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Mind Focus Exercise: The Braid

As I mentioned in my other Mind Focus blog posts, training the mind can be an important key to meditation.

Now, we come to the mind focus exercise called The Braid.

A braid is a complex structure or pattern formed by intertwining three or more strands of flexible material such as textile fibers (rope, yarn, & ribbon), wire, or human hair.

Braiding also occurs in nature when rivers and small streams join together and redivide in many places.

How does this help us in meditation? Braids are often used figuratively to represent interweaving or combination, such as in "She braided many different ideas into a new whole."

We can use braiding to help focus our minds with the following technique.
  1. First, get something to braid with. Three pieces of string or yarn will do. My suggestion is to start with a length of 12 to 18 inches. You can always upgrade to a longer length later.
  2. Tie the strings together at the top and attach securely to something so you can have tension on the strings as you braid.
  3. As you braid, chant “Peace on Earth” (or another phrase that inspires you).
  4. Unbraid every time you lose focus, start again until you get to the bottom. The goal is to maintain focus on what you are doing from start to finish.

Some other interesting tidbits about braiding that you can consider figuratively for this exercise and other spiritual experiences:

  • Braiding creates a composite rope that is thicker and stronger than the non-interlaced strands of yarn.
  • Braided ropes are preferred by rock climbers [and now this blog's meditators] because they do not twist under load.
  • Braiding is used in many industries (electricity, plumbing, automobiles, hairstyling, art, etc) and there is even a mathematical braid theory.
I would be especially interested to hear from those who work in repetitive ways with braiding or knitting or weaving or some of the other industries/ways mentioned above. Have you experienced a focused mind and/or a meditative awareness while working this way? I suppose this could be another meditation gateway similar to my last post Sanding for the Soul.
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Comments

Nina said…
I love this exercise… The art of weaving trains the mind to focus while the Spirit weaves endless possibilities! Thank you for your tapestry and guiding us towards mindful meditation…. This weekend will sure bring about a braiding of souls, weaving wondrous meditations of Spirit (such creative strength and beauty; a braid)….Love and Light, Nina P.
June 25, 2009 at 2:01 AM
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