Category: Meditation

Alternative health topics: incorporating meditation into your daily life

Alternative health topics: incorporating meditation into your daily life

Improve the quality of your life by learning to meditate and developing a daily meditation practice.

Do you want to improve your quality of life and reduce stress? If so, chances are you’ve considered learning to meditate. However, many of us are not quite sure what meditation is, and we are uncertain how to start. There are some differences between various styles of meditation, but all the styles center around sitting still and practicing the meditation technique for a certain amount of time every day. In return, it is said that the practitioner will experience benefits ranging from increased relaxation and improved daily function to a better understanding of life. Many of us would be delighted to function better, but it’s a challenge to include another activity in our busy lives.How do we develop and strengthen a daily meditation practice? There are lots of wonderful books about meditation available, but it is useful to get practical, hands-on instruction from someone who already has experience with meditation practice. Such a person will be able to answer your questions and help you learn the meditation technique fully and properly.

Look for a meditation center in your city which you can visit, and find out if they offer meditation instruction. Large cities often have several different centers, and you can find a meditation group and technique which suits you. Most meditation centers that provide meditation instruction also offer group practice sessions which offer an opportunity to become familiar with meditation practice and to make friends with other meditators.It is also useful to learn to practice regularly at home. Take advantage of the power of habit. Develop a routine by meditating at the same time every day. Choose a time that suits your schedule and stick to it, so that your daily routine helps you establish your practice routine. You may want to meditate when you first awaken in the morning, when you get home from work, or just before you go to bed at night. People often find that meditating before they go to sleep helps them rest better.Set up a special place in your house for your meditation practice. It needn’t be large – a corner of your bedroom will do. If you like, you can put together an altar or a shrine, but keep it simple. You don’t want the shrine to distract you. Many traditions have special pillows or cushions for seated meditation, but you can simply sit in a chair. If your back needs support, place a pillow at the base of your spine or in the small of your back, rather than slouch or sag against the chair. Although you are resting your mind, it is better to be relaxed and alert. If you are too tired to sit up straight, do some stretches or take a brief rest before starting to meditate.In addition to having a regular time and place to practice meditation, remind yourself why you are meditating. Classic meditation teachings explain that human life is a precious opportunity to increase our understanding and learn to be of benefit to others. The teachings also remind us that this life is short, that things change constantly, and that no matter how hard we work or how many possessions we accumulate, we will age, deal with sickness, and die. According to these teachings, if we work with our minds while we are healthy, we will be better able to deal with the surprises life brings us. Working with our minds through meditation also helps us to go beyond seeing ourselves and our own temporary struggles and interests as the center of our universe. Thus we can more accurately decide what is truly important to us, and how we can best use our lives.All of us understand how important it is to take care of our bodies. But we often forget to take care of our minds, even though the health of our bodies depends on the health of our minds. When we allow our minds to rest in meditation, just as we allow our bodies to rest in sleep, we strengthen our ability to think clearly.Meditation also allows us to train our minds and observe our habits of thinking. We discover habits of mind which were once useful, but which now no longer served us well. Once we recognize such habits, we can consciously choose whether we wish to act on them, or whether we prefer to make freer, more meaningful choices. In this way, regular meditation helps us learn to be present, reduce unnecessary and unproductive ways of behaving, and live our lives in a fuller and more satisfying way.

Spiritual Exercises: Guided meditation

Spiritual Exercises: Guided meditation

Information on meditating to enrich your life and relax, tips on finding peace through some simple techniques.

Life is hectic. I work at home now as a freelance writer, which I thought would be less stressful than teaching school. The truth is what ever we do, even when we love our jobs, we are under stress. Everything moves too fast these days and we become like hamsters rolling in the wheel of life. When you feel this stress it is time to take a meditation break.

Guided imagery is a good relaxation technique for those who have experienced meditation. It is the next step to take you from the fully aware alpha state deep into the beta and beyond.

It requires a place, a guided imagery tape, and candles. It is also good to have a journal ready as you may wish to write in it after the meditation. The place can be any where in your home you can be alone. Close the door. Light the candle. The candle reminds of us God’s light and the peace He wants for us. It is also a focal point.

Guided imagery tapes for meditation are sold at leading book stores as well as alternative book stores, and

on line . However, you can make your own tapes. You would do this before you are ready to begin the meditation.

You will need a tape recorder and a quiet room. If you have inspirational, lilting music put this on while you tape. You don’t want rock or anything rousing. The music should be quiet enough to be in the background without interfering, but enhancing your guided imagery. Use a soft voice as you record your own message to yourself.

Here is what works for me. Close your eyes, imagine you are at the beach. It is a sunny day. The sand is soft and inviting. The ocean waves lap gently against the sand. You look around and see that you are in a private cover surrounded by palm trees. You sit down on the sand and look out to the ocean. Breath in, breath out. Imagine now a woman is walking towards you. She is in a long, flowing dress with a crown of flowers around her head. You recognize her. She is (insert your own)a special woman from your past. She sits next to you. “What is it you need?” she asks in a soft voice.

Breathe in, breath out. Let your mind relax. You are happy to be sitting with this woman. She is someone you love and trust. You think about her question and give your answer in your mind. She nods and smiles at you. She speaks to your mind in silent words. I give you what you ask.

Remain in this peaceful state a little longer. Enjoy the beauty of nature and the special woman beside you. When you are ready open your eyes. Say out loud what you asked for. Believe you have received it.

It helps if you write down your answer in a journal and what it means to you. You can repeat this same exercise everyday or whenever you need to feel relaxed and peaceful. You can ask for what ever you need and know you will receive the answer.

Spiritual Guide: Tips on how to meditate

Spiritual Guide: Tips on how to meditate

How to get the most out of meditation, what meditating means and what your mind and body get out of the overall process.

Meditation is a practice used to relax the body and calm the mind. It is the process of clearing the mind from all its chaos. In short meditation, is the ability to relax the mind and give it freedom to be. Now that we have a clearer view of what meditation is, we can talk about how to meditate and what you can get out of it.There are a variety of ways to meditate, and once you’ve learned how to do it you’ll feel all the better, and the more you do it the more you’ll get out of it. Since there are so many ways to

meditate process you choose is up to you, but I will give you a quick and easy way to meditate and you can look into other ways to meditate to suit your personal needs.

Learning how to meditate is not easy. In order to be a successful mediator you have to be gentle with yourself and

do a little meditating each day, until it comes as naturally as breathing. Don’t give up, practice makes perfect. The most important part of the meditating process is to find a quiet place. Hopefully somewhere you won’t be disturbed. Find a comfortable place to sit. Sitting down on the floor on a cushion with legs crossed, shoulders back and your back straight is a good choice. But if sitting on the floor is not the best choice for you, then sit in a chair, feet flat on the floor, with your back straight and with your hands in front on you in a relaxed state. Take a deep breath and gently shut your eyes. Continue taking deep breaths. With each additional breath, you will begin to feel every part of your body relaxing. If your body is tight, know that you have to take your focus away from that area while continuing to breathe. Once you have cleared your mind and all is in a relaxed state, start a visualizing exercise, by taking your mind to a peaceful place. If you prefer to keep your mind clear simply go deeper into the meditative state, with deeper breaths.

Continue breathing through the whole process. Focus on your breathing. Don’t try to control the breathing, let your body do what it does naturally. Refuse to let any thoughts interfere with your meditating. Return to your breathing. Breathe in. Now breathe out. Relax. After you let go of all the thoughts that come into your mind. Continue to breathe and soon you’ll reach a moment where all is peaceful and free. One who has learned how to meditate gets the opportunity to let go of all the stress that life has put on us. It allows you to be aware of the physical self, and gives your mind a place to rest. Meditation helps one surrender tension, tightness and struggles with the body. It gives you a place to turn when you get caught up in everyday responsibilities and you lose sight with where you are going. Meditation is your chance to connect with a higher being. It is your turn to listen to your guiding light. It is freedom from stresses of all types. Meditation is leaving the present and visiting the unknown.

Meditation is medicine for the mind.

Meditation – soothe your mind, body and soul

Meditation – soothe your mind, body and soul

Meditation can help you find self-peace. As well as help you gain or maintain control over your problems.

Meditation is one of the most ancient healing practices. Its spiritual side formed a part of all great religions of the world, especially Buddhism and Hinduism. Today many still use meditation as a way to improve their spiritual selves, but it is also being practiced to relieve stress, improve general health and quality of life.

Meditation involves a collection of mental techniques used to bypass normal thoughts and brings about free-flowing attention that helps calm and restore your mind and body. Unlike sleep and other forms of relaxation, meditation helps to quiet your thoughts and allows the entire body to relax but at the same time keeps you fully mentally aware.

There are two key principles involved in any type of mediation. You must first focus on a simple phrase, word (one syllable), image or just breath with a rhythm. This will bring you to a state of relaxed awareness. Next you must passively forget all other thoughts and distractions. Once the mind is focused on a single thing the brain will automatically switch off the body’s ‘fight or flight’ mechanism, stop reacting to your surroundings and thus become calm.

The most common focal point used is the mantra, a simple word or sound repeat quietly to oneself to block out all other thoughtsc. Words that may be used are ‘love’, ‘one’ or ‘peace’. Ancient ritual sounds with spiritual significance are also common, such as ‘ohm’.

Put on some comfortable clothes and find a calm, quiet place that is well ventilated and with soothing lights. Then, simply sit comfortably, close your eyes and concentrate on your mantra. It may be repeated to yourself or out loud and should be synchronized with a slow, relaxed breathing pattern. Your breathing should be rhythmic and balanced. This will help relieve tension, pain and anxiety.

You may find it easier to concentrate if you simply count each out-breath or each in- and out-breath, there is no need for your breathing pattern to be regular. However, try to match your counting to your natural breathing pattern.

Imagery meditation involves focusing on a thing of beauty such as a candle or flower.

Disregard all other thoughts is not very easy. You should not get your mind to concentrate but simply think of only one thing and hold your attention on it. This is why it is best if outside distractions are kept to a minimum. When other thoughts enter your mind, just let them pass without giving them any attention and return quietly to your focal point. Your ability to stay focused longer will obviously improve with practice.

Brain waves associated with meditation are known to occur during sleep. Thus, meditating allows the mind to stay alert and clear the body enjoys deep relaxation similar to that, which occurs in deep sleep. The sympathetic (action) nervous system gets switched off and the parasympathetic (resting) system fires up. Therefore, all the body’s systems can normalize and this produces the perfect environment for healing to occur. Regular meditation is also proven to help creativity and productivity, especially at work.

Several methods of meditation are Buddhist where you concentrate on happy times in your life. Transcendental is taught by a teacher and involves using a secret mantra that must not be relieved to anyone. The Christian method involves concentrating on a prayer or moral to obtain a better understanding it. Clinically standardized method is based on tradition meditation but is void of any spiritual associations.