Pick a meditation and let it use you. I dare you!
Hello! I am back to wrap the last 3 email blasts about meditation into one blog which I hope you find useful and give you easy access in which to refer when you start your new practice!
To refresh some of what I shared in one of my blasts I talked about starting my kind of meditation using Transcendental Meditation which was brought to the US back in the early 70’s by George Harrison of the Beatles along with his teacher Maharishi Mahesh Yoga.
I remember sitting with a TM trainer overlooking the Pacific Ocean and as we talked he assessed from the answers to his questions what my mantra would be. Now a mantra (Manas is ‘mind’ and tra is ‘tool’) is a sacred sound/word usually Sanskrit which is repeated to aid in concentration while meditating.
In TM while in silence, meditation lasts 20 minutes and is done twice a day…early morning and before dinner as having food to digest can be inhibitive to the process.
Okay, if this sounds a bit too regimented it’s not. Just like anything that you really want to do we humans need ‘rules,’ guidelines and a foundation. I have stepped out of the lines with TM over the years and still do! Using other types of meditation is inspiring and the gift is always the same…they help you take your consciousness to “that place” inside where you can feel more at peace and loving than in any other place in the outer world.
As mentioned in my blasts there are different kinds/techniques of meditation and here’s a refresher:
· Mindfulness: Improves mental health. Stepping out of just “doing” your life. Awareness of your breath with expansion of awareness of what you hear, think and do.
· Guided: Uses a teacher in person or via audio. I do guided meditations where I walk you through a beautiful journey of manifesting your sanctuary. In meditation you can go there in your mind and have a most blissful 20 minutes or Deepak Chopra and Oprah offer a 21-day guided meditation every 4 months online. And it’s free!
· Sound meditation: Uses music and sound to clear the mind.
· Metta: Loving-kindness. Using positive energy and kindness towards others ie. “May I be loving. May I be kind etc.
· TM: Quick to learn and easy to master. Learn how to transcend 20 minutes a day twice a day.
· Breath techniques: Conscious connecting breathing techniques. Breathe in/breathe out.
· Chakra: Any kind of meditation that seeks to clear and align your chakras.
· Shavasana: Usually used in yoga after your session. Lying on floor and calming your central nervous system by simply allowing your body to BE.
And they all work equally as well as the other! It’s just your preference. However, there is one thing you must do to be successful…YOU MUST PRACTICE!
I have spoken to some of my friends who have said something like “I tried it but I can’t keep my mind quiet.” Practice! “I have ADD so I can’t keep still.” Practice! And the age old, really weak excuse which in simple words means ‘I don’t want to do it but know I should but I don’t have the time.” Practice!
Here are some of the benefits that practicing meditation can do for you:
· Relieve stress
· Better sleep
· Lower blood pressure
· Eliminate excess stress
· Give you more energy
· More clarity and focus
· Help you be more healthy
· Etc.
Since it’s inception some 40 years ago according to the study of psychoneuroimmunology it has been shown the interactions between the central nervous system, the autonomic and endrocrine systems and the immune system, results in signifying that stress, depression, anxiety and other nervous conditions common in today's society may all have detrimental effects on immune system. And when your system is weakened, your body can't fight off viruses, bacteria, or fungi very well. This can lead to serious infections and can pose a major health risk.
The power of our mind has a hand at upsetting your apple cart. Remember what your mind is telling you is what you have told it to think and thoughts are not who you are…they are just thoughts. (Yes I know, it’s a concept that warrants repeating). But the redundancy of the noise from your mind telling you that you are stressed causes our system to go out of whack.
Analogy: Your beautiful car gets washed and cleaned regularly. It looks really good all the time and at first it would drive like a dream. (This is beautiful, well running YOU!) But now you get lazy and frugal and you heard that salad oil is just as good as putting in gas. (You’re taking advantage of your body’s health which is showing signs of a lack of performance). What happens to your dreamy car now? (YOU). You keep having to take it to the mechanic (doctor) who will do what they can to keep it piecing it together however, unless you start using gas again it will eventually shut down. (Bye, bye good healthy YOU).
Stress affects all systems of the body including the musculoskeletal, respiratory, cardiovascular, endocrine, gastrointestinal, nervous, and reproductive systems. Our bodies are well equipped to handle stress in small doses, but when that stress becomes long-term or chronic, it can have serious effects on your body.
And in many cases taking a pill to help reduce some of this stress is like putting a band aid on a wound. The work that you must do to heal your mind, body and spirit is just a breath away. Easy peasy!
In this crazy upset planet that on its own journey dealing with its own kind of stress, you must look within yourself to keep from falling into the dark side. With mediation as your partner, you are on the path of creating the skill of well-being which opens a new world of possibility to feel happier, healthier and more energized, more compassionate for yourself and others and joy will start radiating from inside as being in the joy is limitless and has a transformative reservoir of only the best of feelings.
Keep in mind that stress is not a badge of honor even though we walk around verbally trying to our-stress each other on a 1 to 10 scale. In fact, stress is a sign that your inner world is not well and needs your help. A meditation practice on a regular basis will help you with all the things I have mentioned above as well as it will assist you in becoming the person you have always wanted to be. And who is that? Stay tuned!
Lastly why do I spend so much time harping on meditation? Because I care…about you, the world, the planet, the universe and also when I know something to be true and brilliant in all of its rights I want to shake you into awareness. Since I can’t do that I can harp and hope that you wake up real soon. So if you are choosing to commit to a better everything then begin this practice now. I dare you, yes I DARE YOU to list one reason why you wouldn’t want to feel better mind/body/spirit and be the joy that is just waiting for your surrender into having a better life!
