Maria Duval - Meditation: Choosing the Right Meditation Pillow

Meditation: Choosing the Right Meditation Pillow
Whether you realize it or not choosing the right meditation pillow can make a huge difference to the success of your meditation session. Most people when starting out on learning the technique of meditation will simply sit on the floor and try to meditate with no support at all. However, trying to maintain the right posture for any period of time is quite a challenge and will simply lead to an unsuccessful meditation session. Before choosing a meditation pillow you must first understand where you are going to be undertaking the meditation session. For example, you will need a different style of meditation pillow for soft grass to meditating on wooden floors or on concrete. If your meditation session is to be undertaken on grass then you simply need a light weight pillow which has a soft inner fill. Generally a nylon based fill for this type of session will suffice. It is also worthwhile getting a meditation pillow that is machine washable as well because if you are sitting on this pillow on the grass it will get dirty and if you do not wash it, you may find that the grass stains will not wash out after a while. If you are meditating on harder surfaces like wood or concrete, I recommend using a two stage pillow. Essentially, the base of the pillow is a solid style foam, with the top part of the pillow being made of either duck down or a soft synthetic inner fill. You will find that if you use a normal pillow on harder surfaces for any period of time that you will find it difficult to get up or more so, a sore rear. If you are not comfortable during your meditation session then the bottom line is that you will focus on the discomfort rather than the meditation. If you find sitting up straight on the floor difficult to do, you can purchase from quality meditation suppliers, meditation pillows that also include a back support as well. The meditation pillows that contain this are almost like chairs for the floor. The key advantage of this style of meditation pillow is that by keeping your back straight, during the meditation session you will be helping ensure that you control your breathing more effectively. I certainly encourage you to try out your meditation pillow before you buy. Ensure that when you sit on the pillow that it supports your weight and that you are not sitting directly on the floor. Make sure also while you are sitting on your pillow that it does support your back and that you do not naturally slump over on the pillow. For an effective meditation session, you need to ensure that you have a well structured posture, that you are comfortable and that you can relax without any niggling pain or pressure. Be aware that if you feel an unusual pressure as you sit that this is the first warning sign that you are about to experience pain in that area.

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How Meditation Will Help You in Learning the Path to Enlightenment and Ascension
The world is made up simply of energy. That is right … what causes the beats in our heart, what makes our minds work, what gives us those feelings is simply energy. Buddha talks about enlightenment and Buddhist Monks will spend this and the next life time learning how to become enlightened or more importantly how to ascend our spiritual body into the next. So, what is death? I have seen many people die around me, both family and friends. I watched the transition of my own grandfather from being a strong fit man to one that literally withered before my eyes. Yet within the pain comes a reality that as we become closer to death we also have the chance to make the transition from this form to another. Whether it is a form that lives within us or one that occurs on the moment we die, none of us know till the day it happens. You know the really cool part about all of this. All of the critics no matter who they are and what they think they know can say with 100% certainty as to what happens not just when we die but when we meet the point of enlightenment and ascension. It amazes me that as every person gets older, regardless of their beliefs, regardless of how hard nose they are or whether they believed in God or not, they all search for that point of knowing that there is something out there greater. Our own mortality and I guess our own arrogance wants to know we are going to go some where greater and that what we have done will continue on. Every single person I have seen or met believe as they get older, in that greater being or at least the hope there is something greater out there and that this is not the beginning and the end. I have even seen some of the most powerful men in this world, mellow as their own frailty hits them they search out for that spiritual being to help them in their transition. I have heard many critics across the planet criticize the Buddhist monks who have dedicated their lives to path of enlightenment. I have even heard those same critics on the death bed of monks sit and laugh at them saying how foolish they were to have dedicated their lives to such foolish conquests. That there lives have been nothing but a waster of time. But have they … This is a question that only you and I will be able to answer the day we reach enlightenment but what a journey it will be… So, what is the starting point in the path to enlightenment … The path to enlightenment is an exploration of yourself and who you are. Most Buddhists will start this path through prayer and meditation. In fact, regardless of what you call it, prayers or praying, it is all a form of meditation. This meditation (or prayers) are designed to take you to that state in which you get in touch which your feelings and belief with something greater. It is designed to break you away from your state of being. Many people recommend, including many of the Buddhist Monk leaders, that we should meditate for a minimum of 20 minutes a day, preferably longer to help relax but as you begin to study what meditation is all about and the forms of meditation, you will find that this length of time will be know where near enough. You will find that meditation is about that search for enlightenment and the path towards this thing we call ascension. You will feel sensations and experiences you never expected, it will also open up your ability to change your own life. Meditation is the facilitator in helping you reach inside of you. See without meditation you can not reach to your inner soul to explore your inner self. Essentially, to break the bounds we have with the physical world. All right, so this is getting spooky or the things hippies talk about. Let us try this … Think of a song you really really like that gives you goose pimples, where it uplifts you and you feel the energy surging through your body, that you feel happy, search for those emotions … got one … well one of the songs that does that for me is “A Groovy Kind of Love” by Phil Collins. Now start off by putting your song on and listening to it. Sit on the ground, cross your legs, breath slowly and listen to that song in its entirety. Block out all the other noise around you, simply focuses on the words as your mind clears. What do you feel … Let go of the words … do not focus on them … focus on your inner self. Can you still feel the goose pimples, can you feel the energy surging around your body. Okay, so now imagine this, being anywhere in the world, simply stopping, without any music or tools, meditating, searching within your inner self and feeling those exact feelings. Being able to create and control those feelings on your command. That is right; using meditation will help you on that path. How cool would that be? Being able to do just this simple task is the first step you will take in your path to enlightenment. It is about being able to control you inner self, letting go and eventually being able to break the bounds of the physical world. That takes practice, study but more so, a lot of experimenting. There is nothing anyone but you who can do this. This path is within you. A word of warning … the path to enlightenment will take a lifetime to master … and probably a few after. Look at the Dalai Lama, he is still on his path to enlightenment, and many lifetimes on. But hey, what a journey it will be. Imagine what you can do … imagine what lies on your path to life, your future, your eternity.

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Meditation: Old Wisdom Today
These days people seek knowledge, not wisdom. Knowledge is of the past, wisdom is of the future - Vernon Cooper Two hundred years ago, collecting information was the name of the game. The world was ruled by those who mastered the skills of information gathering. Knowledge was power. In today's world, the TV world, the world of live broadcasts, of information at your fingertips, a fast track world loaded with information, the advantage changed sides. Today, the world belongs to those who master the regulation of the flow of information. Today, it's not how much you know but how effective you are at finding what you need in the overwhelming rush of new facts coming straight at you from all around. When I started my teaching journey, believing that all the people around the world were gifted, I faced a dilemma. As a person who brought information collection to a level of art, I was actually giving my students the greatest disadvantage of the 21st century. I was guiding them to where "they couldn't see the forest for the trees." After I realised this, I spent years looking for the balance between collecting and regulating. Everything around us encourages collecting. At school, we learn how to gather and process information for our assignments, but not how to handle the enormous stream of information we absorb anyway. Imagine that your brain is an office, where every piece of information is like the people seeking your service or incoming messages requiring your processing and filing. Most of the processing happens while you're a sleep. The more information you receive, the more time it takes you to process it. Have you noticed that when you're stressed you feel tired? Have you noticed that kids sleep much more than adults do? That's because the load of information they need to process is greater - almost everything is new. Because the world moved into "fast forward," we receive information that is much greater than twenty years ago. To realise this, think about kids. Their knowledge nowadays is diverse and they know much more than what their parents knew at the same age. Gifted children, for example, have very superior collection channels. They can collect a lot of information at any given time. Unfortunately, not long after, the child will have loads of information without the time to process and the "clerk" in the "office" will scream, "That's it. Too much input. I can't handle this any more," and the child will feel overload and pressure. A simple thing like walking in the street stimulates a lot of incoming mail. The colours, the faces, the conversation of the couple you've just seen, the traffic jam and the smell and taste of the apples you bought in the supermarket. All this input is processed and stored for later use. When you are absorbing all this, seemingly without an effort, you brain is working overtime to process and you might feel stressed without being able to pinpoint the reason. A lot has been said about the ways to regulate this overload. Stress management actually tackles this from different angles. One way to handle stress is to try to divert our attention from the thing we consider the problem, where in fact we don't have any idea which information is sorted while we are asleep. The clerk processes the information as he sees fit without us having the conscious ability to control it. An example of diverting the attention for the supposedly a stress source, is the attempt to divert kids' attention from academic stimulants and encourage them to move into sports, art or music. This attempt only oils their superior machine and, instead of filtering out information, they open new channels of input as if the clerk now opened new doors to his office. Another method to overcome stress is to avoid dealing with some of the issues. Some people prefer the ostrich approach but are not aware of the fact that the office is open to the public as long as they're awake. Every minute you are not asleep, your office is receiving input. Sleep is just the way your clerk is working quietly with no disturbance. Has it happened to you that you wanted to stay at work after hours, when no one was around, so you can do the job without disturbance. Meditation is one of the best ways to regulate the incoming flow of information. In our model, meditation is like hanging a sign on the door, which says, "Away from the office. Back in 20 minutes." During this time, we allow our clerk to file the information without letting any new information to come in. Mediation research shows that it's being neither asleep nor awake. It's a state between the two, in which the brain is very calm, yet very sharp. My first encounter with meditation was when my inspiring sister, 16 years old at the time, went to study Transcendental Mediation. I remember her taking time off, closing her eyes and sitting still for a while. She looked a bit ridiculous, but she was brilliant at every thing she did. My first meditation experience happened when Gal and I went to study all kinds of meditation - affirmation, light, sound, eating, dancing, walking, mantra and visualisation. It was fun! I remember coming back home dead tired from meditation class, remembering that our instructor said, "Your body knows exactly what it needs. Listen to it. You probably need to sleep." Some time afterwards, I was working in Texas with a group of 2-year-old toddlers that used to wreak havoc during sleep time, so the centre had to reorganise the place and bring 10 adults to put them to sleep. The grownups sat there tapping the kids' backs and patting their heads for an hour and a half, until the last one fell asleep. In our staff meeting, I suggested to introduce visualisation. Familiar? "Close your eyes and imagine you are on a soft cloud, like cotton." We decided to try it for a month and reassess. On the first day, the last staff member left after 45 minutes. On the third day, they left after 10 minutes. The kids were still fully awake, relaxed, but with their eyes closed. At that time, we introduced soft meditation music in the background for an hour and a half. After a successful week, we felt we were ready to hand control over to the kids (remember, they were only two years old). We put the music on, "floated" for 3 minutes on our soft cotton cloud and then we asked them to take a deep breath and count one, two, three, one two, three. This way, within two weeks, we had 15 meditating toddlers, relaxed and saving the expensive resources of 10 extra staff members. You can imagine how happy the centre management, the parents and the teachers were. When we moved to Melbourne, Gal and I registered for a Transcendental Mediation course. Our instructor suggested we bring the kids along. It sounded funny, because they were only 4 and 10 years old. I remember her asking us what kind of improvements we would like to see in the kids. We looked at each other, not knowing what to answer. They were perfect kids - friendly, flexible, curious, smart, loving and understanding. We went there every evening for a week, watched some videos and learned to mediate. After 4 days, Gal got really sick, so Marg, our instructor, gave him 3 tea bags and told him to drink them during the day. She told him his body was adjusting. Like magic, he got up the day after, healthy and alert. About a month later, our perfect little son started drumming on everything. We had to look all around town to find someone who was willing to teach percussions to a 4-year-old. Ivan, bless his soul, taught him only because he himself started learning at the age of 4. After 4 weeks, Tsoof was so advanced that we had to send Gal with him, so he could help him at home with his practice. Within a year, he had 4 different drum teachers teaching him different styles and he started playing with adults, because there wasn't any children group at his level. We believe the mediation was the main reason for this. So now in our house, every health issue is solved in this order: 1. Drink plenty of water 2. Take vitamin C 3. Meditate 4. Sleep And you know what? This works for most things. In Transcendental Mediation, people meditate with a mantra. Children until the age of 10 can mediate for 5 minutes with their eyes open any time they wish. From the age of 10, they start meditating for the number of minutes equal to their age, until they turn 20. They just hang up the sign "I'm on break. Back in 10 minutes," twice a day. Every mediation session is considered equivalent to two hours of sleep and there you have it - people full of energy and focused who efficiently use another 4 hours of collecting information. Six years after our kids started meditating, we can tell by their behaviour whether they hanged the "on break" sign this week or not. Meditation doesn't prevent the information from entering. It only regulates the incoming flow to allow more information to come in. In a world full of information, a world of many words, many people, loads of feelings, lots of noise and visions, the name of the game is quiet. Many people are afraid they don't do it well because they still think of things while meditating. Remember, the goal in mediation is not to clear the brain from thought but to prevent new input from entering your office. Thinking during mediation is natural. In time, you feel much more relaxed, focused, energetic and happy. If two hundred years ago all we wanted was more knowledge, then today our best asset is a sign, which says on one side "on break" to allow cleaning the head and on its other side, for when we've restored our energy, "open to public!"

© Ronit Baras, Be Happy in LIFE - life coaching. Ronit Baras is a life coach, educator, author, journalist, justice of peace and public speaker living in Brisbane, Australia, specializing in relationships and families and an expert on motivation for kids.

Self Realization
That which you are seeking is causing you to seek. Your true self is already realized and is directing your mind to read these words and think about them. The key to self-realization is for your mind to realize that you are NOT your mind. Observe that part of you that can observe what your mind is thinking as you are reading this. It’s a game, as well as a powerful way for your mind to connect with your spirit and the consciousness evolving you now. Connect with the volition that is compelling you to read these words. Where is this curiosity coming from? What compels you to read? Turn your awareness away from the light coming into your eyes and the thoughts floating through your head, and be aware of that which is aware. Reflect upon your own nature. Turn your awareness around 180 degrees and observe the part of you observing. Allow your mind to behold that there is something other than your mind observing your mind. Just take a moment to observe whatever you are thinking. Watch your mind as if you were watching a movie on the screen of your mind. Note that there is something other than your mind that is observing your mind. There is a subject and an object. Your thoughts are the object. The witness, or observer of the thought, is the subject. You are conscious of what you are thinking right now, just be conscious of that consciousness. There is a sixth sense of awareness evolving throughout humanity. The fact that you are called to read these words indicates that you have reached a critical point in the evolution of your consciousness where you are now ready to fully realize your full potential…you are being called to self-realization. You are ahead of the bell-curve of humanity, an early adopter that is taking that next big step in awareness and enlightenment. Enjoy the journey, it just gets better. From the heart, Steven S. Sadleir P.S. My new book The Calling takes you through this labyrinth of the mind and back into a place of full consciousness. To order your copy now visit www.selfawareness.com/BooksBySSS.html. Steven S. Sadleir is the Director of the Self Awareness Institute and is recognized as a Shaktipat Master in two lineages. He has developed powerful distance learning programs for people of all cultures and faiths, trained thousands of people from all over the world, and welcomes all of you who are ready for full Self-Realization. Visit http://www.SelfAwareness.com for FREE guided meditation mp3s and ebook!

You’re welcome to “reprint” this article online as long as it remains complete and unaltered (including the “about the author” info at the end), and send a copy of your reprint to info@selfawareness.com.

How To Use Meditation For Improving Short Term Memory
Meditation can be a excellent technique to aid your whole body to relax. With the support of meditation and practice of breathing exercises your entire body will soon start to feel the pressure being relieved. This kind of system enables many of us to be much more open minded and friendly because meditation has established advantageous result on peoples mental condition. Relationship between tension and memory loss has long since been scientifically proven. So the more you are relaxed the better will your mind and memory function. With the support of correct breathing and deep concentration your memory is going to receive a major boost. Can you bring to mind the shame you felt the last time you forgot a colegues name, or a birthday of a person close to you? Most likely it happened during time when you very going through a very stressful period. It is possible that you lost a job or something else went wrong. When you start to comprehend that this is happening to you it will just add yet more pressure on your mind. This is an really difficult condition which you will have a awfully difficult time getting out off. But, by means of meditation approach which many of us have been using with great success for years, you can unlock your memory and just let all this stress out. This is going to allow your brain and memory to work much faster. All of a sudden your brain is going to start working like a super computer, and you will find it effortless to bring to mind any name, date or phone number. Every single information is still there, in your brain only it was misplaced due to the improper use. Many people think of a meditation as a complicated and a bit enigmatic practice. Meditation has scores of truly easy exercises that just about anyone of us can spare a few minutes every day to help you increase memory. The method in which meditation increases your memory is that it helps you to your concentration which again assists to increase your memory. So how to do it? Make an effort to find a small silent part of your house to meditate. Usage of essential oils and scented candles can also help you with meditation. If you observe that it does help you meditate, it can be off large help as selected oils and candles have scents that are proven to support relaxation and memory functions. There are lots of ways in which you can begin meditating or learning to meditate. You can enroll in a seminar, many of those simple to come across. If you do not know of any meditation class close to you just go online and look for it. You can even come across various groups specializing in memory improvement techniques. This sort of lessons can result in long-standing benefits for anybody who believes that his or hers brain is not working as it should any more. This is particularly useful for students. Inch by inch, you will build up your memory improvement and meditation system and along the way, you will also build up your complete mental state and sense of worth. Unsurprisingly many among us that are not keen on courses. No problem as there are plenty of books that can support you with thorough information and bit by bit support. Whatever you decide it is really important to pick the one right for you, because meditation will bring you many benefits. By using the techniques described in this books or classes, you will be equally relaxing your body and improving you memory and brain functions. Well-rested, stress-free mind is the imperative for having a good memory.

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Break a Bad Habit and Make a New Friend: YOU
There comes a time in everyone’s life when they decide changes must be made. Usually it means breaking a bad habit built up over the years. No matter what the bad habit, the time for change has come and the need to make life changing corrections must be faced.

Making the decision to correct the bad habit is the first major step. In Alcoholics Anonymous the first step is admitting you have a problem. That step applies to everyone who has decided to make a change in their life by improving their lifestyle, self-image or health. Before one can start down the self-improvement road one must first admit what the problem is.

The next step is deciding how to make the necessary changes to break habits and improve their life. Breaking a bad habit is no easy task. Smokers are often told that being addicted to nicotine is as bad as heroin. Even knowing this, every year thousands take the steps needed to stop one of the worst habit-forming addictions our of day. They are ready to face the fact that their bad habit is hurting them and they know that their decision will lead them on a journey of self-improvement that will add years to their life.

People addicted to alcohol are another group who take the journey to self-improvement. Their journey is one that is very welcomed by friends, co-workers and family members who for years have had to endure the effects that this addiction has had on their lives. In many cases the alcoholic has the support of many to help them on their journey of self-improvement.

In recent years one of the most publicized self-improvement movements has been for weight loss. The airwaves are full of advertisements for products to help people lose weight. There are even reality TV shows portraying the struggles that overweight people go through and the self-confidence they gain as the weight drops off.

Although the challenges are great for some of these addictions, the benefits are life-changing for all. The smoker has lowered their risk of cancer; the alcoholic sees life as a sober person and regains the love and respect of family and friends. The life change that weight loss gives is by far the most dramatic. Not only do they feel better and look better; they receive constant feedback from people who can see the physical differences from their self-improvement program.

To start a self-improvement program is easy. Following through and sticking with it is the hard part. There will be times of setbacks, but it’s easy enough to pick yourself up and start again. For the smoker who lasts three months, then has a setback, knows what they did accomplish that and the next time may be able to go further. The dieter can also fall off the wagon without too much damage done before they start back on the road to break their eating habits.

It simply takes making a decision to start, making a plan to help break your bad habits and then following through. Breaking a bad habit often requires the help of a support network and many get much further when they have others to help them.

The end result is well worth the struggle. All who have habit-forming problems and who have decided to make changes in their lifestyle for the better will receive positive feedback The most important feedback they get, after their doctors, is the feedback they give themselves.

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What You Think IS What You Get
Whatever your belief system, this statement offers great wisdom: "As ye believe, it shall be done unto you." It's also brilliant in its double meaning.

One meaning encompasses faith, though I'm not referring to the religious kind here. The amount of faith you have . . . the measure of how much you believe the Law of Attraction works and expect it to work for you (guaranteed by Spirit) . . . is the measure of your results. This can appear as Not at All, Almost, Some, or "Yes!"

The other meaning directly links to how the Law of Attraction works: what you think, is indeed what you get . . . every time.

Spirit does not meet the request of one person and not another. It doesn't work that way. How it does work is the person who aligns with the Truth of Spirit and with the truth of how the Law works, and removes any hindering thought to receiving, is the one who sees the effect, or manifestation, of cause, which is always a thought.

Faith, or belief, is not hopeful or wishful thinking. It's a solid thought of, "This or something even better," with no opposition and no stress or strain. Many of us, because we've been conditioned to do so, place more faith in fear; that is, we focus more thought on fears. Listen to your inner and outer conversations and those of others. How often are details of what can or might go "wrong," or the worst-case scenarios, entertained? Thoughts of "What if it all goes wrong" often have priority over "What if it all goes right or even better than expected?" How often, after we look back at an event, do we see perfection in what seemed imperfect at the time? We see how everything wove together like threads of a tapestry. We can choose to trust this process ahead of any event.

If we let go of faith in Truth when we need it most, this reflects to us that we don't fully know or accept the Truth. We don't need to judge ourselves in these moments, just ask what's needed to touch and hold Truth.

Granted, we don't control every event, nor or we meant to; but we're always participants in some measure. We don't control the path and evolution of any person other than ourselves. There is a Divine Order and expression. We can open ourselves to our role in this and how we choose to experience this inherent Divine Purpose. We can trust Divine Intelligence to provide the perfect answer or way, always.

What stops you from trusting? Which thoughts block the Law of Attraction working for you the way you prefer?

A final note: It's not about having faith "in" Spirit; it's about having the faith "of" Spirit.

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