the lower belly or the hand. By doing this, the mind is more focused and less likely to be taken by an opponent.

In the advanced stage, however, putting the mind in one place is dangerous. The mind is somewhat like a mouse hiding and showing up wherever and whenever he feels safe. An experienced opponent may, without difficulty, find out where you have place...

How to Increase Duration of Sitting Meditation

For a beginner, increasing the duration of meditation is a challenge. Does the amount of time really matter? It does.

Depending on your experience and condition, it takes about 15-45 minutes for the physical sensation to settle and the mental wave to calm down toward evenness. The range varies widely from person to person. In a 60 minute-long meditation, the middle or last 15 minutes is the most important part. So your goal down the road is to be able to complete a 60-minute meditation.

To incr...

How to Prevent Stiffness in the Lower Back during Sitting Meditation

Sitting is the best posture for experiencing the essence of meditation. A good sitting posture provides a strong physical frame in which a calm feeling of comfort rises. However, prolonged sitting causes discomfort. With the stiffness in the lower back, hips, or legs, it is hard to find the peace of the mind.

But you can prevent or reduce stiffness by loosening up your body before, during, and after meditation. Here are three exercises you can practice for less discomfort and more joy during s...

Mindful Movement and Breathing Exercises Video

This 4-minute sequence of 12 mindful movement and deep breathing exercises (MBX-12) activates the 12 meridians, boosting inner energy. Created by Sang H. Kim, MBX-12 practice brings together mindful movement and deep breathing to create an active form of moving meditation and invigorate your internal Ki energy flow. Follow along with Sang H. Kim as he demonstrates the movements in this video and experience it for yourself.

For detailed instruction on MBX-12 practice, mindfulness, breathing, Ki...

Sight and Insight

There are two ways of seeing things. Through sight and insight.

Through our eyes, we judge things and people by what we see externally. But seeing is short sighted. We only can see what is happening right now in front of our eyes.

Insight on the other hand is the mind’s sight. With insight, you see things or people beyond and beneath what you see with your eyes. You may have experienced that when you do not look at a person, but feel their presence or voice, you can learn more about them. You m...

The Soothing Effect of Deep Breathing

Deep breathing, also known as belly breathing or diaphragm breathing, is widely used in meditation and mindful movement practice today. It is known for eliciting a soothing effect, lowering heart rate and blood pressure, and increasing emotional regulation. Simply put, it makes you feel relaxed and calm.

Historically, deep breathing has been used across cultures. We know it has been used in various meditation practices in the East, but it was also practiced in the West as early as the Roman er...