Meditation

Have you ever tried Meditation?  We all have a lot of stress in our lives.  Meditation can help us to relax.  Although some use it to improve their spiritual life, it can also be used to calm and focus the mind.  Some quiet time every day can improve one's life!  This web page is a resource for learning about Meditation.  Further down on this page, we present an article called, "How to Improve Concentration, Reduce Stress, and Connect to Life Through Meditation".  The article is written by a woman who uses Meditation to focus on the present instead of worrying about the future.  Read the article and learn how to use Meditation to keep stressful and unwanted thoughts out of your mind.  After you read our article, follow the Related Links we provide to other informative and interesting web sites about Meditation.  Also, be sure to buy a few of the Books we recommend below, to learn even more about Meditation.  Two of the books even come with CDs to listen to, as you learn to Meditate.  Learn some relaxation techniques and learn to live fully in the present.  Do these things and watch your life improve!   Related Links: Wikipedia, Meditation  An informative article about Meditation.  It covers different types of Meditation, Postures, Purposes and Effects, and Health applications and clinical studies on Meditation.  Meditation Handbook  A rather long article on one man's thoughts and opinion on Meditation.  According to the article, "Meditation brings a sense of fullness and completion and is the only permanent source of tranquility available to human beings." Contains sections on Positions and what to do while Meditating.  There are links to related material.  Online Meditation Center  A site that provides instruction on all forms of Meditation.  "The World Wide Online Meditation Center is a user-friendly site, created to provide clear, straight-forward meditation instruction to people anywhere on the planet...The information you'll find here is universal, i.e. drawn from many of the world's great mystical teachings, not representative of any one tradition."  Meditation FAQ  Fifteen Common questions on Meditation, with Answers.  WholeHealthMD.com, Meditation  A page on the health benefits of Meditation. This web site "is American WholeHealth Networks' award-winning Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) education website. The site is dedicated to providing the best in integrative health and wellness solutions."    Read These Books:

How to Improve Concentration, Reduce Stress, and Connect to Life Through Meditation by Jennifer Gomoll   3/20/06 Like many people, I've learned to multitask my way through life: working, planning, eating, and even watching TV all at the same time. Seems convenient and time saving, but this pace can wreck a person's concentration. Sometimes, when reading, I find my mind straying to thoughts of what book I'm going to read next instead of paying attention to the one I'm reading now! To train my mind to focus, I practice meditation regularly, and use its lessons to keep stressful and unhelpful thoughts at bay. In a busy culture that encourages constant activity, the idea of sitting quietly and meditating upon nothingness every day may seem useless. Meditation is often seen as something hippies did, or as just another trendy new-age idea. Some believe it to be against their religion, as the practice has its origins in Hinduism. True, meditation can have a deep spiritual value. But it can also be a calming, contemplative practice for anyone who wishes to try it, regardless of their religious belief. The benefits of establishing a regular meditation practice are many. It puts your mind squarely in the present, not worried about what's been done or what has to be done later. This ability to concentrate in meditation will spread to other areas of your life. If you learn to focus, you'll find yourself paying more attention when someone is talking with you. You'll see and hear your favorite things without distraction, focusing on just one artwork, one song, even one meal (yes, enjoying your food instead of mindlessly reaching for more may also help you maintain a healthy weight!) If you're impatient and often ruled by emotions, you'll learn to look deeper than your first reactions and act more wisely in stressful situations. Recent studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggest that meditation even boosts your immune system, so why not give it a try? To start, sit comfortably in a chair or on the floor in a quiet room. You don't need to sit cross-legged if that's uncomfortable, but you should keep a straight spine and feel "at attention." Close your eyes. Now just "watch" your mind. Random thoughts will come up ("Did I remember to pay the phone bill?" "I wonder if there's any cheese left.") Don't worry; you can't rid your mind of these everyday things, nor should you try. The idea is to accept these trails of thought, but not cling to them. If you become aware that you're actively thinking of something, just let it go. Sometimes disturbing thoughts and personal problems arise, tempting you to stop and go do something else; resist this. A visualization technique I enjoy is the image of a soap bubble, trapping the pesky thought. I see my finger popping the bubble and it's gone! So, if you're not paying attention to your thoughts, what should you be focusing on? There is no right answer, but a variety of techniques which appeal to different people. If one doesn't seem to be working for you, try another next time. One relaxing technique is to focus on the breath. Watch its rhythm. Feel every bit of the inhalation: the passage of air through your nose, your chest rising. Then feel the exhalation. Let that be the only thing that matters, the only thing you are doing. Watch for that moment between inhaling and exhaling. The inhalation is complete; you don't know when your body will start the exhalation. And then it happens! You might prefer to focus on a word, or an image. "Om," that classic Sanskrit mantra which means "one," is a common word to repeat during meditation. You may prefer a different word, "peace" or "amen" for example. Inhale slowly and deeply, letting the word into your mind. Exhale, saying the word out loud. Let it come from deep inside. If you prefer a visual focus, try a candle flame, an item in your favorite color, or a special image in your mind. One thoroughly relaxing technique involves the "corpse," a perhaps frightening name for a basic yoga pose. Lie down on your back, palms up at your sides, feet splaying naturally. Focus on all the places your body meets the floor: the backs of your legs, your shoulder blades, etc. Now think about the rest of your body sinking down. Relax the area between your eyebrows and imagine your entire face sliding down from that point! Let the peace and stillness of your body sinking towards the ground put your mind in a relaxed place. I find this one to be a gentle reminder that we all come from the earth and will one day return, and that's a natural and inevitable part of living. Ten minutes of meditation a day is a good start. Don't be discouraged if you have trouble concentrating; it's called "practice" for a reason. In fact, don't worry about "doing it right" or achieving a goal at all. Just watch what happens without pressure or frustration. Bring your mind back when it strays. My favorite thought is, "when I'm meditating, I'm meditating." This means I've set aside time for this activity. I don't need to be thinking about washing the dishes or paying taxes. When I do those things, I'll do those things. It's good to remind yourself that, right now, there is nothing but this wonderful, present moment. Let that thought inform every aspect of your life!

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