Meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual trains the mind or induces a mode of consciousness, either to realize some benefit[1] or as an end in itself.[2] The term meditation refers to a broad variety of practices (much like the term sports) that includes techniques designed to promote relaxation, build internal energy or life force (qi, ki, prana, etc.) and develop compassion,[3] love, patience, generosity and forgiveness. A particularly ambitious form of meditation aims at effortlessly sustained single-pointed concentration[4] single-pointed analysis,[5] meant to enable its practitioner to enjoy an indestructible sense of well-being while engaging in any life activity. Meditation may involve generating an emotional state for the purpose of analyzing that state—such as anger, hatred, etc. Etymology[edit] The English meditation is derived from the Latin meditatio, from a verb meditari, meaning "to think, contemplate, devise, ponder".[13] History[edit] Man Meditating in a Garden Setting
Functional MRI Shows How Mindfulness Meditation Changes Decision-Making Process : Sleep Compass You are here: Home / Gus / Functional MRI Shows How Mindfulness Meditation Changes Decision-Making Process ScienceDaily (Apr. 21, 2011) — New research shows that Buddhist meditators use different areas of the brain than other people when confronted with unfair choices, enabling them to make decisions rationally rather than emotionally. If a friend or relative won $100 and then offered you a few dollars, would you accept this windfall? According to research conducted over the last three decades; only about one-fourth of us would say, “Sure. Their research shows that Buddhist meditators use different areas of the brain than other people when confronted with unfair choices, enabling them to make decisions rationally rather than emotionally. The research “highlights the clinically and socially important possibility that sustained training in mindfulness meditation may impact distinct domains of human decision making,” the researchers write. Journal Reference: Kirk U, Downar J and Montague P.
How to Increase Your Focus Post written by Leo Babauta. I confess to being as prone to the distractions of the Internet as anyone else: I will start reading about something that interests me and disappear down the rabbit hole for hours (even days) at a time. But my ability to focus on a single task has dramatically improved, and that one habit has changed my life. While a few years ago I couldn’t sit down to work on something without quickly switching to email or one of my favorite Internet forums or sites, today I can sit down and write. I can clear away distractions, when I set my mind to it, and do one thing. And that changes everything: you lose yourself in that task, become so immersed that you pour everything you have into the work, and it becomes a meditative, transformative experience. I know that lots of people have trouble focusing one one task for very long, and so I thought I’d share a few things that have worked for me. Focus Best Practices Close the browser and your email program. Start small.
evolve... Seven Lessons in Six Weeks: Learning to be Mindful in the Workplace - UMass Medical School Finding an MBSR Teacher Don't live near the UMASS Center for Mindfulness? Find the best-trained, most experienced MBSR teachers worldwide with our certified MBSR Teacher Search. Search now Fall Teaching Institute 2017 Four continuous months of exciting mindfulness-based professional education and training starting in September. MBSR in Mind-Body Medicine Participate in a deep immersion in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and join in a global network of healthcare professionals and educators from more than 80 countries learning to practice and integrate mindfulness into their everyday lives at work and at home. Mindful Eating Integrating mindful practices with the science behind eating habits and weekly in-person group education Break the cycle of Depression: MBCT at CFM Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) combines mindfulness meditation practices and mindful movement with elements from cognitive therapy. Becoming an MBSR Teacher Start your journey
Meditation, Taoist Meditation Steps, Meditation Techniques Taoist meditation methods have many points in common with Hindu and Buddhist systems, but the Taoist way is less abstract and far more down-to-earth than the contemplative traditions which evolved in India. The primary hallmark of Taoist meditation is the generation, transformation, and circulation of internal energy. Once the meditator has 'achieved energy' (deh-chee), it can be applied to promoting health and longevity, nurturing the 'spiritual embryo' of immortality, martial arts, healing, painting and poetry, sensual self-indulgence, or whatever else the adept wishes to do with it. The two primary guidelines in Taoist meditation are jing ('quiet, stillness, calm') and ding ('concentration, focus'). The purpose of stillness, both mental and physical, is to turn attention inwards and cut off external sensory input, thereby muzzling the "Five Thieves". Taoist masters suggest that when you first begin to practice meditation, you will find that your mind is very uncooperative.
The Impact of Mind Wandering on Chronic Pain I have written in the past about the power of the mind in the fight against chronic pain: When there is some sort of injury or insult causing pain, the signal conveying pain travels to the brain via a sensory pathway and an emotional pathway. This emotional aspect of the experience of pain travels to the parts of the brain known as the amygdale and the anterior cingulated cortex. The mind-body treatments that involve such activities as meditation and relaxation likely affect these emotional networks. I have also discussed how researchers have used functional magnetic resonance imaging to allow chronic pain patients to "visualize" pain. These images allow a patient to actively participate in manipulating what has heretofore been an amorphous concept. The issue that has not been addressed is the strength of mind when confronted with such arduous tasks. Daydreaming appeared to lead to unhappiness, not unhappiness leading to daydreaming. But then do we risk becoming automatons?
SBaGen -- Binaural Beat Brain Wave Experimenter's Lab Intro | Mailing lists | Downloads | FAQ | TODO Intro Welcome to the world of Binaural Beats! The theory behind binaural beats is that if you apply slightly different frequency sine waves to each ear, a beating affect is created in the brain itself, due to the brain's internal wiring. If, in the presence of these tones, you relax and let your mind go, your mind will naturally synchronize with the beat frequency. Here is a table from Calleman on how brain-wave frequencies relate to Earth layer boundary resonant frequencies: It is also possible to produce mixtures of brain waves of different frequencies by mixing binaural tones, and in this way, with practice and experimentation, it is reportedly possible to achieve rather unusual states, such as out-of-body stuff, and more. I should add that I have only read about the more advanced and unusual uses (OOBEs and so on). Downloads Available to download are: Full documentation, plus a ChangeLog, FAQ and TODO list. Additional information: Community
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) in Boston | Mindful Purpose Life Coaching Stressed out and overwhelmed? Feel like life is whizzing past you? Living with chronic pain or illness, depression, anxiety, or other medical conditions? Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) helps you find your natural capacity for ease and confidence. Based on Dr. What is Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction? In this eight-week face-to-face program, you’ll learn how to develop the life skill of mindfulness. The MBSR program centers on the ancient practice of meditation, presented in a pragmatic, common sense way. MBSR was created by Dr. The program is challenging and life-affirming. (Click here for videos of Jon Kabat-Zinn speaking about MBSR)(Click here for testimonials from Sunada’s past students) What you’ll gain In numerous published studies on MBSR, the majority of participants report: Over 30 years of extensive clinical research indicates that mindfulness and the MBSR course bring about lasting, positive change. About the program It includes:
The Power of Concentration Time Life Pictures/Mansell via Getty Images A drawing of Sherlock Holmes by Sidney Paget from 1891 in The Strand Magazine. More often than not, when a new case is presented, Holmes does nothing more than sit back in his leather chair, close his eyes and put together his long-fingered hands in an attitude that begs silence. He may be the most inactive active detective out there. His approach to thought captures the very thing that cognitive psychologists mean when they say mindfulness. Though the concept originates in ancient Buddhist, Hindu and Chinese traditions, when it comes to experimental psychology, mindfulness is less about spirituality and more about concentration: the ability to quiet your mind, focus your attention on the present, and dismiss any distractions that come your way. Now we’re learning that the benefits may reach further still, and be more attainable, than Professor Langer could have then imagined. But mindfulness goes beyond improving emotion regulation.
On emotional healing — moods vs. emotions | Heart of Healing An essential key to emotional healing, or any healing, is the ability to experience our emotions fully. Seems like that should be simple, but it’s not. We’re incredibly complex beings whose past conditioning often makes the experience of emotions complicated. From the point of view of energy medicine, emotions are a form of energy and energy needs to flow freely for health. When emotional energy is moving unobstructed, an emotion will be felt with clarity and intensity and will be short-lived. What happens when the emotions cannot be experienced in this way? I first began to think in terms of moods and emotions when I attended a workshop several years ago with a physician who studied with David Berenson, MD. I haven’t been able to find anything in writing about Berenson’s work and certainly don’t feel I can represent his thinking. It can be very useful to learn to distinguish emotions and moods in ourselves. Moods extend in time and they color our perceptions and evaluation of things.
Why You Should Take Stress More Seriously | Healthy Living Stressed out? That could be dangerous. Photo: Troels Graugaard/Getty ImagesIf you’re someone who frequently declares, “I’m so stressed!” More on Shine: The Best Steps to Keep Your Stress in Check The findings, by French researchers and published Wednesday in the European Heart Journal, showed that people who believe that they are stressed—and that the stress is affecting their health—have more than twice the risk of heart attack as those who don’t feel that way. More on Yahoo! “This indicates that individuals' perception and reality seem to be connected pretty well,” lead author Herman Nabi, of the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, told Yahoo! The researchers analyzed the data of 7,268 men and women from a previous study, the British Whitehall II cohort, based on a questionnaire that asked the following: “To what extent do you consider the stress or pressure that you have experienced in your life has an effect on your health?"
Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health benefits: A meta-analysis Received 5 March 2003; accepted 8 July 2003. Objective Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) is a structured group program that employs mindfulness meditation to alleviate suffering associated with physical, psychosomatic and psychiatric disorders. The program, nonreligious and nonesoteric, is based upon a systematic procedure to develop enhanced awareness of moment-to-moment experience of perceptible mental processes. The approach assumes that greater awareness will provide more veridical perception, reduce negative affect and improve vitality and coping. Methods Sixty-four empirical studies were found, but only 20 reports met criteria of acceptable quality or relevance to be included in the meta-analysis. Results Overall, both controlled and uncontrolled studies showed similar effect sizes of approximately 0.5 (P<.0001) with homogeneity of distribution. Conclusion Keywords: Chronic disease, Coping, Meta-analysis, Mindfulness, Psychosomatic disorders, Stress
Mindfulness meditation for the treatment of chronic low back pain in older adults: A randomized controlled pilot study Received 8 August 2006; received in revised form 12 April 2007; accepted 30 April 2007. published online 02 June 2007. The objectives of this pilot study were to assess the feasibility of recruitment and adherence to an eight-session mindfulness meditation program for community-dwelling older adults with chronic low back pain (CLBP) and to develop initial estimates of treatment effects. It was designed as a randomized, controlled clinical trial. .004) and SF-36 Physical Function (P .03). Keywords: Aged, Low back pain, Mindfulness, Meditation, Randomized, Controlled trial Mindfulness meditation improves cognition: Evidence of brief mental training Abstract Although research has found that long-term mindfulness meditation practice promotes executive functioning and the ability to sustain attention, the effects of brief mindfulness meditation training have not been fully explored. We examined whether brief meditation training affects cognition and mood when compared to an active control group. After four sessions of either meditation training or listening to a recorded book, participants with no prior meditation experience were assessed with measures of mood, verbal fluency, visual coding, and working memory. Both interventions were effective at improving mood but only brief meditation training reduced fatigue, anxiety, and increased mindfulness. Moreover, brief mindfulness training significantly improved visuo-spatial processing, working memory, and executive functioning. Keywords Mindfulness; Meditation; Cognition; Working memory; Mood; Attention; Meta-awareness Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc.