Everyday Zen

Zen can be a difficult concept to understand. Translated by many as meaning "meditation" or "a state of mind", Zen can be perceived as a new understanding on how to live one's life. Demanding persistence, patience and discipline, living a life of Zen everyday is not an easy process but can ultimately prove to be extremely meaningful and worthwhile.

Zen is not a religion. Zen does not tell you what to do. Zen is an approach that has been refined through many years that can be practiced everyday by anyone. The main aim of Zen is to develop self-awareness and an understanding of everything around you. Through the course of one's life, people are conditioned into believing things without thinking about them too deeply. Zen encourages you to release lifelong conditioning and preconceptions and enables you to find a deeper understanding of yourself and reality. Zen frees your mind to live a life of heightened awareness which in turn enriches and improves your daily life experiences.

Achieving complete Zen is known as the process of enlightenment. As mentioned above, it is the process of discovering a new viewpoint on life and discovering ones inner truth. Discovering this complete inner truth comes from persistent practice and getting to know the true you. This can be achieved through daily meditation as well as through trying to live a life of deep respect and compassion for all things around you.

Zen meditation is one of the techniques that have assisted many in the Zen path. Setting time aside daily to meditate aids in allowing one to focus and receive clarity on the world and oneself. This clarity comes with practice and patience and there are numerous meditation techniques that can be used to assist you in this process. It has been mentioned countless times by many how the way one sees the world is often very similar to how one sees oneself.

Consequently, Zen living is to live a life with respect for all living things and can be utilized in every aspect of one's life. Zen deals with the present and things that have practical relevance in one's life and ignores concepts of things that do not have an effect on ones daily experiences. Zen encourages one to live for the moment and to look at things in different ways in order to make them take on more meaning and in turn provide greater enjoyment.

Practiced for thousands of years and an approach that is available to everyone. Zen can either be practiced daily or its ideas can be incorporated into one's lifestyle, to assist in encouraging a more fulfilled and pleasure filled life.