Ten Reasons to Meditate
Meditation is the practice of lowering one’s brain frequency from a waking Beta state to a slower Alpha state. Just as a heart beats a certain number of beats per minute, the brain pulses a certain amount of brainwaves per second. In the Beta waking state, brainwaves vary from 15 to 40 cycles per second. In the Alpha state, brainwaves vary from 9 to 14 cycles per second.
Beta is the normal state for waking thoughts and daily activities including talking, working, and shopping. Beta is the state most people are in when in a working mode. Alpha is the slower state where an individual can reflect, meditate or ponder thoughts.
The following are 10 key benefits to daily meditation:
• Oneness with God and creation
• Stress reduction and decreased anxiety
• Reduces the noise and chatter of our waking minds
• Pain reduction and management
• Supports the immune system
• Reduces blood pressure
• Improved memory and ability to learn
• Feelings of peace, calmness and an awareness of self
• Improves moodiness and irritability
• Feelings of rejuvenation
In his book Getting in the Gap, Dr Wayne Dyer discusses how daily meditation brings us into a closer, more personal relationship with God. By knowing God, our source of being, we can find true meaning for our lives. Dr. Dyer writes, “The paramount reason for making meditation a part of our daily life is to join forces with our sacred energy and regain the power of our Source (God). Through meditation, we can tap in to an abundance of creative energy that resides within us, and a more meaningful experience of life, which enriches us permanently. By meditating, we come to know God rather than knowing about God”.
This deeper, richer, calming experience has a profound effect on body, mind and spirit. Our minds become clearer; the noise and chatter in our minds fades away. In its place come feelings of peace, calmness and a sense of awareness. We feel lighter, younger and rejuvenated. Moods brighten and irritability is eliminated paving the way for clearer thoughts, improved memory, insightfulness and creativity.
The ability to relax and calm our minds has its physical benefits as well.
As our minds our soothed, physical pain and tension are reduced or eliminated. Chronic pain including severe headaches can be completely negated. Our circulatory, cardiovascular and immune systems operate more efficiently.
The benefits of meditation are vast. In a world of daily stress and anxiety, meditation paves the way for a healthy mind, body and spirit. For healthy living, practice meditation daily.
Sharon B. Gilbert, Ph.D. is an avid researcher and writer particularly interested in the areas of women’s health, meditation, metaphysics, organic foods and cooking, and natural health remedies. She is the author of a free weekly ezine on healthy living tips. For further information or to contact the author, please visit www.Healthylifestylesfortoday.com. Copyright 2006.
The Key To Developing Your Self-Esteem
Self-esteem is a state of mind. It can fill you with happiness, cheer, and confidence. It can also make you feel terrible about yourself. Self-esteem is like a battery. When the battery is charged, the individual is positive; when the battery is low, the individual is negative.
Individuals with low self-esteem often do not do well in life. They will approach most situations with little confidence though they may be fully capable of accomplishing it. Self-belief is considered the foundation of self-esteem. It provides the extra confidence that one needs to know they can do anything.
So how do you develop self-belief in yourself? Do not mistake self-belief as self-importance. They are not the same. It is more like conceit, spawn over confidence and egotism, which does not lead to personal success.
The right answer is positive self-esteem. This means that you see yourself as good and capable as anyone else, no better or worse, you are proud of who you are, and you approach everything with a positive outlook.
To do this you must learn to accept yourself unconditionally. You will have strengths and weaknesses, and you will have achievements and failures. You must learn to accept those realities. This is what self-esteem is all about ? truth in yourself.
Those who always languish are never happy. Those who blame everyone else for their failures also never get ahead. They are consumed with negativity.
It is important to not let your mistakes or failures overpower you, and ruin your happiness. You have to accept your mistakes and move on. Any time you do not acknowledge your mistakes, you lose some of your self-esteem.
Most people gain a lot of happiness from their accomplishments. Their self-esteem rises; they feel like they can accomplish anything. However, the same self-esteem can fall when that person is rejected or makes a mistake. This can cause a person to feel unhappy and unwanted, and can eat away at his self-esteem until he is very unhappy. It will also impact other realms of his life.
In order to improve your self-esteem, you need to be fair to yourself. Do not beat yourself up when something goes wrong. It can lead to depression and overwhelming guilt. A mistake or failure cannot be changed, but it can be learned from. Everyone should judge himself or herself fairly. Beating up on oneself leads to defeat, and destroys self-esteem.
Discover more about self confidence by visiting http://www.discover-self-confidence.info
Learning How To Overcome Self-Sabotage
It's easy to forget just how powerful our subconscious minds can be. We are often completely unaware of how our actions (or inactions) are affecting our lives. We may complain that things never work out for us, we have bad luck, or we just don't have what it takes to be successful. What we fail to realize is that we are actually creating our own circumstances through subconscious self-sabotage. In order to overcome self-sabotage we first have to use conscious awareness to explore our emotions and fears, and understand how they influence our actions. Once we have determined the cause of the destructive behavior, we can then take steps to prevent it from happening in the future.
What's really happening when we sabotage ourselves? Subconsciously, we may be frightened by a particular outcome, even though we say we want it. Take, for example, losing weight. Many overweight people have struggled for years, tried diet after diet, and still can't lose the weight (or keep it off). They berate themselves, push themselves harder, and try to force the weight off. But what's happening beneath the surface? Do they really want to lose their excess pounds? They may say they do, but what if their layers of fat are providing a sense of protection and security in an uncertain world? What if they feel the need to cover up and conceal themselves? Losing weight then becomes a threatening, frightening possibility. So they might sabotage their diet efforts in order to avoid feeling too vulnerable and exposed. Even though they say they want to lose weight (and even believe they do) they still might set themselves up for failure by sneaking food, skipping exercise, and then making a promise that they'll try harder tomorrow.
Others may be intimidated by something as simple as starting a new job. Did you know that there are a surprisingly high number of people who don?t show up for job interviews, even for highly-desirable positions? Let's look at another example: Perhaps a stay-at-home-mom decides she needs to return to the workforce to earn money for her family. What she really wants is to stay home with her children, but she feels obligated to get a job outside the home. So instead of applying for the perfect position, she applies for jobs that she knows she's not qualified for, or jobs that require hours incompatible with her family's schedule so she has to turn down the job if it's offered. Subconsciously, that's her way of ensuring she won?t have to leave home, and at least she can say she "tried" to get a job.
Those who self-sabotage may also be afraid of what others will think of them should they accomplish their goals. They might not believe they're worthy of the outcome, so they act in ways that will ensure their failure.
These destructive efforts are done subconsciously, so even the saboteurs have fooled themselves into thinking they know what they want. If there is any uncertainty in their mind, any doubt, any fear, they will find a way to make sure it doesn't happen.
Perhaps this describes you? Have you sabotaged yourself in the past? Are you still doing it now? Are you not able to move forward with your goals, no matter how hard you try?
Fortunately we CAN overcome self-sabotage. The most important step to stopping self-sabotaging behavior is to recognize that it's happening. We must develop a conscious awareness of our thoughts, emotions, and actions.
If you've been struggling with a certain goal and things just don't seem to be working out for you, take a look at the setbacks that were encountered and evaluate the situation. Could any of the obstacles have been avoided by making wiser choices on your part? Are there a significantly high number of obstacles that have arisen for this one particular goal? If so, you may be self-sabotaging yourself.
A great way to get in touch with your subconscious mind is by spending time in quiet meditation. Ask yourself what you're afraid of. What fears do you have? What uncertainties? What makes you feel uncomfortable about this goal? For what reasons would you try to hold yourself back? Using a journal to write these questions and answers can help too, because writing can help you to connect with the deepest part of yourself. It might take time and practice, but exploring these possibilities can dramatically help you to get out of the self-sabotage rut.
When we finally understand that we are in control of our own success, we will be set free from all limitations! By developing clarity and insight about the outcomes we want to create, and the awareness for potential setbacks, we can stop the self-sabotage and focus our energies on working toward new goals that we will fully support in every way. We will then look back one day and see that instead of being our own worst saboteur, we have become our best supporter.
Wendy Betterini is a freelance writer who strives to motivate, uplift, and inspire you to make your dreams a reality. Visit her website, http://www.WingsForTheHeart.com for more positive thoughts to help you on your journey.
Choosing your career? Listen to yourself
Ever been called to lunch and refused it or postponed it because you had a late breakfast and were not hungry? Ever seen people cajoled into marriage, even if they were not ready, because it was time for them? In short, have you ever, when told it was time, felt otherwise?
Some people choose the evening snack over the lunch. Many choose to remain unmarried if they realise they can’t do justice to the bond. What do you think separates these people, however moderately, from the great majority who live by the book?
It is the realisation that there are more tracks than one to choose from. Nobody’s life is predetermined. There are a thousand different ways to go in at any point in your life. And cliche as it may sound; you ARE in charge of your life.
Career paths are usually laid out in order of merit. The best on top and the less promising below. Sadly, this numbered list is so off the mark, even with the basics, that it serves no useful purpose whatsoever in the long run. The average clueless student (and I mean clueless in a good way) is asked to choose from a given number of careers. These inevitably, are the most popular ones.
The shortsighted ones will tell you that there is no hope beyond what lies before you now. They will also tell you how foolish you are to even consider the possibility that you can be different. You will find it difficult to resist their words, because they have, over time, convinced you that being stubborn is bad. That being different is just not done.
The math of it is simple actually. The world works like a machine. People are cogs. It is easy to be a cog. You move with the other cogs, which move with the others. There is very little you can decide, if you want to decide at all. The machine conditions the brains out of you and soon you are happy to be a cog, unable and unwilling to look beyond a cog’s existence. In time, you will even recommend a cog’s life to others.
I am not saying cogs are not important. I am saying you don’t have to be one just because everyone you know is one. Not if you can be something else. Something you will be happier as. Something you can do that no one else can.
You can start by assigning the list of careers to trash. Realise that there is only one list. And that list is inside you. It is made up of all the things you can do and want to do. Maybe you can do more than one thing. Maybe it’s something nobody would bother doing. Maybe it’s something nobody has ever done. It wouldn’t matter, because the answer, unlike the so many disembodied voices you grew up hearing, would come from within yourself.
It is time when you decide it is time. Not yet? That’s just fine. Hone yourself if you have to. Learn more, unlearn a few things. Get back that stubborn streak you were caned and conditioned out of. That’s the way!
With all due respect to the cogs, in time, you will run the machine.
Vijayendra Mohanty is a freelance writer from India who blogs stories and essays at MYPAJAMA.COM. Much of his fiction is set against the rich backdrop of Indian mythology and folklore. He is currently writing his first book.
Thinking About Thinking - Part 2 Of 2
Like many of my clients, I am always looking for ways to speed things up - to produce more results with the same or even fewer resources. We probably agree on this. The key is certainly not about working harder; it may not even be about working smarter. But there are definitely ideas which work, and those ideas need to be uncovered. Often you can find them through analytical thinking. In my last article I discussed this: a process of asking deliberate questions, and in a disciplined, even rigorous way, coming up with answers. Asking and answering, that's the analytical thinking process. Do it enough and you will likely come up with something useful.
But there is a whole other process, a "something" that goes on in the mind. Many people call it intuition. Others call it "gut feel," or "tapping the universal spirit." In contrast to rational, linear left-brain thinking, it is sometimes called "right-brain" thinking, synthetic, or holistic thinking. I'm going to call it unconscious thinking. What I mean by this cumbersome phrase is that this kind of ideation is based on removing the linear, rational, questioning, conscious thinker from the equation, and tapping into the results when they come.
How do you do that? Everybody has their favorite way. Several people, responding to my last article's caveat that I was not referring to the thinking that goes on in the shower, wrote that their best ideas occur in the shower. For others, unconscious thinking occurs while driving their car. Or working out in the gym, riding a bike, or jogging. Gardening seems to be a hot spot for hot ideas. And sybarites I know report getting great ideas while being massaged and sipping wine in the hot tub.
Some people put themselves in a trance state via meditation or actively listening to music. Others go into a trance watching TV. I get great ideas when I'm at the movies. (Curiously, it doesn't work while watching a movie on videotape -- I think the level of concentration is too low -- which may be a key to the way these processes work. For the car people, it only works while driving -- not as a passenger. The logic behind this is similar.)
What is this spontaneous generation of unconscious ideas? I must confess that, really, I have no idea. But I do know how to make it happen. Spontaneously. The key is to loosen the grip of consciousness on the mind, and get the logical, linear, Q&A thinking process out of the way.
Spontaneous generation comes in two basic flavors --fortuitous and deliberate, both of them "unconscious". An example of the fortuitous kind is what happens when you are driving your car, and an incredibly useful thought just "comes" to you. If you are not prepared, you are likely to lose it as quickly as it came. On the other hand, if you keep a voice recorder or notepad handy, you can capture this potential gem. Plus, being prepared to capture these "fortuitous" intuitive pearls, seems to be a very important part of having them more often.
An example of the deliberate version is when, upon retiring for the evening, you tell yourself (with feeling and conviction) you want to dream the solution to a particular problem. If you get lucky (back to fortuitous), you will. If you do this repeatedly -- program yourself with a problem -- you will start to dream solutions regularly.
Analytical types may scoff at this "telling yourself" bit. But recent research in cognitive science indicates a possible model for the mind as a series of unconnected agents, each with its own limited function set. Some of these agents may be linked by well-worn pathways. Others, however, have never communicated, and as yet have no way to do so. "Telling yourself" what you want to think about has the effect of sending a broadcast signal throughout the agent population, which may enlist them in your unconscious thinking process.
Whether by happenstance or intention, the available techniques, if you can call taking a shower a technique, are interchangeable. The only difference is whether you set out to generate a specific idea or whether random ideas comes unbidden.
Two habits will make unconscious thinking work more effectively for you. First, prepare your environment to capture ideas as they come. I put 3x5 note cards and pens everywhere -- in my car, my night-table, the medicine cabinet, next to my favorite reading chair, my suit pockets, gym bag, even my under-the-seat bike storage pocket -- just about everywhere I am, I can find a note card. Plus, I carry a voice recorder in my briefcase. The new one has a digital interface to my computer and transcribes notes automatically.
The second habit is to deliberately plant seeds of ideas in my unconscious mind. I regularly "re-mind" myself of the areas where I could use a creative flash. For instance, if I am working on a book chapter or an article, or if I need a new solution for a client's business problem, I put that into my mental hopper and let it sit. Often ideas come to me, and if I am prepared to capture them -- voila!
So -- what are some ways to stimulate unconscious thinking?
We've mentioned a number already. One way to stimulate unconscious thinking is to engage in physical exercise. Jogging, swimming, biking, hiking, weight-lifting -- all of these activities are great for idea generation. The key is they are all sort of mindless - not requiring much detailed thought. This may seem paradoxical -- if you are trying to shut down your conscious mind, wouldn't you want to distract it with a conscious thought process? No -- it seems you want to have the opposite effect-- you want to lull the conscious questioning thinker to sleep, and simple repetitive physical work seems to do that. Likewise, playing a rhythm instrument like drums or bass, or any sort of rhythmic chanting or dancing, will produce a similar result.
These activities, along with morning showers, afternoon massages, and evening hot tubs, may be considered strange in the corporate setting (except in California.) Here are some more corporately flavored, "structured" ways to generate unconscious thinking.
Mind mapping is an excellent technique for tapping the unconscious. Tony Buzan, the inventor of mind mapping, has a book called The Mind Map Book which details this technique. Mind mapping seems to unlock certain expressive mechanisms not available by writing. Drawing representations of your problems and possible solutions, however crudely, also works well. For truly graphically challenged, try collages made from cutout images. Sometimes just flipping though magazines will stimulate ideas. Get a big stack of publications -- ones with good pictures -- and start flipping.
There are activities which you can do in groups. You can play word association games. The game will usually have a context -- the idea you'd like to explore. Start with a list of words which relate to your central idea, and free associate. Speed matters in this process, so record these games on audio tape. Another version is to use one of those magnetic poetry kits. Give people the kits and let them go to work. Also, you can mind-map in groups. Or gather a bunch of great images on a projector and let your group play off them.
I mentioned this in my last article: you can use structured information sources in an unstructured way. Use the Oxford English Dictionary (really any dictionary will do, the OED just seems better.) Pick words at random and establish connections with your central ideas. Or use a Tarot deck, or the Taoist I-Ching. You used to be able to do this with fortune cookies but the message quality has gone downhill. Pick a passage from your favorite inspirational literature such as the Bible or Jonathan Livingston Seagull, and invent a connection to your central idea -- see what new things come up.
Try attending a seminar when you need new ideas. The seminar need not even be on the subject of concern. Just being in the seminar room, removed from your controlled environment, can cause your conscious mind to let go a little -- just enough for spontaneous ideas to creep to the surface and make themselves available. And for those of you who don't - read some books. On anything. Reading books always stimulates random thinking if you let it. Remember to keep note cards and pens handy.
Bring in outside speakers or consultants to spout off their ideas. (I know this might seem like a shameless plug.) Or cross-over people from departments who normally don't work together. That always gets the juices flowing. Take these mixed-up groups and do any of the above.
Try game playing -- simple things like checkers, go fish, touch-tackle football, Lego, plastic model building, even pickup sticks. Even home or office renovation work, which is simply another game to play. Try something community minded -a neighborhood cleanup program: lots of sweeping, lawn mowing, and trash pickup. All of these "games" distract the conscious mind. Do a session, gather everyone together, and ask what ideas came up. They will.
Do you get the idea? Do you have any other ideas?
Here then are your first two assignments. One: Make a mind map of all the ways you currently do this. Two: Focus your intention on developing some new unconscious processes. Walk around for a few days with this thought deep in the back of your mind. See what you come up with during the week.
The steps are:
Identify the area in which you want new ideas.
Create a diversion for your conscious mind. Lull it to sleep using any of the above methods, or one of your own.
Keep handy a way to record your ideas. This is critical. Use a pocket recorder or note cards. It's a good idea to always carry one or the other.
Take your unconsciously generated ideas seriously. Pay attention to them: you may not use every idea, but at least evaluate it. Your unconscious mind likes that and you'll get more.
Business Coach, Paul Lemberg is the President of Quantum Growth Coaching, the world's only fully systemized business coaching program designed to rapidly create More Profits and More Life? for entrepreneurs.
Mystical Land, Powerful Journey
Imagine meditating on an active volcano. Mauna Loa, on the Big Island of Hawaii, is the most massive mountain on Earth; measured from its base on the seafloor it rises 56,000 (27,000 higher than Everest from the base) and lies over 13,700 above sea level. It was snowing on the peak even as we basked in the sun on the black sandy beaches of Puna, approximately 30 miles south of Hilo. All of Hawaii is beautiful, but I have never been to such an incredible place and wanted to share with you what a SAI retreat was like so you can join us next time. Each morning we were led by Maura Hoffman in an absolutely wonderful yoga workout and then led into a powerful Shaktipat meditation, so by breakfast we were already naturally high as a kite. Late morning and afternoon we would typically go on excursions and meet up again in the late afternoon for Dhyana, getting even higher on the Divine. By the end of the week everyone went to an even deeper level in their meditations and several people had life changing breakthroughs as the Shakti just sets your spirit free. One day we went hiking to beautiful Akaka Falls and then went swimming with sea turtles, another day we went into a lava tube ---the womb of the Volcano--- and sat sauna style as steam vented up into the darkened chamber. Another day we went trance dancing with another retreat group and later danced on the beach to the sounds of a dozen drums beating and the crashing of waves on the beach. We also went to the geo-thermal natural hot tubs, snorkeled about with beautiful fish, ate incredible natural meals, got massages, and had fun activities each night, such as, Kaya Kalpa Anti-Aging Secrets, Tantra, Love Tap's, Kriya Yoga, Kundalini Yoga and Bliss Sessions. We also just hung out on the beach and got to know each other better. But the height of the trip was walking out to the lava flow. Kilauea extends out the side of Mauna Loa and is still active. We could see the steam from the lava flowing miles away from our totally decked out retreat center Rama Shala. Friday evening we hiked out of Volcano National Park and went within feet of flowing magma (molten rock) as it dropped right into the sea expanding Hawaii's shore line. Maura and I stripped down in the pitch of darkness and swam right out to the middle of the lava flow, within 100 feet of the cascading lava sputtering like a pressure cooker as it met the crashing waves below. The whole ocean reflected the bright orange glow as we bounded in the bubbling waters heated by the lava. For a hundred yards to our left and to our right was red-hot lava flowing into the ocean. Absolutely amazing. I had to tell someone (hope Mom isn't reading this). Go to http://www.selfawareness.com/VideoPhotoGallery.html to see the photos. From the Heart, Steven S. Sadleir
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!
Meditation Techniques For Time Pressed Executives
Meditation, quite rightly, has an image of relaxation, peace and quiet, and many may interpret this as meaning meditation can only be for those who have time to laze around half the day. For this reason, those people, such as business executives, who live a pressured life with little or no time to spare, may assume that meditation can never have a place in their lives. That is a shame, as meditation techniques can be quite flexible and quite easy to fit in to a busy day.
The benefits of meditation can be so great to somebody under pressure, that even a few minutes occasionally may bring a noticeable benefit. For a busy executive to have reached their position in life, they are likely to be determined and intelligent individuals. This can often mean that, should they perceive a benefit in an activity, then they will continue or extend that activity. It is therefore possible that an executive trying out even a brief period of meditation may soon adopt some meditation technique or other on a regular basis.
What type of meditation techniques may fit in with an executive lifestyle? Important features of meditation are being able to breathe well and consciously, relax and clear the mind, and then focus the mind. An executive with perpetual meetings and a full diary, with pressures to perform and maximise profits, may think such things cannot be fitted into their busy lives.
It is true to say that the most powerful and beneficial meditation sessions are prolonged. However, that does not mean short periods of meditation are a waste of time; far from it. An executive is probably geared up to packing as much into their day as possible and, although it may be difficult to clear a hyperactive mind, they may well learn to pack in short meditation sessions also. In so doing, they may well find that those sessions give them a boost that is far greater and more beneficial than caffeine.
So, what techniques can an executive use during their busy day? Here are a few ideas:
1. If using public transport to get to and from work, and you are able to sit down, it can be a good time to close your eyes, concentrate on correct breathing, and try to shut out the surrounding sounds. Commuting can be a very stressful experience every day of the week, so a snatched meditation session, even in far from ideal conditions, may minimize those negative effects, or even turn them on their head. In fact, it can be good practice to try to meditate in difficult conditions, as that makes ideal conditions even more beneficial later on.
The secret to these train or bus sessions is not to fall asleep, and to concentrate extra hard on maintaining the focus.
2. Do you go to a gym or health spa? Whether at lunch time or in the evening, this can be a good time to tag on a short meditation session. If you have finished your work out, you need some time to shower and relax your body a bit. Following that with a 10 minute or more period of meditation could work wonders. Most gyms or health spas will have a room you can use for a short spell of peace, so it is worth asking. A vacant massage room would serve the purpose.
3. Control your diary, and schedule in a mid morning and mid afternoon "tea or coffee" break. Only instead of tea and coffee, drink water, sit comfortably, focus on your breathing and then when totally relaxed, have a short session of meditation, focusing on something calming and not related to work. Even 10 minutes can provide a power inducing respite from the day's work, and the chances are you will not lose time, but rather gain time, as you will work more effectively.
Snatched meditation sessions spread through the day may not be the stuff of traditional meditation, but they are certainly better than none at all. Hopefully, the rejuvenated executive will perceive enough benefits to set aside time in the evenings and weekends to learn full meditation, and then be able to return to work at the top of is game every weekday morning.
This meditation techniques article was written by Roy Thomsitt, owner and part author of the Routes To Self Improvement website.
Four Simple Steps to Less Stress by Taking Yoga “Off the Mat”
It’s not hard to imagine Henry David Thoreau living in utter simplicity on his land at Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Spending only $28.12 on a 10x15 square foot home and living a Spartan lifestyle, he went to the woods to live deliberately, learn life’s lessons and feel a sense of “having lived” when he died.
Nobody wants to go to the grave feeling as if life was wasted. We all want to live completely, fully. But for most of us, living like Thoreau is more of a fantasy. We’re busy earning a living, keeping family responsibilities and saving for retirement.
So here’s the question for those of us fully immersed in a typical 21st century day: rather than retreating to the woods, can we live deliberately, here and now, in the circumstances we currently find ourselves?
The answer is a conditional yes. Yes because the essentials, by definition, are always present. The most essential is your indivisible essence, the core of who you are. It’s impossible to be separated from it. The ‘yes’ is conditional, though, because we need more vigilance to stay focused on the essentials when our busy lives pull and push us off course.
Yoga cultivates that focused awareness to keep our minds here in the present moment. Rather than just a series of postures to open your hips, a yoga mindset can open your heart. By integrating principles of yoga into life on a daily basis, and not just in a weekly Hatha yoga class, a new world of opportunities can be found.
With the knowledge that this moment is inherently whole, relaxation appears. Just trust that where you are now has what you’re looking for. This is yoga. And with this definition, everything is yoga.
Taking Yoga “Off the Mat”
There’s a simple four-step process you can use to cultivate a yoga focus in everyday life. That process is called EASE, an acronym that stands for Experience, Awareness, Self-Reflection and Elect.
Step One: Experience
By watching your own experience closely, you can see the truth of the ever-changing nature of the world. During a in Hatha yoga class, the teacher instructs you to notice your feet connecting with the floor in Tadasana, or to see where your breath resides in Trikonasana. This same level of attention can be brought to everyday circumstances.
Try this exercise. While you are feeling angry, sad, happy or excited about the anticipation of something, notice the answers to these questions:
· What emotion is present?
· How is my breathing?
· What am I saying to myself?
· How am I behaving?
· What am I feeling in my body?
· What is my energy level?
The simple step of noticing your experience while it’s happening, or reflecting upon it later, can immediately illuminate where needless tension is being generated.
Step Two: Awareness
Awareness is the ability we have to broaden our perspective in a given moment. The interpretation of an event comes not from the experience itself, but from where attention is placed. Expanding awareness provides numerous choices for directing attention.
Notice yourself reading these words. What are you aware of? Now turn your attention to your big toe. Notice where it is and how it feels. Is it hot or cold? How does your sock feel against your toe? Can you feel your shoe pushing against it? Can you feel the contact with the adjoining toe?
A moment ago, you were probably oblivious to your big toe. The simple act of bringing your attention to it, however, has expanded your current experience to include these new sensations.
Ask yourself the question, “what else is there in this moment?” Then, relax. Soften your edges, let go of your grip on the rope slightly. Slow down. Step away from the problem.
Awareness holds infinite possibilities.
Step Three: Self-reflection
Self-reflection answers the question, “How do you want to be in this world?” We’re misled when continually asked, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” Regardless of age, some of us still struggle with what we want to do for a living, which implicitly implies that some distant point in the future holds the key to our happiness. A much more present-oriented (and easier) question to answer is how we want to be, which of course could be lived in this very moment.
Answering the question of how we want to be focuses on the values we deem important. Do you want to be loving, courageous, compassionate, or adventurous? Pick one or two ways of being that resonate with you and then use your everyday life as the practice ground for bringing them to life.
Step Four: Elect
The last step of the EASE process is to elect or choose, in a given moment, to act consciously and in accordance with your values. Saying what we value is much easier than actually living it. Life is the testing ground for understanding at a very deep level what these values mean. What does it mean to be patient when your son comes home drunk? What does it mean to be loving when your boss is being demanding and arrogant? What does it mean to be courageous when the fear of rejection is paralyzing?
The practice of life gives us unlimited opportunities to explore the implications of our chosen values.
Life is messy. At times we feel lost, as if we’re wondering hopelessly through an impossible maze, stuck in a confining box. Life, though, is more like a labyrinth. We may feel disoriented, but there is only one path�"the one we are on. And the path leads to the center every time, without exception.
Adapted from the book Infinity in a Box: Using Yoga to Live with Ease (http://www.yogawithmegan.net/infinity.html ) by Megan McDonough. Megan helps you get clear in body, mind and spirit so you can get the results you want. Along with teaching yoga, she’s an award-winning writer, consultant and corporate trainer. She’s taught at the famed Kripalu Center, the largest site for yoga and holistic health in the United States and is on the faculty of the Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy Advanced Training. This article may be freely reprinted or distributed in its entirety in any ezine, newsletter, blog, or website. The author’s name, bio and website links must remain intact and be included with every reproduction.
Meditations: Meditating Sitting on a Chair
Meditation has been embraced by western society over the last few years with more and more people choosing to meditate to help them cope with day to day life. It amazes me that in a society in which each of us are wealthier than our grandparents that we are certainly no happier than the people during the depression. In fact I honestly believe we are more miserable than those who suffered the worst period in history. Meditation is an excellent tool to help you deal with challenging times. There are many different methods that you can use to meditate, you can sit on a floor, sit on the grass, lay on a bed or sit on a chair. Each method has its advantages and disadvantages so what we want to look focus on is the method of meditating in a chair and some of the elements of this meditation technique you need to be aware of. The Chair Meditation technique can be used literally anywhere. You can meditate on a chair at work, at home, if you are in a wheelchair or if you are sitting on plane going to that important business meeting. However there are a number of key elements to be aware of that will affect your comfort and your ability to effectively meditate on a chair. The first step in meditating in a chair is that you need to sit in it. Make sure that you have removed your shoes so that you can feel the floor and have a connection with your surroundings. You feet should be flat on the floor, if you can not touch the floor then find a chair in which you can. Whilst you are sitting in the chair make sure that you back are straight and comfortable. Do not tense your back during the session or keep it rigid because if you do you will find during your meditation that your back will get sore and will affect you ability to be able to maintain focus. The next step is too look at your hands. Place your palms onto each leg and place your palms upwards. If you are sitting in a confined space, like an airline seat put your open right hand on top of your left hand and put them into your lap. Now it is time to focus on your shoulders. They should be level and your elbows should be parallel with your legs if you have placed your hands on your knees. If you have put your hands into your lap then your elbows should be slightly away from your body. You mouth is another important aspect of your meditation in a chair. You need to ensure that your jaw is relaxed and that your tongue is resting on the back of the top row of your teeth. The last aspect you need to consider is your eyes. My personal preference when meditating is to close my eyes, but I know that some of my colleagues prefer to meditate in a chair with their eyes slightly open gazing towards the floor but maintaining focus. Now that you are sitting in the chair effectively, you can now begin your meditation session. A deep breath meditation technique is always a good way to start simply because your posture on the chair is more conducing to an open chest and makes breathing a little more easier. Look meditating on a chair can be just as effective as meditating on the floor. The most important thing to remember is to ensure you address the 7 areas of posture I discussed before. An effective posture ensures that the energy you emit during your meditation session will be able to flow freely and you will reduce the chance of a distraction. The bottom line is this, if you are using a chair to meditate you should be sitting in a manner that ensures you are comfortable and you are not going to be distracted but at the same time you do not want to be so comfortable that you fall asleep.
If you are looking for effective High Performance Meditation Music check out our website at - Meditation Music. Meditation can also be very useful in overcoming asthma - if you are looking for information on this terrible disease visit our website - Buteyko Breathing Method or if you would like the opportunity to read the book Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill on the 13 secrets to success then visit our website.
Mindfulness Meditation and the Law of Attraction
Do you feel overhwelmed and at odds with your life? Does it seem like your mind rambles incessantly, as if you can never experience a moment of peace? Many people in our modern world describe their lives as frenzied and imbalanced. The good news is that it doesn't have to be this way. Many Asian cultures have understood something for the past several thousand years that modern people are gradually beginning to discover: That we have to learn how to work with our minds in a conscious and healthy way if we are to attract peace, abundance, and joy into our lives. Without a consistent method of cultivating awareness, we will be forever resigned to circumstances that feel out of our control. That is why so many modern people are struggling. We have lost the ancient practice of connecting our inner world of thoughts, feelings, and energy with our outer world of the circumstances we attract into our lives. Because of this, everything that appears seems to be random. We lose trust in the unfolding of the universe. As a result, our minds are filled with anxiety and worry, which only attracts more seeming chaos and confusion into our lives. Does this sound familiar?
The law of attraction states that what you focus on expands. If your thoughts and feelings resonate with anxiety and confusion, then you will attract more of those qualites to you through your relationships, work, finances, etc. The key is not to trick our minds into creating positive thoughts through affirmations or other methods, but to develop space around the workings of our minds altogether. Herein lies the magic of mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness is a method of becoming acutely aware of everything that happens within the scope of our perception. We shed light on what we think, feel, and sense. We make conscious all of the subconscious material that typically sabotages our good intentions. We don't try to change it. Instead, we just become extremely aware of it. We do this by sitting still and doing nothing but watching how our mind works without attachment or judgment. We just sit and witness what takes place within us and we start to draw parallels between what we believe to be true and what we are constantly attracting into our lives. Many people, particulalry Westerners, try meditation for a period of time and then give up after getting frustrated with the process. This is because we are always looking for results. We are deeply attached to our expectations of what should happen. Most of us try to use meditation to shut our minds down, to dwell in a space of 'no thought.' If you try to use meditation to stop thinking, you are in for a rude surprise. You simply cannot do it. In fact, the harder you try to stop thinking, the louder and more obnoxious your thoughts become. This is not the way. The main intention of mindfulness is to be fundamentally OK with whatever arises as you practice. Whether you have a good thought or a bad thought, you give it the same attention. You remain neutral. By doing this, you stop feeding the energy of your thoughts. This is the first step in cutting through the vicious cycle of thought-feeling-reaction that keeps so many of us habitually attracting the wrong kinds of energy, people, and circumstances into our lives. If we believe what we think, the energy of the thought will evolve into a feeling. The momentum of the feeling will cause us to react to it, which will create a cause in the world that will always lead to an effect. The effect will always be a reflection of that initial thought impulse. So, if your thoughts are habitually centered around negativity, greed, fear, or narcissism, then the effects you will see in your life will mirror this back to you.
Mindfulness is a process of becoming truly proactive for the first time in your life. Most of the time, we are just reacting to what we think and feel, which brings us endless cycles of conflict and disappointment. When we remain neutral to our thoughts and feelings, then we will gradually make contact with an aspect of ourselves that is spontaneous and awake. We will act (not react) from this place. We will attract what we truly desire into our lives based on a conscious process of heightening our senses. And, yes, at some point the mind does slow down. We experience wonderful and refreshing moments of peace and openness. The universe is naturally seen as a benevolent place. Instead of our typical attempts to outsmart the universe, mindfulness is a humbling process of surrender and gratitude.
Cultivate space, endless space, around your thoughts and feelings. Allow your spirit to inhabit your body fully. Don't buy into self-defeating storylines and beliefs. Don't try to force yourself to see the positive in life or repeat useless affirmations that you have no innate connection with. Instead, taste the perfection of this moment as it is. If you can feel in your bones that you are fundamentally OK and that life is precious, you will attract much more meaningful relationships with people, better health, more fulfilling work and more prosperity on all levels of being. That is the power of mindfulness.
Kevin Doherty, L.Ac., MS is alicensed acupuncturist in private practice in Superior, Co. where he teaches many of his patients how to meditate for better health and overall quality of life. For more information about Kevn and his approach to meditation, go to http://www.mindfulnesscd.net
No comments:
Post a Comment