The legendary guru Paramahansa Yogananda gives us a discourse on the correct way to sleep. Recorded in London during the late 1930’s, he would eventually go on to teach Burt Goldman, The American Monk.
Click here to find out more about Burt Goldman and what he learned under Guru Yogananda.
Through mindful meditation, we are sometimes distracted by the most intrusive of thoughts. But we are human! Initially, new meditators will find it hard to control the mind’s need to speak it’s mind. But do not be disheartend, even the most masterful of meditators sometimes fail to quell the mental conversation.
The following story comes from a set of parables (or koans), translated into English from a book called the Shaseki-shu (Collection of Stone and Sand), written late in the thirteenth century by the Japanese Zen teacher Muju:
The pupils of the Tendai school used to study meditation before Zen entered Japan. Four of them who were intimate friends promised one another to observe seven days of silence.
On the first day all were silent. Their meditation had begun auspiciously, but when night came and the oil lamps were growing dim one of the pupils could not help exclaiming to a servant: “Fix those lamps.”
The second pupil was surprised to hear th first one talk. “We are not supposed to say a word,” he remarked.
“You two are stupid. Why did you talk?” asked the third.
“I am the only one who has not talked,” concluded the fourth pupil.
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Researchers from the University of Wisconsin had brought more scientific evidence to the table to cement the fact that regular meditation can alter the nervous structure of the brain, as well as increase well-being for the mind.
The simple and scientifically regulated research adds more interesting discoveries on meditation and its benefits for its practitioners.
Many of us take for granted the subconscious capabilities of our bodies. For instance, breathing. When was the last time you sat down and focused on your breath leaving and entering your body?
Editor’s note: Scientists have discovered truly remarkable results when seeing whether meditation leads to the restorative benefits people gain from sleep. They have once and for all proven that it does, but they still don’t know why.
Other findings show that meditation affects the structure of the brain, meditation exercises different parts of the brain and these areas tend to grow with regular meditation.
by Alison Motluk NewScientist.com
Meditating does more than just feel good and calm you down, it makes you perform better – and alters the structure of your brain, researchers have found.
People who meditate say the practice restores their energy, and some claim they need less sleep as a result. Many studies have reported that the brain works differently during meditation – brainwave patterns change and neuronal firing patterns synchronise. But whether meditation actually brings any of the restorative benefits of sleep has remained largely unexplored.
So Bruce O’Hara and colleagues at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, US, decided to investigate. They used a well-established “psychomotor vigilance taskâ€, which has long been used to quantify the effects of sleepiness on mental acuity.
The test involves staring at an LCD screen and pressing a button as soon as an image pops up. Typically, people take 200 to 300 milliseconds to respond, but sleep-deprived people take much longer, and sometimes miss the stimulus altogether.
Ten volunteers were tested before and after 40 minutes of either sleep, meditation, reading or light conversation, with all subjects trying all conditions. The 40-minute nap was known to improve performance (after an hour or so to recover from grogginess). But what astonished the researchers was that meditation was the only intervention that immediately led to superior performance, despite none of the volunteers being experienced at meditation.
O’Hara:
“Every single subject showed improvement”
The improvement was even more dramatic after a night without sleep. But, he admits: “Why it improves performance, we do not know.†The team is now studying experienced meditators, who spend several hours each day in practice.
What effect meditating has on the structure of the brain has also been a matter of some debate. Now Sara Lazar at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, US, and colleagues have used MRI to compare 15 meditators, with experience ranging from 1 to 30 years, and 15 non-meditators.
They found that meditating actually increases the thickness of the cortex in areas involved in attention and sensory processing, such as the prefrontal cortex and the right anterior insula.
Sara Lazar:
“You are exercising it while you meditate, and it gets bigger”
The finding is in line with studies showing that accomplished musicians, athletes and linguists all have thickening in relevant areas of the cortex.
“It is further evidence that yogis aren’t just sitting there doing nothing”
The growth of the cortex is not due to the growth of new neurons, she points out, but results from wider blood vessels, more supporting structures such as glia and astrocytes, and increased branching and connections.
The new studies were presented at the Society for Neuroscience annual meeting, in Washington DC, US.
There are so many meditation techniques, some are simple whereas other techniques require a great deal of teaching from an experienced trainer. Many techniques have boundless limits and can never truly be mastered. What this all boils down to is becoming meditative is an ongoing process and you can always improve on your level of meditation to achieve further enlightenment.
Editor’s Note: I recently found this great article which reveals 10 ways to improve your meditation. It really doesn’t matter whether you’re a beginner or advanced at meditation, these pieces of advice are vital on getting to know your inner self.
by R. Pettinger
Meditation can simplify our lives and help us live in the eternal now. When we enter into real meditation we experience a real sense of peace and joy. To gain access to this inner reality meditation is necessary. These are some tips to help improve our meditation.
If we can carefully regulate our breathing this will be a great aid to our meditation. When we slow down and become conscious of our breathing, the mind naturally slows down and it is easier to control our thoughts. When we meditate our breath should be so gentle that if someone placed a feather by our mouth it would barely move.
This is often easier said than done. However it is the essence of meditation. If we can learn to stop our mind from pursuing endless thought then we will be able to enter into real mediation; real meditation is inner silence.
Sri Chinmoy says the essence of meditation is:
“When we meditate we empty our minds and then fill our minds with something divine.â€
The use of mantra can be of great help in quietening the relentless noise of the mind. A mantra is a sacred word or phrase repeated many times. By repeating a mantra we calm the mind and also make it one pointed. After chanting a mantra meditation will be easier.
If we can create a sacred space for meditation we will gain added inspiration. A meditation shrine can be a small corner of a room we keep only for meditation. Over time we will find this space builds up a meditative consciousness helpful to our meditation.
Like many other activities the more we practice meditation the better we will become. If we meditate sincerely everyday then we will find that our capacity to meditate increases. If our meditation is sporadic, progress is much more difficult.
If we struggle to calm the mind and stop the unceasing flow of thoughts we can try meditating on the spiritual heart. We should try to feel our whole sense of awareness is leaving the mind and entering the heart. If we are able to meditate in the heart we will identify with the expansive and divine qualities the spiritual heart embodies.
To meditate well we need to master the art of concentration. In essence concentration involves focusing on only one thing at a time. If we can be one pointed and not get distracted, then our meditation will become very powerful.
Meditation should be viewed as a lifelong process of self – discovery. It is important to try and maintain our enthusiasm and inspiration for meditation. We can do this by associating with other like minded people who also meditate. If we can find a real spiritual teacher this will also give us significant inspiration to meditate.
Sometimes we meditate well but sometimes we feel meditation is most difficult. However it is important that we should not become discouraged just because of an unsuccessful meditation. Often we may be making progress, even if it is not always immediately obvious.
Meditation doesn’t just mean sitting down quietly for 10mins. If we have real eagerness to experience the inner rewards of meditation, we will give it all our focus. When we feel this burning aspiration, our technique of meditation becomes less important. Instead our soul will come to the fore and our meditation will become spontaneous.
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev grips an audience with his views on meditation. The master of science and technology of the inner self powerful addresses the process of meditation and perfectly illustrates how it blossoms within all of us subconsciously. He likens it to breathing.
“BREATHING? Are you doing it? . . . Or does it happen?”
Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev is an Indian yogi and mystic that founded of the well renowned Isha Foundation with yoga centers across India and the USA.
He is so well respected in the meditation field and also worldwide. In 2006 this phenomenal forward-thinker was a delegate for the United Nations Millennium World Peace Summit and also spoke at the World Economic Forum.
“If you cultivate your body, if you cultivate your mind, your emotion and energy to a certain level of preparedness meditation will blossom within you.” – Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev
This article is a perfect lowdown to the mind-body practice of meditation. Despite its background being firmly rooted in ancient religion and spiritual tradition, meditation nowadays is widely practiced outside of traditional religious circles as a technique to benefit mind, body and soul.
Find out the background to meditation and the proven benefits and results it has to offer.
By Alex
April 7th
Meditation for health purposes is a mind-body practice in complementary and alternative medicine. There are many types of meditation, most of which originated in ancient religious and spiritual traditions.
Generally, a person who is meditating uses certain techniques, such as focusing attention (for example, on a word, an object, or the breath); a specific posture; and an open attitude toward distracting thoughts and emotions.
Meditation can be practiced for various reasons–for example, with an intent to increase physical relaxation, mental calmness, and psychological balance; to cope with one or more diseases and conditions; and for overall wellness.
This Backgrounder provides a general introduction to meditation and suggests some resources for finding out more. The term meditation refers to a group of techniques, most of which started in Eastern religious or spiritual traditions. These techniques have been used by many different cultures throughout the world for thousands of years.
Today, many people use meditation outside of its traditional religious or cultural settings, for health and wellness purposes. In meditation, a person learns to focus his attention and suspend the stream of thoughts that normally occupy the mind. This practice is believed to result in a state of greater physical relaxation, mental calmness, and psychological balance.
Practicing meditation can change how a person relates to the flow of emotions and thoughts in the mind. And here is your list of the benefits of meditating. At the bottom of this article you will find links to start learning how to meditate.
Improvement of body luster and general health – When your mind focuses on a particular part of the body, the blood flow to that part increases and cells receive more oxygen and other nutrients in abundance. Today, many of the film stars and fashion models include meditation in their daily regime.
When practicing meditation, your heart rate and breathing slow down, your blood pressure normalizes, you use oxygen more efficiently and you sweat less. Your adrenal glands produce less cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline, you make more positive hormones, your body ages at a slower rate and your immune function improves.
Your mind also clears and your creativity increases. People who meditate regularly find it easier to give up life-damaging habits like smoking, drinking and drugs.
Research shows that meditation can help ease a host of stress-related problems, including chronic pain, headaches, anxiety, PMS, sleep disorders, even infertility. In a study on anxiety at the University of Massachusetts, 20 out of 22 anxiety-prone volunteers showed marked improvement after taking an eight-week class in meditation.
And in a study on headaches, 72 percent of headache sufferers reported moderate to great improvement after learning how to meditate.
Meditation is reported to calm the anxiety that frequently accompanies chronic pain by cultivating awareness. At the Duke University Medical School, psychiatrist Ron Vereen teaches Integrative Medicine students how to use meditation along with mindful breathing as a tool for coping with pain.
Becoming mindful through meditation doesn’t diminish pain but changes one’s understanding and relationship to pain. By removing resistance to pain, the suffering is relieved.
Meditation leads to a feeling of being at ease with the world. Like many people who meditate, you may find that you have greater self-esteem, self-confidence and inner peace. You’re able to concentrate more easily and and your ability to learn and remember improves.
Feelings of helplessness, hopelessness and isolation are hallmarks of depression-the nation’s most prevalent mental health problem. Meditation increases self-confidence and feelings of connection to others. Many studies have shown that depressed people feel much better after eliciting the relaxation response.
Meditation can help to resolve the deepest of neuroses, fears and conflict which play their part in causing stress and ill health.
Intrusive thoughts and increased muscle tension can interfere with your sleep. It’s not surprising, therefore, that practicing meditation, with its effects of quieting your mind and relaxing your body, has been found to be an effective treatment for insomnia. Several studies have shown that regular meditation results in higher blood levels of melatonin, a hormone that plays a critical role in the regulation of sleep.
Increased brain wave coherence. Harmony of brain wave activity in different parts of the brain is associated with greater creativity, improved moral reasoning, and higher IQ.
Meditation puts mothers in tune with their babies. Manta Japa is especially appropriate for pregnant women. After birth, daily meditation becomes a precious time to refocus and make sense of the many new thoughts and feelings which can be running through your mind, brought about by the events of childbirth and new motherhood.
“When you meditate regularly, you dramatically reduce your body’s response to stress, and that can ease the discomfort associated with PMS,” Dr. Carrington.
The first stage of meditation is to stop distractions and make our mind clearer and more lucid. This can be accomplished by practicing a simple breathing meditation. We choose a quiet place to meditate and sit in a comfortable position. The most important thing is to keep our back straight to prevent our mind from becoming sluggish or sleepy. link.
Meditating a few minutes each day is a proven stress reducer, and it can improve your outlook on life as well. There are as many different meditation methods as there are instructors, but if all you need is a basic, universal method, here’s an easy way to get started. link.
This mindfulness actually envelops our whole life. It is the best way to appreciate our world, to appreciate the sacredness of everything. We add mindfulness and all of a sudden the whole situation becomes alive. This practice soaks into everything that we do; there’s nothing left out. Mindfulness pervades sound and space. It is a complete experience. link.
Meditation lifts us above the cares and anxieties of our daily life, it enables us to overcome our moral weaknesses and evil habits and thus transform our very life. By dispelling ignorance, meditation removes all our morbid and childish fears and leads us to the hall of divine light, where we perceive our self as the immortal essence of all existence, where we realize that we are at once linked in a bond of eternal love with all creation. link.
Zazen is a particular kind of meditation, unique to Zen, that functions centrally as the very heart of the practice. In fact, Zen Buddhists are generally known as the “meditation Buddhists.” Basically, zazen is the study of the self. link.
In this 10 minute video Yogiraj Gurunath Siddhanath, an enlightened living master, solar rishi and teacher of yogic meditation for the evolution of human consciousness, traces the ancient art and science of meditation.
He dates back the state of no mind consciousness, the merging of the soul and the spirit, to biblical times with the transfiguration at the Mount of Olives.
“Humanity is one’s only religion. . .
Breath is one’s only prayer. . .
Consciousness is one’s only God”
Hello World! For anybody out there that practices meditation or is interested to start, your life has just started to taste that much sweeter.
Meditation Living is the only destination you’ll now need to know for the most comprehensive information and thoughts on the practice of meditation.
Everyday we’ll serve up gripping articles covering the masters and leaders of meditation, all the different techniques possible, insights into how meditation and yoga is practiced throughout the world, great meditation experiences and how meditation benefits both your mind and your health.
When you think of meditation you are certainly on the right path, and we hope to share this amazing, enlightening journey with you along the way in the quest for inner piece.