How Meditation Can Improve Your Life

DivineCaroline:

Whenever I hear about the many benefits of meditation, my determination to find a place for it in my life is renewed once more. Unfortunately, the few and far between times I've attempted meditation have always ended in naptime, but I keep trying because the purported advantages, particularly increased relaxation, are just too good to pass up. And with myriad studies that explore the ways it emotionally and physically shapes our brains, it's clear that meditation's positive effects span well beyond relaxation. As we learn more about what meditation can do for us, penciling it into our schedules becomes not just a good idea, but a necessary one.

Read the whole story: DivineCaroline

Comments

[joshsfba]

Try free guided meditation on

http://www.clicktomeditate.com

There are also numerous studies on meditation.

[rf-hawaii]

More about TM:

http://www.suggestibility.org/

[ModernTimes1]

Mantra meditation is a great tool, your blog notwithstanding.

[Digeeedad]

Not completely sure about MEDITATION and quality of life, but... court ordered MEDIATION was a GODSEND and improved the quality of my life immediately!

[roninroshi]

What happened? I just posted and now it's gone...OOO­OOOOOMMMMM­MMMMMM!!!!­!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vipassanā

[roninroshi]

Vipassana.­..a great,simple and yet very powerful practice..­.

[ModernTimes1]

There's nothing "simple" about Vipassana. It is a highly challenging and rigorous practice.
Anyone who actually participated in the Vipassana retreats ( including myself) can readily attest to that.

[sparklingstar]

Transcendental Meditation tm.orgg) is my choice for meditation. Why? Well, thankfully, one might say this subject is now out of the realm of opinion and philosophizing. TM is in a class by itself: 350 peer-reviewed research studies were conducted on over 10,000 subjects who were practicing the TM technique. These studies included numerous randomized controlled trials, along with eight meta-analyses of 597 separate studies on the effects of meditation. The studies were conducted at Harvard Medical School, Yale Medical School, Stanford Medical School, University of PA, University of Kentucky, and more than 200 other independent institutions, and were done by 360 scientists from 29 countries. All total, over 30,0000 subjects (participating in TM, other techniques or controls) were involved in the hundreds of research studies on TM. The majority of these studies compared TM to other practices or control groups. My very best to everyone reading this.

[Ed and Deb Shapiro - Huffpost Blogger]

What about the fact that 2500 years before TM was even created people meditated. Why do you put Meditation in the realm of spiritual materialism- why do you need TM to be the best? That is ego.

Meditation is not a method or technique it is a spontaneous awakening - like a flower that opens. When you go to bed at night- you prepare the bed, clean the sheets but the sleep comes by itself.

TM although a wonderful method/technique is just that-

meditation is our natural state pure mind- true self, emptiness- the methods like mantra repetition, TM are ways of clearing the mind so the possibility of awakening can occur. Like the sun that reveals itself on a cloudy day.
The various studies done with TM are wonderful but let us just be still and meditate. Being free from all methods and techniques is meditation.

Your own true self,

Swami Brahmananda- Jygme Powa- Ed

[HeevenSteven]

Isn't 'TM' an oxymoron..­. I mean, isn't a transcendent experience the whole idea of mediation.­...

[ModernTimes1]

Nothing exclusive about TM one word mantra meditation, except trademark.
TM is an effective practice.
But we can do without its corporate culture and overpriced seminars and sales pitches.

[mmahamngttia]

Here are very simple instructions - you don't need to know anything more than this:
1.) Pick a word or sound like "one" or "om".
2.) Inhale and then exhale saying the word (either out loud or in your mind) so that it extends through the exhalation as in: ahhhhhhhhh­hhhhhhmmmm­mmmmmmmm.
3.) Concentrate on the word.
Do it for about 20 minutes each day.
That's it. There's no right or wrong way.
You'll inevitably find your mind wandering, when you notice it, bring it back to concentrating on the "om". Until you become more experienced, you'll likely fall asleep long before you reach 20 minutes of meditation.
Be patient. Practice makes perfect.
I think this is essentially the same method as Transcendental Medition - but I don't know and I don't have tthe time to find out. I did this for years and it served me very well. I'm determined to get back into it myself after a 30 year hiatus. Starting now.
Heeven Steven, throw away that Meditation for Dummies book!!!

[Ed and Deb Shapiro - Huffpost Blogger]

What about the fact that 2500 years before TM was even created people meditated. Why do you put Meditation in the realm of spiritual materialism- why do you need TM to be the best? That is ego.

Meditation is not a method or technique it is a spontaneous awakening - like a flower that opens. When you go to bed at night- you prepare the bed, clean the sheets but the sleep comes by itself.

TM although a wonderful method/technique is just that-

meditation is our natural state pure mind- true self, emptiness- the methods like mantra repetition, TM are ways of clearing the mind so the possibility of awakening can occur. Like the sun that reveals itself on a cloudy day.
The various studies done with TM are wonderful but let us just be still and meditate. Being free from all methods and techniques is meditation.

Your own true self,

Swami Brahmananda- Jygme Powa- Ed

[Ed and Deb Shapiro - Huffpost Blogger]

whooppps My reply was meant for sparklingstar-

[mmahamngttia]

I like this one as well for its simplicity. While it doesn't seem like much of an exercise, the effects can be dramatic. It was brought to you by by Kungfublood in his comment on June 6th:
Try counting the exhalations (never hold your breath naturalness is the key) one up to nine (ten is to automatic) don't worry if you find you have counted to 15 just start over at one again. Repeat daily, once you can count to 9 without problems (which is a sure sign of progress) switch to counting your inhalation­s.(countin­g the in breath is much more difficult -don't skip ahead thinking you can take a short cut-just do the counting),if you get frustrated you can go back to counting the out breath for a while.

[BlissCat]

Thanks for a lovely article. It is great to be reminded of the importance of meditation. I learned Transcendental Meditation and immediately experienced the benefits of a great technique. My level inner happiness increased and I noticed that over time I was much less unsettled by stressful situations. And it continues to improve, as proven by the fact that as a write this, my toddler has just pushed the button on his mechanical dancing chicken for the one hundredth consecutive time, and now the chicken is dancing again, to the tune of an extremely loud rendition of the cucaracha: while not as enjoyable as it was the first 50 times, this is just as loud, and yet I have not tearing my hair out. Before learning TM, I am not sure I would have been as easy about it. Okay, I am partly kidding, but the fact remains, that TM is something we can all really use whether we are mothers, fathers, students, professionals, or anything in between.

[ModernTimes1]

I maybe as bold as to revise your last sentence to read:

"...but the fact remains, that TM (or any other meditation form) is something we can all really use..."

Now its factually correct.

Enjoy your practice.

[Julesbaby]

The author of this piece made a bit of an error. It was higher levels of gamma band rhythms, NOT gamma rays, that the participants were found to have.

Gamma rays are electromagnetic radiation unless you want to be the Incredible Hulk or something. Wasn't he hit by gamma rays?

It's easy to google the study and verify that.

[Jonahson]

You can get deep rest if you can get into the centre of your tiredness and rest there with a minimum awareness. Sounds like a pun? No it is not.

[葉王 麻倉]

for me i just hit the imaginary sleep button which shuts down my brain i just visualize that all my mental processes shut down the way a computer does it works better

[Jonahson]

Deep rest is not about treating insomnia. It is recuperating from tiredness at a short time when you cannot afford the normal sleeping hours. Catching 40 winks has a similar effect.

[Khirad]

I wonder if the person who chose that photo realized he was Sikh and even aware that meditation is a part of Sikhism as well: http://www.sikhiwiki.org/index.php/Meditation

"Meditate on the Name, worship the Name, and through the Name, you shall be absorbed in intuitive peace and poise." - Sri Guru Granth Sahib, p. 26

Also wanted to remind those talking primarily about TM and Zen that the Sadhus and others in the Hindu traditions are no slobs when coming to meditation either.

[Glamorosa]

In spiritual practise you never erase the mind, you learn how to observe it and rise above it. The minds job is to repeat back what you have put into it. like a tape recorder. Once you can observe its process it ceases to have any power. It does however take a lot of discipline and practise to achieve this.

Blessings to you all

[Glamorosa]

I do spiritual excercises every day and focus on an ancient sanskrit chant prounounced HU.
I breathe in and then chant HU. This chant brings in an energy of love and compassion for all things.

I have been practising spiritual excercises for thirty years. My life has transformed and I know the meaning of a peace that surpasses understanding.

Blessings to you all

[bloggabix]

I highly recommend the Transcendental Meditation program. It is very easy to learn, and simple, natural and effortless to do. It has been thoroughly scrutinized my scientists to show that it really works at relieving stress and promoting good health. And it's very good at developing brain functioning. Youo can find more on the web site www.tm.org. ENJOJY!

[Kungfublood]

Try counting the exhalations (never hold your breath naturalness is the key) one up to nine (ten is to automatic) don't worry if you find you have counted to 15 just start over at one again. Repeat daily, once you can count to 9 without problems (which is a sure sign of progress) switch to counting your inhalation­s.(countin­g the in breath is much more difficult -don't skip ahead thinking you can take a short cut-just do the counting),if you get frustrated you can go back to counting the out breath for a while.
There are standing and walking meditation practices as well.
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