::How To Meditate I - What is Meditation ::

Meditation: A simple, fast way to reduce stress
Meditation can wipe away the day's stress, bringing with it inner peace. See how you can easily learn to practice meditation whenever you need it most.

By Mayo Clinic Staff

If stress has you anxious, tense and worried, consider trying meditation. Spending even a few minutes in meditation can restore your calm and inner peace.

Anyone can practice meditation. It's simple and inexpensive, and it doesn't require any special equipment.

And you can practice meditation wherever you are — whether you're out for a walk, riding the bus, waiting at the doctor's office or even in the middle of a difficult business meeting.

Understanding meditation

Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years. Meditation originally was meant to help deepen understanding of the sacred and mystical forces of life. These days, meditation is commonly used for relaxation and stress reduction.

 

(cont.)
Meditation is considered a type of mind-body complementary medicine. Meditation can produce a deep state of relaxation and a tranquil mind.

During meditation, you focus your attention and eliminate the stream of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. This process may result in enhanced physical and emotional well-being.

Benefits of meditation

Meditation can give you a sense of calm, peace and balance that can benefit both your emotional well-being and your overall health.

And these benefits don't end when your meditation session ends. Meditation can help carry you more calmly through your day and may help you manage symptoms of certain medical conditions.

Meditation and emotional well-being
When you meditate, you may clear away the information overload that builds up every day and contributes to your stress.

The emotional benefits of meditation can include:

• Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations
• Building skills to manage your stress
• Increasing self-awareness
• Focusing on the present
• Reducing negative emotions
• Increasing imagination and creativity
• Increasing patience and tolerance

Meditation and illness
Meditation might also be useful if you have a medical condition, especially one that may be worsened by stress.

While a growing body of scientific research supports the health benefits of meditation, some researchers believe it's not yet possible to draw conclusions about the possible benefits of meditation.

With that in mind, some research suggests that meditation may help people manage symptoms of conditions such as:

• Anxiety
• Asthma
• Cancer
• Chronic pain
• Depression
• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Sleep problems
• Tension headaches

Be sure to talk to your health care provider about the pros and cons of using meditation if you have any of these conditions or other health problems. In some cases, meditation can worsen symptoms associated with certain mental and physical health conditions.

Meditation isn't a replacement for traditional medical treatment. But it may be a useful addition to your other treatment.

Types of meditation

Meditation is an umbrella term for the many ways to a relaxed state of being. There are many types of meditation and relaxation techniques that have meditation components. All share the same goal of achieving inner peace.

Ways to meditate can include:

• Guided meditation. Sometimes called guided imagery or visualization, with this method of meditation you form mental images of places or situations you find relaxing.
  
  You try to use as many senses as possible, such as smells, sights, sounds and textures. You may be led through this process by a guide or teacher.
  
  
• Mantra meditation. In this type of meditation, you silently repeat a calming word, thought or phrase to prevent distracting thoughts.
• Mindfulness meditation. This type of meditation is based on being mindful, or having an increased awareness and acceptance of living in the present moment.
  
  In mindfulness meditation, you broaden your conscious awareness. You focus on what you experience during meditation, such as the flow of your breath. You can observe your thoughts and emotions, but let them pass without judgment.
  
  
• Qi gong. This practice generally combines meditation, relaxation, physical movement and breathing exercises to restore and maintain balance. Qi gong (CHEE-gung) is part of traditional Chinese medicine.
• Tai chi. This is a form of gentle Chinese martial arts. In tai chi (TIE-CHEE), you perform a self-paced series of postures or movements in a slow, graceful manner while practicing deep breathing.
• Transcendental Meditation®. Transcendental Meditation is a simple, natural technique. In Transcendental Meditation, you silently repeat a personally assigned mantra, such as a word, sound or phrase, in a specific way.
  
  This form of meditation may allow your body to settle into a state of profound rest and relaxation and your mind to achieve a state of inner peace, without needing to use concentration or effort.
  
  
• Yoga. You perform a series of postures and controlled breathing exercises to promote a more flexible body and a calm mind. As you move through poses that require balance and concentration, you're encouraged to focus less on your busy day and more on the moment.

 

(cont.)
Elements of meditation

Different types of meditation may include different features to help you meditate. These may vary depending on whose guidance you follow or who's teaching a class. Some of the most common features in meditation include:

• Focused attention. Focusing your attention is generally one of the most important elements of meditation.
  
  Focusing your attention is what helps free your mind from the many distractions that cause stress and worry. You can focus your attention on such things as a specific object, an image, a mantra, or even your breathing.
  
  
• Relaxed breathing. This technique involves deep, even-paced breathing using the diaphragm muscle to expand your lungs. The purpose is to slow your breathing, take in more oxygen, and reduce the use of shoulder, neck and upper chest muscles while breathing so that you breathe more efficiently.
• A quiet setting. If you're a beginner, practicing meditation may be easier if you're in a quiet spot with few distractions, including no television, radios or cellphones.
  
  As you get more skilled at meditation, you may be able to do it anywhere, especially in high-stress situations where you benefit the most from meditation, such as a traffic jam, a stressful work meeting or a long line at the grocery store.
  
  
• A comfortable position. You can practice meditation whether you're sitting, lying down, walking, or in other positions or activities. Just try to be comfortable so that you can get the most out of your meditation. Aim to keep good posture during meditation.
• Open attitude. Let thoughts pass through your mind without judgment.

Everyday ways to practice meditation

Don't let the thought of meditating the "right" way add to your stress. If you choose to, you can attend special meditation centers or group classes led by trained instructors. But you can also practice meditation easily on your own.

And you can make meditation as formal or informal as you like, however it suits your lifestyle and situation. Some people build meditation into their daily routine. For example, they may start and end each day with an hour of meditation. But all you really need is a few minutes of quality time for meditation.

Here are some ways you can practice meditation on your own, whenever you choose:

• Breathe deeply. This technique is good for beginners because breathing is a natural function.
  
  Focus all your attention on your breathing. Concentrate on feeling and listening as you inhale and exhale through your nostrils. Breathe deeply and slowly. When your attention wanders, gently return your focus to your breathing.
  
  
• Scan your body. When using this technique, focus attention on different parts of your body. Become aware of your body's various sensations, whether that's pain, tension, warmth or relaxation.
  
  Combine body scanning with breathing exercises and imagine breathing heat or relaxation into and out of different parts of your body.
  
  
• Repeat a mantra. You can create your own mantra, whether it's religious or secular. Examples of religious mantras include the Jesus Prayer in the Christian tradition, the holy name of God in Judaism, or the om mantra of Hinduism, Buddhism and other Eastern religions.
• Walk and meditate. Combining a walk with meditation is an efficient and healthy way to relax. You can use this technique anywhere you're walking, such as in a tranquil forest, on a city sidewalk or at the mall.
  
  When you use this method, slow down your walking pace so that you can focus on each movement of your legs or feet. Don't focus on a particular destination. Concentrate on your legs and feet, repeating action words in your mind such as "lifting," "moving" and "placing" as you lift each foot, move your leg forward and place your foot on the ground.
  
  
• Engage in prayer. Prayer is the best known and most widely practiced example of meditation. Spoken and written prayers are found in most faith traditions.
  
  You can pray using your own words or read prayers written by others. Check the self-help section of your local bookstore for examples. Talk with your rabbi, priest, pastor or other spiritual leader about possible resources.
  
  
• Read and reflect. Many people report that they benefit from reading poems or sacred texts, and taking a few moments to quietly reflect on their meaning.
  
  You can also listen to sacred music, spoken words, or any music you find relaxing or inspiring. You may want to write your reflections in a journal or discuss them with a friend or spiritual leader.
  
  
• Focus your love and gratitude. In this type of meditation, you focus your attention on a sacred image or being, weaving feelings of love, compassion and gratitude into your thoughts. You can also close your eyes and use your imagination or gaze at representations of the image.

 

(cont.)
Building your meditation skills

Don't judge your meditation skills, which may only increase your stress. Meditation takes practice.

Keep in mind, for instance, that it's common for your mind to wander during meditation, no matter how long you've been practicing meditation. If you're meditating to calm your mind and your attention wanders, slowly return to the object, sensation or movement you're focusing on.

Experiment, and you'll likely find out what types of meditation work best for you and what you enjoy doing. Adapt meditation to your needs at the moment. Remember, there's no right way or wrong way to meditate. What matters is that meditation helps you reduce your stress and feel better overall.
:- https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/meditation/in-depth/meditation/art-20045858

 

COSMIC RELAXATION: 8 HOURS of 4K Deep Space NASA Footage + Chillout Music for Studying, Working, Etc 8 Hrs.

Nature Relaxation Films
May 1, 2018
Edited by David Huting © https://www.NatureRelaxation.com | ABOUT: Designed for extended length relaxation and ambiance Star-Wars-style, "Cosmic Relaxation" is a 10-hour long ambient voyage to the depths of the universe, exploring galaxies, nebulas, stars, and even planets as seen from NASA's Hubble telescope. It's paired with calming music by the Cynic Project as well as by Deep.Ohm. MORE INFO:
This film is essentially a seamless blend of my films Deep Space Relaxation, Celestial Relaxation, and a few other new NASA scenes, designed specifically for all-day play back.
Music: By Connect.Ohm (Album: https://ultimae.bandcamp.com/album/9980) and The Cynic Project (https://www.NatureRelaxation.com/cyni...).
Footage by NASA's Hubble Site.

 

How to meditate like a Buddhist monk

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Dr Wayne Dyer - 5 Minutes Before You Fall Asleep - Positive Affirmations - Wayne Dyer Meditation -

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Relaxing Music for Stress Relief. Meditation Music. Sleep Music. Healing Therapy, Spa

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Beautiful Relaxing Music - Calm Piano Music & Guitar Music with Birds Singing

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How Meditation Can Help You Through the Winter

By Sarah Sheppard
Published on January 15, 2021
In the cold, dark days of winter, many of us may wake up later, leave our houses less, and struggle to stay motivated. With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, political and social unrest, and personal hardships, these months are likely to feel even longer and more stressful than normal, which is why prioritizing our mental health and turning to meditation for its mood-boosting benefits may help.
“Meditation provides an island of sanity in an otherwise chaotic and tumultuous reality,” says Tal Ben-Shahar, PhD, co-founder and chief learning officer of the Happiness Studies Academy.
While meditation has many known health benefits, the following mental health and meditation experts share more about the best ways to use this tool to get through the difficult winter months.
Practice Mindfulness Meditation

While there are many techniques worth trying, mindfulness meditation is highly recommended for decreasing worried thoughts, improving your mood, and helping you cope with stress. Best of all, you can use this technique at any time throughout your day.

Dr. Ben-Shahar explains the four leading guidelines of mindfulness meditation and how they can help you in your daily practice.

• Allow the mind to rest on a single object. The object can be anything: a physical posture, a bodily sensation, a word, a visual cue, a sound, or even another person. When we rest our mind on an object without trying to change it, without criticizing it—just observing it with friendly curiosity—we begin to see clearly.
  
  
  • Return to focus. Mindfulness doesn’t require ongoing concentration. Our mind inevitably wanders and when we catch this happening, we should bring our focus back to whatever our object of meditation happens to be.
  • Breathe slowly, gently, and deeply. While this applies to most meditation practices, though not all, breath is often the foundation of a practice. Deep, slow, and gentle breaths open us up to positive change.
  • Practice non-judgement acceptance. The key when you meditate is to rid yourself of expectations. There are no expectations to be calm or joyful or focused. When meditating, give yourself permission to be human. By assuming the light and gentle quality of a calm breath, life can become easier.
  • “Whether you managed to focus for 20 minutes straight, or caught your mind wandering often and immediately, or were constantly distracted for 15 minutes—it doesn’t matter,” says Dr. Ben-Shahar. “There is no good or bad meditation, there is only meditation.”

Meditate Often for More Benefits

Like writing, running, or cooking, meditation is a skill that should be practiced. The more you practice, the more you improve, but like any skill, over-practicing can lead to burnout.
Meditation is meant to ground you where you are, bringing you back to the present and allowing you to recognize all of the senses that surround you. If you’re new to meditation, start slowly and know that short meditation sessions offer just as many benefits as long sessions.
Chris Lemig, CHT, contributor to Choosing Therapy, recommends meditating in short, manageable sessions over a long period of time, starting with just five minutes every morning. Gradually, as it becomes a habit, he says you can add time and even increase the number of sessions you do each day.

“Ten minutes a day, or even three minutes once in a while, can go a long way in resetting our nervous system,” says Dr. Ben-Shahar.

Build a Sustainable Practice
Meditation can be practiced at any time, anywhere, but everyone’s practice looks different. What works for someone else may not work for you, so if you’re new to meditation, listen to your body and be patient with yourself.
If you’re starting a meditation practice or looking to improve your current practice, here are some recommendations:

• 
  
  
  • Listen deliberately. Meditation is present-moment awareness, so we can simply focus on the sounds around us. Rather than perceiving them as distractions, we can perceive them as the object of meditation itself, says Dr. Ben-Shahar.
  • Sit in silence. Paul Greene, PhD, Director of the Manhattan Center for Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, actually recommends meditating at a time when you won't be disturbed. It's understandable to want some stress relief when things are chaotic at home, but he believes that's not the right time to meditate. Wait until things are quiet and you know you'll be left alone for a while.
  • Focus on your breath. The key to meditation, and lowering stress levels, is the breath. Dr. Ben-Shahar recommends taking slow, gentle, and quiet inhalation and exhalation, ideally through the nose and all the way down to the belly.
  • Avoid over-meditating. Meditation is beneficial, but doing too much of anything can be problematic. By meditating for just 10 minutes per day, Dr. Ben-Shahar says you can change the structure of your brain, ultimately supporting your overall well-being.
  • Try guided meditation. There are dozens of free meditation videos or recordings online. You can also download an app such as Headspace, Calm, or Sattva. These can be helpful when starting out, says Dr. Greene, but you’ll benefit more from meditating alone.

While meditation can help lower stress levels, Dr. Ben-Shahar says it’s important to realize that stress, in and of itself, is not a problem. Stress can actually help us become stronger, more resilient, and healthier. We just need to incorporate recovery time.

“Think about stressing our muscles in the gym,” Dr. Ben-Shahar says. When there is no recovery, we get injured. Recovery is necessary for gaining benefits, he explains, and meditation provides the recovery we need.

 

(cont.)
A Word From Verywell
While there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to meditation, you’ll gain the most from a consistent practice. Even if your mind shifts away from your chosen focus or your time gets cut short, you can still enjoy the benefits of meditation.

Be mindful of how you’re feeling this winter. If you’re building a healthy meditation practice but still experiencing heightened levels of stress and anxiety, consider additional methods of self-care such as individual or group therapy. Meditation should be used as a mental health tool, but know it’s not the only one available to you.
:- https://www.verywellmind.com/how-meditation-can-help-you-through-the-winter-5095320

 

Buddha Dhamma and western scientific world today
(Ven. Ashin Kelasa)
Why are the westerners interested in the Dhamma and meditation?

They are respectfully listening to the Dhamma talk in the retreat course and put it into practice diligently and attentively. Why are the westerners interested in Dhamma and meditation? It is because of western science, their skills of modern education, their genius brains and gifted hearts.

Particularly, the neuroscientists discovered a very positive relation between meditation and human brain. They are not practicing meditation religiously to attain something else but they scientifically believe that mindfulness meditation practice brings positive benefits in their day-to-day life.

Of course, in these days, mindfulness meditation has scientifically already been tested by a quite many scientists; they discovered practical benefits from mindfulness meditation by scientific test and research. This is the reason why mindfulness meditation becomes popular in western world.

I’m so happy to teach them mindfulness meditation, to be with them feeling like home and to practice with them experiencing their love of Dhamma and love of such a compassionate Buddhist monk and the Buddha’s Teachings.

At the same time, I want to shout at my people in Burma or modern myanmar “Please, be serious with your Buddhism and Buddha Dhamma and please be more scientific than religious and please, be serious with practice than religious prayer. Dhamma and meditation is nowadays scientifically tasted by very well-known scientists in the western developed world.

Of course, they love Buddha, Dhamma and compassionate Sangha practicing mindfulness meditation in a scientific approach to find the truth but I’m sure that they do not practice Buddhism as a religion. However, they strongly and deeply respect and love Buddhism as a way of life; they scientifically believe that they need to do it in their every day life as a spiritual tonic.

I believe that my meditation is my friend that can make a true friendship (Kalyānamitta) with everyone who loves to live peacefully, happily and harmoniously in everyday life doing nothing against any faiths of the world. I feel that I gradually become a global citizen to see human being as they truly are by wisely taking off names and labels. Love and trust everyone wisely. I hope you all get it.
;- https://www.voiceofdhamma.com/category/dhamma-text/dhamma-english/

 

Angelic Healing Music ➤ Let Go Of All Negative Energy ➤ Healing Meditation Music

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A BUDDHIST monk teaches you the FIRST 3 BREATHING TECHNIQUES of mindfulness

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힐링트리뮤직 Healing Tree Music & Sounds

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10 Minutes of Mindfulness Changes Your Reactions
It’s a one-second lead over your mind, your emotions, your world.
Harvard Business Review
Rasmus Hougaar
Jacqueline Carter & Gitte Dybkjaer

Leaders across the globe feel that the unprecedented busyness of modern-day leadership makes them more reactive and less proactive. There is a solution to this hardwired, reactionary leadership approach: mindfulness.

Having trained thousands of leaders in the techniques of this ancient practice, we’ve seen over and over again that a diligent approach to mindfulness can help people create a one-second mental space between an event or stimulus and their response to it. One second may not sound like a lot, but it can be the difference between making a rushed decision that leads to failure and reaching a thoughtful conclusion that leads to increased performance. It’s the difference between acting out of anger and applying due patience. It’s a one-second lead over your mind, your emotions, your world.

Research has found that mindfulness training alters our brains and how we engage with ourselves, others, and our work. When practiced and applied, mindfulness fundamentally alters the operating system of the mind. Through repeated mindfulness practice, brain activity is redirected from ancient, reactionary parts of the brain, including the limbic system, to the newest, rational part of the brain, the prefrontal cortex.

In this way mindfulness practice decreases activity in the parts of the brain responsible for fight-or-flight and knee-jerk reactions while increasing activity in the part of the brain responsible for what’s termed our executive functioning. This part of the brain, and the executive functioning skills it supports, is the control center for our thoughts, words, and actions. It’s the center of logical thought and impulse control. Simply put, relying more on our executive functioning puts us firmly in the driver’s seat of our minds, and by extension our lives.

One second can be the difference between achieving desired results or not. One second is all it takes to become less reactive and more in tune with the moment. In that one second lies the opportunity to improve the way you decide and direct, the way you engage and lead. That’s an enormous advantage for leaders in fast-paced, high-pressure jobs.

Here are five easily implemented tips to help you become more mindful:

• Practice 10 minutes of mindfulness training each day. Most people find mornings the best time to practice mindfulness, but you can do it any time of day. You can find a 10-minute guided mindfulness training program, a short mindfulness training manual, and a link to a free downloadable mindfulness app here. Try it for four weeks.
• Avoid reading email first thing in the morning. Our minds are generally most focused, creative, and expansive in the morning. This is the time to do focused, strategic work and have important conversations. If you read your email as you get up, your mind will get sidetracked and you’ll begin the slide toward reactive leadership. Making email your first task of the day wastes the opportunity to use your mind at its highest potential. Try waiting at least 30 minutes, or even an hour, after you get to work before checking your inbox.
• Turn off all notifications. The notification alarms on your phone, tablet, and laptop are significant contributors to reactive leadership. They keep you mentally busy and put you under pressure, thereby triggering reactionary responses. They cause damage far more than they add value. Try this: For one week turn off all email notifications on all devices. Only check your email once every hour (or as often as responsibly needed for your job), but don’t compulsively check messages as they roll into your inbox.
• Stop multitasking. It keeps your mind full, busy, and under pressure. It makes you reactive. Try to maintain focus on a single task, and then notice when you find your mind drifting off to another task — a sign that your brain wishes to multitask. When this happens, mentally shut down all the superfluous tasks entering your thoughts while maintaining focus on the task at hand.
• Put it on your calendar. Schedule a check-in with yourself every two weeks to assess how well you’re doing with the previous four tips, or as a reminder to revisit this article to refresh your memory. Consider engaging one of your peers to do the same thing. This gives you a chance to assess each other, which can be both helpful and motivating.

We encourage you to give these tips a try. Although mindfulness isn’t a magic pill, it will help you more actively select your responses and make calculated choices instead of succumbing to reactionary decisions.
:- https://getpocket.com/explore/item/...ges-your-reactions?utm_source=pocket_discover

 

Dance of Life • Relaxing Fantasy Music for Relaxation & Meditation

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Introduction to the Body Scan Meditation

Try this: feel your feet on the ground right now. In your shoes or without, it doesn’t matter. Then track or scan over your whole body, bit by bit—slowly—all the way up to the crown of your head. The point of this practice is to check in with your whole body: Fingertips to shoulders, butt to big toe. Only rules are: No judging, no wondering, no worrying (all activities your mind may want to do); just check in with the physical feeling of being in your body. Aches and pains are fine. You don’t have to do anything about anything here. You’re just noticing.
:- https://www.mindful.org/how-to-meditate/