How To Meditate Without Even Trying
July 23, 2010
I remember when I started trying to meditate. I would sit down, close my eyes, and try to be really calm (my definition of meditation at the time). That was hard: my head would burst with ideas, thoughts, solutions, problems? I would become agitated, and stopped generally after ten long minutes, if not less. It’s during my short "meditations" that I felt less? meditative.
I knew there was something for me to explore that was beyond the physical world. I knew I would unleash my potential, by "going within". And sitting meditation, as I knew it, was the #1 technique that would lead me there. Yet, I just couldn’t do it? I was inadequate.
No, I wasn’t - and neither are you, if you are experiencing a similar situation. It’s your definition of meditation that may be inadequate.
The idea behind meditation is not to sit on a chair, and close our eyes. Or to sit in lotus, and watch the leaves change colors. You can do all this if you feel a call to do so, but whatever technique you choose is just as relevant as the type of fork you eat your meals with. Forks, meditations, cars, are just tools that help us accomplish a specific task?
The Benefits of Meditation: Tips and Techniques
May 14, 2010
Meditation is healthy, safe and affordable. In fact it’s free. The only expense you’ll have is a meditation mat, which isn’t especially necessary-at least from my experience. Meditation has been around for 5,000 years, and was originally a spiritual component of yoga. Through the years non-yogis adopted it, intuitively sensing and connecting the practice with greater peace of mind. Personally, I can’t say enough good things about meditation. Its use has rewarded me with less worry and much more energy. But I’ve never been one for anecdotal evidence. Let’s get to the science?
Transcendental Meditation
Recently, there’s an incredible amount of science tied into the benefits of meditation. The studies are endless and cover a variety of meditative practices. On Transcendental Meditation alone (mantra repetition) there are over 500 studies. Some are more noteworthy that others. A study in the Japanese Journal of Public Health found that through Transcendental Meditation, industrial workers sleep improved and their smoking decreased. Another study conducted at the MERU Research Institute, in Buckinghamshire, England found that the length of time practicing the Transcendental Meditation and TM-Sidhi program correlated with younger biological age and younger functional age.
Mindfulness Meditation
You Can Meditate Right Now
March 5, 2010
Why Should You Meditate?
What if you could close your eyes, then open them a few minutes later and be relaxed, alert, and able to think clearly? Meditation can do that for you, and it’s easier than you might think.
Documented Benefits of Meditation
Less anxiety. Decreased depression Reduction in irritability and moodiness Better learning ability and memory. Greater creativity. Slower aging (possibly due to higher DHEA levels). Feelings of vitality and rejuvenation. Less stress (actual lowering of cortisol and lactate levels). Rest (lower metabolic and heart rate). Lower blood pressure. Lower cholesterol levels. Higher blood oxygen levels.
A Simple Meditation To Use Now
Don’t think meditation has to be difficult. Try this simple technique, and you’ll see results in minutes. Get comfortable, close your eyes, and tense up your whole body. Then breath deeply through your nose as you release the tension from every muscle. Feel each part relaxing, watching for parts that may escape notice, like a tight jaw. If you still have tension somewhere, tense up that part again, then let it relax.
How You Can Unite Meditation, Divine Essence, And Personal Tenacity to Serve Your Highest Purpose
December 24, 2009
1. Meditation:
Meditation is a sacred practice. Shamans, gurus, priests, medicine men and other wise beings have practiced meditation for over 5000 years. In the 20th century, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi popularized one form of meditation he named Transcendental Meditation, ™. This is a simple form of mantra meditation, easy to learn and to do.
We meditate by sitting quietly, eyes open, and concentrating on an image such as a mandala, or a candle, or sitting with closed eyes, and, in either case, repeating a mantra. A mantra is not a word. A mantra is a sound. Different sounds, repeated over and over and over again, affect energies within the body, each in its own way.
There are many ways to meditate. In most instances, you sit quietly. Teachers may recommend different postures. These include the lotus position in which the Buddha is often depicted. Diverse cultures recommend various deployments of the fingers. (one example: thumbs and forefingers lightly touching, palms up.)
When we meditate, we slow down our brain waves. We change them from the beta state, (22 cycles per second in normal waking consciousness) to the alpha state (11 cycles per second.)
Wireless Meditation: Top Five Tips For Wherever-Whenever Mindfulness
October 16, 2009
The problem with meditation is attachment.
We get in the habit of needing our altar, favorite cushion, incense, CD, certain time of day, necessary length of time, or particular style of sitting. If we can’t do it the "right" way, we tend to skip it altogether. We get so attached to the trappings that we get a little testy if we don’t have everything just so.
This is funny when you think about it. In Buddhism, the core belief is that life is full of suffering, and this suffering is due to attachment. Isn’t it ironic that we become so attached to the idea of meditation? Isn’t it a bit absurd to think of followers of particular styles of meditation as obsessive about their own approach?
I find it hilarious. I also find it destructive.
I’m all for whatever works. If committing to a ritual is right for you, by all means, light that candle. If you must do some yoga exercises prior to sitting, go for it. If you need to go for a run before chanting, be my guest.
A Look at Meditation
August 6, 2009
I’ve counseled many people from every background and led workshops and lectures about self-empowering topics for about 25 years. Over that time, I saw a need. Everyone was searching. What they were looking for was unclear, many times. But the search was on. While I could meet many of their immediate needs, through counseling, they still needed a source, or connection with who they really were.
This was not a religious pursuit, per se, but a spiritual one. We all need to know our inner self. And the best way for us to get there is through meditation: a quiet time of some sort—contemplation. So out of that need, I saw an answer. Spreading information about basic meditation became my mission.
Almost all of the information I received about meditation over the years was through personal experience-trial and error. I did not read any books on the subject. They all seemed too deep and philosophical. And many times, the books included a whole cultural exploration. This is good for someone looking into historical information, or perhaps a religious belief. But just to know the basics of what meditation is and how to do it, there wasn’t anything.
Meditation: Time to Stop & Listen
May 28, 2009
As a co-active coach, one of the underlying principles that I subscribe to is that everyone has their own answers within. Most of what I do as a coach is to give people the time, space and permission to find these answers (and sometimes I provide a question or two to get things going).
So, outside of a coaching session, how can we learn to access these answers that we all have? One thing that I’m learning is that the answers can’t come to me if my head is always busy figuring things out, working, talking, or reading. If I’m doing those things, I’m actually blocking myself from hearing my own wise answers.
One sure way to get an answer to a question is to ask the question and listen for an answer. We’re all quite well-versed at this practice, “Have you seen my briefcase?”, “What would you like to do for dinner tonight?”, “When is that report due?”.
And what I’ve noticed for myself is that I forget this logic when it comes to listening for my own answers. Rarely do I sit quietly and listen. Rarer still do I actually intentionally *ask* myself a question.
Meditation: A Path To Inner Peace
March 20, 2009
Throughout history, meditation has been an integral part of many cultures. Records indicate that meditation was practiced in ancient Greece and India more than 5,000 years ago. In the Buddhist religion, meditation is an important part of their spiritual practice. Different forms of meditation are practiced in China and Japan, and Christianity, Judaism, and Islam have traditions similar to meditation. The word meditation comes from the Latin ‘meditari’ which means: exercise, turn something over in one’s mind, think, consider. It is defined as "consciously directing your attention to alter your state of mind."
Meditation is one of the proven alternative therapies that in recent years have been classified under the mind-body medicine therapies. It is continuing to gain popularity, as more and more health experts believe that there is more to the connection between mind and body than modern medicine can explain. Meditation has been shown to aid the immune system and improve brain activity, according to researchers. More and more doctors are prescribing meditation as a way to lower blood pressure, improve exercise performance, for people with angina, to help people with asthma to breathe easier, to relieve insomnia, and generally relax everyday stresses of life. Many hospitals now offer meditation classes for their patients because of the health benefits. All promote physiological health and well-being.
Meditation, Self-Acceptance & the Muse
January 9, 2009
Meditation presents an interesting paradox. It requires humility and acceptance, and yet it results in self-empowerment and increased confidence.
Low self-esteem, which affects and can cripple many creative artists, leads us to believe that we’re not worth much, and therefore our ideas (our songs) probably aren’t either. This low self-esteem is a distant cousin to humility. Humility involves accepting ourselves for who we are, which includes our limitations.
So, our goal is to humbly seek answers from within (meditation) and from above (prayer). Even more important is to accept the answers we receive. Accepting them, even if we don’t like, or are surprised by what we hear, can enrich our lives with peace and contentment. The answers may also hold lots of wonderful ideas for our creative endeavors.
Artists sometimes have the experience of music, words, or other ideas, coming to them from "out of nowhere". Where is this "nowhere" and how can we go in there after all of those great ideas??
How do we get from the point of damaging low self-esteem (giving a microphone and stage to our inner critics and then beating ourselves over the head about what we’re hearing), to genuine humility, meditation, self-acceptance and creative bounty?
Muraqaba- The Sufi Meditation By Sufi-Master Khwaja Shamsuddin Azeemi
October 29, 2008
When we try to learn a new skill or try to gain knowledge about a specific subject, we follow a guideline or a system, which demands that we pay attention to the subject to fully understand it. Our mind becomes curious to know the where, how and what of it. When we pay attention to the minor details, that minor point itself gains value. However, when we ignore the most important part and do not pay any cognitive attention to it then even that major point loses its value and importance. Through contemplation we gain knowledge about any object and the deeper that knowledge, the more we learn about that object and its qualities.
Muraqaba is the name of that contemplation through which man is able to gain the knowledge which is the primordial knowledge of his Ego, Self, or Soul. After gaining that knowledge, any man can gain access to his Ego or Soul.
It appears that the person performing Muraqaba is simply sitting in a pose with his or her eyes closed. However, merely shutting the eyes and assuming a specific pose does not serve the purpose. Muraqaba is in fact an angle of perception through which the person doing the Muraqaba frees himself or herself from outward senses and begins their journey in the inward senses.
