Meditation: February 2011

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

The Key Benefits of Meditation: My Personal Mediation Journey

I began meditating in my late teens after I was exposed to the work and research of Herbert Benson who wrote the book The Relaxation Response. It was a wonderful work into how people meditate and the benefits of meditation. It was very basic but very helpful. It got me interested in both practicing and studying meditation.

Though it was relaxing it wasn’t always easy to do and I wasn’t always motivated and excited. I did it often, but not regularly. I did it because I understood the medical benefits. I knew it was good for me, good for my heart. Dr. Benson talks a lot about the research and the medical benefits of meditation.

Over the years I studied different forms of meditation, tried different practices and really began to enjoy the affects of meditation. Although I didn’t do it regularly, I meditated periodically. I would sometimes take breaks from it but I’d always come back to it. After a while it became relaxing for me. I kept studying different forms, different traditions and really developed my interest and love of meditation.

I think the tipping point was when someone came to me for help. They were struggling and came to me for advice. They were very spiritual and they shared with me the fact that mediation really was one of the foundational works of growth. They told me, “If you really want to grow, meditation is really the key both spiritually and psychologically.” So I started to really study this concept and found that it was true. Because I was passionate about growth, I decided to truly dive into meditation. Although I had spent years, decades, academically, professionally and in my own private endeavors studying my own psychological ways of growth I hadn’t truly studied in depth the more spiritual, more meditative ways of growth. I really felt that psychology had taken me a great way in my own personal growth but it could only take me so far. Mediation could take me to my goal of truly being a happy, whole person on a regular basis. So I had actually learned from someone I was helping, that meditation was really the main way to grow in all aspects of my life.

Although I had all these degrees and training which helped me develop excellent skills in dealing with my stresses, anxiety and emotional issues, I still hadn’t achieved the goal of reaching my full potential of being a whole, healthy human being. I needed to find meditation to actually reach this goal in life. We used to call this “enlightenment” in the West; psychologically and academically we call it “self actualization”.

What meditation did for me and I hope it will do for you, is it really helps you to grow and get in touch with who you are, why you’re here and being at one with everything around you on a consistent basis. Psychology and the medical world had taught me good tools for functional living but it hadn’t taught me how to live. Meditation has taught me how to live fully, live in the present and live for each and every moment and savor it.

There was one final lesson I needed to learn. Although I had become quite good at meditating and was very relaxed and peaceful on the meditative mat, when I left the mat my mind continued to chatter. I learned that I didn’t have to leave that meditative state when I left the mat. I could go through my day, continuing in my meditative state of being at peace, being at one with my mind. While that egoic chatter is still there I’ve learned how to acknowledge it, witness it and I’ve learned how to be present with what is.

Some of the changes that have come along through my meditating have been that I require less sleep. I generally go on three to six hours a day normally. While, like most people, I used to require six to eight hours of sleep to function now I easily function fully on three to six. Also, during my meditations sometimes I have very “mystical” experiences where it’s incredibly magical and I’m one with the universe. I’ve learned not to attach to them, I don’t expect them but sometimes they come and are very intense beyond words. I’ve become one with myself and at peace.

If you want to be the most fully, functional human being you can be, meditation is the way to achieve this. If growth and spirituality is important to you, meditation is your tool to getting there. You too can experience the joys, the wonders and the incredible peace that truly surpasses all understanding, with meditation.

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Dr. Robert Puff, Ph.D. is a meditation expert, international speaker and the creator of the weekly Meditation For Health Podcast, available at http://www.MeditationForHealthPodcast.com He also creates a weekly podcast that explores the world of Enlightenment available at http://www.EnlightenmentPodcast.com If you would like to contact Dr. Puff, his e-mail address is DrPuff@cox.net

Saturday, February 19, 2011

How Meditation Can Help Us Alleviate Our Fears, Anxieties and Worries

When you meditate, the key of meditation is to focus on your breath because that is the only thing happening right here, right now. You may have a mantra, a prayer word, visualize or use a guided meditation, but the key to any meditation is to be in the here and the now.

Our mind typically centers on the past and the future. As you meditate your mind quiets down and begins to focus on one thing only, the here and the now. Right here in the now, there are no concepts, no fears, and no anxieties to worry about. Those fears and worries come when our minds are working, going from the past to the future, thinking about what has been and what could be. When we make our minds quiet and be in the here and the now, these fears and worries go away. That’s one of the beautiful things about meditation, you are in the here and the now without the concepts that you have created that cause fears and worries in your mind. It gives you a respite from all these worries, anxieties and fears we experience throughout the day.

Besides meditating your worries and fears away, you can practice being in the present all the time. If you are in the here and the now you are just thinking and focusing on the one thing you are doing at that moment. You’re keeping the thoughts of the past and future from entering your mind. If you get up and wash the dishes, you simply just wash the dishes; if you sit down to write someone an e-mail you just concentrate on writing that e-mail. Of course, during these times thoughts will arise, but living a true meditative life is one that when these thoughts arise you get back to being present with “what is” and focus on that and nothing more. A lot of people worry that if you keep pushing these thoughts, these fears and anxieties aside and ignoring them you won’t get anything accomplished; however, the exact opposite is true. Highly successful people are able to get lots done while “working in the zone”. I talk about this more in depth in my book/ebook Success Beyond Your Imagination – Working in the “Zone”. The message I’m trying to get across is that you must be present in whatever it is that you are doing right now. For example if you are a surgeon and you are in surgery, you concentrate and are 100% present with your surgical instruments and procedure. If you are a police officer and have other people’s lives in your hands you must be totally present in what you are doing or people could die. Of course, not all of us have these types of responsibilities and have much more mundane lives that do not really require constant attention and focus. This is why we often allow our minds to wander and not be present with what’s happening right now. If you go back to your meditation you go back to your mantra; similarly when your mind wanders in your every day life and allows you to worry you just go back to what’s happening right now. Don’t get upset that you’ve allowed your mind to stray but instead just come back to focusing on the here and now. Keeping those thoughts of the past and future from entering into the present will keep those fears, worries and anxieties from stressing your life.

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Breath Meditation: Some of the many ways in which breath meditation may help you enhance your general well being

I believe Breath Meditation is one of the most powerful, yet easiest of mediations to learn. It is my favorite type of meditation.

Before we begin learning about Breath Meditation I’d like to discuss our mind. Our mind is made up of wave patterns. When we think, it causes wave patterns to occur in our brain. There are four main types of brain waves. The pattern we are in right now is when we are awake and thinking, actively using our mind. This first pattern is called the “Beta Wave”. When we are heading off to sleep and our mind begins to quiet and be still, that is the “Alpha Wave”. When we are in a deep sleep and our mind is very still, very quiet, that is called the “Theta Wave”. The final stage, when we are in a deep sleep and our mind is basically very still with very little to no activity is called the “Delta Stage”.

The goal in mediation is to get you to the “Theta/Delta Stage”, which is difficult but not impossible. I have found that the Breath Meditation technique is one of the most effective ways to get to the deeper levels of meditation and quiet your mind. Most people who are new to meditation and are trying a variety of ways to meditate will most likely go between the “Beta and Alpha State”. These stages are very relaxing and a wonderful experience, but with all things in life the more you practice the better you will get. Eventually you will desire to quiet the mind at the “Theta/Delta Stage”. You will go to deeper and deeper levels of meditation to achieve this stage.

I’d like to teach you the most effective and helpful way to quiet the mind with Breath Meditation. It can also be the most challenging way, because although it is simplistic it is not easy to do. It is something easy to learn but sometimes difficult to do.

The Breath Meditation is a simple technique. In this form of meditation, what I want you to do is simply “follow your breath”. Follow your breath with no mantra, no prayer word, just simple and quiet following of your breath. How it works is that you sit in a quiet, comfortable place, sitting up with your feet on the floor or legs crossed. As you are sitting there watch or take notice of your breath. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, and breathe out. You can breathe in through your mouth or your nose, it doesn’t’ matter. The only thing that matters is following your breath. If something distracts you, simply come back to your breath. When strenuous thoughts or uncomfortable thoughts arise or come to the surface, don’t try to ignore them or push them away but instead acknowledge them and go back to your breath. Focus on your breath, nothing but your breath. Again, any distractions are acknowledged but always to simply go back to your breath. There are no thoughts, your mind will get quiet and still inside and your brain patterns will begin to go to those deeper levels. You will find a deep peace that you may only experience when you are at a deep sleep at night; however, with meditation you are giving your mind this break during the day. Stresses will go away and peace will come to you.

I encourage you to try the Breath Meditation and practice it often. I also highly suggest you meditate twice a day, once first thing in the morning and again just before bed at night. I find these times to be the easiest to make into a habit. You can meditate at any time of day or night, but I highly suggest you make it a point to do so twice a day, once first thing in the morning and again just before bed at night. The Breath Meditation is truly what I consider to be one of the most powerful meditations in the universe.

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Thursday, February 17, 2011

How to do a Walking Meditation

You can use Walking Meditation as an integral part of your meditation life. What is Walking Meditation?

First, remember the key component to mediation is rhythm. Creating a rhythm with your breath, whether it’s with a mantra, a prayer word, following of your breath, it’s just creating a rhythm with your breath. As you create that rhythm what you will find is a peace, a “quietude” enters you because you lose that phonetic mind. That phonetic mind has kept you restless and in a sense agitated you. What meditation does is give you a reprieve, a time of rest, a time of relaxing the mind, rejuvenating the mind and healing the mind while quieting the mind. Most of us, when we think of meditation think of sitting in the lotus position with our eyes closed. There is another form of meditation called Walking Meditation that is also very wonderful, very relaxing and something you can do any time, anywhere.

Basically, Walking Mediation has several components. First you want to find someplace you can walk undisturbed, undistracted. You want to be in a place where you won’t be disturbed by others because you will be walking very slowly. If you are walking around other people you may be distracted by them, worrying about what they are thinking as you’re walking so slowly. You never want to be in a place where you are distracted with being self conscious about what others may say or think as you are meditating.

Once you find a place to walk, start walking. Instead of walking normally, you walk with your steps correlating with your breathing. As you breathe in, you step up… breathe out, step down… breathe in, step up… breathe out, step down. You steadily do this, having your walking go along with your breath. Walk at a pace so that as you take each step, you are taking a step as you breathe. As you move you will be able to find that meditative state where your mind can become calm, even though you are moving. The key is to just focus on your breath as it relates to your walking; or have your walking relate to your breath. As with regular meditation, thoughts will come, concerns, and worries but what you do is just go back to concentrating on the walking and the breathing. Follow your breath. Make it so that your only thought is that walking and breathing rhythm.

You may be wondering what you should do with your eyes as you are walking. You simply look down at your feet; slowly watch your feet as you move them to correlate to your breath. If you are in a public place where you cannot correlate a slow walk you can correlate 2 steps with each breath, making your walking a little faster. Have your eyes focused a little bit in front of you, gazing so you can see where you are going. As you breathe in take two steps. You will find that this technique comes in handy in places like airports and shopping malls where there are throngs of people around you. It can instantly take the stresses away as you release them with each breath in and each step you take.

This type of meditation is a way of finding time to meditate even while being active. So often we think of meditation as something we do while sitting, being inactive. The Walking Meditation technique allows you to experience the easing of your mind and stresses as you ease in to a state of meditation. This is a great addition to your sitting meditation. It adds variety to your meditation techniques and sometimes your body just doesn’t feel like sitting quietly. The Walking Meditation allows you to move around while allowing yourself to meditate. I encourage you to try meditation while walking and you will find that meditation can truly be a wonderful experience, even while on the move.

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Wednesday, February 16, 2011

How To Meditate: Some tips and tricks which can have a positive effect on your meditation

There are many, many ways to meditate. Because meditation has been around for so long, there are many different forms of mediation taught.

The first technique I’m going to introduce is a simple and easy technique to use. It’s effective and useful to both those who are new to meditation and those who have been meditating for years. This first technique is quite popular all over the world. I think you will find this a very easy and useful way to enter into meditation.

The key to meditation and why it works so well is that it literally changes the brain wave patterns in your mind. It’s based on a system of repetition and focus. All day long our minds are having thoughts and ideas. We are very seldom attentive to one thought or idea at a time. We bounce all over the place in our minds and rarely do we focus on one thing for a long time. Some people often refer to this jumping of our mind as a “monkey mind”, bouncing all over like a monkey. What meditation does is to quiet the mind, be still, without bouncing all over the place.

What we do is create a rhythm, a pattern that you can follow. When you follow that pattern, that rhythm, you will find your brain waves slowing down. You become more peaceful and relaxed.

The technique I’d like to introduce to you first is one in which you “follow your breath” with a mantra. Almost all forms of mediation in the world are based on “following your breath”. When you follow your breath you slow down; however this can often be difficult and your mind may bounce all around. This is why we use the following technique, called the “I am peaceful” meditation.

The “I am peaceful” meditation creates a way for you to breathe in saying “I am” as you breathe in and “peaceful” as you breathe out. Your mind may want to wander but what you’ll find is that if you force your mind to go back to that phrase you will begin to stay focused on your breath. As your mind slows down you become peaceful. Even if your mind wanders don’t be angry and critical of yourself; instead go back to your mantra… “I am peaceful”. With time, as you continue this practice you will find it easier and easier to quiet the mind and keep it quiet. Even if your mind does wander you will find that you will still feel the effects of the meditation. It takes time and patience to practice each day until you find it easier and easier to stay focused on your mantra and following your breath.

You will eventually find that you can enter the world of meditation easily. Find yourself a comfortable place to relax, sit, keep your spine straight, don’t worry about fidgeting but if you can stay still it’s better. Meditation is about being present and relaxed. If you remain gentle with yourself and don’t become harsh when you cannot keep your mind focused, you will find that you will progressively get better and better at easily and quickly falling into meditation.

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What Is Meditation? Living in the Now

Meditation has been around for almost as long as human history. I believe that at its core, meditation is a technique that helps us quiet our minds. If you notice, throughout the day there is “mind chatter” going on. I call it echoic mind chatter. It’s sort of like a commentary on life. Sometimes we stop and listen to them, go with them; while other times we let these commentaries on our life stop us and make us reflect and think upon all these thoughts chattering in our head. We stop and focus on them. We think about the past or we think about what might be in the future. All this thinking, all this chattering in our minds, keeps us from being silent and present with what is in the now. We miss so much of what’s going on in the world because we constantly have this echoic mind chatter and we cannot appreciate what’s happening in the “now”.

What meditation can do is bring us to the silence, to the present and the now. Meditation is a technique for quieting the mind, shutting down the echoic mind chatter so that you can be silent, still and totally 100% present with what is in the present. The hope is that as you learn to meditate you can transfer the gift of meditation, of being 100% present of what is, throughout your life. If you can implement this you will find that you will have a much more blissful, much more peaceful, happier life.

What you do in mediation is focus on one thing, often it’s your breath or a “mantra” or prayer word. You will find that your mind becomes quiet, becomes still because you are focusing on just one thing. As you focus, your mind will become quieter and quieter until you reach a point where it’s basically still. Thoughts may gently arise but they will go away quickly, because you are learning to be totally in touch with the present.

That is the beauty of meditation, to bring you completely into the present. In time you will enhance and grow a silent mind. If you practice the skills of mediation, you will find that you will slowly transform into a whole, happy individual. Meditation is incredibly beneficial for both the medical and spiritual being. Meditation makes you a happier, more peaceful individual that stops missing out on what’s happening around you. With meditation you are truly in touch with what is the present. Without the mind chatter you will find peace and happiness.

So I ask you to accept this as a way of life. Embrace the art of mediation to become a healthier, happier person. Allow meditation to bring you into the moment and experience the now.

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